IBM was established in the state of New York on June 15, 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company. But its origins can be traced back to 1890, when the United States was experiencing waves of immigration. The U.S. Census Bureau knew its traditional methods of counting would not be adequate for measuring the population, so it sponsored a contest to find a more efficient means of tabulating census data. The winner was Herman Hollerith, whose Punch Card Tabulating Machine used an electric current to sense holes in punch cards and keep a running total of data. Capitalizing on his success, Hollerith formed the Tabulating Machine Co. in 1896.
{{U}} (8) {{/U}} The combined Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co., or C-T-R, manufactured and sold machinery ranging from commercial scales and industrial time recorders to meat and cheese slicers and, of course, tabulators and punch cards.
Thomas J. Watson joined the company as general manager in 1914, when the diversified businesses of C-T-R proved difficult to manage. Watson boosted company spirit with employee sports teams, family outings and a company band. He preached a positive outlook, and his favorite slogan was "THANK". {{U}}(9) {{/U}} He understood that the success of the client translated into the success of his company, a belief that, years later, manifested itself in the popular saying, "Nobody was ever fired for buying from IBM."
Within 11 months of joining C-T-R, Watson became its president. The company focused on providing large-scale, custom-built tabulating solutions for businesses, leaving the market for small office products to others. During Watson's first four years, revenues doubled to $ 2 million. He also expanded the company's operations to Europe, South America, Asia and Australia. {{U}}(10) {{/U}}
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, IBM managed to grow while the rest of the U.S. economy struggled. Watson took care of his employees. {{U}}(11) {{/U}} While most businesses had shut down, Watson kept his workers busy producing new machines even while demand was slack. Thanks to the resulting large inventory of equipment, IBM was ready when the Social Security Act of 1935 brought the company a landmark government contract to maintain employment records for 26 million people. It was called "the biggest accounting operation of all time, " and it went so well that orders from other U.S. government departments quickly followed.
IBM's size and success inspired numerous anti-trust actions. A 1952 suit by the Justice Department, settled four years later, forced IBM to sell its tabulating machines--at the time, IBM offered them only through leases--in order to establish a competing, used-machine market. Another federal anti-trust suit dragged on for thirteen years until the Justice Department concluded it was "without merit" and dropped it in 1982. {{U}}(12) {{/U}}.
A IBM was among the first corporations to provide group life insurance, survivor benefits and paid vacations.
B IBM is the most prominent casualty of the technology spending freeze, but others are suffering as well.
C In 1911, Hollerith's company was merged with two others, Computing Scale Co., of America and International Time Recording Co..
D But its origins can be traced back to 1890, when the United States was experiencing waves of immigration.
E IBM's competitors filed 20 anti-trusts during the 1970s and none succeeded.
F In 1924, to reflect C-T-R's growing worldwide presence, its name was changed to International Business Machine Corp., or IBM.
G Watson also stressed the importance of the customer, a lasting IBM principle.