I'm pretty sure this is not unique to IBM most mega corporations have the same philosophies. It's not about the employees or even the product at times it's about the numbers and the shareholders.
> If you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/03/tim-cook-...
Keep in mind IBM is an east coast company, not a more laid back west coast company. That might have something to do with it (or I'm just very biased).