...I choose to do my research paper on General Electric. General Electric is a very successful conglomerate company. I looked at how General Electric manages to be so successful in this area. In this class I have learned that to be a successful company there is another area of concern that is structure of management and how it affects the company. When looking at General Electric Company and why this company is successful conglomerate company. I had to find out what a conglomerate really details. In Order to be a successful conglomerate Company the company must spread resources into this many unrelated businesses gives great stability even in the event of a complete collapse of one of the market, but it also makes many of the decisions the upper management must make incredibly complex. According to The Financial Times, General Electric (GE) is today the “World’s Most Respected Company” (“Facts”). Most of this admiration is due to the variety of operating segments that the company provides. For example, GE businesses are classified into ten categories: Commercial Finance, Consumer Finance, Consumer and Industrial, Energy, Equipment Services, Healthcare, Infrastructure, Insurance, NBC, and Transportation (“Company”). The conglomerate design is put into use when an entity has holdings in many unrelated businesses. This form is also known has the H-form because it is basically a holding company that comes about from unrelated diversification. This holding company form of organization...
Words: 4011 - Pages: 17
...2011, Term 1 Modern Business Leader Analysis Project JACK WELCH By Chad Wilson Lucy Ebanja Renee Wingfield Sheng Wang Ying Zhang Instructor: Dr. Constant Beugre Content Jack Welch’s accomplishments Jack Welch joined General Electric (GE) in 1960 and became vice president (1972) and then vice chairman (1979). In 1981 he became chairman and CEO of GE; at 45, he was the youngest person ever to have held that position. Having taken GE with a market capitalization of about $12 billion, Jack Welch turned it into one of the largest and most admired companies in the world, with a market value of about $500 billion, when he stepped down as its CEO 20 years later, in 2000. (Reference for Columbia Encyclopedia) Welch took bold actions to improve GE's ability to compete globally before it ran into serious difficulty. Welch leads two different "revolutions" in his tenure as CEO. The first revolution had to do with hardware: what businesses GE should be in and what businesses it should divest. Welch quickly changed GE's approach to strategic planning. The matrix approach developed under Reginald Jones was replaced with Welch's Number One Number Two strategy. If a GE business wasn't first or second in its markets worldwide, or couldn't be made' so, it would be sold. At the start of Welch's tenure GE administration was built around three hundred separate businesses, a recipe for inefficiency. Welch tore into the ossified corporate structure with a vengeance and...
Words: 906 - Pages: 4
...AM FL Y TE Team-Fly® 29 Leadership Secrets from Jack Welch Abridged from Get Better or Get Beaten, SECOND EDITION Robert Slater McGraw-Hill New York Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. 0-07-141684-6 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: 0-07-140937-8 All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps. McGraw-Hill eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in corporate training programs. For more information, please contact George Hoare, Special Sales, at george_hoare@mcgraw-hill.com or (212) 904-4069. TERMS OF USE This is a copyrighted work and The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“McGraw-Hill”) and its licensors reserve all rights...
Words: 27865 - Pages: 112
...Change Management GE’s Two Decade Transformation: Jack Welch’s Leadership Answer 1 In April 1981, when Jack Welch became the CEO of GE, US was in recession. There were high interest rates. Strong dollar resulted in country’s highest unemployment rates. In this rapid changing and uncertain environment it was extremely difficult task for him to handle a conglomerate as big as GE and ensure that general confidence among the investors is not lost. His predecessor, Reg Jones, had set the bar extremely high at the company leaving a legacy for Welch to compete with as the new CEO. Also, acquiring new businesses and ensuring that each business unit under the GE umbrella was one of the best in its field was another challenge. Welch was extremely effective in taking over the GE reins. He challenged each to be ”better than the best” and planned radical changes across the company. Under his guidance, the company expanded dramatically from 1981 to 2001. * He instilled in everyone a culture of innovation and learning, and incorporated measures related to new product development, technological leadership, and rates of improvement. * He set the standard for each of business to become #1 or #2 or get out of business. * Welch categorized business in 3 circles as core, high technology and services and sold off 200 businesses which all together contributed for 25% of sales. * Even budgeting process got radically changed and evaluation started against external competition rather...
Words: 1336 - Pages: 6
...Organizational Change of the 20th Century “Jack Welch the Man With the Plan” By: Schavalia A. Holmes HR587, Professor: M. Luckett TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION 3 JACK WELCH BECOMES GE’s CEO 4-5 JACK WELCH ON GLOBALIZATION 5 JACK WELCH, LEADER, HIS MANAGEMENT STYLE REVEALED 5-7 JACK WELCH OUTLOOK ON WHAT MAKES A GOOD LEADER 7-11 JACK WELCH METHODOLOGY INCORPORATES KELLER’S MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE COURSE TCO’S ……………………………………………………………………………………………………12-13 JACK WELCH BEST CEO (MANAGER) EVER, OR IS HE THE “GRINCH WHO STOLE MASSIVE EMPLOYEES LIVELIHOODS? 14-16 CONCLUSION 16-17 BIBLIOGRAPHY 18 INTRODUCTION How do you take a company through restructuring and enable it to sustain the change and make it one of the largest multinational corporations in the world? Well, John F. Welch Jr. (Jack Welch) succeeded in doing just that. Welch climbed the corporate ladder and became Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GE. Jack Welch (Welch) used integration techniques, well developed strategies, and made many acquisitions, while selling off or closing down its less productive companies and divisions. His task was to reinvent GE’s culture and change business operation by converting managers into leaders. He empowered his employees, gave them special rewards, devised training programs and opened the door for employees to acquire stock options. Welch’s mission was to transform the GE organization into a “boundary-less company...
Words: 4280 - Pages: 18
...Erica Walker Jack Welch Dr. Kim 6 February 2014 Jack Welch: Icon of Leadership Jack Welch has been named the “Manger of the Century” and has made innovative changes to management practices. He was born as John Francis Jr. on November 19, 1935 in Salem, Massachusetts. He attended Salem High School and then after graduating went to the University of Massachusetts. At the University of Massachusetts, Jack Welch received Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering. After getting his bachelor degree he went to the University of Illinois and received his Masters and Doctorate. Jack Welch became a member of General Electrics in 1960. While working at GE, Jack Welch made a significant impact, but his start at GE was shaky. Jack Welch after being at GE for a year was going to leave. He felt under appreciated and the paid was not enough. An executive thought Jack would be important aspect of GE future and convinced him to stay. The executive was right about Jack. In 1972 he was announced vice president of GE. Then five years later Jack Welch rose to senior vice president and in 1981 he took the proclaimed title of CEO of General Electrics. Jack Welch has increased value of General Electrics from $13 billion to several hundred billion. He was able to have such success because of management practices. His lessons that he created on how to run a success business has influence many. Some key lessons taken from Jack Welch especially from his video “Jack Welch: Icon of Leadership”...
Words: 1508 - Pages: 7
...Cultural Assessment of General Electric Learning Team A Human Relations and Organizational Behavior March 14, 2005 Cultural Assessment of General Electric The corporate culture of General Electric (GE) is a composite of its people, leadership, organization, structure, and processes from past to present. This paper will provide an assessment of the corporate culture of GE, and provide an insight into the dynamics, which have made it one of the world’s premier companies. The aspects of General Electric’s culture begin with its leadership, and progress through its management, workforce, policies, and objectives. GE leadership provides corporate direction with a formalized set of values and action verbs, which guide the organization (GE, 2005). In lieu of a corporate mission statement, GE identifies its key strategies and initiatives in its annual Letter to Stakeholders (GE, 2004). The corporate office maintains a distinct presence among its sprawling empire. This empire is composed of a worldwide workforce, which is involved in a myriad of activities. To lead this powerful organization, management is trained and indoctrinated into the GE culture. The myths, and legends, surrounding General Electric, lend to the cultural identity shared by the entire workforce. Training, organization, and structure are established and maintained through several processes, and programs, which contribute to GE’s cultural identity. General Electric’s...
Words: 2245 - Pages: 9
...was formed in 1892 when the company of Thomas Edison, Edison General Electric Company, merged with the other successful manufacturer of electric light, Thomas-Houston Company. “From the invention of the first practical incandescent light bulb to building America’s first Central Power Station, the GE tradition of life-changing innovations was underway. With power and light, GE provided the basis of modern life, quickly redefining everything from the length of the day to our knowledge of the human body through the development of the first X-ray machine” (History) [citation should refer to GE]. This company is so expansive that every part of our lives involves a product or service by General Electric and this brings up a very vital question: what is the external environment and strategy of a company so large? How are they so successful at what they do? In our analysis, we have determined that if companies want to emulate General Electric's success, they must be willing to change their management approach in accordance to changes in the external business environment. General Electric's overall management of its company has changed several times, but most notably from the time Jack Welch was CEO to the time Jeff Immelt became CEO. The backbone of any company is their mission statement, as it is what keeps a company pointed in the right direction through the external and strategic changes they face. Good opening. Sets the stage. A Clear Vision – odd that you refer to vision right...
Words: 4549 - Pages: 19
...Executive summary In this assignment I was able to use relevant leadership theories to critically analyse and evaluate the leadership of Jack Welch. I first provided a brief insight into Jack’s background, outlining what made John F. Welch into the man we know today as Jack Welch. Secondly, shed some light on the financial position and the culture of General Electric (GE) in the early 80’s when Jack assumed the mantle as its Chairman and CEO. Thirdly, I discussed his changing leadership styles over the years. Finally, I give my opinions on how I would have lead differently if I was faced with the same situations. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 5 2. Welch’s Background 5 3. The situation – GE before Jack Welch 7 4. Jack Welch the leader 7 5. Discussion – How I would lead differently 10 6. Conclusion 11 Reference List 12 1. Introduction Leadership is a complex concept and there are different ways of becoming a leader. Leadership is the process of influencing an organized group toward achieving its goals. (Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy, 2012). Leadership is about influencing and not dominating others, leadership occurs when other people happily accept the goals of as organization as their own (Hogan, 1994). Because the behavioural patterns of employees vary depending on their individual circumstances, it is important that leaders to develop an empathetic approach towards resolving the issues of employees. Leadership theorists associate this ability...
Words: 2873 - Pages: 12
...National University July 2009 Corporate Strategy Analysis: General Electric Co. (1981–present) Stanislav Bucifal Introduction The General Electric Company (GE) is widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful corporations of the 20th century. This paper aims to critically analyse the corporate strategy of GE during the period from 1981 to present under the leadership of two very different but equally influential CEOs—Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt. The essay is organised in four sections. The first section describes GE’s corporate strategy from 1981 to 2001 with Jack Welch as CEO, followed immediately by a critical analysis of Welch’s strategic approach in the second section. The third section then describes GE’s corporate strategy from 2001 to present with Jeff Immelt as CEO, followed again by a critical analysis of Immelt’s strategic approach in section four. 1. The Jack Welch period (1981–2001) When Jack Welch took up his post as GE’s CEO in 1981 he embarked on a radical transformation of GE’s strategy, ushering in a new era of performance management and internal efficiency. Welch’s profit guidance aimed for earnings growth of 1.5 times to double of the GDP growth rate and his management philosophy found its articulation in GE’s slogan—Speed, Simplicity, Self-Confidence (GE 1995). These values would reflect not only in the organisation’s systems and processes but also in GE’s products and services through their simple and highly functional...
Words: 4555 - Pages: 19
...Australian National University July 2009 Corporate Strategy Analysis: General Electric Co. (1981–present) Stanislav Bucifal Introduction The General Electric Company (GE) is widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful corporations of the 20th century. This paper aims to critically analyse the corporate strategy of GE during the period from 1981 to present under the leadership of two very different but equally influential CEOs—Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt. The essay is organised in four sections. The first section describes GE’s corporate strategy from 1981 to 2001 with Jack Welch as CEO, followed immediately by a critical analysis of Welch’s strategic approach in the second section. The third section then describes GE’s corporate strategy from 2001 to present with Jeff Immelt as CEO, followed again by a critical analysis of Immelt’s strategic approach in section four. 1. The Jack Welch period (1981–2001) When Jack Welch took up his post as GE’s CEO in 1981 he embarked on a radical transformation of GE’s strategy, ushering in a new era of performance management and internal efficiency. Welch’s profit guidance aimed for earnings growth of 1.5 times to double of the GDP growth rate and his management philosophy found its articulation in GE’s slogan—Speed, Simplicity, Self-Confidence (GE 1995). These values would reflect not only in the organisation’s systems and processes but also in GE’s products and services through their simple and highly functional designs...
Words: 4555 - Pages: 19
...2009 Corporate Strategy Analysis: General Electric Co. (1981–2008) – A Case Study Stanislav Bucifal Introduction The General Electric Company (GE) is widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful corporations of the 20th century. This paper aims to analyse critically the corporate strategy of GE during the period from 1981 to 2008 under the leadership of two very different but equally influential CEOs—Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt. The paper is organised in four sections. The first section describes GE’s corporate strategy from 1981 to 2001 with Jack Welch as CEO, followed immediately by a critical analysis of Welch’s strategic approach in the second section. The third section then describes GE’s corporate strategy from 2001 to 2008 with Jeff Immelt as CEO, followed again by a critical analysis of Immelt’s strategic approach in section four. Keywords: General Electric, Corporate strategy, Leadership, CEOs. 1. The Jack Welch Period (1981–2001) When Jack Welch took up his post as GE’s CEO in 1981 he embarked on a radical transformation of GE’s strategy, ushering in a new era of performance management and internal efficiency. Welch’s profit guidance aimed for earnings growth of 1.5 times to double of the GDP growth rate and his management philosophy found its articulation in GE’s slogan—Speed, Simplicity, Self-Confidence (GE 1995). These values would reflect not only in the organisation’s systems and processes but also in GE’s products and services through their simple and...
Words: 4709 - Pages: 19
...9-399-150 REV: MAY 3, 2005 CHRISTOPHER A. BARTLETT MEG WOZNY GE's Two-Decade Transformation: Jack Welch's Leadership On September 7, 2001, Jack Welch stepped down as CEO of General Electric. The sense of pride he felt about the company's performance during the previous two decades seemed justified judging by the many accolades GE was receiving. For the third consecutive year, it had not only been named Fortune's "Most Admired Company in the United States," but also Financial Times' "Most Admired Company in the World." And, on the eve of his retirement, Fortune had named Welch "Manager of the Century" in recognition of his personal contribution to GE's outstanding 20 year record. Yet while the mood at GE's 2001 annual meeting had clearly been upbeat, some shareholders wondered whether anyone could sustain the blistering pace of change and growth characteristic of the Welch era. And specifically, many worried if any successor could generate the 23% per annum total shareholder return Welch had delivered in his two decades leading GE. It would be a tough act to follow. (See Exhibit 1 for financial summary of Welch’s era at GE.) The GE Heritage Founded in 1878 by Thomas Edison, General Electric grew from its early focus on the generation, distribution, and use of electric power to become, a hundred years later, one of the world’s leading diversified industrial companies. A century later, in addition to its core businesses in power generation, household appliances, and lighting...
Words: 11458 - Pages: 46
...General Electric (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate corporation formed by the merger of Edison General Electric Company and Thomson-Houston Electric Company in 1892. GE has grown over the years through innovation (from R&D) as well as mergers and acquisitions. * On September 2001, Jeff Immelt became GE’s ninth CEO in its 109-year history. The terrorist attack on September 11 - four days after his appointment destroyed the world trade center towers and caused huge turmoil in the economy. As expected stock market dropped drastically and this led to a drop in confidence that spread rapidly around the globe. * During this economy downturn, the environment was generally bad for most companies to do business and GE was not exempted. By the end pf 2002, GE’s revenue had declined by 3% from prior year and its stock prices had plunged drastically as compared to previous years and all-time high. Immelt identified it was not a great year to be a CEO. * Immelt predecessor Jack Welch had an excellent track record; under his leadership GE had generated a total return to shareholders of 23% per annum for 20 years consecutively. With most of this successes attributed to a disciplined, efficient and consistent operations management aswell as acquisitions. Immelt realized Welchs’ brilliant success stories were a difficult one to match and had to come up with a different strategy to grow in this new millennium. Case Overview * The case covers how the newly appointed...
Words: 1799 - Pages: 8
...9-399-150 REV: MAY 3, 2005 CHRISTOPHER A. BARTLETT MEG WOZNY GE's Two-Decade Transformation: Jack Welch's Leadership On September 7, 2001, Jack Welch stepped down as CEO of General Electric. The sense of pride he felt about the company's performance during the previous two decades seemed justified judging by the many accolades GE was receiving. For the third consecutive year, it had not only been named Fortune's "Most Admired Company in the United States," but also Financial Times' "Most Admired Company in the World." And, on the eve of his retirement, Fortune had named Welch "Manager of the Century" in recognition of his personal contribution to GE's outstanding 20 year record. Yet while the mood at GE's 2001 annual meeting had clearly been upbeat, some shareholders wondered whether anyone could sustain the blistering pace of change and growth characteristic of the Welch era. And specifically, many worried if any successor could generate the 23% per annum total shareholder return Welch had delivered in his two decades leading GE. It would be a tough act to follow. (See Exhibit 1 for financial summary of Welch’s era at GE.) The GE Heritage Founded in 1878 by Thomas Edison, General Electric grew from its early focus on the generation, distribution, and use of electric power to become, a hundred years later, one of the world’s leading diversified industrial companies. A century later, in addition to its core businesses in power generation, household appliances...
Words: 10823 - Pages: 44
