...General Electric (GE) was founded in 1892 from the merger of Thomas Edison’s Electric Light Company with the Thomas Houston Company. Their business was based upon exploiting Edison’s patents relating to electricity generation and distribution, light bulbs, and electric motors. In 2005 and 2006 GE was Fortune’s “Most Admired Company.” Now it is an advanced technology, services and finance company dedicated to innovation in energy, health, transportation and infrastructure. GE operates in more than 100 countries. GE has had a few major keys to its success over the years, most notably its management style, massive size, ability to constantly adapt, and major acquisitions over the years. Throughout the 20th century, they have not only been one of the world’s biggest industrial corporations, but also a “model of management.” GE’s history with acquisitions has been very beneficial to them. Their slogan, “Imagination at Work”, is enforced in GE’s world and ideal creations: “healthymagination” and “ecoimagination.” These concepts have been leading GE’s innovative direction over the years. GE’s most influential leader Jack Welch became its CEO in 1981 and served the company for two decades. He led one of the most comprehensive strategic and organizational strong changes in GE. Known as a strict individual, his management style was firm and mostly confrontational. Managers had to commit to high targets and develop efficient ways to meet them. To evaluate how managers and divisions were...
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...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...
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...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...
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...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...
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...Question: Jeff Immelt became CEO and chairman of GE on September 7, 2001. Analyze the external environment since this time, and the effect these changes have had on GE. On 7 September, 2001 Jeff Immelt took charge of one of the biggest firm in the world, he has not had an easy time managing the company. A lot of trouble of managing GE came from their external environment. Political 4 days after he took power, the bombing of world trade center marked his first major disaster in which he held no control over. This unforeseen terrorist attack has caused GE to lose more than 600 million for insuring the attacked World Trade Centre building. This incident also decreases their company rating to “AA”. Economic Another external factor which affected the US based company was their poor economic situation. Economic fluctuations in interest rates, exchange rates and money value greatly affect activities of GE. A great example happened was the financial crisis in 2008. Social-Cultural The culture in a particular country determines the different employment policies, working hours, holidays and the type of goods to be produced. GE had to deal with such issues effectively. In a different country, the inflation may provoke higher wage demand from employees and can raise the cost. Technological Innovation has always been a GE’s motto as a way to move forward. However products are always being introduced using more advanced technology each day. With the pace of GE’s technology...
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...and Design Case Study 1: GE’s Growth Strategy – The Immelt Initiative Name: Ping Lei Student ID: 10320346 Please prepare an analysis of this case. Your write-up should be 4 to 7 pages. Questions that should be addressed are: 1. How difficult was the task facing Immelt assuming the CEO role in 2001? What imperatives where there to change? What incentives to maintain the past? 2. What do you think of the broad objectives Immelt has set for GE? Can a giant global Conglomerate hope to outperform the overall market growth? Can size and diversity be made an asset rather than a liability? 3. What is your evaluation of the growth strategy (a strategy for a giant global conglomerate with a portfolio of mature industrial businesses) Immelt has articulated? Is he betting on the right things to drive growth? 4. How does this case illustrate how strategic intent needs to be matched by both organizational capability and managerial competence; and show how such assets were developed? 5. Examine how broad strategic objectives can be translated into a program of implement able actions. 6. Demonstrate how Immelt’s strategy went beyond optimization to innovation. 7. Show how this new strategy focused on customers. 8. Analyzes how this new strategy emphased services. Was enough done to balance the portfolio of products and services? 9. After 4 ½ years, did Immelt succeed in his objectives? How well is he implementing...
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...2012 Case Study Analysis: GE’s Talent Machine General Electric (GE) has been well known and valued for embracing quantifying talent as well as rising talent when it comes to leadership. This organization makes sure that this is a key factor when it comes to their business planning. GE requires learning sessions all year long, which entails outside organizations along with GE leaders to allocate amongst one another the best ideas out there for staff enhancement opportunities. Staff receives support in attending such training programs, spending at least 1billion dollars a year. Such cost is seen as an investment from GE on their staff as it is seen development of skills and qualities essential to growing into a good successful leader which ultimately benefits GE. GE has been polishing a succession planning processes at a level unmatched by any other organization to keep performance levels far above the ground. We all have known about GE’s infamous yearly, “‘Session C’ leadership and organizational talent reviews, which are designed to identify individuals suited for bigger roles or individuals who can be groomed to take on higher positions. The annual intensive review has enabled GE to announce successors the same day leave notifications are delivered. Constantly reviewing the talent pool on a variety of layers enables GE to always have an eye on future leadership potential. What makes GE stand out from other agencies is that the company as a whole has the...
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...I just got back from a long stay in Sante Fe to gather my thoughts on innovation and design to see what I consider to be one of the great enemies of innovation—Home Depot’s CEO Bob Nardelli—bite the dust. Nardelli is a classic, GE-trained Six Sigma, command-and-control CEO and he imposed his mechanical process on a company that was known for its great fuzzy-front-end, pro-consumer culture. At a time when companies are learning that they are in the business of building tools to empower customers to create their own, personal products and services, Home Depot was literally in that space decades ago. It faltered and brought in a systems guy—trained in 1990s GE—and made the classic mistake that other companies make. Unfortunately, the new guy replacing Nardelli is another GE-alumnus. Let’s hope he’s more like Jeff Immelt than Nardelli. Nardelli came into Home Depot with a managerial style that was already obsolete and being replaced at GE by Immelt with his emphasis on eco-imagination. Autocratic top-down, command and control works great when you focus on process—cost and quality. Six Sigma measures all that stuff wonderfully. Nardelli couldn’t see beyond this. He hired dozens of command-and-control military guys to manage. He shifted Home Depot away from retail to a new contracting business that could more easily be controlled and measured. He was comfortable with this low-margin, wholesale business because it fit into his managerial style. When you live by measurement and numbers...
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...He wanted to create a vehicle that would effectively engage and empower GE workers. Essentially, Work-Out brings together employees and managers from many different functions and levels within an organization for an informal 3-day meeting to discuss and solve problems that have been identified by employees or senior management. Set into small teams, people are encouraged to challenge prevailing assumptions about “the way we have always done things” and develop recommendations for significant improvements in organizational processes. The Work-Out teams then present their recommendations to a senior manager in a public gathering called a Town Meeting. At the town Meeting, the manager in charge oversees a discussion about the recommendation and then is required to 4 The Institute reserves the right to conduct a separate Viva exam on telephone, as a part of the student's exam in case the Subject Lecturer recommends it in any particular student’s case. make a yes-or-no decision on the spot. Only in unusual circumstances can a recommendation be tabled for further study. Recommendations that are accepted are assigned to managers who have volunteered to carry them out. Typically, a recommendation will move from inception in 90 days or less. The logic behind the Work-Out is to identify problems, stimulate divers input, and provide a mechanism for speedy decision and action. More recently GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt has extended the Work-Out concept to build capabilities in...
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...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 after saying...
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...GE Case Study 1. While most companies have difficulty producing sufficient quality candidates for top management succession, how has GE been able to create a surplus? What philosophy, policies, and practices have made it a “CEO factory” as Fortune called it, and “easily the world’s best machine for churning out corporate talent” as The Economist described it? GE leveraged best in class HR practices the level of sophistication in their polices gave them the opportunity to adopt practices that which in turn lead to the growth of leaders form within the company. The culture within GE was known for the development of leaders within, which helped drive a continuous improvement model for managers. The vision of the continuous improvement for managers was to become a expert in every field, or least in most of them. GE also provided job training to its employees through a university that was established through GE. They invested 10% of pre tax income to the development of its employees. 2. How generalizable are GE’s management development policies and practices? How transferable across cultures? Across industries? Across companies? GE is very successful in step-by-step development of their employees and management team. This allowed them to merge new employees with the culture that existed within the company with little push back as new employees adopted the culture quickly. GE also spent time in their recruitment process, which focused on graduates out of Universities...
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...Universidad anáhuac méxico norte | GE: Talent Machine | Planeación Estratégica | | | 14/05/2011 | “Great people build great companies. Talent development is not a slogan at GE, it is a way of life."-Jack Welch, CEO, General ElectricJosé Ramón Fernández R.Tamara Franco H. | | GE Talent Machine: The Making of a CEO General Electric es uno de los conglomerados más grandes del mundo, está presente alrededor de 160 países. Ge no sólo ha sobrevivido a lo largo de bastantes años sino que también ha generado un valor constante a sus accionistas. Su éxito se debe al excelente manejo de su gente y sus utilidades en potencializar el talento de futuros líderes. Este factor que ha contribuido al éxito de la compañía es la habilidad que tienen para entrenar y desarrollar a directivos y ejecutivos en el manejo de recursos a través de una transformación de dos décadas. GE fue una de las primeras compañías que estableció un centro de desarrollo para entrenar, capacitar y desarrollar a sus ejecutivos. Durante los 80´s este centro llevó a la compañía a una trayectoria de crecimiento que muy pocas compañías podían alcanzar e inspiró a otras compañías a modelar sus centros de capacitación igual al de GE. La han reconocido alrededor del mundo como la universidad de la industria o la fábrica de líderes en reconocimiento por su habilidad de producir líderes excepcionales que se han convertido en directivos de compañías de talla mundial. GE no impartió un entrenamiento tradicional;...
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...granted. When the world is turbulent, you appreciate great people.” – Jeff Immelt, GE Chairman and CEO Internal and External factors play a great part in the four functions of management. These factors can impact these four functions in many ways. The company that we chose to write about is General Electric known as GE. We will explain how internal and external factors affect the four function of management, which are; planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (Bateman & Snell,2009). We will also explain how these factors, along with delegation, affect globalization, technology, innovation, diversity, and ethics. General Electric was founded in 1892 by Thomas Edison, Charles Coffin, Edwin Houston, and Elihu Thomson. These four men had an idea of bringing “good things to light.” GE is an advanced technology, services, and finance company taking on the world's toughest challenges they are dedicated to innovation in energy, health, transportation, and infrastructure (GE, 2011). The major planning for General Electric is their Marketing Plan. GE's marketing function is about delivering superior business impact and results. We rigorously focus on customers; measure and assign accountability; attract, develop, and retain best-in-class talent, and methodically align our work against evolving business strategies (GE, 2011). One of the most important aspects of planning is forecasting what will be needed in that year. GE is leaning toward solar power. They are in the planning stages...
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...Electric (GE) was founded by Thomas Edison in 1890 (GE, 2009). The company was established as the Edison General Electric Company and was a conglomeration of Thomas Edison’s many businesses (GE, 2009). In 1892 the Edison General Electric company merged with competitor Thomson-Houston Corporation and changed the name of the company to General Electric (GE, 2009). Today GE employs more than 323,000 individuals around the world (GE, 2009). GE is a leading company with a diverse product line including lighting, industrial products, medical equipment, transportation, and power transmission (GE, 2009). These products were all a part of the original company foundation created by Thomas Edison (GE, 2009). GEs structure and success have led to several recognitions in the business industry. In 2009 GE improved its ranking on the Fortune 500 list from sixth to fifth (CNN Money, 2009). GE was also ranked as number one on the 2010 Forbes Most Sustainable Companies and Most Admired Companies (Coster, 2010). The success and recognition is a sign of strong management, leadership skills and commitment. Through the years GE has had a number of leaders who have built a strong company with a combination of diverse products (GE, 2009). The initiatives driven by these leaders have led to growth, reeducation in cost, controllerships that allow the company to capitalize on opportunities, financial strength and common values that allow the company to face environmental changes with confidence (GE, 2009)...
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...thats happened is making it even more challenging. GE uses management science theory to manage and organize its company. The company uses the classical perspective to train its employees into becoming leaders, its uses behavioral management perspective by providing its employees a place where they can go and develop their skills. It has kept up with the contingency perspective by creating new leaders, that are able to advance as globalization changes. GE has used management science theory more than quantitative approaches to provide their customers the products and satisfaction they want. The company choices its employees based on how passionate and innovative the person can be, and it also helps its employees gain more knowledge and skills. GE has developed the Crotonville campus in New York, to help its employees and anyone willing to learn, bring out the best potential in their work, GE spends millions of dollars to provide that to people from all around the globe, which shows how much they care about what kind of people should be leading. GE has some of the most passionate and innovative people in this world, that is why GE has managed to stay as one of the top company's in the United States. The pattern of management developments at GE over the last century does reflect the pattern suggested by management theory. Management theory is a group of ideas which set general rules in how to organize and manage a business. GE supported the management theory because it uses the...
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