Mini Case Study
Can GE Remake Itself as a Digital Firm? General Electric (GE) is the world 's largest diversified manufacturer. Fortune named GE "America 's Most Admired Company" in 1998, 1999, and 2000. Jack Welch, GE 's CEO and Chairman since 1981, is often cited as the most admired CEO in the United States. Headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, the company consists of 20 units, including Appliances, Broadcasting (NBC), Capital, Medical Systems, and Transportation Systems. With the acquisition of Honeywell, announced in October 2000, GE became a company of $155 billion in revenue and 460,000 employees in 100 countries. Despite GE 's size and old-economy businesses, Internet Week awarded GE its e-Business company of 2000. Did GE
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Reiner ordered GE units to "come back with alternative approaches that enhance value to the customer and reduce total costs." The Internet initiative started by changing GE 's culture at the very top. GE 's internal newsletters and many of Welch 's memos became available only online. To give blue-collar workers access to the Net, GE installed computer kiosks on factory floors. One thousand top managers and executives, including Welch (who also had to take typing lessons), were assigned young, skilled mentors to work with them three-to-four hours per week to make them comfortable with the Web. They had to become able to evaluate their competitors ' Web sites and to use the Web in other beneficial ways. Every GE employee was given training. Welch announced in 2000, that GE would reduce administrative expenses by 30-to-50 percent (around $10 billion) within 18 months through use of the Internet. Many projects came out of the initiative. For example GE Medical Systems, which manufactures diagnostic imaging systems such as CAT scanners and mammography equipment, identified its DYB threat as aggregators, such as WebMD, which offered unbiased information on competing products as well as selling them. GE products on these sites looked like just another commodity. The unit 's major response was iCenter,
Analyzing GE’s corporate-level strategy from 2001 – present with Jeff Immelt as CEO, GE focuses on the growth and development platforms. Technology is the key driving force for GE’s future and growth. Advancements in industries such as energy, health and aviation fueled demand for cleaner and more efficient energy production. GE identified new markets with potential high-growth that offered attractive returns through strategic mergers and acquisitions. As CEO, Jeff Immelt established a process for identifying projects that offered attractive growth potential which were then nurtured and treated as special projects or initiatives that were not subject to strict budget constraints. Immelt introduced GE’s three strategic imperatives as: (1) sustaining its strong business model, (2) strengthening the business portfolio, and (3) driving its growth initiatives. www.ge.com
Thank you for your summary and views on General Electric. I appreciate that you point out both good and bad citizen activities related to GE. As you pointed out, the corporate websites provide the most information about the positive activities and would not represent or pin-point any negative views. What types of good activities would outweigh the bad in your point of view? If a Multinational Corporation does not break the law, should they still be considered a bad citizen? For instance, GE has been involved in many pollution cases, but were they convicted and should we consider them a good citizen until proven guilty? Do you feel that laws are being enforced for these multinational corporations? The regulations and fines for breaking the
In May 2014, Forbes compiled a list of the largest public companies in the world. In order to give a perspective on GE’s size, they ranked seventh overall behind several Chinese companies, JP Morgan Chase, Berkshire Hathaway, and Exxon Mobile, but ranked ahead of Wells Fargo, Royal Dutch Shell, and Apple. GE operates as an American multinational conglomerate. The main lines of business include various energy divisions, technology infrastructure, consumer finance, and consumer and industrial products. GE makes everything from light bulbs to jet engines. They are truly one of the world’s most powerful and recognizable brands. One of their most dominate divisions is their finance division, GE Capital. GE Capital’s division is run like an internal bank. If
Also; Citigroup, Inc. another competitor for the GE Company made a total of $64.95 billion in 2011, and when we compare it with GE and SI its earnings where even less in the same year, making General Electric a leader in the industry. With this valuable information GE management can analyze its competitor’s financial statements results and from there they can evaluate their faults and create new ways to increase their annuals earnings and secure their place as one of leading companies in their industry. Another way GE can go forward in the industry is by adapting its services and products to other countries that need them.
At the turn of the 20th century, there were less than 8,000 automobiles currently in the US; many of which were powered by steam or electricity, and others had gasoline engines. The huge turnout at the first New York Auto Show in 1900 showed the extent of the public’s captivation with automobiles. Over the next few years, hundreds of new companies tried to meet the demands of a rapidly growing automobile market.
General Motors Corporation, hereafter referred to as GM, has an impressive history spanning over 100 years. According to GM 's website, GM is the "global industry sales leader since 1931," and their sales are representative of such a business. GM has a responsibility to its stakeholders to remain competitive and profitable. With the decline in the economy dating back to approximately year 2000 and the impact of rising fuel prices, GM found itself in a struggle to remain profitable. Losses in profit coupled with high inventory levels, GM recognized the need for an unprecedented sales promotion to empty its dealerships of the rapidly aging current year models. In June 2005, GM announced its "Employee
When the 45-year-old Welch became CEO in April 1981, the U.S. economy was in a recession. High interest rates and a strong dollar exacerbated the problem, resulting in the country’s highest unemployment rates since the Depression. To leverage performance in GE’s diverse portfolio of businesses, the new CEO challenged each to be “better than the best” and set in motion a series of changes that were to radically restructure the company over the next five years.
General Electric’s next strength as a company is the amount of cash and liquid funds it currently has. According to the YCharts site, “General Electric currently has 137 billion in liquid funds” (YCharts, 2014). This is one of GE’s strengths as they are able to recruit and buy other companies with that money which also would be an opportunity for them. The cash on hand helps them out if there is another recession as General Electric would have that money to help counter any loss of profits and be able to inject that money into the company.
General Electric is one of the largest electrical firms in the U.S. and is listed as the fourth largest industry in the world. It operates through four main divisions: Energy, Technology Infrastructure, Capital Finance, and Consumer and Industrial. In the year 1876, Thomas Edison pioneered his own laboratory in New Jersey, where he created one of the greatest inventions during that time period. Edison created the first ever-incandescent electric lamp. Throughout the next ten to fifteen years Edison began selling these lamps, as well as, his other electric lighting devices, which eventually led him to develop his own company called the Edison General Electric Company. By 1892, the Edison General Electric company and one of its competitors the Thomson-Houston company merged to create a new organization, which they solely called the General Electric Company. The company has developed in a large amount of ways throughout the last 100 years and has created many valuable inventions that we use today. For example, in 1971 the first portable air conditioner was created that we use today in many of our rooms. Also, in the last 15-20 years the company has had many medical inventions, such as scanners for doctors to capture pictures of inside their patient’s bodies. Inventions such as washing machines, stoves, ovens, and heaters were all created and are sold by General Electric, which we all buy and use today.
The third factor is Innovation. GE is at the forefront of innovation in the technological and services field. With 11 different operating units that make GE a Fortune 500 Company, it has to be constantly working to create and implement new technology and better service for the clients they serve. One example of its innovation prowess is that over the 110 plus year history of GE, it has amassed more than 67,500 patents and the firms scientists have been awarded to novel prices and numerous honors. GE needs to be innovating constantly because it operates in more than 100 countries around the world and generates approximately 45 percent of its revenues outside the U.S. mainland. A manager at GE needs to put innovation to work and function for his or her team. In order to do that the manager has to plan ahead taking in consideration that innovation leads to changes and he and his team have to he prepared to undertake them with or with out notice.
General Electric (GE), established in 1892, is an American based, diverse conglomerate. General Electric is common household name, as well as a renowned name in electric, oil, gas, power, renewable energy, aviation, transportation, and healthcare. In 2015, the Fortune 500 Company had over $117 billion in revenue. The company continues to expand, and even surpasses the yearly goals it sets for its self. As of 2015, GE has 10 research centers, employees over 3,000 engineers and PhD’s between these centers, and filed 3,100 new patents. In the healthcare arm, GE creates diagnostic imaging, clinical systems, and information technology products, as well as participating in drug discovery and other biopharmaceutical technologies. GE provides pivotal technology for healthcare and fuels the healthcare revolution. These healthcare advancements are used to develop healthcare facilities in third-world countries, as well as American healthcare (General Electric, 2016).
final years at GE, Welch was not content to rest on his triumphs. Thrusts in the 1990s
Analysis - GE has likely been so successful over the years because of its ability to foresee major trends and capitalize upon them. In the 1960s, for instance, GE was one of the eight major computer companies. Even recently, since 1986, GE has continued to acquire several organizations; portions of NBC, wind manufacturing, universe pictures, aerospace industries, international firms, software and hardware manufacturing, even oil companies abroad. The company culture describes itself as not one company, but many each unit a vast and complex enterprise in and of itself, with a corporate
The newly appointed district sales manager, Larry Barr, faces the problem of allocating sales quotas among his various sales representatives. This decision will affect everyone's earnings including his own. This problem is compounded by the fact that different territories have, for a variety of reasons, different potentials. In addition, the territory that is known to be the toughest will soon require a new sales rep.
GE was entering a new generational era, one where technology is at the forefront of growth and adaptation. Immelt identified Technology as one of GE’s major drivers for future growth which was signaled by his expansion of GE’s R&D budgets. He shifted the importance of Technology within GE by focusing on the R&D projects that offered large scale market potential, reffered to as “Imagination breakthroughs”.