General Electric
Sustained profits come from building a competitive advantage. This advantage can be accomplished not only through good financial return on a specific process but also through the correct capacity decisions that must be integrated into the organizations mission and strategy.
Jack Welch former CEO of General Electric (GE) understood this better than anyone else. Although GE was a profitable and respected company when Welch took over its financial results during the1970s were troubling to both its investors and senior management. Welch immediately made changes to the companys structure and management practices. From the beginning he stressed the importance of being one of the top players in the industry. He told his colleagues that GE should always be number one or number two in all its businesses; if it was not then their only options would be to fix sell or shut down.
Because of this strategic direction GE today usually dominates the markets in which it participates; and if it does not then it divests. A major part of GEs strategy is to be the first or second in every market. As you review the module readings for this week consider the complexity of GEs products and its emphasis on vertical integration and capacity planning.
GEs Profile
The General Electric Company or GE is a diversified company that offers infostructure media and finance products and services. The company was originally founded by electrical innovator Thomas Edison. It is also listed as one of the most admired companies ranking as number one in electronics and 16th overall according to Fortune Magazine. For the company’s innovation focus it was ranked as one of the world’s most innovative companies by Business Week.
GEs Reach
The General Electric Company is organized into 5 divisions including NBC Universal Technology Infrastructure Consumer & Industrial Energy Infrastructure and Capital Finance. The company functions in over 100 countries and has over 300000 employees. For 2009 the company achieved $11.2 billion in earnings and an industrial cash flow of $16.6 billion. Effective January 1 2011 it reorganized the Technology Infrastructure segment into three segments: Aviation Healthcare and Transportation.
Services
Chemicals Petrochemicals and Fertilizers Food & Beverage Government & Public Administration Metals and Metals Fabrication Mining (Coal Minerals Metals) Oil & Gas Upstream Power Generation
GE. (2013). The History of General Electric. Retrieved from http://www.ge.com/about-us/history/1878-1904.
GE. (2013). GE fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.ge.com/pdf/news/GE-Fact-Sheet.pdf
Using the information above the module readings Argosy University online library resources and the Internet respond to the following:
Write your initial response in 300 words. Your response should be thorough and address all components of the discussion question in detail include citations of all sources where needed according to the APA Style and demonstrate accurate spelling grammar and punctuation