Bring changes in the structure, corporate culture and the management processes of General Electric Company

The shape of General Electric Company was one of the parts of strategy. The change of shape is as following:

Figure 1: the change of shape of General Electric Company from 2001 until 2015

The major change that could be seen in the structure could be seen in the infrastructure percentage. In the year, 2001, infrastructure was 14%, while in the year it became 75%.

Organic growth of the company was an important part of the strategy of Jeff Immelt. He committed that the company will see an organic growth of 8% per year. The expenses for the general and the administrative factors will reduce the expense and eventually, the profits increase for the organization.

Jeff Immelt concentrated on the areas where the could expand their business.

Healthcare

General Electric Company was already leading in the health care business with X-ray equipment, CT scanners, and MRI scanners. Jeff Immelt strategized the business by exapanding the range of devices. His strategy had some of the key acquisitions like Abbott Diagnostics (the world’s leading provider of in vitro diagnostics) and Amersham (a UK-based diagnostics and medical equipment company).

Energy

General Electric Company had its mastery over the energy sector as they supplied requirements to gas and oil sector. Jeff Immelt did not let any business go out of his hands and partnered with some other companies. Some of the key partners are AstroPower, which supplied solar energy products, Enron’s wind energy business and ChevronTexaco’s coal gasification business. The partnership with Alstom, helped General Electric Company to become the leader in gas and oil sector.

Broadcasting and entertainment

General Electric Company became the fast-growing market for Spanish-language broadcasting under the leadership of Jeff Immelt after it partnered with Telemundo. General Electric Company further spread the business to film studios and theme parks by partnering up with Vivendi Universal.

2. The strategy of General Electric Company was to diversify the market and invest in a portfolio of business, that will help the organization to garner profit from multiple spurces. Jeff Immelt implemented the strategy by keeping in mind the 21^st century business environment. As the world economy witnessed a huge downturn, hence, maintaining a diversified business willm not only help the organization but also the employees. If any economy where the company is working faces any downturn, the company will have the option of contingency planning and gaining business from other places.

The strategy of Imemlt to look after the whole business and the company and not one particular area will be helpful for enhancing the business of the organization. Thus, just by looking at the stock prices of the company. He aims enhancing the business of the entire company but not only one aspect of the company.

The other strategies used by Jeff Immelt are mainly aimed at gaining more profit. It has been seen that the strategy employed by Jeff Immelt is directly related to gaining profit. Hence, rather than engaging in employee relations and other activities, he mainly concentrated on the business. He mainly concentrated on the bottom-line return in spite of the fact there has been huge downturn on the world economy. The strategy of Jeff Immelt can be said to be fruitful as he found out the exact areas from where he could get the profit.

He concentrated on the demography

He mainly concentrated on the ageing population. As the people are getting old, they would require different kinds of devices to help them lead a proper life. In addition to this, normal population growth is helping the organization to spread the business as the rise in population will lead to demands various things that could be provided by GE

He concentrated in infrastructure

Jeff Immelt found that if they positioned themselves in the infrastructure products. They offered financing in aviation, energy, transportation, gas production, rail and oil.

He concentrated on particular markets

Jeff Immelt found out the countries that would help in gaining profits rather than investing in countries all over the world. Jeff Immelt found out that market of southeast Asia, china, Latin America, India, middle east, eastern Europe, Africa and Russia will be worth investing in.

He concentrated on environmental issues

Jeff Immelt has taken environment into consideration while thinking about profit. There have been challenges in the environment due to water scarcity, global warming and conservations. to combat the challenges of the environment, the  organization  will require new kinds of technologies that will be looked after by General Electric Company 

The strategies seem have aligned well with the 21^st century factors. However, the strategies should also be aligned with the resources available at General Electric Company and the capabilities of the company. If they were thinking of venturing into a new market, the main thing that would be required by the company would be proper financial support. However, Jeff Immelt faced challenges as far as the finances of the company are concerned. The company faced financial crisis. They have to think about some way that will help them to reduce the financial crisis.

However, Jeff Immelt planned the resources well and understood the things that would help them to gain maximum profit. With the available resources and the capabilities of General Electric Company, they mainly concentrated on the technology and innovation to achieve the goals that have been set for General Electric Company. General Electric Company’s corporate Ressearch and Design center located in Niskayuna, New York was planned fro up gradation with $100 million. They planned for setting up new Global Research Centers in Rio De Janerio, Munich and Shanghai. By the  year, 2015, 37,000 technologists were working for General Electric Company in the eight research centers that are located in India, the United States, Israel, Germany, brazil and china. The best decision that was taken by Jeff Immelt to align the strategy with their resources of the organization by concentrating on fewer programs but long-0gternmporogams. The advanced technology programs of General Electric Company are sustainable energy, molecular imaging and diagnostics, advanced propulsion, nanotechnology and energy conversion.

They changes their programs to creating value for the custoemers rather providing support. The special attention that they gave to technology throws light on the fact that they mainly aimed at giving new products to the customers. The research centers will help them to innovate new products , manufacture them and sell them. In this way, they will be able to build their control the products by keeping a check on the needs of the customers that will help them to grow. They concentrate on setting their back end process so that they can serve the front end. They hired sales people, engineers and product designers so that they could help in innovating new products and help them serve the customers. To satisfy the customers, they mainly concentrated on the giving customized customers solutions. Once the customers will get customized solutions, they will be satisfied with the products of the company.

Jeff Immelt kept no stone unturned to serve the customer well and give them unmatched products from all over the world. Jeff Immelt was sure of the capabilities of General Electric Company and manly concentrated on the markets that are emerging even during the time of recession.

3. The strategies implemented by Immelt have led to certain changes in the organization. the performance management system has changed in the organization. They have implemented metric-based performance management system. They have focused on the ‘net promoter score’. The score is based on the percentage of the number of times the customers would recommend the company to other customers and the percentage of the number of customers would recommend the company will decide the ‘net promoter score’. As the measurement shifted importance to profitability, cost efficiency and productivity from environmental sustainability, innovation and enterprise selling.

Immelt understood that to make the enterprise grow, the employees of the organization should also develop and grow so that they are able to contribute for the development of the organization. The aptitudes and the skills should be taught to the managers of General Electric Company so that they become the growth leaders. the organization has been able to identify five growth traits that should present in the managers. They are:

• External focus
• Creativity and innovation
• Decisiveness and ability to think clearly
• Inclusiveness
• Domain expertise

The rating of the employees when the annual HR review takes place in the organization is based on the five traits that are being mentioned. As Jeff Immelt has implemented a new strategy for General Electric Company, the employees were being closely monitored. The traits will be helpful for the organization, as the employees will be developed in such a manner so that they will be able to fulfill the goals of the organization. The career planning strategy at the organization also changed and focused on retention of the managers in one role for a longer time. In this way, the mangers will master in one type of role before moving onto the other one. The managers are growing individually as well as helping in the growth of the organization.

The organizational structure  of General Electric Company was also changed by Jeff Immelt. Jeff Immelt dispersed the industrial sectors so that smaller divisions could be introduced. He integrated services and the products into systems. In the years, 2002, 2005 and 2005, the business sectors were reorganized to twelve to five. It has been again reorganized in the years 2010 and 2012, when the business sectors were being increased to nine. The changes in organizational structure could be seen in the changes in year, 2001 and 2015 (Refer to appendix 1)

Jeff Immelt also referred to the fact that innovation will lead to business development. he combined cost control and  profitability so that they could bring in innovation in the organization. the problem with the company is that it is obessed with medium and short goals, which at times  put the big challenges out of sight from the employees of the organization.

 He wanted the work to develop faster and hence, took funding under his supervision. Funding used to take a lot of time, as it has to pass through a number of steps. Once Jeff Immelt took funding under his supervision, the work in the organization moved faster. The big projects were given special care by Jeff Immelt. He approved the projects, which in turn saved the time and the project would not have to go through the normal pressures that other projects used to go through.

As per the changes brought into the company, it can be expected that those changes will be able to make the strategies successful in the company. Special focus has been given on innovation, growth traits and the organizational change. It would be helpful for the organization to make strategies successful.

4. The steps and strategies taken by Jeff Immelt are worth mentioning. He mainly concentrated on the developing new product and concentrating in gaining profits. It has been seen that he clearly overlooked the employees and concentrated heavily on the external market. Even though, he was developing the business strategy but he should have taken into consideration the employees who intimately help the organizations to give satisfy the customers (Bharadwaj et al. 2013). He entirely overlooked the contribution of the employees in making the organization a successful association. He should implemented a strategy where the contributing of the employees will be recognized and they will be given extra be benefits for customized delivery of the projects (Verbeke 2013). The employees would have worked in a better manner and contribute for the development of the new business strategy of General Electric Company. For any business strategy, it is necessary to look after the employees (Powell 2014). At times, the employees can help in solving problems in the organization. As they are working daily in the organization, they are well acquainted to the problems that the company is facing (Agrawal 2016). Jeff Immelt has painted a big picture for General Electric Company. However, at times, the small issues can lead to big problems and that is where the employees help to sort out the issues.

General Electric Company was being a given a new look by Jeff Immelt by concentrating and developing new products. He focused to build new research centers where new products would be developed. It can be said that the new strategy would have been better if they also concentrated on the enhancement of the old products. General Electric Company has been operating in the market for long. In such situation, overlooking the old products and concentrating on just new products would have make huge population of the customers dissatisfied (Mithas, Tafti and Mitchell 2013). A huge customer base might be still there with the company because they are satisfied with the old products (Bentley, Omer and Sharp 2013). With sudden changes in the company, they would be hugely taken aback. General Electric Company should have enhanced the old products with the help of research and technology. Giving a new look to the old products is also a part of innovations(Bharadwaj et al. 2013). It would have helped the organization to retain the old customers who have lardy become loyal to the company (Verbeke 2013). It is important for any company to keep a check on the customers who are loyal to the organizations along with developing new customers (Powell 2014).

The importance of corporate social responsibility has also been completely overlooked by General Electric Company. Jeff Immelt concentrated on gaining profit by developing new research centers and concentrating on technology. Jeff Immelt for once did not mention about the effects that might have on the society and the environment while they are using the technology. While thinking of making profit out of business, they do not think of the way they could help for the development of the society (Agrawal 2016). corporate social responsibility is one of the important parts of the business strategy that not only help an organization to grow abut also the organization but also help the organization to make a name in the market (Mithas, Tafti and Mitchell 2013). An organization should be thinking about the society while they are thinking about the business. Later it would help General Electric Company with partnerships with other organization (Bentley, Omer and Sharp 2013). With corporate social responsibility, the organization will be able to make good name in the market. Even though, they are serving the customers well will also be helpful but thinking about the society and the rural population that are not yet developed will give the organization the desired lift and achieve a different name in the market (Bharadwaj et al. 2013).

References:

Agrawal, H.O., 2016. An Approach to Business Strategy. Handbook of Research on Promotional Strategies and Consumer Influence in the Service Sector, pp.154-182.

Bentley, K.A., Omer, T.C. and Sharp, N.Y., 2013. Business strategy, financial reporting irregularities, and audit effort. Contemporary Accounting Research, 30(2), pp.780-817.

Bharadwaj, A., El Sawy, O.A., Pavlou, P.A. and Venkatraman, N.V., 2013. Digital business strategy: toward a next generation of insights.

Mithas, S., Tafti, A. and Mitchell, W., 2013. How a Firm's Competitive Environment and Digital Strategic Posture Influence Digital Business Strategy. Mis Quarterly, 37(2), pp.511-536.

Powell, C., 2014. Everything I Needed to Learn about Business Strategy I Learned... from Shark Tank.

Verbeke, A., 2013. International business strategy. Cambridge University Press.