General Electric Corporation is a multi-billion dollar conglomerate founded in 1892. The company was founded in Schenectady, New York to capitalize on the patents of Thomas Edison and the use of electric power through generation and distribution. Now a blue chip publicly traded company that has branched out beyond its core into arenas such as aircraft engineering, television, and home appliances to name a few. Over the years the corporation has been through different management models that have brought innovation in many forms that have allowed them to be envied by companies around the world. Despite great success since its conception, like many companies who can withstand the test of times, it’s natural for them to become self-absorbed, which can have a negative impact on the company structure as a whole. Coming across someone like Jack Welch who can think out of the box and in a manner that doesn’t strain the resources of the company but expands the thinking of the company as a collective unit is needed to continue the legacy of innovation in all aspects of business. Welch’s vision was like no other, modern and straight forward thinking. The internal …show more content…
I’ve learned that it’s better to think out of the box than always stick to the same routine. You can compete in an ever-changing marketplace if you’re always doing the exact same thing. Sometimes you have to let go of what’s not working instead of trying to fix it, as not everything and everyone are fixable. More importantly this case study affirmed that staying true to what you believe in, allowing your natural abilities to shine, and caring about the overall welfare of all parties involved are at the core of being a great
Lincoln Electric Company has a very distinguished culture, after my readings over the case study it is clear that the strong culture they have prominently reflects their success.
Took place in 1970-79. Willie Griggs filed a lawsuit, on behalf of African- American workers, against the company Duke Power Company. Griggs stated that Duke's rule discriminated against African-American workers since it violates Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
General Motors became a “centralized organization, so decision-making authority is concentrated in the hands of top-level managers, and little authority is delegated to lower levels” (Ferrell et al., 2015, p. 199). Centralized organizations have little upward communication and top-level manager may not be aware of problems and unethical activities. According to Ferrell et al., (2015), it has been noted that “centralized organization may exert influence on their employees because they have a central core of policies and codes of ethical conduct” (p. 201). Conversely, to survive at GM employees praised the CEO intelligence and carried out their orders by keeping a low profile, and never made waves. GM rewarded employees who followed the old traditional ways and those that challenged their thinking lost promotion opportunities or their jobs. However, General Motors experienced conflict between corporate management responsibility and social responsibility. Consequently, General Motors “attempted to implement a new mentality upon its management in a short period of time” (Goussak, Webber, & Ser, 2012, p. 49) by changing the company’s environment, but
There is an emphasis on supplier diversity at GM. GM hopes having a diverse supply base will promote competition and good business practices that will allow many suppliers a chance to work together with GM to design and build parts for vehicles. The formal Supplier Diversity Program was established in 1968. Since then, the program has received numerous rewards. The program has created a Supplier Diversity Council which allows GM information and supplier concerns to be shared.
1. How was Lincoln able to grow and prosper for so long in such a difficult commodity industry that forced out other giants such as General Electric, Westinghouse and BOC? What is the source of Lincoln’s outstanding and enduring success?
Entering the 1950s, no corporation even came close to General Motors in its size, or it's profits. GM was twice as big as the second biggest company in the world, Standard Oil of New Jersey (father of today's ExxonMobil), and had a vast diversity of businesses ranging from home appliances to providing insurance and building Buicks, Cadillacs, Chevys, GMCs, Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs and trains. It was so big that it made more than half the cars sold in the United States and the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust division was threatening to break it up(to prevent Monopolies, Like how Standard oil was broken up). In the 21st century, it's almost hard to imagine how powerful GM was in the 50s and 60s.Sports cars from Europe were getting popular, because of servicemen coming back from WWII, and wanted sports cars, but American Automakers didn't make sports cars, so they would either buy foreign, or go without. A man named McLean would still try to make a low priced sports car. But it didn't work. The idea of a car coming from GM that could compete with Jaguar, MG or Triumph was pretty much considered stupid and insane. C1:Generation: Bad but valuable. Just 300 Corvettes were made in 1953. Each of these first-year Corvettes was a white roadster with red interior. The Corvette was made of fiberglass for light weight, but the first cars were made with a really weak, (and kind of pathetic for a “sports car”) 150 horsepower 6-cylinder engine and an automatic transmission. The result was more of a look at me, I’m rich car than a race car. The first generation of the Corvette was introduced late in 1953. It was originally designed as a show car for GM's traveling car show, Motorama, the Corvette was a Show Car for the 1953 Motorama display at...
Despite any hindrances in one’s life, it is important to treat every individual as an equal, functioning member in the community. It is simple to act the way society wants you to, but it is important to stray away from debilitating stereotypes and prove that individuals who are different and may have more complications in their life can be powerful and make a difference in the world. As I continue through life, I will take with me an important lesson that I have been told before, but did not quite understand the significance of until now: despite any obstacles, everyone is capable of achieving greatness.
Growing up, I was given the freedom to choose who I wanted to be, to decide what I wanted to do. I grew up with many different opportunities and chances to try out new things. A simple life I led as a child, sheltered and loved by all, but I was oblivious to reality, lost in my own “perfect” world. Yet as I grew up and began to surpass the age of imaginary worlds, the idea of “perfection” had begun to fade and reality began to settle in. Like a splash of cold water, I went from a childish mindset to an adult’s. Child hood play was a thing of the past and responsibility became the norm.
As we learn from the case study, the Lincoln Electric Company is the largest global manufacturer of machines for welding, which are used in all kinds of construction projects. This means that the company has a large global presence and many employees, so its culture affects thousands of its workers. Even though it is now 2014, the company still has a large market share and very satisfied employees, so clearly the culture leaves employees satisfied and motivates them to work hard for the company.
Tesla Motors Inc. is an American public company which is known worldwide because of its experience in designing, manufacturing and also the selling of electric cars and electric components for vehicles. The motor was started back in the year 2003 in San Carlos, California in the United States (Teslamotors.com, 2014). The company had its headquarters in Palo Alto and at the time of its inception, Elon Musk was its chief executive officer (CEO) (Hunger, 2010).
On June 1st 2009, General Motors entered bankruptcy protection and has been fighting there way back ever since. In November of 2010, they sold a portion of their stock holdings and bought them all back by the end of 2012 allowing the company greater financial flexibility (General Motors, 2016).
When Jack Welch was named CEO of General Electric, Welch saw a company in trouble even though the business world saw GE as an intrinsically healthy corporation, secure in its position as a world industrial leader. Welch knew that the company was too large to fail yet GE was too unwieldy to adapt for further growth. The changes he instituted restructured and revolutionized GE and made Welch the most respected CEO in business today. After reading the book there were three parts that really stood out for me.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Covey, 2004) has become the cornerstone of leadership and management wisdom. The habits emphasize personal responsibility and personal leadership. There is challenge in living everyday under the guidance of the habits but there is also great benefit as living the habits can influence everything we do in life. I was introduced to Covey’s seven habits through a one day seminar at my workplace several years ago. I learned some of the terminology and a few of the concepts but never really understood the power of the practical application of the habits. Reading the Covey materials has taught me that life is not about all the tasks that I accomplish but instead about accomplishing the tasks that support what is important to me. Covey has taught me that there are elemental components that are applicable across the many roles that I have in my life. Those universal elements are integrity, vision, discipline, and passion. Embracing these ideas has opened my eyes to the endless applications and benefits of living the seven habits.
Fortunately, life has taught me that it is better to rely on studying, practice, and God rather than your own intelligence, athletic skill, or luck. No matter what area of life, success takes a little bit of hard work. The many people and events I’ve encountered throughout my years have “provided a sound basis for my attitudes and conduct from that day to this.”
Byrne, J. A. (1998, June 8). How Jack Welch runs GE. Business Week. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/1998/23/b3581001.htm