AC 348 Case
General Electric
The Impact of DB Pension Plan Accounting in Financial Presentation
Zachary Shwartz
Michael Ganley
Daniela Velez
General Electric (GE) is a public company that provides services in the following segments: Energy, Technology, Infrastructure, Capital Finance, as well as Consumer and Industrial. GE, along with 3M and Siemens, all compete in the Diversified Machinery Industry whose products range from large turbines and medical equipment to laundry machines and coffee pots. This is a unique industry that has pure competition where companies have products that are mechanically the same, but is completely open for differentiation of those products. Products will lack value if they are not differentiated from their competitors’ products in the eyes of the consumer. Additionally, innovation is extremely important in this industry causing those who do not innovate to lose profitability quickly.
General Electric’s competitors are separated into two different tiers. The first tier of competitors are those that are direct competitors and include Honeywell, Siemens AG, United Technologies Corporation, and 3M Company. These companies compete with General Electric on a product basis. For the most part, these companies produce the same type of products. On the second tier of competition, General Electric is competing on the services side of business. General Electric competes with Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, News Corporation, Viacom, and The Walt Disney Company. These companies all provide the types of financial services such as general lending, leasing, and asset management. Since the service and financial portion of the business does not hold precedent over the products they produce, these...
... middle of paper ...
... the ratios.
In conclusion, we have realized the significance of including just the netted plan assets and the PBO and not including the full amount of the plan assets and the PBO on the balance sheet. This type of accounting flexibility by the FASB helps companies and ultimately hurts investors who are unaware of the consequences. Usually, the estimated PBO and plan assets are very large in relation to the debt and equity capitalization of the company. The financial situation is therefore skewed and is not represented correctly on the company’s balance sheet which then in turn distorts financial ratios. Investors who are unaware of these accounting rules will end up making erroneous conclusions. Also, this accounting flexibility allows managers to manipulate financial statements whether intentionally or unintentionally by influencing their actuarial assumptions.
The merger between General Electric (GE) and Honeywell would have been the largest ever merger between two industrial companies, it would have increased GE’s size by almost a third. GE is a leading manufacturer of airplane engines and Honeywell is a leading producer of avionic systems (such as engine starters). It was a stand out merger as it was the first time a merger between two US companies had been solely derailed by the European anti-trust Commission (EC), after having been cleared by the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
The case study, `Will GM 's Strategic Plan Lead to Success,` is about how the company General Motors Co. Plans to overcome financial deficits, ensure growth within the company, and remain competitive in the automotive industry. To help with overcoming financial deficits, GM was apart of the bailout, which assisted GM in relieving themselves of almost $40 billion dollars of debt. This restructuring gave GM an advantage over other automakers. Most other automotive businesses, that did not participate in the bailout, still have billions of dollars of debt they must repay in addition to competing with its adversaries.(Kinicki & Williams, 2013). GM made many cutbacks to ensure growth within the company. The reduced the amount models that are in production. They have recognized that some changes need to be implemented with global production in order to remain ahead.
General Motors is a long established corporation, which has had a profound affect on the American people and the American economy. The corporation has prided themselves on producing automobiles at the lowest cost, while remaining a style leader of the industry. Bankruptcy with a government buy out in 2009 caused reorganization, a battle to transform, reinventing a new GM corporate culture. In 2014, Generals Motors topped the list as one of the nine most damaged brands. What caused General Motors to get such a tarnished reputation, was it a scandal-laden culture and mismanagement, putting profit over safety with massive cover-ups, or a combination of both?
The United States located electronic company Electrocorp faced the problem of declining profitability due to rising production costs, specifically high wages, costly worker's safety and environmental standards. In order to solve this problem Electrocorp is deciding whether to relocate some of their plants to South Africa, Mexico, or the Philippines.
General Electric Company (GE) is a diversified technology, media and financial services company. With products and services ranging from aircrafts engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and industrial products, it serves in more than 100 countries. This analysis will use financial ratios to see just how GE is performing as a Fortune 500 company.
...th a growing proportion of elderly people. Global market dynamics and innovations in big data and social networking are transforming the business strategies of companies everywhere—and forcing them to rethink fundamental rules of engagement. For better or worse, the future entrepreneurs will have to surface as one the most disruptive forces. As big data pushes for alternative ways of working – proactive solutions that drive information must quickly figure out which new policies and tools can be utilized most effectively. This grants enormous opportunities for key technological breakthroughs that will be needed for the next generation of transport.
The protection enhances the ability of sustaining a business in a competitive marketplace for the long run. A firm should also undergo the DYB strategy to get rid of business units and other resources that do not add value to the company 's performance. It should adopt the GYB strategy, in which it would utilize the business opportunities lying at its disposal to its advantage. As a direct result of these two strategies, the company would gain a substantial competitive edge against rivals, as well as boost its profitability in the long run (Grimm, Lee & Smith, 2010). Knowing that today 's business environment is characterized by heightened competition that has led to extensive gaps between industry leaders and laggards, and that there are greater churns among the industry rivals, the GYB and DYB strategies are essential for any modern company. More importantly, the GYB strategy should be focused towards the increase of
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?
History has a strong presence in the current world and as much as the world has changed and evolved many things remain the same. Many traditions and customs reverberate through decades and are carried on by individuals who honor and uphold their predecessor’s beliefs and fundamental rules. One such company is Lincoln Electric Company, founded in the late eighteen hundred by John C Lincoln it has manufactured original designed electric motors. Since its establishment it has maintained a leading status in the employment sector with low employee turnover, the only exception being retirement. It has continuously been ranked the best company to work for and many competitive and non-competitive companies look toward Lincoln Electric to model the
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.
Gome Electrical Appliances: Competing for Channel Leadership tell us a story about the legendary development of Gome Electrical Appliances. Its low price sales strategy and the countermeasures toward the price control of the color television price alliance to maintain channel leadership. This case analysis identified two major problems of market strategies Gome took in the channel leadership battle, provided two recommendations, and then analyzed the feasibility of the recommendations.
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.
The strategic planning process is the formulation of the company’s major objectives and execution plans. This process is of particular interest in GE. Strategy formulation is the process of choosing the best methods for a company where customer needs; competitive position and internal capability are the three factors that play the main role in strategic planning. Every manager needs to have at least a simple notion of strategic planning to formulate his strategic plans. Strategic Planning is a wide and complex subject. Strategic Management background is an essential basis of any organization.
GM- focused differentiation, medium pricing, breadth of product line is high. A strength is market share, and a weakness is styling and reliability and perceived quality.
Samsung Electronics Company (SEC) began doing business in 1969 as a low-cost manufacturer of black and white televisions. In 1970, “Samsung acquired a semiconductor business” which would be a milestone that initiated the future for SEC. Entering the semiconductor industry would also be the beginning of the turnaround phase for SEC. In 1980, SEC showed the market its ability to mass produce. SEC became a major supplier of commodity products (televisions, microwave ovens and VCRs) in massive quantities to well known original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). For this reason, Samsung was able to easily transition into a major player in the electronic products and home appliances market (Quelch & Harrington, 2008).