Jack Welch was considered to be a man of his vision. He believed in his vision for GE and he passed that belief down throughout the company. He passion for his vision changed the culture and structure of GE. In this paper we will analyze how Jack Welch developed his strategic plan, how he used his personal, political and positional power to shape GE. We will also look at how Jack Welch organized, built and planned his teams in keeping with his vision. In the end will look at how this all affected the culture of GE.
Jack Welch 's Organization Vision:
"Become the number one or number two in every market we serve and revolutionize this company to have the strength of a big company combined with the leanness and agility of a small company"(Firestone
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Reward Power:
"Reward power is conveyed through rewarding individuals for compliance with one’s wishes"(Abudi 2011). Jack used this reward power, especially to his top 20% ranking employees. This changed the culture at GE in that being rewarded for success was something new. Employees strive for perfection, this really changed how people saw the business.
Expert Power:
"Expert power comes from one’s experiences, skills or knowledge"(Abudi). Jack had been at GE right out of college. When he took position as CEO at GE employees knew that he had the skills and knowledge to do the job. This was a culture change, because employees were use to the bureaucracy of outside executives who tried to run a business they knew nothing about. When Jack took the position this was very inspirational and
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Jack 's plan was to put them through rigorous training and he kept a close eye on each and everyone of them. Once they had made it through the recruitment, training and with Jack 's blessing they finally become apart of the executive team.
Two Example of Strategic Planning aligning with Vision:
One of his strategic planning that aligned with the Vision was the strategic staffing. Jack Welch said, "The ideal manager, according to Welch, is one who shares his vision, has boundless energy, and possesses the ability to radiate enthusiasm and ignite that flame in other employees. Along with those highly desirable skills, the best managers also have the indispensable gift of creating, developing and refining a vision and putting it to work in a practical way" (Davis 2010).
This fit with his vision because these specialized staff will help carry out his vision, thus making them the number 1 or number 2 in their field.
Another strategic plan Jack Welch 's used that aligned with the vision was, his main strategic plan of the three strategy circles. These strategy circles lined up with vision, because once he divided up the company into these circles they were able to focus. Once they were able to focus they shot up to obtain that number 1 and number 2
Along with providing staff a degree of flexibility and independence in their daily assignments, Wade likewise sets expectations, deadlines and goals. Furthermore, Wade works with each staff member, helping them improve their individual skills while attaining the Division’s goals. When necessary, he expends additional time mentoring staff, helping them overcome obstacles. Even though he may feel exasperated at times by the lack of progress in an employee, he does not shy away from the challenge of helping the employee reach their
“Leadership will be the most important resource an organization can possess. After all, it will be leadership that determines whether organizations successfully harness the emerging opportunities and overcome the perils that await.” Jay A.Conger – Professor, London Business School.
...isky for GE to lose their investments. In Welch’s period, it was less risky to lose investment as he really concerned about shareholders. Later, Jack admitted that shareholder value idea is insane and GE should more concerned about management and employees back then. He revealed that doing business in 1990s was different with current business conditions.
In a business or a workplace, it is essential for the organization, which consists of the employers, the managers, and their employees, to work towards reward programs within the human resources in order to create a healthy and cordial work environment and most importantly, to efficiently achieve business’ goals. In Carol Patton’s (2013) article, Rewarding Best Behaviors, she explains the importance of several companies that are beginning to recognize their employees, not just for the end-results, but for reflecting good behaviors towards the business’ values, such as demonstrating creativity on certain projects, problem solving towards certain issues, and also collaborating with fellow co-workers. Patton stresses that these reward programs could help suffice the overall being of a company as long as the rewarded behaviors correlate with the corporate strategy. Patton expresses that some things human resources must comprehend include “how its company creates success, what drives its business strategy and what behaviors are needed from employees to achieve that success” (Patton, 2013 para. 15). Moreover, the employee would be reflected as a role model for others and perhaps influence them to demonstrate comparable behaviors.
Throughout this book, author Robert Welch demonstrates values of compassion, caution, and knowledge. These values interweave in Welch’s explanations of how the healthcare system of this country has so much money invested in it, and yet, manage patients receive so little care. This country has a healthcare system that is currently operating out of a broken model that does not place value on individual health, but on profit incentive.
Sears Holdings is a company in transition. Now, faced with adversity and the threat of bankruptcy looming its leadership has come under scrutiny. “Great leaders not only have drive; they want to lead. Also important is a high need for power, a preference to be in leadership rather than follower positions. A high power need induces people to attempt to influence others, and sustains interest and satisfaction in the process of leadership. When the power need is exercised in moral and socially constructive ways, rather than to the detriment of others, leaders inspire more trust, respect, and commitment to their vision (Bateman, pp 399, 2007).”
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.
1. Ken Lay served as CEO and chairman and Jeffrey Skilling also served as CEO. They both were responsible for planning, organizing, controlling and leading the company. They set goals for the company and organized how they would be achieved. Kay’s role was as the figurehead and the leader. He also served as the spokesperson for the company and made many of the decision on the future of the company. As CEO’s they both possessed effective communication skills, where decisive, which was evidenced by their vision for the company and refusal to admit wrong even at the end, and visionary. Throughout Lay’s tenor the company continued to grow and prosper at a fast pace.
315), motivating other is to give recognition and praise can be thought as directly placing a positive reinforcement, that is reinforcing the adequate behavior by giving an award. A strong motivator is recognition because it is a regular human need. DuBrin (2013, p. 316), an outstanding of recognition, which include praise, as a motivator it that it is no cost or low cost yet powerful. Bob Nelson, a reward expert, reminds us that money is important to employees and recognizing others motivates them to elevate his or her performance. It has a huge return on investment in comparison to a cash bonus. DuBrin (2013, p. 318), according to equity theory, employee motivation and satisfaction depend on how properly the employees believe they are treated in comparison to peers. The theory debates that employees have certain beliefs about the outcomes they receive from their jobs, as well as the inputs they invest to obtain these outcomes. This theory has many implications for the leader who attempts to motivate subordinates. No matter how well a program productivity or cost-cutting is, it needs to still provide equitable pay. Also, the leader needs to see that subordinates perceive themselves to receive a fair deal in terms of what they give to and receive from the company. DuBrin (2013, p. 320), effective leaders are good coaches and good coaches are effective
Strategic planning consist of four steps starting from defining the company’s mission. When talking about a mission were talking about a certain phrase or slogan for say, that is intended to draw attention to customers and make them want to be even more loyal to the company. For example Walmart says, “Save money. Live Better”. Therefore, Walmart’s mission would be to let people know that they have low prices all day every day, insinuating that their products are affordable for everyone. This is a good mission because it gets the majority of the people in this world to want to go out and save money on their everyday necessities and even luxuries. The second step would be to set certain objectives and goals for the company as well. For example, CVS did use “Health is everything” as their mission and this didn’t just set out for a name it became a goal as well. Sooner or later you must set goals on your mission to understand the level that you need to get to and reach. Another example of a goal that I believe CVS set was to start selling healthier products. In the chapter it says that CVS stopped selling tobacco and other products that
Many of Harrah’s employees deemed the goals set by Winn’s current incentive program to be unrealistic; on the other hand, others felt a sense of entitlement for bonuses. Therefore, Winn’s job is to provide a recommendation to Gary Loveman, on how to motivate and get employees energized. In order to motivate the employees, Winn had implemented an incentive pay plan to rewards Harrah’s employees in all of its properties for improving customer service. The company’s purpose for incentive program was to implant a competitive mindset in its employees as well as to show the employees that they are core of the...
Chapter 3: Cultivate managers who share your vision was the most important chapter to me. It talks about putting the right managers in the right positions. Welch says, “What we are looking for…are leaders… who can energize, excite, and control rather than enervate, depress, and control” (p. 35). Managers in a company should bursting with energy and are able to develop and implement a vision and not just talk about those visions. They must also know how to spread enthusiasm throughout the entire company. One of the keys to being a great business leader is getting employees excited about their work. One of the ways to get employees excited about their work is to allow employees more freedom and responsibility then they have now. In order to make this happen, middle managers have to be team members and coaches. They need to facilitate more than control. Managers should be energizers and not enervators. Welch suggests that the only way to last at GE is to get on board, to become a team player, and to adapt oneself to the company’s values and culture when describing the different types of managers that will or will not succeed. The first type of manager delivers on commitments and shares the company’s values. The second type does not meet commitments and does not share the company’s values. The third type misses commitments but does share the company’s values. Welch himself cares more that a manager sticks to the company’s values than meets the numbers. The fourth type delivers on the commitments but does not subscribe to the company’s values. Welch broke these managers into three categories, type A, type B, and type C managers. Type A managers were defined as team players that subscribe to the company’s values. People trust them; they make impacts on decisions, and are leaders who seek to develop high value in other...
After graduating from college, Welch found himself working as a chemical engineer at GE in 1960. In 1981, he became the company’s youngest CEO. His approach to his position as a CEO was about creating personal and meaningful relationship. He met with the employees and the customers, talking with them to create a positive atmosphere.
Byrne, J. A. (1998, June 8). How Jack Welch runs GE. Business Week. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/1998/23/b3581001.htm
In the 1960s we saw that IBM was getting majority of its income from the System 360. This was a very good time for IBM because sales were booming and it was growing. Eventually sales begin to decline and the company nearly died because its plans and strategies did not change with the circumstance. Then Louis V. Gerstner comes in as the new CEO and turns the company around over time through his leadership. He does this by changing the company’s plans and the way the company operated because circumstances were now different. This shows that leaders play a huge role in the fate of its people and organization. In the IBM book we see Lou shares the same opinion because he says, “It’s been said that every institution is nothing but the extended shadow of one person”. This person Lou refers to is the