Corporate Strategy Analysis: General Electric Co. (1981–Present)

Abstract

The General Electric Company (GE) is widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful corporations of the 20th century. This paper aims to critically analyse the corporate strategy of GE during the period from 1981 to present under the leadership of two very different but equally influential CEOs—Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt. The essay is organised in four sections. The first section describes GE’s corporate strategy from 1981 to 2001 with Jack Welch as CEO, followed immediately by a critical analysis of Welch’s strategic approach in the second section. The third section then describes GE’s corporate strategy from 2001 to present with Jeff Immelt as CEO, followed again by a critical analysis of Immelt’s strategic approach in section four.

Keywords: General Electric, GE, CEO, Corporate Strategy, Strategic Analysis, Management Executive, Remuneration scheme, Corporate Culture, Organisational restructure, Jack Welch, Jeff Immelt, Six Sigma

JEL Classification: M11, M12, M14, M54, O32, L19