Case Study
Is Jeffrey Immelt unethical
Carlos Anthony Ramon
MGMT 5305 Organization Theory
Wayland Baptist University MGMT 5305_VC03 Winter, 2013
“At GE, the only things that move the culture are ones that show up in our income statement. It’s just the way we were raised.”
-Jeff Immelt
Abstract/Introduction
The tenure of Jeff Immelt as CEO of General Electric has been nothing short of interesting. With accusations of unethical practices by his firm (allegations of cooking their books), along with unethical dealings domestically such as his appointment in the Obama administration after being one of its biggest campaign contributors (Int. Ref. #4), and internationally dealing with countries like Iran and Syria by the company (Int. Ref. #2), one cannot overlook GE’s current culture that has been established by Immelt and draw reasonable conclusions. Here we will look at the CEO and the culture he has put forth though the company since his appointment in 2001. Major Issues
The culture set by Immelt is apparent by the introductory quote that is presented. By saying this, he has let it known to not just outsiders, but his workforce that the firm’s main focus is the “bottom line”. This can, and has in a way led to a dysfunctional culture for GE as reflected in certain cases of fraudulent allegations of activities by his employee to reach certain goals. An argument can be made for and “adaptive” culture in a sense that the business environment has changed in a dramatic way since Immelt has taken over only because of the way the company has had to position itself in regards to those changes. But as far as the overall culture has gone and cases that have arose during Immelt’s tenure, a dysfunctional culture is a more appropriate assessment at the moment. Accusations of unethical practices
Carlos Anthony Ramon
MGMT 5305 Organization Theory
Wayland Baptist University MGMT 5305_VC03 Winter, 2013
“At GE, the only things that move the culture are ones that show up in our income statement. It’s just the way we were raised.”
-Jeff Immelt
Abstract/Introduction
The tenure of Jeff Immelt as CEO of General Electric has been nothing short of interesting. With accusations of unethical practices by his firm (allegations of cooking their books), along with unethical dealings domestically such as his appointment in the Obama administration after being one of its biggest campaign contributors (Int. Ref. #4), and internationally dealing with countries like Iran and Syria by the company (Int. Ref. #2), one cannot overlook GE’s current culture that has been established by Immelt and draw reasonable conclusions. Here we will look at the CEO and the culture he has put forth though the company since his appointment in 2001. Major Issues
The culture set by Immelt is apparent by the introductory quote that is presented. By saying this, he has let it known to not just outsiders, but his workforce that the firm’s main focus is the “bottom line”. This can, and has in a way led to a dysfunctional culture for GE as reflected in certain cases of fraudulent allegations of activities by his employee to reach certain goals. An argument can be made for and “adaptive” culture in a sense that the business environment has changed in a dramatic way since Immelt has taken over only because of the way the company has had to position itself in regards to those changes. But as far as the overall culture has gone and cases that have arose during Immelt’s tenure, a dysfunctional culture is a more appropriate assessment at the moment. Accusations of unethical practices
References: Internet Ref. #1- http://curtisaron.hubpages.com/hub/Jack-Welch-and-Jeffrey-Immelt-Continuity-and-Change-in-Strategy-Style-and-Culture-at-GE Internet Ref. #2- http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,351332,00.html Internet Ref. #3- http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/03/moveon-calls-on-immelt-to-resign-wh-post/ Internet Ref. #4 - http://ethicsalarms.com/2011/02/03/eroding-public-trust-obama-and-general-electrics-appearance-of-impropriety/ Daft, R. (2010). Organizational Theory and Design. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.