General Electric CEO Case Study - 1
CEO Case Study Analysis
Darien O’Neal
Brandman University
General Electric
Business Process Analysis and Innovation BUSU 630
Prof. John Besaw
October 8th 2012
General Electric CEO Case Study
The General Electric (GE) that Jeffrey Immelt inherited in 2001 was widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful companies of all time. It was the only company that has remained a member of the Dow Jones industrial index since the index was first created (Rowe & Guerro, 2010). It can be assess that throughout its history, it has been associated with near-continuous growth and above average profitability. GE was founded in 1892 from the merger of Thomas Edison’s Electric Light Company with the Thomas Houston Company. Its business was based upon exploiting Edison’s patents relating to electricity generation and distribution, light bulbs, and electric motors. During the twentieth century it became not only the biggest and most diversified industrial corporation in America, but “a model of management and strong leadership.
With two decades under Jack Welch’s leadership, the company had only enhanced GE’s reputation for effective management and leadership. In 2001, Fortune magazine named GE as America’s “most admired company” for the fifth year in succession, and the Financial Times identified GE as the “world’s most respected company” for the fourth consecutive year.
Further, when Jeff Immelt took over as Chairman and CEO of General Electric on September 1,
2001, he had no doubts that his predecessor, Jack Welch, a “living legend,” “best leader of the past half-century,” would be a tough act to follow (Rowe & Guerro, 2010).
Research shows that investors had little hope that Immelt could ever match the incredible 50-fold increase in GE’s market value that Welch had achieved; the management community was more concern with the changes to the corporate strategy, organization structure and leadership & management systems that Immelt would
Darien O’Neal
Brandman University
General Electric
Business Process Analysis and Innovation BUSU 630
Prof. John Besaw
October 8th 2012
General Electric CEO Case Study
The General Electric (GE) that Jeffrey Immelt inherited in 2001 was widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful companies of all time. It was the only company that has remained a member of the Dow Jones industrial index since the index was first created (Rowe & Guerro, 2010). It can be assess that throughout its history, it has been associated with near-continuous growth and above average profitability. GE was founded in 1892 from the merger of Thomas Edison’s Electric Light Company with the Thomas Houston Company. Its business was based upon exploiting Edison’s patents relating to electricity generation and distribution, light bulbs, and electric motors. During the twentieth century it became not only the biggest and most diversified industrial corporation in America, but “a model of management and strong leadership.
With two decades under Jack Welch’s leadership, the company had only enhanced GE’s reputation for effective management and leadership. In 2001, Fortune magazine named GE as America’s “most admired company” for the fifth year in succession, and the Financial Times identified GE as the “world’s most respected company” for the fourth consecutive year.
Further, when Jeff Immelt took over as Chairman and CEO of General Electric on September 1,
2001, he had no doubts that his predecessor, Jack Welch, a “living legend,” “best leader of the past half-century,” would be a tough act to follow (Rowe & Guerro, 2010).
Research shows that investors had little hope that Immelt could ever match the incredible 50-fold increase in GE’s market value that Welch had achieved; the management community was more concern with the changes to the corporate strategy, organization structure and leadership & management systems that Immelt would
References: Jeff Immelt Bio | GE CEO | General Electric Chief Executive. (2012). In Jeff Immelt, CEO. Retrieved October 7, 2012, from http://www.ge.com/company/leadership/ceo Northouse, P.G. (2010) Leadership: Theory and practice, (5th ed) Thousand Oak, CA: Sage. Rowe, W. G., & Guerro, L. (2010). Cases in Leadership (2nd ed., p. 211, 221). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Swink, M., Melnyk, S.A., Cooper, M.B., and Hartley, J.L. (2011). Managing Operations across the supply chain. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin