GMS Case 2
General Electric (GE) Healthcare India is a joint venture comprised of the former and Indian Multinational Wipro Ltd. What made GE Healthcare stand out so much in year 2005-2006 was that by the end of the fiscal year, they had generated $77 million in the ultrasound machine market. They had become the market leaders in the ultrasound machine market, beating well-known competitors such as; Toshiba, Phillips, and Siemens (Wicks, Andrew C. 2010). Following in 2006, there was a significant increase of 10% in sales for GE Healthcare India. With 2007 coming up, GE Healthcare India had set a target growth rate of 20%, given with the successful low-cost operations they used and market penetration strategies that they previous implemented (Wicks, Andrew C. 2010). The low cost ultrasound machines were sold across India to help identify early signs of gallbladder disease, evaluating blood pressures, and abnormal functions in the heart. GE Healthcare aimed to increase the quality of healthcare in India with an affordable and accessible machine capable of identifying health issues.
Shortly afterwards it was realized that several government officials were cracking down on ultrasound machines. It was reported that government officials had been confiscating ultrasound machines because they were being used illegally to determine the sex of unborn children. Many doctors and nurses had violated India’s Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act of 1994. Consequently 102 clinics had their registrations suspended, police seized 112 ultra sound machines, and 3 suppliers – including Wipro GE Healthcare was accused of supplying machines to these clinics without government registration (Wicks, Andrew C. 2010). Overall this whole issue constitutes towards the sex-gender ratio in India. In 2001, there were 927 girls to every 1000 boys. From the 1980’s and 1990’s it is presumed that more than 10 million girls had been aborted (Wicks, Andrew C. 2010). This speaks to the Indian cultural itself
Shortly afterwards it was realized that several government officials were cracking down on ultrasound machines. It was reported that government officials had been confiscating ultrasound machines because they were being used illegally to determine the sex of unborn children. Many doctors and nurses had violated India’s Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act of 1994. Consequently 102 clinics had their registrations suspended, police seized 112 ultra sound machines, and 3 suppliers – including Wipro GE Healthcare was accused of supplying machines to these clinics without government registration (Wicks, Andrew C. 2010). Overall this whole issue constitutes towards the sex-gender ratio in India. In 2001, there were 927 girls to every 1000 boys. From the 1980’s and 1990’s it is presumed that more than 10 million girls had been aborted (Wicks, Andrew C. 2010). This speaks to the Indian cultural itself
References: Promoting Ethical Ultrasound Use in India (2009, January). In General Electric. Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://files.gecompany.com/gecom/citizenship/pdfs/ge_ethical_ultrasound_use_india_casestudy.pdf Wicks, A. C. (2010). Business ethics: A Managerial Approach. Boston: Prentice Hall.