How Much Did the Recession Affect GE?
According to the CEO, Jeff Immelt, General Electric is emerging stronger from the recession. It is now investing in green technology and sees a future in markets such as India and China. GE has grown with America into almost every corner of international business, as already 60% of its sales are overseas, and its position into China and India looks more forceful than most. They have gone from trains, planes and dishwashers, to mainstream films, banking and commercial property. Under Immelt’s predecessor, Jack Welch, GE came to exemplify “modern management philosophy (The Guardian).
General Electric has been forced to departure from the media business, selling a controlling stake in NBC Universal to Comcast, an accounting scandal and “dividend cut” hurt its reputation for financial reliability, and in Britain it was accused of medical censorship (The Guardian). Earlier in the decade, this would have destroyed General Electric as a whole, but Immelt has presented an endearing and appealing image to continue their success.
Through two marketing campaigns, “Ecomagination” and “Healthymagination”, he has shifted GE as a “champion of green technology” and even a partner in Barack Obama’s healthcare initiatives (The Guardian).
Now, GE has lost it credit rating, but its direct competitors, finance companies such as CIT, AIG and GMAC, face bankruptcy. They have constructed better long-term plans on the direction of their global society and enterprise, and have decided to invest in oil, gas and power infrastructure as well as green energy technologies and fuel-efficient engines (Chicago Tribune).
Immelt will continue to achieve growth, however. “We made two big bets,” says Immelt. “One is that the emerging market consumer is going to replace the American consumer as the engine of growth for the next 25 years, so we make the infrastructure and technologies that are going to help that happen: electricity, aviation, transportation, etc. The other bet is that in the developed world there are a couple of big problems to solve, global warming and clean energy, and affordable healthcare” (The Guardian).
As one of the world’s largest company, it will strive to continue to improve. Some statistical categories have decreased in the last few years, as they attempt to restore revenue growth and their share price, however, with the new changes Immelt is implementing, GE will continue to succeed and continue to grow.
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