GE's Competitive Strategy and Innovation: A Detailed Analysis Report

This report examines the competitive strategy and innovation of General Electric (GE). It begins with an introduction to competitive strategy and innovation, emphasizing their importance for organizational success. The report then delves into a case study of GE, analyzing its competencies using the V...Read More

Competitive Strategy
and Innovation

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK ..............................................................................................................................................3
1. ............................................................................................................................................3
2. ...........................................................................................................................................5
3..............................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................10
REFERNCES ................................................................................................................................12
.......................................................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Competitive strategy is regarded as one of the most critical aspect for every organisation
because it allows them to ensure that pre determined objectives are being realised effectual.
Along with this, innovation is a plan of action which affect creating new opinion, process and
ways of doing things that improves current goods and services. However, with activity of
competing plan of action the business firms can increase better combative benefit within an
business as it allow them to increase amended perspective in market and intensify return on
investment of company (Ahmed and Shafiq, 2014). Apart from this rapid globalisation and
accumulated rivalry make endless demands on businesses to unceasingly ascent active products,
processes and business models to prolong the existing and add new source of revenue. Thus,
invention is key to organization strategy and performance as it increase firm's productivity and
profitability ratio in an effective and efficient manner. This report is based upon case study of
reinventing General Electric company. In this study, it includes organisation competitiveness as
well as its potentiality to gain its proficiency , application of strategies in order to enhance
overall performance. Finally, comparison of Jeff and Jack management approach within an
organisation functional unit.
TASK
1.
Every organisation exist in dynamic market that have changing technology and to survive
in such competitive environment, innovation is necessary as it lead them to gain competitive
advantage. Moreover, it plays a crucial role in firms as it enable them to defend their existing
competitive position in order to gain competitive advantage. As per the case study, it has been
noted that General Electrical Company is keeping a improved brand image in the industry which
enable them to raise the work possibility (Anwar, 2018). Along with this, it has been noticed that
by having an effective or impressive usage of various strategical option, the business firm can
accomplish better possibility within the competitive marketplace. Furthermore, General
Electrical Company founded in the year of 1892 as the result of merge between Thomas Edison
and Charles Coffin's. Its main vision or aim is to deliver goods things to life and its mission is to
build, motion, quality and cure the world by its technology and modern solution to satisfy
customer and society. Hence, in order to examine competencies of an organisation VRIO

analysis is an integral framework which assist firm to determine and evaluate resources in a
company and based on that implement best strategic decision in order to gain competitive
advantage in an efficacious and efficient manner. However, GE applies VRIO model to identify
its competitive advantage which are as follows:
Technology and Innovation
General Electrical Company leaders believes that technology is the most driving
force for business growth and development. Thus, they allocated the funds in order to enhance
research centres in many geographical regions like New York, Niskayuna, Shanghai and Rio de
Janeiro as well as they contains skilled or capable i.e. 37,000 technologists working in the
business operation or functional unit ( Bashir and Verma, 2017). As a result, GE introduced
advanced technology program in molecular imaging, nanotechnology, energy conservation,
modern actuation and sustainable energy. However, as per the VRIO model aspects, it has been
analysed that General Electrical Company's technology and innovation is very valuable as it add
value to company as well as to customers. Along with this, it is not a ordinary feature for most of
the competitors thus it is rare and inimitable among industry.
Customer Service
Immelt, CEO of General Electrical Company emphasise more on customer needs and
delivering best service in order to capture their attention as well as enhance their loyalty.
Moreover, they give enough time to customer and works hardly to their problems or issues and
also enlarge the various types of services like technical, fiscal, training and other form of
customer types. Furthermore, GE enhanced investment in marketing and are mainly centring to
employ advanced talent people to meet consumer demands and wants. As a part of customer
trust, GE takes an initiative to deliver best or high quality of products. In regard of VRIO
analysis, the client concentration philosophy and service offered from General Electrical
Company meet all the requirements of VRIO as its focal point is to produce good quality of
products that add value and give competitive advantage to company (Camisón and Villar-López,
2014). Due to their unique customer or services it helps them to be rare and also it is not easily
imitable by competitors because its organisation seeks for adapting innovative strategies in order
to gain competitive advantage.
Global presence

Immelt believes in compete in the growing countries, gain General Electrical Company
Success and also to expand market or industries in several geographical region such as China,
India, Middle Ease and Brazil. Moreover, GE introduces an impressive strategy i.e. Company to
Country in which they worked straight with government in order to meet or satisfy local need s
across range of infrastructural investments. As a pert of this task, Immelt allotted international
maturation to Johan Rice who nominated in 2011 for this specific aim, in which they worked on
finding solution to problems which different regions suffers and produce products to meet
localised market necessarily with simple and lower cost of commodity. Furthermore, they
provided the freedom to local teams to accommodate innovating good for their own markets ans
these product are achieving success in market (Chang and et. al., 2015). In relation to VRIO,
company's competency is valuable as it pioneer GE to the world and resulted revenues with rare
ideas that enable them to implement productive solution to local market which GE worked.
Along with this, due to its unique strategy or tactics it allows them to be inimitable and organised
within competitors.
Therefore, with the help of VRIO analysis, General Electrical Company is able to meets
all the requirements of customers as well as enable them to sustain competitive advantage for
business in an innovative and creative style.
2.
Strategic planning is an essential role to play in an organisation as it furnish sense of
route and outlines measurable goals. Moreover, it is regarded as tool which is useful for directing
day to day decisions and also evaluates progress by dynamic approach in order to accomplish
organisational goal in an trenchant and efficient manner. In addition to this, by having an
effective selection of strategic option managers can have positive impact in the performance of
an organisation as well as allow firm to be more flexible to acquire advanced technology in order
to attain high productivity (Ford, Steen and Verreynne, 2014). Moreover, Ansoff matrix is a
marketing planning model that helps a business to ascertain its products and market growth
strategy as well as it allow organisation to identify various platforms which leads them to incur
increase of profit with an optimal utilisation of resources. Therefore, in order to analyse market
condition Ansoff matrix is implies in GE business operation and its functional unit are as
follows:

Market Penetration: It is the least risky strategy as it leveraging many of the firm's active
resources and capabilities i.e. business focusses on selling existing products into present
markets. Under this scheme, there can be advance utilization of products without needfully
dynamical the goods or outlook of product. This is assert able through the use of encouragement
method, putting various pricing policies that will attract more clients and can make distribution
more extended (França and et. al., 2017).
Product Development: In this strategy, company's intent to pioneer new products into
existent markets as it requires evolution of new competencies and develop modified products in
order to appeal to present markets or industry. Apart from this, this strategy is more suitable for
concern where products needs to be distinguished in order to continue competitive in an industry.
In addition to this, it mainly emphasis on research and development, innovation, elaborated
insights into customer needs etc. for enlarging organisation volume of sales and profit margin.
Market Development: It is also mention as market expansion as in this company trade its
present products to new industry. This is possible with the help of market segmentation to aid in
identifying new customer base. Hence, there are different approaches which is contains in
market development such as expanding business to new geographical markets, acquiring
impressive distribution channels, attractive product packaging and different pricing policies.
However, it is regarded as much risky plan of action as compare to market penetration because it
is targeting fresh market and new customer base for companies growth and enlargement
(Herrera, 2015).
Diversification: This growth strategy includes an structure which is merchandising or
selling new products to fresh markets at the same time. It is considered as most speculative
among other strategies as it pertain two unknown factors i.e. new goods to be created and the
firm does not know the change issues which may happen during process. On the other hand, the
another fact is company has to target new market, which generate problems of customer trend,
technologies, customs etc. that directly impact over business pre determined goal.
However, from the above explained Ansoff matrix, diversification growth strategy is
more effective for General Electrical Company because it allows to meet objectives and lead
business firm to awful level of success.
Kaplan Balanced Scorecard

It translates the organisation's scheme into four perspective, with a proportion between the
following:
 internal and external measures.
 Objective and subjective features (Hogan and Coote, 2014)
 action results and drivers of future outcome.
However, balanced scorecard perceptive are as follows:
Financial perceptive: it involves GE measures for adapting diversification strategy like
operating income, return on capital engaged and economic value added.
Client perspective: IN this, General Electrical mainly focus on customer satisfaction and
retention as well as market share in target portion.
Business perceptive: Under this, GE focal point over cost, output and quality. These are for
enterprise processes such as procurements, manufacture and order fulfilment.

Acquisition and maturation view: In this, General Electrical centring on employee satisfaction,
retention, skill by providing best training or development program as well as creating better or
healthy working culture in order to attain high level of productivity and proficiency (Prajogo,
2016).
GE strategy option for next five years.
The main crucial strategies which lead company to the approaching is the superior
technology and development for initiatory solution. Along with this, they give more interest to
innovation improvement by investing good amount from its total revue every year to make over
new products. Due to this investment, General Electrical movement from a organization
producing one locomotive in the last decade to manufacture one engine per year. In reality, it is
not the product which GE seeks to introduce but it enable GE to resolve many economical
society issues or problems in order to attain high level of satisfaction as well as to improve their
morale. Apart from this, hiring skilled or capable people and rendering them best training
program so that they can put their full contribution towards the accomplishment of business
goals or objectives. By this procedure they can enlarge the overall performance of company as
well as it helps them to improve their quality of products which add value to customers and also
company's brand image. Moreover, GE acquires or spreads its ideas through six global research
centres which provides not only fresh content but also give opinion to help localised markets
which it is working in. However, the investment in technology gives high advantage to General
Electrical, which outcome them in growth in revenue and the stableness facing the markets
necessitate change (Saebi and Foss, 2015).
3.
Management is the combination of operational and managerial function which involves
planning, organising, staffing, directing, controlling in order to obtain maximisation of profit
with a proper utilization of resources. However, management is essential for organised life and
necessary to run all types of business functions as it signifies that good functional unit is the
backbone of successful organisation. Each and every individuals has unique characteristics and
talents which encourage them to provide their full contribution towards attainment of high
productivity and proficiency ratio. However, managers or leader's behaviour and attitude has
huge influence over employee satisfaction as well it directly connects with enlargement of firm

in an impressive manner. In regard of General Electrical Company, it was operated and
monitored by Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt who provided proper direction to employees in order
to execute organisational goal in an trenchant way (Schneider and Spieth, 2014). Although each
of them contains their own way of carrying business objective within company premises.
Moreover, Immelt's and Welch's strategies are contrary in respective aspect which makes them
unique in nature. Hence, the comparability between Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt management
approach are as follows:
Basis Jack Welch Jeff Immelt
Direction Contiguous earnings Long term growth
Business of interest Finance Infrastructure
Markets US, EU Emergent territorial division
i.e. global presence
Focus Performance and efficiency Innovation and creativity
CSR - Part of DNA
Administration style Pushing to limits Cordial to employees
Structure Delayering, more units Cross- section, less units
Goal of acquisition Diversification Consistency in technology and
innovation
Stakeholders of interest Shareholders Customers
Main risks Scandals, too much pressure
on employees and also not
takes initiative to make use of
available business
opportunities to grow and
expands.
Contagion and coordination
problems with team members
(Slivko and Theilen, 2014).
Generic origin of benefit Cost leadership Differentiation

Hence, the above shown comparison table between Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt's, both of
them has participated and contributed their effort in different way which made them different
from each other. However, Immelt's management approach is more effective and productive
because he keeps better relationship with their employees which is one of the main key focus of
every managers in order to achieve organisational goal. Apart from this, Immelt's vision is based
on Welch work and the path is always the development of establishment, evidently with assorted
strategies because of dynamic or dynamic business environment. Moreover, Immelt's has an
attitude to make use of available resources or platforms which leads to attainment of high level
of productivity whereas Welch seems to more focus on reducing and eliminate which restricts
him to adapt all business opportunities that is the biggest lacking point in his character. In
addition, Immelt's has good implementation skill as he can easily encourage or motivate
employees to perform their best effort toward the accomplishment of business goals or
objective. During Immelt's management approach, he was able to shift reduce and eliminating
concept to creating and raising term which is made him more productive and creative than his
predecessor Jack Welch. Due to Jeff Immelt's contribution, it give continuity growth in the way
of General Electrical Company and business is more consistent to Immelt's strategy which is
recognised as more absolutely ordained between GE' s past and future aim or vision.
VUCA best manager
Immelt's leadership had reoriented the centering from shareholders to stakeholders, with a
long term vision and prolong. The ficus on innovation and the quality to realize global trends
enable them to adapt new opportunities (Yun, Won and Park, 2016). Along with this, Immelt's
takes initiative to alter the structure and raise or increase internal cooperation and coordination.
That is why, Immelt's leadership reflects Grant's new model of leadership as he has an ability or
capability to build assurance, enthusiasm, group action, form network, make use of information
etc. Thus, because of all these skills and potentiality Immelt's is considered to be very suited
manager in the VUCA world as well as it enable the firm to gain competitive advantage by
adapting innovation and creative strategy within business premises.
CONCLUSION
From the preceding explained report, it has been concluded that innovation and
competitive advantage is interlinked as it reflects the company's growth and development within
marketplace. Along with this, VRIO analysis helps firms to examine or determine its own

potentiality or competitiveness and based on that it allow them to make best strategic decision
that leads them to enlarge its productivity. Moreover, Ansoff matrix signifies various strategies
which act as a communication tools that helps the company to foresee possible growth strategies
for an organisation. Apart from this, an effective strategic planning allows the business to
provide proper direction or guidance to employees in order to enhance sales volume and profit
margin. In addition to this, each individuals has their own skills or potentiality which defines
their roles and they put their contribution towards the achievement of organisational goal in an
effectual and cost-efficient manner.

REFERNCES
Books and Journals