Analyzing Operation Management Strategies at General Electric (GE)

This report provides an analysis of the operation management strategies employed by General Electric Company (GE), a multinational conglomerate operating across diverse sectors such as healthcare, aviation, and manufacturing. The report emphasizes the importance of efficient business practices, focusing on areas like product design, quality maintenance, supply chain management, and inventory control. It explores GE's approach to converting inputs into goods and services, highlighting the significance of internal process management and quality assurance. Furthermore, the report addresses potential risks and ethical concerns within GE's operational activities, including supply chain practices and international operations, suggesting the implementation of corporate social responsibility measures. The analysis underscores the need for GE to maintain strong supplier relationships, uphold ethical standards, and prioritize product quality to sustain its competitive edge and protect its reputation in the global market. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and resources for students.

Running head: OPERATION MANAGEMENT OF GENERAL ELECTRICS
OPERATION MANAGEMENT OF GENERAL ELECTRICS
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OPERATION MANAGEMENT OF GENERAL ELECTRICS 1
Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................2
1. Implementation of business practices at the highest level of efficiency:...........................2
2. Identification of further risks and ethical concerns:...............................................................5
2.1 About operation management:.........................................................................................5
2.2 The supply chain activity:................................................................................................6
2.3 International operations:...................................................................................................6
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................6
Reference list:.............................................................................................................................8

OPERATION MANAGEMENT OF GENERAL ELECTRICS 2
Introduction:
The present report is based on identifying and developing a strategy for General
Electric Company (GE) in the aspect of its operations management. The American
multinational conglomerate operates in a wide segment including healthcare, aviation,
manufacturing, transportation and oil and gas. As commented by Kolk (2016), operation
management ensures that the competitiveness of a multinational business is maintained. The
operation management at GE include the specific areas of designing the goods and services,
maintaining the quality of the products, layout of the design of the products as well as the
supply chain management and the inventory management. This report focuses on the
management of the operation in an effective manner. In addition to this, further risks and the
ethical concerns related to the management will also be discussed.
1. Implementation of business practices at the highest level of efficiency:
As stated by Withers and Ebrahimpour (2018), the companies remain pressurised in
the competitive market in order to improve the delivery of the products and to achieve the
enhanced productivity. Based on this point, Zeynal, Eidiani and Yazdanpanah (2014) added
that the aim of the companies is to reduce the overall operational cost. The business process
management eventually help in the overall development by the means of analysis, proper
design and then by carefully controlling the operation. GE has been found to give top priority
to set the high standard of the products and consider the cost consideration to be the second
option of the business operation (GE.com, 2018). These operational activities are facilitated
by the digital technologies used to increase the productivity of the organisation.
Conversion of inputs into goods and services:
As stated by Pfaff and Sartorius (2015), that manufacturing of goods involves
assembling the raw materials and sub parts to form a final product; for example assembling

OPERATION MANAGEMENT OF GENERAL ELECTRICS 3
of mother board in the manufacturing of a computer. While converting the raw materials into
the finished goods or services, certain parameters are measured. These are, measuring the
uniformity of the input that involves the manufacturing process by the means of controlling
the variability of the inputs. Then, the productivity of the labours is measured to make sure
that the cost incurred while paying the labourers is overcome by the work that they do.
Following this, the goods are manufactured by using a wide range of manufacturing
technique (Pfaff & Sartorius, 2015). The final product that is produced involves a high degree
of customer contact that allows the customers to buy the products easily by easily contacting
like the third party logistic company. If the conversion process from input to output for GE is
considered, it can be said that the company involves both in the manufacturing of goods as
well as in providing services (Kneese, Ayres & d'Arge, 2015). Thus, probable strategies that
can be adopted by GE to transform its inputs into output involve the following steps:
i. Estimating the amount of goods or service required in order to match the supply and
demand in the market.
ii. Carrying out the internal process management in manufacturing the goods. As GE is
involved in various sectors and manufactures commercial products like turbines, pumps,
filters in the power and water sector; the company builds parts of the aircrafts, military jets
and other surveillance aircraft, the manufacturing process is wide and involves numerous
stages in different sectors. As opined by Black and Kohser (2017), that for conglomerates that
operates in a wide range of sectors, the companies need to set up a number of manufacturing
units with separate operational management that would help the company to distinguish its
business activities and carry out the functions smoothly. Also, in case of GE, the production
is done in terms of mass production for a huge customer segment.

OPERATION MANAGEMENT OF GENERAL ELECTRICS 4
Fig: Input-output transformation model
(Source: Black & Kohser, 2017)
iii. Monitoring the manufactured goods: Once the goods are manufactured, in order to make
sure that the products are of best quality, a quality assurance team work on it and make sure
that the manufactured good serves all the purposes of the product (Black & Kohser, 2017).
GE is well known for the kinds of goods manufactured and supplied by the company and
thus, it is expected that the quality of the products is checked properly before the products are
made available for the people in the market (GE.com, 2018).
iv. The transformation process: One the finish goods are produced, the ownership of the
product needs to be changed from the manufacturer to the buyer. This involves the selling of
the goods. In the age of online marketing, it is expected that GE involve online marketing of
the products to reach out a large segment of people and to ensure greater sell of the product.
The process of supply chain:
According to Shah, Zhu and Sarkis (2017), supply chain is both external and internal
processes of an organisation. The external process of the supply chain involves purchasing of

OPERATION MANAGEMENT OF GENERAL ELECTRICS 5
the raw materials, equipment from the various sellers or suppliers. Adding to this, Wisner,
Tan and Leong (2014) mentioned that in order to make carry out various activities, the supply
chain activities can involve in the internal operation as well, where the unfinished products
are sent to other units of the company for the final production. Similar approaches are
undertaken by GE as the manufacturing of its products is not completed in a single
manufacturing unit and is then transferred to the other for generating the final product. In
order to ensure better productivity and prompt manufacturing of the products, it can be
recommended that the human resource and the job designs are done with proper evaluation
(GE.com, 2018). Adapting the suitable human resource for the manufacturing of the products
is important in order to make sure that the correct supply chain process is followed. This way,
the production of the product is carried on and the goods are ready to be sold in the market.
Considering the role of the suppliers in the supply chain management, Pimenta and
Ball, (2015) pointed out that in order to mitigate any kind of risk in the entire manufacturing
process and delivering goods to the customers, maintaining the right relationship with the
suppliers is a must. A manufacturing company like GE is largely depended on its suppliers
for the supply of the raw materials. It can be proposed that a sustainable relationship can be
maintain with the suppliers of GE so as to make sure that the supply chain process does not
impact the operations and the environmental conditions where GE operates. For example, in
its electricity supply in Iraq, GE maintained its sustainable practice to reach out maximum
coverage with the least possible environmental degradation (Pomerantz, 2018).
2. Identification of further risks and ethical concerns:
2.1 About operation management:
Risks and ethical issues in the operation management involve reviewing the quality of
the raw materials and also the finished products. Providing faulty or low quality products in

OPERATION MANAGEMENT OF GENERAL ELECTRICS 6
order to increase the profit margin or unsafe working environment for the workers are the
examples of risk and ethical issues in the operation management (Weiss, 2014). As GE is
responsible to provide its service and goods in a large sector that involve huge population, it
is important that the company maintains the proper quality of the product to ensure that the
customers get the right product in return of the amount paid. As observed that GE has its own
inventory where the quality of the products is checked before passing to the customers and
thus there is no ethical or risk issues (Kolk, 2016).
2.2 The supply chain activity:
In the view point of Roh, Krause and Swink (2016), involving child labour, violating
any human rights or creating adverse impact on the health of the people or on the
environment as a part of the supply chain activity are the few unethical practices that an
organisation can adopt. Poor maintenance of the products while transferring it from one place
to another to curb on the expenditure is an example of unethical practice. Moreover, in order
to mitigate the competition in the market, companies are proactively taking such steps to
neglect the importance of maintaining sustainability in its supply chain activities.
2.3 International operations:
As identified by Carroll and Buchholtz (2014), the primary risk for a multinational
company involved in international operation is the loss of its reputation as the company
expands on the other regions only when the company has been successfully operating in its
mother land. The poor quality of product or the unethical managerial practices can hamper
the reputation. It can be suggested to appoint a corporate social responsibility manager for the
international activities.

OPERATION MANAGEMENT OF GENERAL ELECTRICS 7
Conclusion:
The detailed analysis on the operation management carried out by GE electrics has
helped to develop an understanding of the various things involved in the operation
management. It can be said that GE needs to maintain a healthy relationship with its suppliers
as well as customers and the necessary steps should be taken to ensure that the company
reaches the profit margin. Also, the company needs to maintain the ethical practices in its
operational activities.

OPERATION MANAGEMENT OF GENERAL ELECTRICS 8
Reference list:
Black, J. T., & Kohser, R. A. (2017). DeGarmo's materials and processes in manufacturing.
New Jersey, United States: John Wiley & Sons.
Carroll, A., & Buchholtz, A. (2014). Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and
stakeholder management. Canada: Nelson Education.
GE.com (2018) GEReports Retrieved from: https://www.ge.com/reports [Accessed on: 23-
10-2018]
GE.com (2018) Imagination at work Retrieved from: https://www.ge.com/ [Accessed on: 23-
10-2018]
Isaksson, O. H., Simeth, M., & Seifert, R. W. (2016). Knowledge spillovers in the supply
chain: Evidence from the high tech sectors. Research Policy, 45(3), 699-706.
Kneese, A. V., Ayres, R. U., & d'Arge, R. C. (2015). Economics and the environment: a
materials balance approach. United Kingdom: Routledge.
Kolk, A. (2016). The social responsibility of international business: From ethics and the
environment to CSR and sustainable development. Journal of World Business, 51(1),
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Pfaff, M., & Sartorius, C. (2015). Economy-wide rebound effects for non-energetic raw
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Pimenta, H. C., & Ball, P. D. (2015). Analysis of environmental sustainability practices
across upstream supply chain management. Procedia Cirp, 26, 677-682.

OPERATION MANAGEMENT OF GENERAL ELECTRICS 9
Pomerantz, D., (2018) New Plan Involving GE Will Recharge Iraq’s Energy Sector And
Economy Retrieved from: https://www.ge.com/reports/leading-light-new-electric-
plant-helping-restore-power-iraq/ [Accessed on: 23-10-2018]
Roh, J., Krause, R., & Swink, M. (2016). The appointment of chief supply chain officers to
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Wisner, J. D., Tan, K. C., & Leong, G. K. (2014). Principles of supply chain management: A
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Withers, B., & Ebrahimpour, M. (2018). The effects of codes of ethics on the supply chain: A
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Zeynal, H., Eidiani, M., & Yazdanpanah, D. (2014, May). Intelligent substation automation
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