Case Study

When Jack Welch assumed the top position atGeneral Electricin 1981, he inherited a company that had a market value of $12 billion certainly a modest number, by today's standards. By the time he left in 1998, GE was worth $280 billion.While leading GE, Welch was charged with the task of making the conglomerate better by any means necessary. With his gut telling him that his company was due for a complete overhaul, Welch decided to implement Six Sigma at GE in 1995.

Six-Sigma is a methodology that aims to reduce defects and errors in all processes, including transactional processes and manufacturing processes. Organizations that use Six Sigma test their processes again and again to make sure that they are as close to perfect as possible.Five years after Welch's decision to implement Six Sigma, GE had saved a mind-blowing $10 billion.

Welch claimed to have spent as much as half of his time working on people issues.By assembling the right team and ingraining them with the right management philosophies, Welch successfully oversaw the transformation of GE from a relatively strong company to a true international juggernaut.

Questions:

1.Explain the possible key concepts behind the change methodology in General Electric Company? Do you agree with the change methodology introduced in the General Electric Company by its leader? Give logical reasons to defend your answer.

2.Analyze up to what extent the leadership style affects the change in growth and prosperity of any company and would it be helpful in limiting the chances of failure?

Important Points:

oThe Case study background/introduction must be written before answering the questions

oSummary/conclusion of the case study also needed

oProper referencing needed if the student uses any resources to answer the questions