The strategic leadership of GE CEO Jack Weich The late former chaiman and CEO of General Electric (GE), Jack Welch was heralded by many as the greatest ieader of his era. During his two docades at GEs helm, he transformed the organisation from a $13 billion (USD) maker of appliances and lightibulbs into one of the most valuatle companies in the world, while builing a repatation for himself as a management garu. What made Jack Weich so successtur? What were the secrets and principles behind his approach to work and life? Jack Welch became GE's CEO in 1981 at the age of 45. Upon taking office, he initiused a seties of changes to improve the performance of GE's diversified business porflolio, with the hope of fundamentally reshaping the company over the next five years. Despite resistance to change within the company. Weich was aware that past perlormance could not define future success, and an organisation would not 90 anywhere without a sense of crisis. Transformation and innovation are lays for survival. Theee monhs after taking over as CEO, Welch set a vision for each besiness unt that they had is be 11 or in in their markets. If not, they had to fix, sell, or close the unit. This later became one of his most famous strateges. Within the compary, Weich sought to streamline GE with layofts, eliminating the laborious strategic planning vyilem. dismantling the bureaucracy, and abolishing the ninelayer management hierarthy. As a resse, GE s revenue expanded. and operating profts soared to $2.4 bilion by 1985 . In the late 1980s, following GE's massive restructuring effort. Weich proposed to develop an approach to management characterized by speed, simplichy, and selfeconfidence. To tis end, he launched Work-Out and Best Practices, two closely tinked initiatives that aimed at promoting aspired culture and management approaches. At Welch's request, GE promoted the Work-Out programme throughout the company. If consisted of a group of 20 to 100 employees who were selected and inved to a discussion to share views about heir OWn departments and how they could be. Ather Work-OAt was implemented, Weich sought out ideas that could rase GEs productivity, and that led him to ctease Best Practices. This programme was designed io deveicp eflective proctsses by studying and analyzing the best practices of other high-perlomance companies. To align GE's established human resources system with the company's strategic targets, Weich also fadicaly overtajied GE's compensation package by extending stock options to managemect compensation, and reengineering es bonus and option alocafon system in a more aggrestive manner to ensure it was closely linked to the key strategies of the day, in the 1990s, Welch created a new strategic concept caled imlegrated diversfy and worked to make GE' a boundary-less company.' which he described as 's company where we knock down the wals that sepacate us from each other on the. inside and from our key conslifuencies on the outside. The idea was aimed at encouraging enployees to seek out and share new ideas. To make this happen, he changed the way bonuses and options awards were delivered to honour innovative and resource-sharing efforts. Moreorer, Welch also introduced the notion of 'stretch' to set performance targets to molivate higher levels of performance of managers, which he described as lusing dreams is set business targets, with no real idea of how to get there, In late 1900s, before his retirement, Welch adophed Mohorola's Sa Sigma cuality programme to incrowe the company's products and production procedures, In 1996, he arnounced that GE amed to attain is Sax Sigma goals witthin five years. Although Welch tad previously buit up a fop-notched maragement team, the closer he got to his planned retirement date, the more he wanted to echunce the GEs qualify for his successor. Therefore, he modifed his four types of managers to describe GE as a company that needed only A Alayerr' - managen Who had vision, leadership, energy and courage. Wein only 20 pears, Jack Welch grw GE's manet cap by over 30-fold to $450 bilion, making it the most valuable company in the world. During his tenure, he not onily developed GE's business with strategic vision, but also championed the company's international operations amidst increasing global trade and coltural exchange. Jack Weich was an outstanding, legendary leader and strategist who look a fresh look at his wokk every day and made all necessary and aggressive changes. In his two decades lesding GE, he recorded an average of 285 antual total sharehoider retum. Weich believed that an eflective way to bring about forceld changes was to topower empioyees and allow them to unleash their energy, inteligence, confldence, and productivity. Evidence has proved that esployees huve become more creative and open-minded with more possbilities through GEs Boundary-ess Concany inliative. Real life has fisks, falures, and winerabilties, things that people try to escape. Howeves, as perceived by Welch one who cannot see the world with simplicity and rationaity cannot make sight and reasonable decisions. If a company falls to face reality. whether it be soaring costs or growing market compelifion, it will result in shrinking maket share, teduced profita, high employee turnovers, and investment withdrawal. Weich called for developing a candid culture at GE where he encouraged employees to reach out directly to leaders to seek advice. For Welch, the role of leaders was not to control people but rather to guide and lead. Good business leaders treate a vision, articulate the vision, passionutely own the vision, and relentlessi) drive it io completion. Answer ALL the questions in this section. QuESTION 1 (25 Marks) Jack Welch has been described by many as a translomabionai leaser. Wha relerence from the extract. argue for or against this assertion