GE's Talent Machine:

The Making of a CEO

Group 6 I Section C
Akshara Sharma | IPM01078
Ayushi Priya | IPM01087
Mahale Rutuja Dilip | PGP13132
Neha Biswas | PGP13151
Mahalakshmi.V | PGP13131
Namra Rauf | PGP13147
Case Facts
● General Electric(GE) is recognised as world leader in diversified
businesses

● Founded in 1878 by Thomas Edison

● Company worked in the field of electrical generation, distribution and

usage

● Followed model of modern management practice

● In 1892, Charles Coffin, CEO gave the executive development practises

● Due to World War 2, the sales of GE increased from $342 million to

$3.46 billion in 15 years

● In 2001, Jeff Immelt became the 12th leader of GE after Edison

● The HR policies and plans of the organisation continuously underwent

change towards development

● The organisation devoted 40% of its time for people issues

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 Actors

01 02
Ralph Cordiner Fred Borsch
● Implemented decentralization at a ● Identified “Talent” as a general
crucial juncture in the course of resource and not something that’s
diversification, this eased strains department specific.
imposed on GE
● Created a succession plan for
managers, helped identify
successors in each level

Jeff Immelt

03 04
Jack Welch
● Joins GE on commercial
● Immense restructuring by
Leadership program in 1982
elimination of over 1 Lakh jobs
● 1987 - General Manager-new
● Vitality curve starts now: Reward
business development &
scheme also changes
marketing development,GE
● Special emphasis laid on the GE
plastics
value system and managers who
● September 2001- Chairman and
didn’t adhere to the values
CEO

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 Problem
Statement
The newly appointed CEO, Jeff Immelt, is faced with
a dilemma: Is it time to modify or even overhaul GE's
finely tuned talent machine in the wake of significant
layoffs in the company's cyclical businesses, the
post-Enron scandal, the decline of employee stock
options, employee dissatisfaction with GE - specific
factors, and a general sense of unease in the
economic downturn?

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Philosophy, policies and practices of GE
that have made it a CEO factory
● Employee-centric approach: General Electric (GE) has consistently adopted a focus
on employees, placing their needs and well-being at the center of all decision making.
● Coherent HR strategy: The company's HR strategy is highly compatible with the
overall management team's strategic decisions, ensuring a consistent and unified
approach to employee management.
● Employee engagement: GE places a strong emphasis on employee engagement,
seeking to give employees a sense of belonging and encourage them to take
ownership of their work.
● Talent development: The company invests in the development and growth of its
employees, with a focus on nurturing and training to help them reach their full
potential.
● Evaluation-based awards: To reward and recognize outstanding performance, GE
uses an evaluation-based awards system, which helps to motivate and retain
employees.

Overall, GE's employee-centric approach, combined with its investment in talent

development and recognition, helps to create a positive work environment that encourages
employees to perform at their best and feel valued as part of the company.
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How generalizable are GE's management
development policies and practices across
culture, across industries and across companies?
● GE’s management development policies and practices may not be directly generalizable
across cultures, industries, and companies

● Every organization has its unique set of challenges, goals, and cultural norms

● However, some best practices from GE's management development programs, such as
leadership training, employee development, and performance management, can be
adapted and applied in different cultural and industry contexts, depending on the specific
needs and goals of the organization

● Success of management development policies and practices depends on the alignment of

these programs with the company's overall strategy, culture, and the needs of the employees

● Important to tailor these programs to the specific context of each organization to ensure
their effectiveness and relevance

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Is it time to overhaul GE
management development
practices?
● GE is going ahead exceptionally well with its Session C internal
assessment policies and Crotonville courses, but they can add-in
few more nuances to it.

● By incorporating growth-oriented B2B customers, GE can

leverage and expand its enormous technical talent pool, which
has the potential to yield impressive operating profit from its
human capital.

● GE has an opportunity to diversify its talent pool through

cross-culture hiring and they should incorporate culture
sensitization courses for enhancing global participation in
distinct executive roles at distinct departments.

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Proposals to Changes in Policies
Vitality Curve-
● The 70% high valued employees should be rewarded by
implementing a bonus or commission structure that rewards
employees for exceptional performance.
● Assess employee well-being through EAPs (Employee Assistance
Programs) in order to identify whether employees are achieving
work satisfaction.
MBA and International recruitment-
● Promote current MBAs to executive roles who have directly
contributed their business skills and talents to areas like partnership
negotiations, led functional areas, and retained a bulk of their
personnel.
● Employ MBAs with experience in the business who are more
interested in strategy than marketing because GE needs expansion
executives for achieving globalization in full swing.
Executive bands-
● Although, numerous position levels reflect a good career
progression graph but for US employees, GE needs to reduce their
number of executive PLs as effective decision making power is
expected by US based MBAs who graduate from top B-schools.
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Thank You!