Jack Welch: G.E.'s Past Chairman

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that former G.E Chairman, Jack Welch, was, at one time, exactly the right person to lead G.E. because he was not afraid to take calculated risks and try new ideas. Today, however, new strategies are needed to take on globalization, the move away from manufacturing to a knowledge and service-based economy and the quantum technological shift to the Internet. The author compares several of Welch's old rules with the new rules for doing business in the 21st century. The paper stresses that the extreme measures used by Jack Welch were needed during the transitional period during which business changed from national to international and from capitalist to functionalist. The paper also highlights the work of management guru Peter Drucker to support this argument.

From the Paper:

"It was apparent over the past few years that the customer has been forgotten in many places, but the statistic mentioned by "Fortune" that businesses lose half their customers annually is more than expected and more than any business should tolerate. Fifty years ago, one unhappy customer would tell several others, but now they can tell several thousand with a BLOG. Mass communication has changed the entire dynamic of customer service. The Internet and email have made it much easier to communicate with customers and take care of them ... In the end, it is the customer which keeps the business alive, not the stockholders. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Burkhardt, John C. and Overton, Betty J . 1999 . ; Applied Developmental Science, Vol. 3,
• Business Mexico; 7/1/2005 .Want to win? Some practical advice from Jack Welch.(Biography) http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-142103712.html
• Flaherty, John E. . 1999. Peter Drucker: Shaping the Managerial Mind Jossey-Bass (c) 1999
• Lowe, Janet. Welch: An American Icon. New York: Wiley, 2001. Questia. 14 Nov. 2006 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108678596>
• Thompson, Phillip M.. "The stunted vocation: an analysis of Jack Welch's vision of business leadership.", Review of Business, January 1, 2004.St. John's University, College of Business Administration. under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. HighBeam Research at http://www.highbeam.com

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