Jack Welch Leading Organizational Change at GE

　　When Jack Welch, the Chairman and CEO at General Electric (GE) retired in 2001, he could look back at a very successful career. He became CEO in 1981 at the age of 45. At that time, GE had a very complex organizational structure with considerably bureaucratic rules.

　　One of his first changes was to initiate a strategy formulation process with the guideline that each of the businesses should be number 1 or 2 in their respective areas. If this was not the case, managers had the options of fixing the problem, selling their particular business, or closing it. In an effort to streamline the organization, Welch removed the sector level and eliminated thousands of salaried and hourly employee positions.

　　The restructuring was followed by changing the organizational culture and the managerial styles of GE.s managers. One such program was the Work-Out（群策群力）.Groups of managers were assembled to share their views openly in three-day sessions. At the beginning of the meetings, the superior presented the challenges for his or her organizational unit. Then the superior had to leave, requesting the groups to find solutions to the problems. Facilitators (会议主持人) helped these discussions. On the last day, the superior was presented with proposed solutions. He or she then had three choices: to accept the proposal, not to accept it, or to collect more information. This process put great pressure on the superior to make decisions.

　　Another program to improve effectiveness and efficiency was Best Practices. The aim was to learn from other companies how they obtained customer satisfaction, how they related to their suppliers, and in what ways they developed new products. This helped the GE people to focus on the processes in their operations that would improve the company.s performance.

　　Jack Welch was personally involved in developing managers at GE.s training center in Crotonville. Leaders, Welch suggested, are not only those who achieve results but also those who share the values of the company.



操作提示：正确选T，错误选F。

1. Jack Welch retired at the age of 65.回答


2. Jack Welch insisted that each of the businesses should be at least number 3 in their respective area.回答


3. If the business could not meet Welch.s change requirements, its manager had 3choices.回答


4. The restructuring went before changing the organizational culture and the managerial styles of GE.s managers.回答


5. The Work Out lasted a week.回答