Thursday, September 19, 2019
Comparing A Worn Path by Eudora Welty and A Rose For Emily by William F
Comparing A Worn Path by Eudora Welty and A Rose For Emily by William Faulkner In the pages of the short stories, A Worn Path and A Rose For Emily we are able to see a similar side and connection between the two. As we look at the theme, tone, and morals we are able to better grasp the conflict in these two stories, while detecting whether the two protagonists, Miss Emily and Phoenix Jackson are mentally crazy. The main moral in A Worn Path is the love, and life of Phoenix Jackson. The path she travels across interrupts her life. Her love is the love and affection she has for her grandson. If we read the story closer then it may lead us to the conclusion that Phoenix really does not have a Grandson. Phoenix complains to the doctor that her Grandson has had a sore throat for an extremely long time. This may cause the reader to believe that she used to have a Grandson but he became so sick he died. Yet, at the same time Phoenix also shows her intellect by seeing the money fall out of the hunter's jacket from a far off distance. In A Rose For Emily the main moral is...
Last of the Mohicans Essay -- Last Mohicans War Book Review Essays
Last of the Mohicans Last of the Mohicans is set in 1757 in the third year of a war in North America over land and territory. Mostly, the war is between the English and the French, but each side has taken up Indian allies to assist them. The main story in the Last of the Mohicans is the love of an adopted Mohican, Hawk-eye, and Cora, the daughter of an English general. There are also other stories embedded in the movie, which are harder to recognize. For instance, a second love story between Hawk-eye's brother and Cora's sister. The life of Magua is another story that the movie seems to slightly touch, but doesn't elaborate on. As for the historical part of the movie, I think it is accurate in the sense of the fighting style of the English. The "proper" way of war might be fine in Europe, but against the Indians, standing in a line with bright red coats is not the way to win. "...the soldiers' uniforms splendid - though (and that's a historic fact) idiotically ornate and impractical for warfare. It wasn't until about 1916 that the British and the French saw the light and stopped wearing all that Day-Glo, easy target colors" (Prof. Jahiel). For example, at the beginning of the movie, Magua killed one soldier marching in the line, and the guy next to him didn't even do anything until the commander said to attack. They would also fire at the same time, leaving the whole squad vulnerable to attack while they reloaded. By fighting in this manner, it allowed the Indians to fight much more strategically. They would fire muskets three at a time, so they could stop an oncoming rush while the others reloaded. The Ind ians also took advantage of the English firing scheme. After the whole squad of English soldiers fired their muskets, the Indians would rush in with axes and knives, then fall back. This strategy would allow just a few Indians to take out a relatively large number of English. "The British, we learn by the proof in the pudding, are inept warriors, and lousy tacticians...Plus, they're seemingly accurately described, both from the point of view of the historian and political correctness" (Prof. Jahiel). I also think the film did a good job with the weapons used throughout the movie. The spears, bows, axes, and muskets look authentic enough for me. The one weapon that I couldn't recognize was the axe-type club that was used by Hawk-eye's father. ... ...e. I think another sub plot that comes out of the film is the idea of change. Or at least reality sets in on some of the characters. For instance, General Munroe decides not to fight for his fort and just leave. This was something that was not previously done, or even accepted in the English Military. Also I found Cora's ex-boyfriend, the noble, to be an extremely brave and honorable man. At first I thought he was, quite frankly, an arrogant jackass until the end when he sacrificed himself for Cora and Hawk-eye. One thing to keep in mind when watching the film is that it shows the war from a different angle than what the public might be used to. It focuses more on an Indian point of view and a more individualistic view. By Indian point of view I mean most representations of wars in America make us look to be the good guys, in this film there is a somewhat neutral eye from which the war is viewed. What I mean by individualistic is that each person, Hawk-eye, Cora, General Munroe, and Magua are involved in the same war, but see things totally different. One person viewing the film will most likely see something different or special about the film than another person would.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Software Piracy :: essays research papers
Software Piracy What is Software Piracy The PC industry is just over 20 years old. In those 20 years, both the quality and quantity of available software programs have increased dramatically. Although approximately 70% of the worldwide market is today supplied by developers in the United States, significant development work is occurring in scores of nations around the world. But in both the United States and abroad, unauthorized copying of personal computer software is a serious problem. On average, for every authorized copy of personal computer software in use, at least one unauthorized copy is made. Unauthorized copying is known as software piracy, and in 1994 it cost the software industry in excess of US$15 billion. Piracy is widely practiced and widely tolerated. In some countries, legal protection for software is nonexistent (i.e., Kuwait); in others, laws are unclear (i.e. Israel), or not enforced with sufficient commitment (i.e., the PRC). Significant piracy losses are suffered in virtually every region of the world. In some areas (i.e., Indonesia), the rate of unauthorized copies is believed to be in excess of 99%. Why do People Use Pirated Software? A major reason for the use of pirated software is the prices of the REAL thing. Just walk into a CompUSA, Electronics Boutique, Computer City, Egghead, etc and you will notice the expensive price tags on copies of the most commonly used programs and the hottest games. Take the recent Midwest Micro holiday catalogue for example and notice the prices. Microsoft Windows 95: $94, Microsoft Office 95: $224, Microsoft Visual C++: $250, Borland C++: $213, Corel Draw 7: $229, Corel Office Professional 7: $190, Lotus Smartsuite 96: $150, Microsoft Flight Simulator95: $50, Warcraft 2: $30. The list goes on and on and the prices for the programs listed above were only upgrade versions. Users of the software listed above include anywhere from large companies like AT&T to yourself, the average user at home. Although a $30 game like Warcraft 2 doesn't seem like much, by the time you finish reading this paper, it will seem like a fortune. Ease of Availability Since the law states clearly that making a copy of what you own and distributing it or installing more than one copy of one piece of software on two separate computers is illegal, then why do the average Joes like you and us still do it? There are many answers to that question and all of them seem legitimate except that no answers can be legally justified. A friend borrowing another friend's Corel draw or Windows 95 to install on their own PC is so common that the issue of piracy probably doesn't even come to mind right away or
Tuesday, September 17, 2019
Fly Dubai Essay
Introduction: Dubai is considered one of the most important trading hubs in the Middle East region. Its rapid growth in its major infrastructure elements had attracted many multinational companies across the world to open their regional offices in the city. This had its positive effects on Dubai economical growth as it became a golden gate for regional Middle East businessmen to trade with other international companies. As a result of this, the need for a low cost airline that provides its services for business men within the region had increased. The city experience with the airline industry is not new as it is the home city of Fly Emirates, which is considered one of the best airlines in the region. This industry had its great effect on Dubai economical growth in the past 20 years and will have its strong impact in shaping the emirate future. In March 2008, the second low cost airline was lunched under the name of Flydubai and started its operations in Dubai International Airport Terminal 2 in June 2009. (For more information on Flydubai and its operations, please refer to Appendix 1). We have defined our relevant market for Flydubai as a low cost carrier (LCC) within the product form level. Being positioned as a low cost national airline carrier, itââ¬â¢s facing a high competition from other national airlines which force the relevant market to be within the product form. (For more information on the relevant market please refer to appendix 2). This paper will focus on presenting an environmental scan of the airline industry within the Middle East region during the time frame of 3 years (2009-2012). In order to do so, we will identify the significant trends and their consequent implications on Flydubai relevant market. This report will include an in depth review of the macro, micro analysis and its implications of Flydubai relevant market in the next three years. Body: In identifying the major key trends in the macro environment of Flydubai, we have addressed several issues that include the political, social and economical trends. Flydubai was established by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and Vice-President, and Ruler of Dubai orders in march 2008 and started its operation in its first flight to Lebanon on June 1st 2009.Being fully owned by Dubai government and enjoy the full facilities offered in terminal 2 at Dubai International Airport, the company is having a competitive advantage compared to its rivals in the market as it enjoy the full government support and airport services. Furthermore, the current government trend in the labor force is towards emiratization and protecting labors rights. Being a part of the Fly Emirates Group, the organization will face no problem in emiratization as it will follow Fly Emirates emiratization strategy. The major challenge that Flydubai will face is being able to offer high paid jobs and reduce its operational costs as it is considered a low cost airline company. Living in the current financial crises era, Flydubai was established in one of the most difficult time the country economy had faced in the last 25 years. ââ¬Å"Falling oil prices, cooling real estate and construction markets, together with a slowdown in the tourism sector, especially in Dubai, means the UAE is expected to post low or possibly negative GDP growth in 2009â⬠, according to analysts (Arabian Business, 2009). This information may be considered negative to many airline companies but it may be positive to a low cost airline like Flydubai as people are now focusing more in reducing their expenses as the incomes are reduced. This means their tendency of consumers focusing more on prices is increasing. Furthermore, consumer behavior is changing towards low cost airlines especially in the Middle East region as consumers are persuaded by low prices and a better service offered by low cost airlines. According to a study done by Arabian Business website, it was found that 83 percent of the respondents would switch their preferred airline carrier, for a cheaper price, while 17.6 percent believed they would consider alternatives and trade off between the discount and lost air miles. It can thus be inferred that pricing plays a significant role in consumer behaviour and the decision making process especially in the current economic downturn era (Glass, 2008). According to Dubai department of Tourism and commerce marketing ââ¬Å"3.85 million tourists had visited the emirate in the first half of 2009, a five percent increase on the same period of 2008â⬠. This figure strongly shows the current tourism industry market and how attractive it became even though of the current economical downturn. Other figures expect that the number of tourists will fall compared to 2008 figures but most figures have stated that there will be a positive growth in 2010. This figure shows that Flydubai will see a future growth rates in the coming 3 years as terrorism sector restore its high figures after overcoming the current downturn. As observed by Andrew Cowen, CEO of SAMA Airlines, the market is shifting from the traditional major airlines business travel towards low cost carriers for trips within the GCC. Business travelers are changing their perception of low cost carriers, supported by the current economic downturn and the increase number of foreign businesses within GCC countries entering the UAE. This shows a trend of an increasing demand for low cost carriers in the next three years (High time for low cost carriers, 2008). (For in depth information on the analysis of the macro environment of the airline industry please refer to Appendix 3) In identifying the major key trends in the micro environment the following aspects that includes, Customers, Employees, media, shareholders, competitors and suppliers. Customers who are price conscious are concerned with low cost airlines. Flydubai has focused on pricing strategy and flexibility because these two factors play a big role in determining the customerââ¬â¢s decision process on which airlines they choose to travel with. Moreover, the number of tourist from around the world including the region will grow more than 40% in the next 3 years in Dubai (www.realtyna.com). This shows that there will be increased number of customers who will use Flydubai airlines within the next three years due its successful use of pricing strategy and flexibility. The Employees of Flydubai have good experiences and they were carefully selected from twelve different nationalities. According to Kenneth Gile, chief operating officer of Flydubai said: ââ¬Å"We are extremely pleased with the talent of the pilots we have on board. On average, they each have more than 4,000 hours serving as captain in similar aircraft and a total experience of more than 8,000 flying hours ââ¬â this is impressive by any standardâ⬠(Sambidge, 2009). Flydubai is fully owned by the government of Dubai and its considered as a part of its mother company the Emirates Group. The main strategy that Flydubai is willing to use for their marketing strategy is through word of mouth (buzz). This is because Flydubai is a low cost airline; they tend to set low budgets for their advertisements to keep their prices low. The direct competitors of Flydubai are Air Arabia and Al Jazeerah airlines because these two airlines are also low cost airlines in the same country as Flydubai. However, the major competitor of Flydubai is Air Arabia because, first of all, they are the first to claim about low cost airlines in the Middle East region. Moreover, they hold the highest market share in the relevant market as identified before. Our market share comparing to those two carries are low because Flydubai just recently launched to the market. But, within the next three years we expect rapid growth in the market share because Dubai is a destination for tourists. The major indirect competitor is Fly Emirates which stands as the leader in airline industry in the relevant market and it will keep its performance in the next three years. The second indirect competitor is Etihad Airlines which is growing fast because of the unlimited support from Abu Dhabi government. In addition, those airline carriers make low price offers for the same destination that we have flight lines to. The supplier of Flydubai is Boeing. Flydubai announced an order of 50 next generation 737 aircraft from Boeing. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum said: ââ¬Å"The Boeing Next-Generation 737 is ideally suited to our mission to bring some two billion regional inhabitants affordable, efficient and flexible travel options to and from Dubai.â⬠(For more information on the micro environment analysis, please refer to Appendix 4). Implications: Primary demand: Low cost airlines are focusing on customers who are price conscious. The number of customers using the LCC airlines is increasing and it will continue growing in the next three years (www.gulf-daily-news.com). This is because, first of all, the percentage of tourists will increase by 40% within the next three years which shows that the market share of LCC will increase as well. Secondly, because of the economic condition, many people tend to save money and spend it on low cost airlines to travel more to the desired destinations. Users of Low cost airlines contain all different ages and nationalities. Moreover, cost is one of the main factors that affect customerââ¬â¢s ability to buy. The costs of these carriers are low and will continue to remain low in the next three years. This will increase customerââ¬â¢s ability and willingness to buy. Selective demand We can define the consumer decision making process as an extensive problem solving level, where they are introduced to a complete new brand with low brand knowledge. So, Flydubai should infusive more on their brand identity through the media and other communication types in order to enrich consumerââ¬â¢s knowledge. Once Flydubai had increased the level of consumer knowledge, we expect huge increase in market share in the next three years because the decision making process is going to shift from extensive problem solving to routine which is low information search about the company. Therefore, we expect major change within the next three year upon the factors we mentioned above. Segmentation: As for segmentation we expect to see a rise in the population of the UAE in the following 3 years. According to the electronic portal of Gulf News the population of UAE is approaching six million as of now and it is expected to escalate even further by the end of this year. An increase in construction in the coming years requires more labor to be imported from foreign countries, thus increasing the number of potential customers (low income and middle-class lifestyles) who might want to use our services. Moreover, economic boom can also be a factor for businessmen to travel to and from Dubai more frequently. In addition, the number of students travelling to the UAE for education is expected to increase in the near future; this implies that they will most probably select Flydubai as their primary mode of transport to travel to and from the UAE, since the economic condition shows very little signs of improvement in the near future. More tourists are expected to arrive in the UAE within the near future out of which a section of them are extremely price sensitive travelers. Another scenario would be that the current economic downturn continues to effect economies world-wide within the coming three years increasing the number of price-sensitive customers in the eight markets we operate in. To keep up with the projected demand, Flydubai is planning to increase its fleet size from 5 (currently) to 54 aircrafts in the coming years. An increase in fleet size would allow Flydubai not only to accommodate a large number of clients but also expand its reach in terms of destinations. Conversely, the announcement of the new GCC rail network which is the new transportation class in our relevant market is expected to have a slight negative effect on Flydubaiââ¬â¢s operations in terms of loosing clients that fall in our target segmentation. The GCC rail network and Flydubai have one common destination which is Qatar. Once the GCC rail network begins its operations there is a high possibility of losing out on our current and potential clients. (For more information on segmentation please refer to appendix 5). Competitor analysis Our major competitive in our relative market is Air Arabia and then Al Jazeera Airlines. Air Arabia is holding major market share because they are the first to claim about launching first low cost airlines in Middle East region. However, Flydubai can compete with those two direct competitors when we focus on our competitive advantage which is price leadership. Also, location is another important factor due the number of travelers that are using Dubai Airport comparing to Sharjah Airport. In addition, being part of the Emirates Group will add more value to Flydubai brand equity which will make it easier to make customers shift toward our company within the next three years. (For more information on competitor analysis, please refer to Appendix 6) Conclusion: In conclusion after analyzing the environmental micro and macro trend for Flydubai, we observed that there are two major changes in our relevant market. First, the increase of the tourism level in Dubai as we expect the current economic downturn era to change its direction towards positive figures in the next three years. Also, the companiesââ¬â¢ holders and businessmen attitude towards low cost airlines is changing by using it as these airlines are providing business men services aboard such a business class and wireless internet connection. The number of competitors within the low cost airline industry is going to increase in the coming years as new airlines such as Bahrain Airlines starts its operation this year. Secondly, full service airlines are expanding their market towards low cost airline by introducing low price tickets that attract price sensitive consumers. We expect that within the next ten years a new class level will enter the market in the GCC region which is trains transportation. Also, a new form level will emerge in the relevant market which is a combination between full services and low cost carriers. Finally, within the next three years we expect those changes in the relevant market to be reshaped affecting the primary and selective demand. Bibliography (2009, October 18). Flydubai airline. Retrieved from http://www.dubaifaqs.com/Flydubai.php McKechnie, D, Grant, J, & Katsioloudes, M. (2008). Positions and positioning: strategy simply stated. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 9(5), Retrieved from http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/3300090502.html doi: 1751-5637 (2009). Environmental scanning. Wikipedia. Retrieved (2009, October 17) from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_scanning (2009). Flydubai. Wikipedia. Retrieved (2009, October 17) from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flydubai(n.d.). flydubai, who we are. Retrieved from http://www.Flydubai.com/whoweare/fleet.aspx (2009, June 8). Two more tough years for the airlines. Retrieved from http://www.eturbonews.com/9675/two-more-tough-years-airlines Nagraj, A. (2009, September 16). Gloomy skies for the airline industry. Retrieved from http://www.kippreport.com/2009/09/gloomy-skies-for-the-airline-industry/ Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Initials. (2009, October 15). Middle East LCC wrap: Air Arabia, Jazeera, Flydubai, nasair, sama and Bahrain Air. Retrieved from http://www.centreforaviation.com/news/2009/10/15/middle-east-lcc-wrap-air-arabia-jazeera-Flydubai-nasair-sama-and-bahrain-air/page1 Riaz, D, & Kapadia, S. (2007). Air Arabia, Priced so that you can fly [5-14]. (Adobe Digital Edition Version), Retrieved from http://ae.zawya.com/researchreports/efg/20070701_efg_110604.pdf Schewe, , Charles, D, & Hiam, A. (n.d.). market segmentation. Retrieved from http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/market-segmentation/ (2009, 10 07). UAE population reaches six million. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j24H1v8s1BWuNXEwptqRIiB_-OOA (2009, 10 07). Expat numbers rise rapidly as UAE population touches 6m. Retrieved from http://uaeinteract.com/docs/Expat_numbers_rise_rapidly_as_UAE_population_touches_6m/37883.htm (2009, April 7). FlyDubai opens for business with flights to Beirut and Amman. Retrieved from http://www.ameinfo.com/191649.html (2009, October 8). Number of tourists in Dubai set to grow by 40 per cent . Retrieved from http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:EPQhPUeolAEJ:www.realtyna.com/dubai_real_estate/dubai-rss-news/number-of-tourists-in-dubai-set-to-grow-by-40-per-cent.html+http://www.realtyna.com/dubai_real_estate/dubai-rss-news/number-of-tourists-in-dubai-set-to-grow-by-40-per-cent.html&cd=1&hl=ar&ct=clnk&gl=ae Sambidge, Initials. (2009, March 18). flydubai appoints pilots, cabin crew. Retrieved from http://www.arabianbusiness.com/549994-Flydubai-appoints-pilots-cabin-crew Sambidge, A. (2009, August 11). Dubai tourists up 5% in H1 ââ¬â official. Retrieved from http://www.arabianbusiness.com/564508-dubai-tourists-up-5-in-h1ââ¬âofficial (2009, 10 07). UAE population. Retrieved from http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/09/10/07/10355378.html Redpath, H. (2009, June 16). Dubaiââ¬â¢s First Low Cost Airline Takes Off. Retrieved from http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/Flydubai/38830/ Redpath, H. (2009, June 16). Dubaiââ¬â¢s First Low Cost Airline Takes Off. Retrieved from http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20090616081711
Monday, September 16, 2019
Racial Discrimination Essay
The scene of ghettosThe with poor living conditions of the ghettos in whichwhere black people live is not uncommon. , Iit actually manifests a larger picture of racial discrimination which is closely related to poverty. Racial discrimination is about the pre-conceived notion that black people are inferior; they are more prone to violence and totally relianty on social welfare to survive. As a result of these stereotypical images, black people receive low quality education and they will have less job opportunities, not to mention the limited access to the welfare system. In this essay, we shall discuss whether racial discrimination causes poverty among this minority community in America. Racial discrimination undoubtedly appears in the education system in AmericaAmericaââ¬â¢s education system, as Gordon, Piana and Keleher (2000) points out that the public schools in America failed to provide the same quality education for the blacks compared to the whites. In minority schools where African American and Latino are concentratedthere is a concentration of African-Americans and Latinos, there are limited resources and professionally trained teachers for students. Tthis phenomenon conveys that resources are unevenly distributed among schools as a result of racism. Besides resources and quality of teachers, there is a higher rate of suspension and expulsion for black people, as suggested in the search by Applied Research Center for Expose Racism and Advance School Excellence, suspension and expulsion rate is three times higher for African AmericanAfrican-Americans, with the rate of 56% compared to 18% of general school population. This may be due to the unfairness in treating the treatment of black people in the case of zero-tolerance policies such as the Gun-Free School Act (GFSA) enacted in 1994. It is important to note that schools expel African AmericanAfrican-American students at a disproportionate rate compared to white studentsstudents, as schools seem to have a convenient reason to expel the ââ¬Å"unwantedâ⬠students. This clearly illustrates how such kind of policpoliciesy aggravates existing disparities in the education system. Uneven distribution of wealth is also a major problem, causing poverty among black people. It is suggested that due to racial segregation and a controlled political environment by white people, black people usually find it difficult to assimilate themselves into the labor force and civil society (Ducan, 1999). In the U. S. , per capita income of the whites is almost five times more than that of the blacks, which clearly illustrates the serious problem of a widening wealth gap between these twodifferent racial groups. The findings from Mean Racial Wealth Gap across 181 U. S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas shows that the standard deviation of wage between the blacks and the whites is the highest in among comparison toof different racial groups such as Latinos and white people and Asians and white people. , Iit clearly points out that the most severe wealth gap exists between black and white people. However, upward mobility is restricted for the black blacks as they face racial discrimination in the process of hiring and firing. Only about half of working-age black men are employed, compared to two-thirds of white men, but even if black menpeople are employed, they are usually engaged in low-paid jobs so that they can barely affordsupport their daily expenses. It is likely that black people are being exploited in the labor market because they are seen as racial minorities (McCall, 2001). As a result of lower wage rate comparably, black people are more likely to live under the poverty line than white people. It seems to be a logical conclusion that sinceas black people are less able to support themselves, they will become the major beneficiary of the welfare system. However, figures show the opposite situation; , only 7. 7% of retirement insurance are received by black peopleblack people receive only 7. 7% of retirement insurances. Researches also shows that a social welfare other than retirement insurance, such as disability insurance, medical healthcare and housing, benefit black people to a limited extent (Davies & Derthick, 1997). Another example of institutional racism is that in hospitals in AmericaAmerican hospitals, black people will beare segregated from white people, and and they will receive lower quality of medical healthcare services. han white people and Hhospitals that primarily serve the minority community are disproportionately closed without sound reasons (Randall, 2011). All these examples clearly illustrate the fact that equal opportunity isare not provided to people of different races. , Ppeople in need are not being subsidized enough simply because they are black people. The two social problems of, racial discrimination and poverty should not be seen as separated issues. , Iin fact, they are closely correlated in the sense that racial discrimination directly causes poverty. The three arguments above portray a vicious cycle: low education level will cause black people to have less job opportunities, together with limited social welfare, and the resulting ins poverty. When a family does not have enough resources to support their children to receive better education, poverty will pass on to the next generation. Black people end up being socially and economically inferior compared with to white people. Racial discrimination undeniablye creates and perpetuates unbalanced economic opportunitiesy, which should be eradicated in all sense.
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Chinaââ¬â¢s Foreign Policy Towards International Actors Essay
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY China has one of the four oldest civilizations in the world and a written history of 4,000 years. Chinaââ¬â¢s long history includes eras of primitive society, slave society, feudalism and semi feudalism, semi-colonialism and the present socialist society. The Chinese are very proud of their society. They value their own culture and religion but are open and pragmatic towards the religions and cultures of others. Chinese people in general are peaceful, hardworking and easily contented. They respect authority and elders and are patient with their fellows. They will, however, push and sacrifice for their children. The Chinese value modesty, reserved behavior and humility. They believe in harmony and tend to avoid confrontation. Chinese culture gives the Chinese people their basic identity. These core values are unique and consistent, shaped by a tradition of four thousand years of history and maintained by the same language. There is only one set of core values in the Chinese national culture, despite all the differences among these people and their societies. This cultural value system is uniquely Chinese that distinguish itself not only from Western cultures, but also from other Eastern cultures (for example, Japanese culture). China is now a global actor of significant and growing importance. It is involved in regions and on issues that were once only peripheral to its interests and it is effectively using tools previously unavailable. It is no longer necessary to emphasize integrating China into the existing constellation of norms, rules, and institutions of the international community; by and large, China is already there. It is influencing perceptions, relationships, and organizations all over the world. Chinaââ¬â¢s international behavior is clearly altering the dynamics of the current international system, but it is not transforming its structure. Chinaââ¬â¢s global activism is driven by an identifiable set of perceptions, objectives, and policiesââ¬âsome are long-standing and others are more current. Both Chinaââ¬â¢s foreign policy objectives and its policies have evolved in the last decade but with more change in the latter than the former. In this sense, China has a distinct foreign policy strategy, to the extent that any nation has one. Chinaââ¬â¢s strategy is best understood as comprising multiple layers, each adding to an understanding of the totality of it. This monograph analyzes these layers, assesses the challenges for China in implementing its strategy, and evaluates the implications for Bangladesh and other countries interests and policy. The monograph analyzes the content, character, and execution of Chinaââ¬â¢s foreign policy towards International actors. It examines how China views its security environment, how it defines its foreign policy objectives, how it is pursuing the objectives and the consequences for other countries economic and security interests. The breadth and the rapidity of change in Chinaââ¬â¢s international activities are daunting to analyze, let alone to understand.
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Case of Ge Growth
CHRISTOPHER A. BARTLETT GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative Yet, for the past year GEââ¬â¢s share price had been stuck at around $35, implying a multiple of around 20 times earnings, only half its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio in the heady days of 2000. (See Exhibit 2 for GEââ¬â¢s 10-year share price history. ) It frustrated Immelt that the market did not seem to share the belief that he and his management team had in his growth forecasts. ââ¬Å"The stock is currently trading at one of the lowest earnings multiples in a decade,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"Investors decide the stock price, but we love the way GE is positioned.We have good results and good governance. . . . What will it take to move the stock? â⬠1 Taking Charge: Setting the Agenda On Friday, September 7, 2001, Immelt took over the reins of GE from Jack Welch, the nearlegendary CEO who preceded him. Four days later, two planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers, and the world was thrown int o turmoil. Not only did 9/11 destabilize an already fragile postInternet-bubble stock market, but it also triggered a downturn in an overheated economy, leading to a fall in confidence that soon spread into other economies worldwide.Do No After the chaos of the first few post-9/11 days during which he checked on GE casualties, authorized a $10 million donation to the families of rescue workers, and dispatched mobile generators and medical equipment to the World Trade Center, on September 18 Immelt finally focused on reassuring the financial markets by purchasing 25,000 GE shares on his personal account. Three days later, he appeared before a group of financial analysts and promised that 2001 profits would grow by 11% and by double digits again in 2002.As impressive as such a performance might have appeared, it was less than Welchââ¬â¢s expansive suggestion in the heady days of 2000 that GEââ¬â¢s profits could grow at 18% per annum in the future. 2 The net result was that by th e end of Immeltââ¬â¢s first week as CEO, GEââ¬â¢s shares had dropped 20%, taking almost $80 billion off the companyââ¬â¢s market capitalization. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Professor Christopher A.Bartlett prepared this case from published sources. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright à © 2006 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www. hbsp. harvard. edu.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any meansââ¬âelectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwiseà ¢â¬âwithout the permission of Harvard Business School. This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. tC op yo In February 2006, after four and a half years in the CEO role, Jeff Immelt felt General Electric (GE) was finally poised for the double-digit growth for which he had been positioning it.Having just announced an 11% increase in revenues for 2005 (including 8% organic growth), he was now forecasting a further 10% revenue increase in 2006. And following 12% growth in earnings from continuing operations in 2005 (with all six businesses delivering double-digit increases), he committed to leveraging the 2006 revenues into an even greater 12% to 17% earnings increase. It was a bold pledge for a $150 billion global company. (See Exhibit 1 for GE financial data, 2001ââ¬â2004. ) rP os t 9-306-087 REV: NOVEMBER 3, 2006 306-087GEââ¬â¢s Gro wth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative To make matters worse, as the year wore on, a scandal that had been engulfing Enron finally led to that companyââ¬â¢s bankruptcy. Soon, other companies were caught up in accusations of financial manipulation, including Tyco, a company that had billed itself as a ââ¬Å"mini GE. â⬠Again, the market punished GE stock, concerned that its large and complex operations were too difficult to understand. Beyond all this immediate market pressure, Immelt was acutely aware that he stood in the very long shadow cast by his predecessor, Welch.During his 20 years as CEO, Welch had built GE into a highly disciplined, extremely efficient machine that delivered consistent growth in sales and earningsââ¬ânot only through effective operations management that resulted in organic growth (much of it productivity-driven) of 5% annually, but also through a continuous stream of timely acquisitions and clever deal making. This two-pronged approach had resulte d in double-digit profit increases through most of the 1990s. Building on the Past, Imagining the FutureImmelt committed to building on what he saw as the core elements of the companyââ¬â¢s past success: a portfolio of strong businesses, bound through a set of companywide strategic initiatives and managed by great people in a culture that was performance driven and adaptive. It was a source of competitive advantage that Immelt felt was not easily imitated. ââ¬Å"It requires financial and cultural commitments over decades,â⬠he said. Having committed to GEââ¬â¢s fundamental business model, Immelt wasted little time in articulating a new vision of growth based on using GEââ¬â¢s size and diversity as strengths rather than weaknesses.He wanted to take the company into ââ¬Å"big, fundamental high-technology infrastructure industries,â⬠places where he felt GE could have competitive advantage and where others could not easily follow. He elaborated this into a vision o f a global, technology-based, service-intensive company by defining a growth strategy based on five key elements: 2 This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. Do No Our businesses are closely integrated.They share leading edge business initiatives, excellent financial disciplines, a tradition of sharing talent and best practices, and a culture whose cornerstone is absolute unyielding integrity. Without these powerful ties, we could actually merit the label ââ¬Å"conglomerateâ⬠that people often inaccurately apply to us. That word just does not apply to GE. . . . What we have is a company of diverse benefits whose sum is truly greater than the parts; a company executing with excellence despite a brutal global economy. . . . We believe GE is different, and one of the things that makes us different is thatââ¬â in good times and in badà ¢â¬âwe deliver.That is who we are. 4 tC While recognizing the need for change, Immelt saw little need to challenge the basic business model on which GE had operated for decades. Like his predecessor, he bristled at the characterization of GE as a conglomerate, preferring to see it as a well-integrated, diversified company. On taking charge, he explained: op yo The consistent reliability of GEââ¬â¢s growth had created an image in shareholdersââ¬â¢ minds of a powerful machine that could not be stopped and earned the company a significant premium over price/earnings multiples in the broad stock market.As a result, over two decades, GE had generated a compound annual total return to shareholders of more than 23% per annum through the 1980s and 1990s. (See Exhibit 3 for summary GE financials, 1981ââ¬â2000. ) But Immelt was very conscious that he could not hope to replicate that performance by simply continuing the same strategy. ââ¬Å"I looked at the world post-9/11 and rea lized that over the next 10 or 20 years, there was not going to be much tailwind,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"It would be more driven by innovation, and a premium would be placed on companies that could generate their own growth. 3 rP os t GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative 306-087 â⬠¢ Technical leadership: Believing that technology had been at GEââ¬â¢s core since the day Thomas Edison founded the company, Immelt committed to technical leadership as a key driver of future growth. â⬠¢ Services acceleration: By building service businesses on its massive installed base of aircraft engines, power turbines, locomotives, medical devices, and other hardware, Immelt believed GE could better serve customers while generating high margins and raising entry barriers.Commercial excellence: Reflecting his own sales and marketing background, Immelt committed to creating a world-class commercial culture to overlay the engineering bias and financial orientation of GEââ¬â¢s d ominant business approach under Welch. â⬠¢ â⬠¢ â⬠¢ Growth platforms: Finally, he recognized that significant resource reallocation would be necessary to build new business platforms capitalizing on ââ¬Å"unstoppable trendsâ⬠that would provide growth into the future.Because plans at GE always came with measurable goals attached, Immelt committed to increasing the companyââ¬â¢s organic growth from its historical 5% annual rate to 8% and, beginning in 2005, to generating consistent double-digit earnings growth. Investing through the Down Cycle Do No Within weeks of taking charge, he started making significant investments to align GEââ¬â¢s businesses for growth. Seeing opportunities to expand its NBC broadcast business to capture the fast-growing Hispanic advertising market, for example, the company acquired the Telemundo and Bravo networks.And its power-generation business acquired Enronââ¬â¢s wind energy business as a new platform that management felt was p ositioned for long-term growth and high returns in the future. In addition to these and other natural business extensions, management identified whole new segments that provided a stronger foundation for innovation and where future market opportunities would drive rapid growth. For example, in security systems, GE acquired Interlogix, a medium-sized player with excellent technology, and in water services, it bought BetzDearborn, a leading company with 2,000 sales engineers on the ground.Internally, Immelt also lost little time in making big financial commitments to the growth strategy. Within his first six months, he committed $100 million to upgrade GEââ¬â¢s major research and development (R&D) facility at Nishayuna in upstate New York. In addition to building new laboratories, the investment provided for new meeting centers on Nishayunaââ¬â¢s 525-acre campus, creating an environment where business managers and technologists could meet to discuss priorities. 3 This document i s authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. du or 617. 783. 7860. tC Perhaps predictably, the press was skeptical of the notion that a $130 billion company could grow at two to three times the global gross national product (GNP) rate. Still, there was no shortage of advice for the new CEO in his attempt to make the company do so. Some suggested he should sell off the mature lighting and appliances businesses. 5 Others proposed bold expansionsââ¬âinto the hospital business, for example. 6 And as always, there were calls for GE to break up the company and sell off its component businesses. 7 But Immelt insisted GE had great businesses that provided a strong foundation for the future.All he planned to do was rebalance and renew the portfolio, then drive growth from the revitalized base. op yo Globalization: Building on an old Welch initiative, Immelt committed to expanding GEâ⠬â¢s sourcing strategy and market access worldwide, in particular focusing on its underexploited opportunities in developing world countries such as China and India. rP os t 306-087 GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative Scott Donnelly, a 40-year-old researcher who led GEââ¬â¢s overall R&D activity, said, ââ¬Å"GE is not the place for scientists who want to work on a concept for years without anybody bothering them.Here scientists can do long-term research, but they have to be willing to spar with the marketing guys. This is the best of both worlds. â⬠8 Beyond its historic Nishayuna R&D facility, in 2000 the company had established a center in Bangalore, India. To build on that global expansion, in 2002 Immelt authorized the construction of a new facility in Shanghai, China. And as the year wore on, he began talking about adding a fourth global facility, probably in Europe. a Despite the slowing economy, he upped the R&D budget from $286 million in 2000 to $327 million in 2002.When asked about this increase in spending during such a difficult time for the company, he said, ââ¬Å"Organic growth is the driver. Acquisitions are secondary to thatââ¬âI canââ¬â¢t see us go out and pay a start-up $100 million for technology that, if we had just spent $2 million a year for 10 years, we couldââ¬â¢ve done a better job at. I hate that, I just hate that. â⬠10 Reflecting on his extensive investments in 2002, a year in which the stock dropped a further 39% from its 2001 close, Immelt said: Financial strength gives us the ability to invest in growth and we have viewed this economic cycle as a time to invest.Weââ¬â¢ve increased the number of engineers, salespeople, and service resources. We will invest more than $3 billion in technology, including major investments in our global resource centers. Weââ¬â¢ve strengthened our commitment to China, increasing resources there 25% in 2002, and weââ¬â¢ve increased our presence in Europe. Acquisitions are a key form of investment for us and we have invested nearly $35 billion in acquisitions over the past two years. They are a key way for us to redeploy cash flow for our future growth. 11Ongoing Operations: Rigor and Responsiveness To fund his strategy, Immelt drew his first source of capital from the sale of underperforming businesses, and the companyââ¬â¢s struggling insurance business was his prime target for divesture. But in the depths of an economic downturn, getting good prices for any business was not easy. So the investments needed to drive the companyââ¬â¢s growth still relied primarily on funds generated by ongoing operations, and Immelt drove the organization to deliver on the marketââ¬â¢s expectations for current-year performance.Picking up on initiatives launched years earlier, he harnessed wellembedded capabilities such as Six Sigma and digitization to drive out costs, increase process efficiency, and manage resources more effectively. Do a I n 2003, GE opened its Shanghai research center and broke ground for another center in Siemensââ¬â¢s backyard in Munich, Germany. In 2004, its 2,500 researchers worldwide filed for more than 450 patents. 4 This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. du or 617. 783. 7860. No tC op yo Although Immelt was willing to increase his commitment to R&D, he pushed to change the balance of work being done. In addition to developing technologically sophisticated new products, he wanted to commit more resources to longer-term research that might not pay off for a decade or more. In the past, limited commitment to such long-term research had frustrated many of the centerââ¬â¢s science and engineering Ph. Ds. (ââ¬Å"Science was a dirty word for a while,â⬠said Anil Duggal, a project leader on the advanced lighting project. ââ¬Å"Now itââ¬â¢s not. )9 In selecting the long-term projects for funding, Donnelly whittled down more than 2,000 proposals and then worked with researchers to come up with the technologies that could transform a business. From the 20 big ideas his staff proposed, Donnelly had them focus on a group of five, representing fields as diverse as nanotechnology, advanced propulsion, and biotechnology. rP os t GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative 306-087 In this tough environment, Immeltââ¬â¢s primary operating focus was on cash flow, and he realigned all the powerful tools in GEââ¬â¢s toolbox to meet that objective.For example, Six Sigma discipline was applied to reducing the cash tied up in inventory and receivables, while process digitization was focused on sourcing economies and infrastructure efficiencies. By 2002, digitization alone was generating savings of almost $2 billion of savings a year. As always at GE, initiatives were tied to metrics, with 60% of incentive compensation dependent on cash flow gen eration. So, despite a tough 2002 economy that held GEââ¬â¢s revenue growth to 5%, its cash flow from operations was $15. 2 billion, up 10% on the previous year. Do NoThe new CEO also wanted to create a more open and less hard-edged environment within the company. He asked the 2002 class of GEââ¬â¢s Executive Development Course (EDC) to study where GE stood in its approach to corporate responsibility. b Historically, this was not an issue that had received much attention at GE. Although Welch had always emphasized the importance of integrity and compliance, he had shown little interest in reaching beyond that legal requirement. The several dozen participants in the 2002 EDC visited investors, regulators, activists, and 65 companies in the U. S. nd Europe to understand how GE was performing in terms of corporate responsibility. They reported to top management that although the company was ranked in the top five for its financial performance, investment value, and management tal ent, it was number 72 for social responsibility. One outcome of the EDC groupââ¬â¢s report was that Immelt appointed GEââ¬â¢s first vice president for corporate citizenship. He tapped Bob Corcoran, a trusted colleague from his days running GE Medical Systems, to lead an effort to ensure that the company was more sensitive and responsive to its broader societal responsibilities.Ever the pragmatist, Immelt saw this as more than just an altruistic response. He believed it was important for the company to remain effective: To be a great company today, you also have to be a good company. The reason people come to work for GE is that they want to be involved in something bigger than themselves. They bEDC was the top-level course at GEââ¬â¢s renowned Crotonville training center and was reserved for those destined for the most senior echelons of management at GE. As part of their studies, each EDC class was assigned a major corporate issue to study in teams and then report back to GEââ¬â¢s Corporate Executive Council. C Immelt understood that in such a skeptical environment, there was a need for a CEO to establish much more openness and trust. Since his natural style tended to be open and communicative, he was perfectly comfortable with the idea of increasing the transparency of GEââ¬â¢s often complex operations. In July 2002, to make the performance of GEââ¬â¢s financial businesses easier to understand, he broke GE Capital into four separate businesses, each with its own balance sheet and explicit growth strategy. He also committed to communicating more frequently and in more detail with investors. We have the goal of talking about GE externally the way we run it internally,â⬠he said. After his first analysts meeting, where everyone got an advance bound copy of the data and forecasts, BusinessWeek commented, ââ¬Å"Thatââ¬â¢s already a break with the Welch regime where, some say, you were scared to blink in case you missed a chart. â⬠1 4 op yo Although this disciplined approach was reminiscent of GE in decades past, Immeltââ¬â¢s management style contrasted with Welchââ¬â¢s in many ways. First, he recognized that in a post-Enron world, corporate executives faced a more skeptical and often cynical group of critics.For example, an article in BusinessWeek suggested, ââ¬Å"Increasingly, the Welch record of steady double digit growth is looking less like a miracle of brilliant management and more like clever accounting that kept investors fat and happy in boom times. â⬠12 And The Economist opined, ââ¬Å"Immelt has had a torrid time since taking over from Jack Welch, GEââ¬â¢s former boss, in 2001. Waking from the dreamy 1990s, investors discovered that GE was not, after all, a smooth earnings machine that pumped out profit growth of 16 to 18% a year. â⬠13 This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009.Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà prote cted] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. rP os t 5 306-087 GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative want to work hard, they want to get promoted, they want stock options. But they also want to work for a company that makes a difference, a company thatââ¬â¢s doing great things in the world. . . . Itââ¬â¢s up to us to use our platform to be a good citizen. Because not only is it a nice thing to do, itââ¬â¢s a business imperative. 15 Rebuilding the Foundation: Beginning a Marathon In the midst of the turmoil, however, he reminded himself of advice he received from his predecessor. One of the things Jack said early on that I think is totally right is: Itââ¬â¢s a marathon, itââ¬â¢s not a sprint,â⬠Immelt recalled. ââ¬Å"You have to have a plan, and you have to stick with it. You have to modify it at times, but every day youââ¬â¢ve got to get out there and play it hard. â⬠17 Entering 2003 with that thought in mind, Immelt continued to drive his growth-s trategy agenda. Rebalancing the Portfolio Do Two days after announcing final terms in its purchase of Vivendi-Universal Entertainment (VUE), GE announced an agreement to purchase Amersham, a British life sciences and medical diagnostic company that Immelt had been pursuing for many months.He believed that health care was moving into an era of biotechnology, advanced diagnostics, and targeted therapies and combining GEââ¬â¢s imaging technology with Amershamââ¬â¢s pharmaceutical biomarkers, for example, could create whole new ways of diagnosing and treating diseases. At $10 billion, this was a more expensive acquisition but one that he believed could boost GEââ¬â¢s $9 billion medical products business to a $15 billion business by 2005. More important, he saw it as an engine of growth that would continue for years and even decades into the future. In his mind, it was a classic ââ¬Å"growth platform. â⬠This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until A ugust 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. No Immeltââ¬â¢s vision was to create a media business that was better positioned for a digital future. The NBC franchise, although strong, was being buffeted by changes in media distribution that saw the share of broadcast televisionââ¬â¢s market shrinking. Universal added content, production facilities, cable distribution, and a strong management teamââ¬âall assets that Immelt felt could greatly strengthen GEââ¬â¢s core business.On top of that, the $5. 5 billion up-front purchase price for assets valued at $14 billion was seen as an excellent buy. tC The year turned out to be an important one in the new CEOââ¬â¢s efforts to rebuild the business portfolio on which he would drive GEââ¬â¢s growth. Even after completing $35 billion worth of acquisitions in the previous two years, 2003 became the biggest acquisition year in GEââ¬â¢s history with tota l commitments exceeding $30 billion. The first megadeal came when the company decided to bid for the Universal entertainment business of French conglomerate Vivendi.Defying those who suggested that GE should exit the volatile media business, Immelt pushed ahead with the acquisition, which included Universalââ¬â¢s film library, film studio, cable services, and theme park. ââ¬Å"This is about stuff we know how to do,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"We understand the nuances of this industry and where itââ¬â¢s going. â⬠18 op yo As 2003 began, Immelt was not sorry to see the end of his first full year as CEO. Despite all his efforts, 2002 had been a terrible year for the company. Revenues were up only 5% after a 3% decline the prior year.And rather than the double-digit growth he had promised, 2002 earnings increased by only 7%. By yearââ¬â¢s end the stock was at $24, down 39% from the year before and 60% from its all-time high of $60 in August 2000. Having lived through a struggl ing economy, the post-9/11 chaos, new regulatory demands following the corporate scandals, and an unstable global political situation, Immelt commented, ââ¬Å"This was a not a great year to be a rookie CEO. â⬠16 rP os t GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative 306-087The real issue that many saw in the deal, however, was less about strategic fit than organizational compatibility. The concern was that the highly innovative, science-oriented talent that Amersham had developed in the U. K. would not thrive when swallowed up by GE. It was the same criticism that Immelt had heard when critics wondered whether the creative talent in Universalââ¬â¢s film studios would tolerate the management discipline for which GE was so well-known. But the idea of bringing creative and innovative outsiders into GE was part of the appeal to Immelt.He saw people like Sir William Castell, Amershamââ¬â¢s CEO, as major assets who could help develop in GE the culture of innovation that he longed to build. To emphasize the point, he put U. K. -based Castell in charge of the combined $14 billion business renamed GE Health Care and made him a vice chairman of GE. For the first time, one of the companyââ¬â¢s major businesses would be headquartered outside of the United States, a move that Immelt felt fit well with his thrust of globalization. Focusing on Customers, Emphasizing Services Do NoIn addition to his portfolio changes, the new CEO kept working on his internal growth initiatives. As an ex-salesman, Immelt had always directed attention toward the customer, and one of his priorities was to redirect GEââ¬â¢s somewhat internal focusââ¬âan unintended by-product of Welchââ¬â¢s obsession with operating efficiency and cost-cuttingââ¬âtoward the external environment. ââ¬Å"In a deflationary world, you could get margin by working productivity,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"Now you need marketing to get a price. â⬠19 In 2001, among his first appointments ha d been Beth Comstock, named as GEââ¬â¢s first chief marketing officer.Next, to drive the change deeper, he redeployed most of GEââ¬â¢s extensive business development staff into marketing roles, then asked each of GEââ¬â¢s businesses to appoint a VP-level marketing head, many of whom had to be recruited from the outside. ââ¬Å"We hired literally thousands of marketers,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"For the best, we created the Experienced Commercial Leadership Program, the kind of intensive course weââ¬â¢ve long offered in finance. Thatââ¬â¢s 200 people a year, every year. â⬠20 cAfter taking a $1. 4 billion write-off in 2004 due to claims relating to asbestos and September 11, the company finally sold ERC for $8. billion in 2005, but only after booking another $2. 9 billion insurance loss. tC To communicate the major portfolio transformation he had undertaken to date, in 2003 Immelt began describing GEââ¬â¢s businesses as ââ¬Å"growth enginesâ⬠and ââ¬Å"cash generatorsâ⬠(see Exhibit 4). He characterized the former, which accounted for 85% of earnings, as market leaders that could grow at 15% annually through the business cycles with high returns. The latter were acknowledged as being more cyclical in nature but with consistently strong cash flows. p yo The other great challenge in the ongoing task of portfolio rebalancing was that GE was finding it difficult to dispose of some of the assets it no longer regarded as vital. While the recession provided lots of buying opportunities if one was willing to step up and invest, it was hardly an ideal environment in which to be selling businesses. For GE, the biggest challenge was to find buyers for the struggling insurance businesses. Although its 2003 sale of three of its major insurance entities had freed up $4. billion in cash, the company was still trying to find a buyer for Employers Reinsurance Company (ERC), a business generating huge ongoing losses due to its poor underwriting in the late 1990s. c And several other GE businesses from motors to super adhesives remained on the blocks with no bidder offering a price the company was willing to accept. Part of the problem was that bidders felt that if GE had run the business for years, most of the potential savings had already been extracted, making the units being offered less attractive for a company that wanted to squeeze out costs.This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. rP os t 7 306-087 GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative In 2003, with strong marketing capabilities now embedded in the businesses, he formed a Commercial Council to bring GEââ¬â¢s best sales and marketing leaders together in a forum that could transfer best practice, drive initiatives rapidly through the organization, and develop a world-class commercial culture.Chaired by Immelt per sonally, the councilââ¬â¢s agenda included developing worldclass marketing capabilities, taking Six Sigma to customers, and driving sales force effectiveness. As always, metrics were attached. Using a tool called Net Promoter Score (NPS), the company began to track changes in customer attitudes and loyalty, tying compensation to improvements in NPS scores. ââ¬Å"If we can create a sales and marketing function thatââ¬â¢s as good as finance at GE, Iââ¬â¢ll change this company,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"But it will take ten years to drive these changes. â⬠21 Yet despite all these efforts, the reality was that just as many of GEââ¬â¢s roducts were becoming commodities, its service contracts were increasingly going to the lowest bidder and not providing the barriers to entry they once did. GEââ¬â¢s solution was to make itself indispensable by building enduring relationships based not only on offering its products and services but also its expertise. One initiative, dubb ed ââ¬Å"At the Customer, For the Customerâ⬠(ACFC, as it soon became known), was designed to bring GEââ¬â¢s most effective internal tools and practices to bear on its customersââ¬â¢ challenges. Immelt used health care as an example of what GE could offer.With cost control being a major concern as health-care expenditures headed toward 20% of GDP, Immelt felt that GE could help its customers, only 50% of which were profitable. ââ¬Å"Through our health care services agreements, we are the hospitalsââ¬â¢ productivity partner,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"We completed more than 6,000 Six Sigma projects with health care providers in 2002 and these projects are improving the quality of patient care and lowering costs. â⬠22 In addition, the company began bundling its services and linking its products to clinical information technology.It also added a health-care financial services business to the GE Health Care organization to provide it with specialized financing support. ââ¬Å"The phrase ââ¬Ësolutions providerââ¬â¢ is so overused it makes us all snore,â⬠said Immelt. ââ¬Å"I want GE to be essential to those whom we serve, a critical part of the profit equation, a long-term partner, a friend. â⬠23 Driving for Growth: New Platforms, New Processes Beginning in 2002, Immelt had challenged his business leaders to identify growth business platforms with the potential to generate $1 billion in operating profit within the next few years.In response, six opportunities had emerged: health-care information systems, security and sensors, water technology and services, oil and gas technology, Hispanic broadcasting, and consumer finance. By the end of 2002, these businesses represented $9 billion in revenue and $2 billion in operating profit. But, as Immelt pointed out, at a 15% annual organic growth rate, they were on track to become a much larger portion of GEââ¬â¢s future business portfolio. With 2003ââ¬â¢s major acquisitions such as Am ersham and VUE, the company added new growth platforms such as biosciences and film/DVD to its list.Through other acquisitions, renewable energy Do 8 This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. No tC op yo Immelt also believed GE could significantly strengthen its customer relationships by becoming more of a services provider. In 2002, $23 billion of the companyââ¬â¢s $132 billion revenue came from services, but with its massive installed base of more than 100,000 long-lived jet engines, locomotives, power generators, and medical devices in the field, the CEO saw the potential service annuity stream.As someone who had increased GE Medical Systemsââ¬â¢ share of service business from 25% to 42% in the three and a half years he headed that operation, Immelt was convinced that services could grow much faster than hardware and at much higher profit levels. To underscore his belief, whenever businesses developed important service contractsââ¬âGE Transportationââ¬â¢s sale of its IT-based dispatch system to railroad customers to increase locomotive utilization, for exampleââ¬âhe celebrated them very publicly. rP os t GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative 06-087 (wind, solar, biomass), coal gasification, and supply chain financing became elements of GEââ¬â¢s new growth platform. And the emphasis on services built a series of businesses in environmental services, nondestructive testing, and asset optimization that were also seen as having high growth potential. In defining and then building these growth platforms, GE followed its normal disciplined approach. First, management segmented the broad markets and identified the high-growth segments where they believed they could add value.Then, they typically launched their initiative with a small acquisition in that growth platform. After integrating it into GE, the objective was to transform the acquisitionââ¬â¢s business model by applying GE growth initiatives (services and globalization, for example) that could leverage its existing resources and capabilities. As a final step, the company applied its financial muscle to the new business, allowing it to invest in organic growth or further acquisitions. The objective was to grow it rapidly while simultaneously generating solid returns.As Immelt summarized, ââ¬Å"A key GE strength is our ability to conceptualize the future, to identify unstoppable trends, and to develop new ways to grow. The growth platforms we have identified are markets that have above average growth rates and can uniquely benefit from GEââ¬â¢s capabilities. . . . Growth is the initiative, the core competency that we are building in GE. â⬠24 Aligning Management: New People Profiles The biggest challenge Immelt saw in implementing his agenda was to make growth the personal mission of every one of the companyââ¬â¢s 310,000 employees worldwide. If I want people to take more risks, solve bigger problems, and grow the business in a way thatââ¬â¢s never been done before, I have to make it personal,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"So I tell people, ââ¬ËStart your career tomorrow. If you had a bad year, learn from it and do better. If you had a good year, Iââ¬â¢ve already forgotten about it. ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ 25 As the company began to implement its new growth strategy, the CEO worried that some of his current management team might not have the skills or abilities to succeed in the more entrepreneurial risk-taking environment he was trying to create.Realizing that this implied a massive challenge to develop a new generation of what he termed ââ¬Å"growth leaders,â⬠he said: Historically, we have been known as a company that developed professional managers . . . broad problem solvers with experience in multiple businesses and functions. However, I wanted to raise a generation of g rowth leadersââ¬âpeople with market depth, customer touch, and technical understanding. This change emphasizes depth. We are expecting people to spend more time in a business or a job.We think this will help leaders develop ââ¬Å"market instinctsâ⬠so important for growth, and the confidence to grow global businesses. 26 Do No Beyond changes in career path development that emphasized more in-depth experience and fewer job rotations, GEââ¬â¢s HR professionals wanted to identify the new personal competencies that growth leaders would need to exhibit. Benchmarking GE against best practice, they researched the leadership tC op yo GEââ¬â¢s expansion into Hispanic broadcasting provides an example of the process.After identifying this as a fast-growth segment in its broadcast business, the company acquired Telemundo, the number two player in the Hispanic entertainment segment. Believing that the Hispanic demographic would drive growth, management felt that it would be able to apply GEââ¬â¢s capabilities to fix Telemundoââ¬â¢s struggling business model. Through 2002 and 2003, NBC offered its management and programming expertise, helping Telemundo to evolve from purchasing 80% of its content to producing two-thirds of its own broadcast material.In the second half of 2003, Telemundo grew its ratings by 50% over the first half and captured 25% of the Hispanic advertising market. The company expected revenues to grow more than 20% in 2004. This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. rP os t 9 306-087 GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative profiles at 15 large global companies ââ¬âToyota and Dell among themââ¬âthat had grown for more than a decade at three times GDP rates or better.In late 2004, they arrived at a list of five action-oriented leadership traits they would require: an external f ocus that defines success in market terms; an ability to think clearly to simplify strategy into specific actions, make decisions, and communicate priorities; the imagination and courage to take risks on people and ideas; an ability to energize teams through inclusiveness and connection with people, building both loyalty and commitment; and an expertise in a function or domain, using depth as a source of confidence to drive change.To help develop these characteristics, each business created 20 to 30 ââ¬Å"pillar jobsâ⬠: customer-facing, change-oriented assignments in which growth leaders could be developed in assignments of at least four to five years. The new leadership competencies also became the criteria for all internal training programs and were integrated into the evaluation processes used in all management feedback. Funding the Growth: Operating Excellence Do Yet another operating initiative called ââ¬Å"simplificationâ⬠aimed at reducing overhead from 11% of rev enue to 8%.Targeting reductions in the number of legal entities, headquarters, ââ¬Å"rooftops,â⬠computer systems, and other overhead-type costs not directly linked to growth, the company set a goal of removing $3 billion of such costs over three years. In the first year, the commercial finance business consolidated into three customer service/operations centers and expected to save $300 million over three years. In another simplification move, the consumer and industrial business brought its three existing headquarters into one, saving more than $100 million in structural costs.And the transportation and energy businesses began sharing some IT and operational assets that also reduced structural costs by some $300 million annually. 10 This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. No By 2004, while the drives for cash generation and cost re duction were still in place, Immelt added a new initiative called Lean Six Sigma, which borrowed the classic tools of lean manufacturing and set them to new applications.In its industrial businesses, the focus was on reducing working capital and improving return on equity, while in its commercial finance business it was on margin expansion, risk management, and cost reduction. Through these efforts, in 2003ââ¬â2004, the company achieved $2. 7 billion in improvement in working capital and expected that kind of progress to continue. tC While driving growth, Immelt never forgot that he inherited a great operating company. He did not want long-term growth to distract managers from current performance. Iââ¬â¢ve always worried about a jailbreak,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"How do we make sure people donââ¬â¢t say ââ¬ËJeff doesnââ¬â¢t care about productivityââ¬â¢? â⬠29 So he insisted that innovation be ââ¬Å"funded with an intent to lead, but paid for by increasing prod uctivity. â⬠30 During 2003, for example, about one-third of the Six Sigma specialists were focused on a new initiative called ââ¬Å"cash entitlement. â⬠The target was for GE to be twice as good as competitors on a number of benchmarks such as accounts receivable or inventory turnover. At ull potential, Immelt told his team, it would free up an additional $7 billion in cash. op yo Immelt was also quite involved personally in developing growth leaders on his team. In response to a question about his time utilization, he said, ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢m probably spending 20% of my time with customers, 30% of my time on people, teaching and coaching . . . [and] 10% of my time on governance, working with the board, and meeting with investors. The rest would be time spent on the plumbing of the company, working on operating reviews and strategy sessions. 27 But, as he regularly pointed out, the time he spent on the ââ¬Å"plumbingâ⬠in operating reviews and strategy sessionsââ¬â ââ¬Å"touch points,â⬠he called themââ¬âwas primarily about people development. He was committed to make ââ¬Å"every moment a learning opportunity, every activity a source of evaluation. â⬠28 rP os t GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative 306-087 Preparing for Liftoff: Innovation and Internationalization As 2004 progressed, the worldwide economy gradually started to turn around, and GE began showing signs of more robust growth. By yearââ¬â¢s end, nine of its 11 businesses had grown their earnings by double digits.For the first time, Immelt sounded confident that the company was finally moving beyond the disappointing results of the previous three years and onto the growth trajectory for which he had been preparing it. In his annual letter to stakeholders in February 2005, he recalled his time as a college football player to draw a sports analogy to GEââ¬â¢s recent performance: GE has ââ¬Å"played hurtâ⬠for the last few years. . . . So we we nt to the ââ¬Å"training room. â⬠These difficult years triggered a critical review of our capabilities, and as a result, we initiated an exciting transformation.We invested more than $60 billion to create a faster-growing company. We committed to divest $15 billion of slow-growth assets. We built new capabilities, launched new products, expanded globally and invested in the GE brand. Now the company has begun an era of strong performance. . . . Weââ¬â¢re back at full strength. This is our time. 31 To underscore the point, he predicted that GEââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"growth enginesâ⬠ââ¬âbusinesses whose earnings growth since 1999 had averaged 15% annuallyââ¬âwould generate 90% of the companyââ¬â¢s earnings in 2005, compared with only 67% in 2000. See Exhibit 5 for a representation of the shift. ) Due to this transformation of the business portfolio and also the addition of more than a dozen new capabilities from biosciences to renewable energy, Immelt claimed that f or the first time in 20 years, GE was positioned to grow its industrial earnings faster than its financial services earnings. Imagination Breakthroughs Do No To drive his earlier growth platform challenge deep into the organization, the CEO launched a process he called ââ¬Å"imagination breakthroughs,â⬠quickly abbreviated to IBs.These were projectsââ¬â technological innovations, market expansion opportunities, product commercialization proposals, or ideas to create value for customersââ¬âthat had the potential to generate, over a three-year horizon, at least $100 million in incremental earnings. The process required each business leader to submit at least three breakthrough proposals a year for review by the Commercial Council. ââ¬Å"Imagination Breakthroughs are a protected class of ideasââ¬âsafe from budget slashers because Iââ¬â¢ve blessed each one,â⬠said Immelt. ââ¬Å"What weââ¬â¢re trying to do is take risks, using my point of view.I have the bi ggest risk profile and broadest time horizon in the company . . . so I can bring to bear the right risk-taking and time horizon tradeoffs. â⬠32 A year into the program, 80 IB initiatives had been identified and qualifiedââ¬âhalf technically based programs and half commercial innovations. Immelt had assigned the companyââ¬â¢s best people to drive them and had committed $5 billion over the next three years to fully fund them. In that time, they were expected to deliver $25 billion of additional revenue growth. By 2005, 25 IBs were generating revenue. The big difference is that the business leaders have no choices here,â⬠Immelt explained. ââ¬Å"Nobody is allowed not to play. Nobody can say, ââ¬ËIââ¬â¢m going to sit this one out. ââ¬â¢ Thatââ¬â¢s the way you drive change. â⬠33 Believing that the businesses could initiate 200 such projects over the next year or two, Immelt said, ââ¬Å"Our employees want to live their dreams. It is up to me to give the m that platform. I can help them take smart risks that will win over time. . . . We aim to be the best in the world at turning small ideas into huge businesses. â⬠34 tC op yoThis document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. rP os t 11 306-087 GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative Of Town Halls and Dreaming To stimulate ideas that would drive the imagination breakthroughs, Immelt continued to push his leaders to get out in the field and in touch with the market. Setting the example himself by spending at least five days a month with customers, he began creating forums he called ââ¬Å"town hall meetings. Here, several hundred customers would gather together to hear where GEââ¬â¢s CEO wanted to take his company, to provide input on that direction, and to suggest how GE could be more helpful to them. For example, in one meeting wit h the CEOs and key operating managers of companies in the railroad industry, Immelt spent an afternoon listening to their view of their industry situation, the key trends, and its five- to 10-year outlook. GEââ¬â¢s CEO then asked them to think through a number of scenarios including higher fuel prices, a growth in east-west rail shipments due to increasing Chinese imports, and so on.He then challenged them to think through how they would spend $200 million to $400 million on R&D at GE. The ensuing debate highlighted, for example, the relative importance of spending on fuel efficiency versus information technology to optimize rail movement planning. But Immelt was careful to note that while the company listened carefully to the input, GE always made its own choices on these investments. ââ¬Å"I love customers. I get great insight from them, but I would never let them set our strategy for us,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"But by talking to them, I can put it in my own language.Customers always pay our bills, but they will never pick our people or set our strategies. â⬠36 Infrastructure for Developing Countries: A New Growth Market In 2004, Immeltââ¬â¢s push for globalization also began bearing fruit with revenues from outside the U. S. growing 18% to $72 billion. Of this, the developing world accounted for $21 billion, an even more impressive 37% increase on the previous year, leading Immelt to predict that over the next decade, 60% of GEââ¬â¢s international growth would come from developing countries.China represented the most visible growth opportunity, but he also planned to expand aggressively into India, Russia, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South America. Through the imagination breakthrough program, proposals for improving GEââ¬â¢s ways of doing business in the developing world began bubbling up. For example, one plan that would quickly generate $100 million in sales involved shipping unassembled locomotives to Russia, In dia, and China, where they would be assembled in local factories and workshops. Furthermore, through an initiative known as ââ¬Å"one GE,â⬠the ompany began creating vertical teams to deliver what it called enterprise selling. For example, companywide enterprise teams had targeted the Olympics in Beijing, Vancouver, and London and were aiming to deliver additional sales of $1 billion in energy, security, lighting, and health-care products to those venues. And increasingly GE was adopting ââ¬Å"company-to-country relationshipsâ⬠in selling infrastructure projects. It was an approach that had helped it book $8 billion in Middle East orders in 2005, twice the level of 2003. Do 12This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. No tC op yo As an outgrowth of these meetings, Immelt decided to create another forum that he described as ââ¬Å" dreaming sessions. â⬠In these sessions, he engaged in intensive conversations with a group of senior executives drawn from key customers in a particular industry to try to identify major industry trends, their likely implications for them, and how GE might be able to help them.Immelt understood the importance of his own role in these meetings. ââ¬Å"If I show up, weââ¬â¢ll get six CEOs to show up,â⬠he said. ââ¬Å"So you donââ¬â¢t have to cut through anything else if we all do it together. We can make some high-level tradeoffs that way. â⬠35 rP os t GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative 306-087 Reorganizing for Efficiencyââ¬âand Growth Driven by such developments, in July 2005, Immelt announced a major reorganization that consolidated GEââ¬â¢s 11 businesses into six large units, one of which was GE Infrastructure.Integrating aircraft engines, rail products, water energy, oil and gas, and some financial services, the unit was headed by GE v eteran David Calhoun, who aimed to offer one-stop shopping for all infrastructure products and services. Immeltââ¬â¢s expectation was that by focusing on the needs of an underserved customer groupââ¬âthe governments of developing countriesââ¬âGE could tap into investments in developing country infrastructure predicted to be $3 trillion over the next 10 years. Going Forward: Immeltââ¬â¢s Challenges His main challenge now as he saw it was to maintain the growth in this $150 billion global giant.But to those who felt GE was too big to grow so fast, he had a clear response: Do No The corporate landscape is littered with companies that allowed themselves to be trapped by size. But GE thrives because we use our size to help us grow. Our depth allows us to lead in big markets by providing unmatched solutions for our customers; our breadth allows us to spread concepts across the company, leveraging one small idea to create big financial gains; and our strength allows us to tak e the risks required to grow. . . Our goal is not just to be big, but to use our size to be great. 38 All he had to do now was convince the financial markets that the changes he had initiated would enable this global giant to deliver on his promise of continued double-digit growth. tC In 2006, Immelt felt that GE was well placed on the growth path he had laid out over four years earlier. Between 2002 and 2005, he had put $30 billion of divestitures on the block, completed $65 billion in acquisitions, and made major investments in new capabilities in technology, marketing, and innovation.He now represented GEââ¬â¢s growth engine as a linked six-part process (see Exhibit 6). While the components varied little from his original 2001 list of growth elements, he explained the difference: ââ¬Å"Youââ¬â¢ve got to have a process. Investors have to see it is repeatable. . . . It took time, though, to understand growth as a process. If I had worked out that wheel-shaped diagram in 2001 , I would have started with it. But in reality, you get these things by wallowing in them awhile. â⬠37 op yoWhile one objective of the reorganization was to create savings (expected to be $400 million in administrative costs alone), Immelt emphasized that a more important goal was to better align the businesses with customer and market needs. But he also made clear that he wanted to create an organization that gave more opportunity for younger growth leaders to drive their businesses. The six new macrobusiness groupsââ¬âGE Industrial, GE Commercial Financial Services, NBC Universal, GE Health Care, GE Consumer Finance, and GE Infrastructureââ¬âwould each be led by one of GEââ¬â¢s most experienced top executives.But these individuals would be forced to step back more from operations and spend most of their time coaching, developing, and supporting the younger managers who were to be pulled up into the 50-odd profit-responsible units directly under them. It was all par t of the companyââ¬â¢s commitment to developing its growth leaders and the businesses they ran. This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. rP os t 13 306-087 -14-Exhibit 1 GEââ¬â¢s Performance, 2001ââ¬â2005: Selected Financial Data General Electric Company and Consolidated Affiliates (in millions, per share amounts in dollars) Do 2003 $112,886 13,766 2,057 15,823 -587 15,236 7,759 19. 60% 2002 $113,856 15,798 -616 15,182 -1,015 14,167 7,266 27. 20% 2001 $107,558 12,948 1,130 14,078 -287 13,791 6,555 24. 70% $ 1. 37 0. 2 1. 57 -0. 06 1. 51 1. 37 0. 21 1. 58 -0. 06 1. 52 0. 77 32. 42ââ¬â21. 30 30. 98 503,610 647,828 170,309 10,018,587 670,000 $ 1. 58 -0. 06 1. 51 -0. 1 1. 41 1. 59 -0. 06 1. 52 -0. 1 1. 42 0. 73 41. 84ââ¬â21. 40 24. 5 441,768 575,236 138,570 9,947,113 655,000 $ 1. 29 0. 11 1. 4 -0. 03 1. 37 1. 3 0. 11 1. 42 -0. 03 1. 39 0. 66 52. 90ââ¬â28. 25 40. 08 373,550 495,012 77,818 9,932,245 625,000 No 2005 $149,702 18,275 -1,922 16,353 ââ¬â 16,353 9,647 17. 60% 2004 $134,481 16,285 534 16,819 ââ¬â 16,819 8,594 17. 60% tC 1. 73 -0. 18 1. 55 ââ¬â 1. 55 0. 91 37. 34ââ¬â32. 67 35. 05 626,586 673,342 212,281 10,569,805 634,000 161,000 155,000 316,000 This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860.Selected Financial Data Revenues Earnings from continuing operations before accounting changes Earnings (loss) from discontinued operations, net of taxes Earnings before accounting changes Cumulative effect of accounting changes Net earnings Dividends declared Return on average shareowners' equity (a) Per share Earnings from continuing operations before accounting changesââ¬â diluted Earnings (loss) from discontinued operationsââ¬âdiluted Earnings before accounting changesââ¬âdiluted Cumulative effect of accounting changesââ¬âdiluted Net earningsââ¬âdiluted Earnings from continuing operations before accounting changesââ¬â basic Earnings (loss) from discontinued operationsââ¬âbasic Earnings before accounting changesââ¬âbasic Cumulative effect of accounting changesââ¬âbasic Net earningsââ¬âbasic Dividends declared Stock price range Year-end closing stock price Total assets of continuing operations Total assets Long-term borrowings Shares outstandingââ¬âaverage (in thousands) Shareowner accountsââ¬âaverage Employees at year-end United States Other Countries Total Employees op yo 1. 72 -0. 18 1. 54 ââ¬â 1. 54 $ 1. 56 0. 05 1. 61 ââ¬â 1. 61 1. 57 0. 05 1. 62 ââ¬â 1. 62 0. 82 37. 75ââ¬â28. 88 36. 5 618,241 750,507 207,871 10,399,629 658,000 165,000 142,000 307,000 155,000 150,000 305,000 $ 161,000 154,000 315,000 158,000 152,000 310,000 Source: GE 2005 Annual Report. rP os t GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative 306-087 Exhibit 2GE Stock Price and P/E Multiple vs. S 500 Performance, 1995ââ¬â2005 GE Price & P/E vs. S 500 1995-2006 (indexed 1/1995=100) 700 GE Price & S 500 (indexed 1/95=100) 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 97 96 95 Ja nJa nJa n- GE P/E S 500 GE Price op yo 99 00 01 02 Ja nJa n03 Ja nJa nJa n- 30 20 10 0 04 05 Ja nJa n06 Ja n- 98 Source: Thomson Datastream International. Do No tC Ja n- GE P/E (%) This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. rP os t 60 50 40 15 306-087 -16- Exhibit 3 GE Financial Performance, 1981ââ¬â2000 ($ millions) Do 000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1991 1986 1981 $129,853 10,717 -9,296 4,081 25. 7% 25. 0% 24. 0% 3,535 3,138 1,808 12. 2% 8,203 7,280 2,636 ââ¬â492 9,296 8,203 7,280 3,943 $111,630 $100,469 $90,840 $79,179 $51,283 $36,725 3,689 N/A 2,492 1,081 17. 3% $27,240 N/A N/A 1,652 715 19. 1% 12,735 ââ¬â10,717 General Electric Company & Consolidated Affiliates Revenues Earnings from continuing operations Loss from discontinued operations 12,735 4,786 Net earnings 5,647 26. 8% Dividends declared 27. 5% No 3. 87 3. 81 1. 71 1. 47 159. 5-94. 3 405,200 71,427 3,277,826 3,268,998 3,274,692 59,663 46,603 355,935 304,012 103. 9-69. 0 76. 6-47. 9 1. 25 1. 08 0. 95 3. 21 2. 80 2. 46 2. 16 3. 27 2. 84 2. 50 2. 20 2. 55 1. 51 1. 04 78. 1-53. 272,402 49,246 3,307,394 166,508 22,602 1,737,863 2. 73 N/A 1. 18 44. 4-33. 2 84,818 100,001 912,594 Earned on average shareownersââ¬â¢ equity Per share: Net earnings N/A N/A N/A 69. 9-51. 1 20,942 1,059 227,528 Net earningsââ¬âdiluted tC 53. 1-34. 7 167,000 143,000 -310,000 293,000 -130,000 163,000 165,000 155,000 111,000 173,000 84,000 -62,000 -276,000 49,000 Dividends declared 181. 5-125. 0 437,006 82,132 3,299,037 Stock price rangea Total assets of continuing operations Long-term borrowings Shares outsta ndingââ¬âaverage (in thousands) Employees at year-end: 168,000 145,000 -313,000 United States 302,000 N/A 71,000 N/A N/A N/A 239,000 284,000 373,000 404,000Other countries Discontinued operations (primarily U. S. ) Total employees op yo Source: GE annual reports, various years. This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. aPrice unadjusted for four 2-for-1 stock splits during the period. rP os t 306-087 -17- Exhibit 4 Do No tC op yo GE Portfolio: Growth Engines and Cash Generators This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860.As of January 1, 2004, GE has reorganized its 13 businesses into 11 focused on markets and customersââ¬âseven Growth Engines, which generate about 85% of earnings and are market leaders with strengths in technology, cost, services, global distribution and capital efficiency; and four Cash Generators, which consistently generate strong cash flow and grow earnings in an expanding economy. This chart reflects the most significant changes: the combination of Aircraft Engines and Rail into GE Transportation; the combination of Industrial Systems and Consumer Products into Consumer & Industrial, with portions of Industrial Systems moving to other businesses; and the formation of Infrastructure from portions of Industrial Systems and Specialty Materials. Results for 2003 in this annual report are reported on the 13-business basis in effect in 2003. P os t Source: GE 2003 Annual Report, p. 6. 306-087 GEââ¬â¢s Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative Exhibit 5 GEââ¬â¢s Representation of its Portfolio Transformation, 2000ââ¬â2006 Portfolio Transformation GE has added more than a dozen new capabilities to its seven Growth Engines, which should generate approx imately 90% of GEââ¬â¢s earnings in 2005, substantially more than five years ago. The Growth Enginesââ¬âTransportation, Energy, Healthcare, NBC Universal, Infrastructure, Commercial Finance and Consumer Financeââ¬âare robust, capital-effective businesses with leadership positions for sustained doubledigit earnings and cash flow growth. New Growth CapabilitiesBiosciences Film + DVD Healthcare Information Technology Renewable Energy (Wind, Solar, Biomass) Coal Gasification Water Security Hispanic Television Oil & Gas Exploration Technology Services (Asset Optimization, Environmental Services, Non-Destructive Testing) ââ¬Å"Verticalâ⬠Financing Full Supply-Chain Financing Real Estate Operations Global Mortgage Source: GE 2004 Annual Report, p. 4. Do 18 This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. No tC op yo rP os t GEââ¬â¢s Gr owth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative 306-087 Exhibit 6 GE Growth Strategy: Core Elements, 2005 Version Customer ValueUse our process excellence to create customer value and drive growth Growth Leaders Inspire and develop people who know how to help customers and GE grow Globalization tC Create opportunities everywhere and expand in developing markets Do No Source: ââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬â-GROWTH IS THE GE INITIATIVE After growing historically at an average of 5% revenue growth, in 2004, we launched this initiative to achieve 8% organic growth per year. This is about twice the rate of our industrial and financial peers. We want to make or ganic growth a process that is predictable and reliable. ââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬âââ¬â- GE 2005 Annual Report. op yo Execute for Growth Commercial Excellence Create a world-class marketing and sales capability to drive ââ¬Å"one GEâ⬠in the marketplace This document is authorized for use only by DINDIN SYARIFUDIN until August 2009. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. [emailà protected] harvard. edu or 617. 783. 7860. rP os t Innovation Generate new ideas and develop capabilities to make them a reality Leadership in Technology Have the best products, content and s
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)