General Electric Company Analysis

The General Electric’s unwavering commitment to innovate has paid off in the creation of wealth, position in global competition and sustained growth. To maintain this trend, much need to be done to chart the progress and the performance of the GE’s new products ideas in the market, including identifying new customers and technology. The company is set to advance and improve the resources that will impact technology in the world. For instance, the more essential utilities that will power the company’s operations, locomotives, and planes, as well as engage global brain to come up with a bigger breakthrough funnel, new technology solutions, and disruptive innovations. GE is also set to foster rapid computing and advance connectivity to create a new era in its working; that creates a network of experts, makers, and entrepreneurs. The company is also driving reach of community solvers and open innovation to increase the way for the firm to expand its innovation solutions from the new technology pipeline. GE is identifying the changes that shape the landscape of the business through surveying the occurring phenomena to proceed with the efforts of growth and innovation (Grant, 2016). Using its strengths, GE is identifying the rise of new markets, shifts in large demographics, the growth of infrastructure, technology, and consumers’ environmental awareness.

Table: General Electric SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Ø Research and Development

Ø Global recognition

Ø Diversified business portfolio

Ø Excellent management and strong culture made of technology, people and systems

Ø Economic leader

Weaknesses

Ø Energy sector that is underperforming

Ø Unsuccessful financial market leading to turmoil

Ø Industrial segment with weak revenue growth

Ø Asian markets which are underperforming

Ø Flexibility threat

Opportunities

Ø Infrastructure Development

Ø Growth of aviation industry

Ø Increased global production and exploration

Ø Regeneration and servicing of commercial aircrafts

Threats

Ø Competition rise

Ø Security on information

Ø Senior management weakness, especially in future

Focus

The operations of the General Electric are in four segments: Technology Infrastructure, Consumer Industrial, Capital Finance and Energy. It sells many products across different industries in the world like locomotives, aircraft engines, transportation equipment, laundry and kitchen appliances, control equipment, lighting, turbines, generators, electric distribution and many others. The company also offers a variety of services in the finance industry for business or individual consumer (Tanriverdi, 2006).

The GE participates in nearly all available markets, and this gives the company competitive advantage over its competitors; that is the company’s diversity in every field is its advantage for competition. The marketing capability of the GE attributes to its culture of innovation in technology and economic change entwined inextricably.

Goals and Objectives

Customer analysis. As at the year 2016, GE had $287.6 billion of market capitalization and stood as one of the most iconic and largest manufacturing companies in the world. The company’s largest customer is the United States government which accounts for 3% of its revenues. The corporate customers of the General Electric from the United States are 100 and another 15 corporate customers from the United Kingdom as at 2016. GE has a remarkable presence internationally with at least half of its customers drawn from rest of the world. Four of the five largest corporate customers of the GE come from foreign countries. Other corporate customers of the General Electric are Indonesia Garuda, Briggs & Stratton, Groupo Mexico, China Southern Airlines and GOL Linhas, with market capitalization of $858 million, $1.03 billion, $18.92 billion, $8.61 billion and $271 million respectively (Tanriverdi, 2006). The second largest corporate customer of the General Electric is Briggs & Stratton Briggs followed by Groupo Mexico.

Market opportunities. General Electric healthcare, aviation, gas, oil and mining, transport and power are set to benefit following the lifting of Iranian sanctions. The foreign investment in these industries will go over $250 billion in the next 25 years (Katzman, 2016). Other sectors of American investors have few areas to benefit from the lifting of the sanctions, but the move is going to open market opportunities for the General Electric and buying stock with this company will lead to reaping more rewards. Iran has more than 10% of world’s oil and 15% gas reserves, such that it can supply China with crude oil for forty years (Durand & Jacqueminet, 2015).

The share price of the General Electric has sold off recently as the investors are being excited by its long-term strategic plan. Value buyers could enter the market any time following the decline of price to the point of long-term support (Durand & Jacqueminet, 2015). The company’s share price has severely underperformed in the last decade, going up to the lowest valuation in the past 40 years. The new management is beginning to focus on the areas that GE is performing actively. The company has experienced the sell-off in such a magnitude that with the improvement of trade ideas the share price would pullback.

Technology opportunities. GE is working to conclude its enormous transformation into an industrial company that is highly focused. The industrial environment created will open up opportunities for technology. Some of these opportunities include Alstom, modern internet and service expansion. The industrial internet is set to settle at the intersection sensors connected with internet, analytics of big data, industrial assets and optimization of real-time. The industrial internet is targeted to improve productivity and efficiency of an industrial asset, in an aircraft engine, private firms, wind farms and power plants (Tanriverdi, 2006). It will also benefit the GE’s operations as well as provide solutions to the market.

Following the purchase of a $10.1 billion multinational Alstom’s thermal, renewable and grind businesses, the company will bolster its portfolio of renewable energy. As a result, there is the emergence of a market base for installation of power-generation, and this technology is positioning technology in the power market. Alstom is creating synergies, driving cost savings, and opening up opportunities for the GE cross-selling and growth (Tanriverdi, 2006).

Guidelines

GE is committed to investing in cleaner technology about $25 billion by the year 2020, which will create jobs, grow business and the economy. The company has invested a total of $20 billion on cleaner technology solutions, and Ecomagination between 2015 and 2016, which brought a total of $270 billion revenue in 2016 (Grant, 2016). The GE research centres across the globe continue to push the boundaries of technology and innovation, for instance, the gas power plants with around 65% efficiency of combined-cycle and wind power.

References

Durand, R., & Jacqueminet, A. (2015). Peer conformity, attention, and heterogeneous implementation of practices in MNEs. Journal of International Business Studies, 46(8), 917-937.

Grant, R. M. (2016). Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley & Sons.

Katzman, K. (2016). Iran sanctions. Congressional Research Service Washington United States.

Tanriverdi, H. (2006). Performance effects of information technology synergies in multibusiness firms. Mis Quarterly, 57-77.