Sustained profits come from building a competitive advantage. This advantage can be accomplished not only through good financial return on a specific process but also through the correct capacity decisions that must be integrated into the organization’s mission and strategy.

Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric (GE), understood this better than anyone else. Although GE was a profitable and respected company when Welch took over, its financial results during the1970s were troubling to both its investors and senior management. Welch immediately made changes to the company’s structure and management practices. From the beginning, he stressed the importance of being one of the top players in the industry. He told his colleagues that GE should always be number one or number two in all its businesses; if it was not, then their only options would be to fix, sell, or shut down.

Because of this strategic direction, GE today usually dominates the markets in which it participates; and if it does not, then it divests. A major part of GE’s strategy is to be the first or second in every market. As you review the module readings for this week, consider the complexity of GE’s products and its emphasis on vertical integration and capacity planning.

GE’s Profile

The General Electric Company, or GE, is a diversified company that offers
infostructure, media and finance products and services. The company was
originally founded by electrical innovator Thomas Edison. It is also listed as one
of the most admired companies, ranking as number one in electronics and 16th
overall according to Fortune Magazine. For the company’s innovation focus, it was ranked as one of the world’s most innovative companies by Business Week.

GE’s Reach

The General Electric Company is organized into 5 divisions including
“’NBC Universal”, “Technology Infrastructure”, “Consumer & Industrial”, “Energy
Infrastructure” and “Capital Finance”. The company functions in over 100
countries and has over 300,000 employees. For 2009, the company achieved
$11.2 billion in earnings and an industrial cash flow of $16.6 billion. Effective
January 1, 2011, it reorganized the Technology Infrastructure segment into three
segments: Aviation, Healthcare and Transportation.

Services

Chemicals, Petrochemicals, and Fertilizers
Food & Beverage
Government & Public Administration
Metals and Metals Fabrication
Mining (Coal, Minerals, Metals)
Oil & Gas Upstream
Power Generation

GE. (2013). The History of General Electric. Retrieved from http://www.ge.com/about-us/history/1878-1904.

GE. (2013). GE fact sheet. Retrieved from http://www.ge.com/pdf/news/GE-Fact-Sheet.pdf

Using the information above, the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, respond to the following:

• How does GE’s framework give it the opportunity to be at the forefront of the markets in which it participates?
• Examine your own firm or a firm you would like to work for in the light of GE’s framework and respond to the following:
  • Does this firm have the means to execute like GE?
  • Which type of resources would the firm require?
  • How could GE’s lessons be applied to this firm?

Write your initial response in 300–500 words. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

Note: I need 1-2 page paper on the instructions given below. Must include 2-3 scholarly references cited in APA. Must provide 100% original work.

Instructions

Assignment 2: Journaling Exercise

This assignment prepares you for the final Microsoft PowerPoint assignment inM5: Assignment 1. Throughout this course, you have learned to apply a variety of critical thinking techniques to explore and assess contemporary issues.

Often, you may get the best results using a multistep process that provides adequate time to think, write, research, and rewrite. For this assignment, you will review the article by Peter Singer titled “America’s Shame,” which you will also use in M5: Assignment 1.

Using the Argosy University online library resources, review the article by Peter Singer.

• Singer, P. (2009). America’s shame. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 55(27). B6–B10. (EBSCO AN 37137370) 
  http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/
  214643086?accountid=34899

Complete the following:

• Record and describe six of your initial impressions of the article in a journal format.
• Identify and critically analyze the roots of these impressions, i.e., emotional, value based, or fact based. Record these as part of your journal notes. Do note you will use these points for M5: Assignment 1.
• Support your statements with examples and appropriate scholarly references.

You can use the Cornell Note-taking tools to complete this assignment. This tool has been widely used to systematically format and organize notes