Part 1 General ElectricThe history of General Electric Company (GE) is a significant part of the history of technology in the United States. General Electric, which ranked fifth in the Fortune 500 in 2003, becomes even more evident through the revelation that each of the company's 11 operating units, if listed separately, would qualify as a Fortune 500 company. GE operates in more than 100 countries and generates approximately 45% of the company's revenue outside the United States (General Electric, 2008).
In 1992, reflective of restructuring efforts in other GE divisions, the company accomplished profit growth by slashing its engineering workforce from 10,000 to 4,000. This action reduced the Aircraft Engine Group payroll by about 50%, among other cost-cutting moves. Despite a global economic downturn in the early 1990s, GE managed to keep aggregate sales from the technology, service, and manufacturing operations stable at $60 billion annually (Warner, 2002).
General Electric Automatic Iron Box
General Electric Automatic Iron Box
General Electric Automatic Iron BoxGlobal Communications is attempting to cut costs and increase profits, which will allow the company to expand the company. In 1996, the GE appliance division acquired a 73% interest in Dako, the leading manufacturer of gas ranges in Brazil. GE Capital Services expanded in Japan through the 1996 purchase of an 80% stake in Marubeni Car System Co., an auto-leasing firm. The 1998 acquisition of Koei Credit, the consumer finance business of Lake Corporation, and the 1998 formation of GE Edison, following the purchase of the sales operation of Toho Mutual Life Insurance, made GE Capital the first foreign company involved in the Japanese life-insurance market (General Electric, 2008).
General Electric has been a multi-business company for over 125 years, which allowed the company to capture new opportunities created by ever-changing technology. In 2005, GE launched "Ecomagination," an initiative to become a green company (Answers, 2008). Global Communications has to...