Organizational Behavior

In Focus : General Electric 's Best Business and People Practices

General Electric did undergo financial crises in the 1980s and this situation has compelled them to reegineer their organization . Because of the ambivalence and lack of security that employees felt , then CEO Jack Welch has taken it upon himself to ensure that employees felt empowered He made it possible for them to be actively involved in decisions that affect them . With this background , he then established the Work-out , a program which has been implemented across the whole organization (Slater , 1999

This program

has been successful at giving voice to employees and allow them to honestly express their opinions and sentiments , even to their direct superiors (Slater , 1999 . This forum has also been a potent venue for allowing managers to speka with their employees and to empathize with their concerns . This has been considered a milestone in GE history As result , they had a strong sense of empowerment and were actively involved in decision making

In GE 's company culture , it is natural that employees are strictly monitored when carrying out their work . They are also stringently watched as regards their optimal use of time . Given these , they do not have full autonomy over their activities . And yet , there is definitely a very strong impetus on the part of the organization to allow their employees to learn continuously . The more senior members of their management team are more than willing to hand hold more junior members and their capacity to mentor is in fact a critical criterion for evaluating future potential and even upward career movements . Because most of their employees have a very high need for achievement , Jack Welch has noted that there is a tendency to be risk averse . And yet they are also up to the challenge of lofty goals , so long as they are still perceived as achievable . Those who contribute substantially are recognized in various fora (Arnold , Cooper Robertson , 2002

The supervisor or the manager is the one accountable for setting and implementing the procedures and policies within the unit . The objectives of production are established within set parameters and these are culled from the company 's sales projections for the year . Through effective cascade sessions , rank and employees of GE are made aware of what has to be done within the performance period . In addition , performance comparisons against target are made each month . The systematic implementation of performance management is the key in attaining GE 's strategic goals (Managing People , 1999

Among the means of ensuring that it hires only the best and most competent employees is through targeted selection . GE advocates the idea of a right hire resulting to a quick start . Individual goals are strongly linked to corporate objectives and the competency requirements are specified on a per position basis . The competency framework of GE becomes the overarching rationale behind all high end HR systems and structures , linking these systems clearly and logically . These same competency requirements then become the basis for...