GE has long been a company whose culture was characterized by inbreeding. Since the advent of Jeffrey R. Immelt at its helm, however, a cultural revolution is in the works (Brady, 2005). Immelt came on board during a lagging domestic economy and a greater threat from global competitors and "has been on a mission to transform the hard-driving, process-oriented company into one steeped in creativity and wired for growth" (Brady, 2005). In GE's old regime under Jack Welch, what mattered most was "cost-cutting, efficiency, and dealmaking...the continual improvement of operations," but under Immelt, the key imperatives are "risk-taking, sophisticated marketing, and above all, innovation" (Brady, 2005). Immelt is requiring business leaders to submit a minimum of three "Imagination Breakthrough" proposals per year to be reviewed by the council, and each project is required to provide GE incremental growth of at least $100 million (Brady, 2005).
Given GE's global presence and its variety of types of power stations all over the world, its corporate culture differs from its headquarters to its local power stations. As Jacques Bélanger notes in his book Being Local Worldwide, "The smaller companies in the electrotechnical industry are more focused [as they]...do not have the resources to cover the whole range of possible technologies and products" (19). Similarly, GE's local power stations around the world are often mavericks that do not reflect the corporate vision or culture because they are disconnected from it by distance and purpose.
Bélanger, Jacques. Being Local Worldwide: ABB and the Challenge of Global Management. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1999.
Brady, Diane. "The Immelt Revolution." BusinessWeek, 28 March 2005. ...