General Electric (Jess Willson)
“A host of external factors influence a firm's choice of direction and action and, ultimately, its organizational structure and internal processes” (Pearce and Robinson, 2004). These factors are the foundation for the forces and trends research. General Electric is a leader in the technological industry providing new innovation in lighting, medical equipment, power transmissions and industrial products. Their vision statement “imagination at work” tells of how GE is constantly striving to create new and innovative products for their company. There are three outside factors that have an impact on GE which are social, economic and technical.
Social
There are more and more utility companies that are providing both electricity and electric related services to try and help their customers decrease their electric bills. These services that are being provided are a benefit to society and include controlling the demand for energy, reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide and trying to slow global warming. The social factors that affect a company “involve the beliefs, values, attitudes, opinions, and lifestyles of persons in the firm’s external environment, as developed from cultural, ecological, demographic, religious, educational, and ethic conditioning”(Pearce and Robinson, 2004). The services that the utility companies are providing are called demand-side management programs or DSM. By using DSM programs, it will reduce the amount of electricity being used by improving the operational and technical efficiency for the consumers. There is a direct load control program that handles the timing of electricity by using control equipment at the consumer’s site or by having pricing options for the electricity ...