CASE # 14
GENERAL ELECTRIC CAMPANY
One
way CEO Jack Welch reshaped and changed General Electric's (GE) culture was the
Work Out program. Welch wanted to reach and motivate 300,000 employees and
insisted that the people on the front lines, where change had to happen, should
be empowered to create that change. The Work Out began in large-scale offsite
meetings. A combination of top leaders, outside consultants, and human
resources specialists led them. Work Outs for each business unit followed the
same basic pattern: hourly and salaried workers came together from many
different parts of the organization in an informal three-to five-day meeting to
discuss and solve problems. The events evolved to include suppliers and
customers as well as employees. Work Out is no longer an event today but instead
is the process by which work is done and problems are solved at GE. The format
for work out follows seven steps: (1) Choose a work process or problem for
discussion, (2) Select an appropriate cross-functional team of 30 to 50 people,
which may also include external stakeholders, (3) Assign a "champion"
to follow through on recommendations, (4) Meet for several days and come up
with recommendations to improve work processes and solve problems, (5) Meet
with leaders, who are required to respond to recommendations on the spot, (6)
Hold additional meetings as needed to implement the recommendations, and (7)
Start the process all over again with a new process or problem. GE's Work Out
process solves problems and improves productivity for the company, but the benefits
go beyond these goals. Employees are able to openly and honestly interact with
each another without regard to vertical or horizontal boundaries. Work Out is
one of the foundations of what Welch calls the "culture of
boundarylessness" that is critical for continuous learning and
improvement.