Jack Welch Leading Organizational Change at GE

When Jack Welch, the Chairman and CEO at General Electric (GE) retired in 2001, he could look back at a very successful career. He became CEO in 1981 at the age of 45. At that time, GE had a very complex organizational structure with considerably bureaucratic rules. One of his first changes was to initiate a strategy formulation process with the guideline that each of the businesses should be number 1 or 2 in their respective areas. If this was not the case, managers had the options of fixing the problem, selling their particular business, or closing it. In an effort to streamline the organization, Welch removed the sector level and eliminated thousands of salaried and hourly employee positions.

The restructuring was followed by changing the organizational culture and the managerial styles of GE's managers. One such program was the Work-Out（群策群力）.Groups of managers were assembled to share their views openly in three-day sessions. At the beginning of the meetings, the superior presented the challenges for his or her organizational unit. Then the superior had to leave, requesting the groups to find solutions to the problems. Facilitators (会议主持人) helped these discussions. On the last day, the superior was presented with proposed solutions. He or she then had three choices: to accept the proposal, not to accept it, or to collect more information. This process put great pressure on the superior to make decisions.

Another program to improve effectiveness and efficiency was Best Practices. The aim was to learn from other companies how they obtained customer satisfaction, how they related to their suppliers, and in what ways they developed new products. This helped the GE people to focus on the processes in their operations that would improve the company's performance.

Jack Welch was personally involved in developing managers at GE's training center in Crotonville. Leaders, Welch suggested, are not only those who achieve results but also those who share the values of the company. 操作提示：正确选T，错误选F。

1. Jack Welch retired at the age of 65. T

2. Jack Welch insisted that each of the businesses should be at least number 3 in their respective area. F

3. If the business could not meet Welch's change requirements, its manager had 3choices. T 4. The restructuring went before changing the organizational culture and the managerial styles of GE's managers. T

5. The Work Out lasted a week. F 单元自测 7 第一套

一、选择填空题（每题10分，共5题） 题目1

— Terribly sorry to interrupt, but may I use your dictionary? — Yes,______________. 选择一项： A. of course 题目2

— Have you already paid? What's my share of the bill？ — _________. It wasn't very much. 选择一项：

C. Don't worry about it 题目3

All the _____ guests are seated in the front row. 选择一项： C. distinguished 题目4

______ on the hilltop, you could enjoy the scenery of the city bathed in the sun. 选择一项： A. Standing 题目5

______ the importance of English, we should put more effort into it and try to learn it well. 选择一项： A. Given 题目6

二、听力理解：听录音，判断正误（共50分）。 请听录音：

操作提示：正确选“T”，错误选“F”。

1. Two different corporate cultures are discussed in the dialog. T

2. Melinda's company also has a creative culture. F

3. According to Jack, the important thing is to hire the right employees in the first place. T

4. In a creative culture teamwork is not encouraged. F

5. A creative culture is better than a collaborative culture. F 第二套

一、选择填空题（每题10分，共5题） 题目1

— Have you already paid? What's my share of the bill？ — _________. It wasn't very much. 选择一项：

C. Don't worry about it 题目2

— The Auto Show in the City Stadium has been canceled. — Oh, no！_________ 选择一项： A. What a pity! 题目3

The reason _____ he was absent from class yesterday was that he was ill and hospitalized. 选择一项： B. why 题目4

Compared ______ English, Chinese is generally believed to be more difficult to learn. 选择一项： A. with 题目5

What can we expect ____him? 选择一项： B. from 题目6

二、完型填空（共50分）

操作提示：通过下拉选项框选择正确的词汇。

What is museum? A museum is a good place to keep old and beautiful things. A museum may be a place to learn about science. A museum can be a place about art of Indians or animals. What is inside a museum? Some museums have old cars and airplanes. Many museums have pictures and statues （雕像）. Others have rocks and old bones. One museum even has a coal mine inside! Many cities have museums. Some very small towns have museums, too. Indianapolis has a children's museum. Children do not have to pay to get in. Children go to the museum often. They like to look at the dinosaur bones. They see a white bear ten feet tall. They go inside an old log cabin （小木屋）. On Saturday, Indianapolis children can hear talks about animals and trees. They see movies. 单元自测 8 第一套

一、选择填空题（每题10分，共5题） 题目1

— You have to believe in yourself. No one else will, if you don't. — ____________________Confidence is really important. 选择一项：

C. I couldn't agree more. 题目2

— I'd like a wake-up call at 7:00 a.m., please! — OK,________________ . 选择一项：

B. I'll make sure you get one. 题目3

please ______ your hand if you have any question at all. 选择一项： A. raise 题目4

We ________ with achievement. 选择一项： B. are obsessed 题目5