Essay --

Corporate level strategy is about creating value by coordinating resources crossways business units and finding new ways to set and capitalise on the organisations capabilities over a long-term horizon. GEs corporate strategy between 1981 and 2001 was all about transaction and efficiency (Bucifal, 2009). Grand strategies adopted and implemented during the period are restructuring, retrenchment, divestment, scholarships and mergers. Through his organisational restructure CEO Welch eliminated several layers of management and shed a large summate of jobs. He led a sustained attack on bureaucratic processes and in its place he sought to instill a culture of candidness, confidence, caution and imaginative thinking at every level of the organisation. He implemented an important restructure of the GE business portfolio, spotlighting on a restricted progeny of sectors with promising performance and growth potential, whilst retaining a fairly diversified portfolio of businesses. This w as achieved through the sale of GEs less profitable businesses and retention or acquisition of businesses identified as number one or number two in their industry (Grant 2008, p.304). The strategy led to several huge divestments and the shifting of tension towards GEs technology-based businesses and service businesses (Bock 2001). A series of acquisitions that followed led to the phenomenal growth of GE Capital, which became one of the worlds leading diversified monetary services companies (Grant 2008, p.304). He continuously stretched performance targets through planning strategically, controlling finance, and the management of human resource. Welch introduced periodic corporate initiatives which became known as GEs Operating System. The major initi... ...eir strategy can yet still be improved, however. Currently, MobileMe - a service Apple offers on its iPhones to that keeps contacts, calendar, and email in sync across multiple devices over the air - is a premium service that c osts $99 per year. This is the wrong approach. MobileMe should be free and integrated into Apples platforms rather than a premium service. MobileMe should act like the fastener that integrates the platforms and as an attraction for users. Apples objective should be to get maximum MobileMe clients. Users, who are joyous using MobileMe across their various devices, are less likely to switch to a competitors product. This is what Google has done so well with the Android OS on smartphones and tablets. The iBook Store, too, which at the moment is like a book store, should instead become a print media platform for books, newspapers and magazines.