THE GENERAL ELECTRIC AND THE HEWLETT PACKARD (HP) Essay

THE GENERAL ELECTRIC AND THE HEWLETT PACKARD (HP) - Essay Example The competitive advantage refers to an advantage gained over competitors either by providing greater value to consumers, by lowering the prices, or by offering more benefits and service which justifies the higher price. Corporate strategies are the central point of achieving the competitive advantage by making assumptions on an organization’s external environment and its resources, and by creating policies on how the organization should operate. General Electric and Hewlett Packard are the two most influential companies in the technology market. A comparative study of the strategies used by GE and HP reveals that both have formulated analogous strategies in the various aspects of their business operation. ----------------- Introduction The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly known as the HP, is a well established and very large global firm founded in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard and headquartered in California, United States. Their products focus mainly on technology li ke computer, printing, digital imaging, and also software services. General Electric (GE) is the producer of diversified technology, media, and services, and was incorporated in 1892. It offers products and services ranging from aircrafts engines, power generation, technology in medical imaging, business and consumer financing, and many more over 100 countries. The GE has a long history of success in their technological trade and their achievements prove the value of their view, â€Å"why predict the future when you can create it?† (Our history). The Economical Environment The economical environment of the business consists of four elements, they are Political, Economic, Social, and technological. The economic environment today is moving through vibrant and unstable phases due to globalization and increasingly competitive markets. However, the Hewlett Packard Company takes advantage of exploiting new markets all around the world, engaging with other multinational corporations . A big advantage to the company is their product diversity which helps them to survive the recession. At the same time, the GE is faced with many social issues regarding environmental pollutions. It has become a topic for controversies with regards to the immense ownership and control over the media sources. The company has been alleged for spending millions of dollars on commercial ads and television program sponsorships to ensure its environmental friendly image. The General Electric Company performs its functions in micro and macro environment. The micro-environment consists with customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders of the business. The GE treats its customers as an integral part of the company in the successful running of the business. The GE has taken higher efforts to integrate the company’s view with the customers’ view rather than considering them as mere investors. As customer service has been considered as the vital part of the performance, it mainta ins three crucial components regarding the quality offered to customers; the employees, the process, and the customers themselves. On the other hand, the organizational culture of HP is built up progressively over a time, which helps the employees to define how they feel about their job. The HP has succeeded in creating a positive influence of the culture on their employees. A positive culture helps to stimulate commitment towards the job and to achieve the proposed goals. Decision Making The General Electric Company employs some basic strategies in their decision making. One among them is to invest and tap the internal market within the reach of the company. This strategy seems to have utilized the principle that ‘a business must be employee-oriented if it wishes to be customer-oriented’