Case study of Jack Welch at General Electric Essay

Case study of Jack Welch at General Electric - Essay Example According to this definition, Welch partly fulfilled the corporate social responsibility. In the Welch era, the General Electric Company fulfilled numerous responsibilities to the society. For instance, the company fulfilled its economic responsibilities by paying taxes worth 5.7 billion US dollars in 2000, and enriching shareholders and pension funds to its employees. In addition, the company enriched its managers, transforming them into multimillionaires. Additionally, the company was involved in sponsorships in 2000 where it established a charitable institution, the GE fund, which completed 40 million US dollars in donations to educational institutions and non-profit organizations in United States. However, General Electric Company under the Welch era can be criticized for its lack of corporate social responsibility. Welch’s leadership was not appeasing to everyone for numerous reasons. He was regarded as a ruthless employment cutter where he laid off a mass of employees during his tenure. Needless to say, he also emphasized on globalization where he transferred labor to low wage countries. This created unemployment within the society and loss of labor within United States. The defective evaluation system and the pollution in the Hudson Rivers also constituted a lack of corporate responsibility to the society. Though no company ever achieves this paragon, General Electric Company should have endeavored to attain it. In order to achieve this, the Welch should have devised a fair evaluation system that would reduce the rate of layoffs in the company and motivate its employees, and device other environment friendly disposal methods that would reduce pollution to the society. The General Electric Company under Welch illustrates a constricted standpoint of corporate social responsibility nearly similar to friedman’s perspective that the only corporate social