4/1/2018 General Electric's (GE) Vision Statement and Mission Statement - Panmore Institute
Panmore Institute
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT
General Electric’s (GE) Vision Statement
and Mission Statement
UPDATED OCT 20, 2017 | ANDREW THOMPSON
General Electric Company’s (GE) J79-GE-11A (1958) engine
used in the F-104 Star ghter, photographed in Hermeskeil,
http://panmore.com/general-electric-ge-vision-statement-mission-statement
General Electric Company’s (GE) vision
statement and mission statement are
designed to bring the business to the
frontline of industrial progress. A
corporate vision statement re ects the
future aims of the business. In GE’s case,
the corporate vision indicates leadership
as a digital industrial company. On the
other hand, a company’s corporate
mission statement ideally shows the
kinds of strategies that the business
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4/1/2018 General Electric's (GE) Vision Statement and Mission Statement - Panmore Institute

Germany, 2014. General Electric’s corporate mission employs and will employ. General
statement and corporate vision statement point to leadership
in industrial progress in uencing the energy,
Electric’s corporate mission states the
aviation/aerospace, healthcare, electric lighting, oil and gas, company’s aims as a major in uencer of
and transportation industries. (Photo: Public Domain) industrial development. For example,
GE’s aims consider the development of
the energy and oil and gas industries, as well as the development of the
aviation/aerospace industry. Thus, the company has large-scale in uence on other
companies in various industries. General Electric must ensure that its mission and vision
are always relevant to current industry situations and market dynamics to maintain its
position as one of the largest conglomerates in the world.

Managers use General Electric’s corporate mission statement to develop strategies for
the various areas of operations throughout the organization. Such strategies provide a
general approach for addressing business needs in the different subsidiaries of the
business. For example, GE employs general corporate strategies and subsidiary-speci c
strategies for its operations in the aviation, oil and gas, and electric lighting industries.
Also, these strategies in uence General Electric’s operations management approaches.

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4/1/2018 General Electric's (GE) Vision Statement and Mission Statement - Panmore Institute

In relation, managers use GE’s corporate vision statement, which directs the
organization toward desired future business targets.

General Electric’s Vision Statement

General Electric Company’s corporate vision is “to become the world’s premier digital
industrial company, transforming industry with software-de ned machines and solutions
that are connected, responsive and predictive.” In addition to this corporate vision
statement, GE speci es that these machines and solutions are for “executing critical
outcomes for our customers.” The company caters to the needs of a diverse population of
customers. For example, customers in the oil and gas, aerospace/aviation, healthcare,
power, transportation, and electric lighting industries are considered. The following
components are most notable in General Electric’s vision statement:

1. To become the world’s premier digital industrial company

2. Transforming industry with software-de ned machines and solutions that are
connected, responsive and predictive
3. Executing critical outcomes for our customers

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4/1/2018 General Electric's (GE) Vision Statement and Mission Statement - Panmore Institute

The rst element of the corporate vision statement shows that General Electric aims to
be not just any digital industrial company, but the premier one. To achieve and maintain
this status, the company continues to evolve to stay ahead of competitors. For example,
GE integrates advanced computing technologies in its healthcare and
aerospace/aviation products. On the other hand, the second component of the vision
statement de nes what General Electric Company aims to do in terms of its products.
For instance, these products are software-de ned machines and solutions that
transform industry. The third element of the corporate vision states what GE offers to its
customers. Speci cally, the company aims to help customers execute critical outcomes.
These components of the corporate vision statement are also re ected in General
Electric’s corporate mission statement, especially in terms of the company’s
contribution to industrial progress.

General Electric’s Mission Statement

General Electric Company’s corporate mission is “to invent the next industrial era, to
build, move, power and cure the world.” In this regard, the company accounts for the
evolution of industries and markets. For example, large-scale changes in the electric
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4/1/2018 General Electric's (GE) Vision Statement and Mission Statement - Panmore Institute

lighting, power, and transportation industries are considered in the development of this
current corporate mission statement, showing GE’s aims for long-term success, far into
the future. Thus, General Electric’s mission statement has the following major
components:

1. To invent the next industrial era

2. To build, move, power and cure the world

The rst element of General Electric’s corporate mission statement describes what the
company generally does as its main business activity, which is to invent the next
industrial era. To do so, GE ensures that it keeps evolving to introduce new and advanced
products that support industrial progress. This aim in uences General Electric
Company’s generic competitive strategy and intensive growth strategies. The second
component of the corporate mission indicates what the company aims to achieve in
inventing the next industrial era. For example, GE’s operations build, move, power and
cure the world. This component of the corporate mission helps de ne the products
element of General Electric’s marketing mix (4Ps), and shows that the company has
operations in the transportation and aerospace, oil and gas, energy, electric lighting, and
healthcare industries. Considering that inventing the next industrial era is evident of
being a premier digital industrial company, General Electric’s corporate mission
statement and corporate vision statement are strongly connected to each other.

Analysis & Recommendations – General Electric

Company’s Corporate Mission & Corporate Vision
General Electric’s corporate vision statement has components that satisfy the standards
for writing the ideal vision statement. For example, the ideal corporate vision has an
abstract description of a future business condition that is speci cally suited to the
business under consideration. GE’s corporate vision statement satis es these ideal

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4/1/2018 General Electric's (GE) Vision Statement and Mission Statement - Panmore Institute

conventions because it is speci c enough to describe the company’s products, and

abstract enough to encompass the entire organization and its operations as a digital
industrial company. Thus, General Electric Company has a satisfactory vision statement.

General Electric’s corporate mission statement is concise and brief, but satis es only
some of the conventions in writing an ideal mission statement. An ideal mission
statement should generally indicate what the company does, while providing general
ideas about how the business it to reach its vision. In this case, GE’s corporate mission
provides a general description of what the business does, such as inventing the next
industrial era, and building, moving, powering, and curing the world. Even though it
appropriately represents current business operations, General Electric’s mission
statement lacks information about how the company will invent the next industrial era,
or how it will achieve and maintain being the premier digital industrial company
highlighted in the corporate vision statement. In this regard, it is recommended that
General Electric Company add more information into its corporate mission statement to
show how the company should reach its corporate vision, to more effectively guide
business strategies.

References

Ekpe, E. O., Eneh, S. I., & Inyang, B. J. (2015). Leveraging Organizational Performance
through Effective Mission Statement. International Business Research, 8(9), 135.
General Electric Company – Annual Report.
General Electric Company – Form 10-K.
General Electric Company – Our Strategy.
King, D. L., Case, C. J., & Premo, K. M. (2014). Does Company Size Affect Mission
Statement Content? Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 13(1), 21.
Kirkpatrick, S. (2016). Build a Better Vision Statement: Extending Research with Practical
Advice. Rowman & Little eld.

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4/1/2018 General Electric's (GE) Vision Statement and Mission Statement - Panmore Institute

Pace, S. (2017). Shaping Corporate Brands: From Product Features to Corporate

Mission. International Studies of Management & Organization, 47(2), 197-205.

TAGS:
AEROSPACE INDUSTRY, AVIATION INDUSTRY, CASE STUDY & CASE ANALYSIS, 
ELECTRIC LIGHTING INDUSTRY, ENERGY INDUSTRY, GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY (GE), 
HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY, OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY, TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY, 
VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS

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