“Progress Is Our Most Important Product” – General Electric

Most corporations seem to have community relations efforts and General Electric is no exception. Upon further researching the company, I have learned a lot about what charity work GE has done and how the company views these efforts. Since most companies do good deeds in its community and publicizes that, it can seem a little disingenuous. Having that preconceived notion before researching GE’s community relations, I was pleasantly surprised to find that GE has plenty of efforts that do not seem to be just for show and to gain more businesses. As a consumer of GE products, I am pleased with General Electric’s charitable actions.

Citizenship

GE’s community relations fall under its”citizenship”  category and is featured on its website for it. The company refers to its community relations as its “community impact.” I think this is a great choice of words for General Electric to use because it resonates more with consumers and has a more positive connotation.

• “GE’s approach to citizenship is a full-time commitment with the same goals, strategies and accountabilities that drive any other part of our business. GE applies its long-standing spirit of innovation and unique set of capabilities to take on tough challenges in our communities.” – General Electric

What is GE’s Community Impact?

GE focuses on philanthropy as well as volunteering, however, the major emphasis is on philanthropy. General Electric contributes cash and products to many different areas including:

• U.S. & international education
• developing health globally
• the environment
• public policy
• human rights
• disaster relief
• community success around the globe

In 2010 alone, GE donated over $250 million.

How Does GE Contribute To Its Communities?

GE has its very own foundation, cleverly titled the General Electric Foundation.

Some examples of efforts made by the GE Foundation include:

Disaster Relief Efforts

• Immediately after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, GE donated $5 million in cash and products.
• Donated another $5 million dollars for long-term relief
• GE matched its employees’ donations of $1 million

Developing Health

• A 3 year, $50 million program providing grant funding and GE employee volunteer support to nonprofit health centers across the US in 10 cities
• Globally, they serve in rural African, Latin American and Southeast Asian countries

The Developing Futures in Education Program

• Created to raise student achievement through improved math and science curricula
• Invested $200 million across seven targeted U.S. school districts

Employee Gift Matching

• When a GE employee or retiree donate $25 or more to eligible nonprofit organizations, the GE Foundation will match the contribution dollar-for-dollar

How Does GE’s Community Impact Efforts Relate to the Core of the Company?

Since General Electric makes such a wide variety of products, I believe that everything that the GE Foundation does with its community relations corresponds to some aspect of what the company stands for. I see this especially with its Developing Futures in Education Program because this program focuses on science and math, which are skills needed for GE workers. I think the employee gift matching program is a great way to show that the company cares about what its employees are passionate about by supporting those causes.

” The spirit of community engagement is a part of the corporate culture across GE, improving communities and building positive relationships wherever GE people live and work.”

New Ways of Connecting

Like many, if not all, major companies today, General Electric has worked to incorporate all major social media platforms into how the company communicates with its customers. With this addition of social media to the company, there is now an immediate way for customers to receive information about their company. Where information is so easily accesible nowadays, it is absolutely necessary for companies to establish forms of two-way communication. General Electric has achieved this two-way communication through its website, Youtube channel, Facebook & Twitter.

Website

The main website for General Electric is very interactive. Immediately, viewers are drawn to the multiple Youtube videos featured on the main page. Towards the bottom of the page are the direct Twitter feeds of people who work for GE.

Youtube

The GE website features videos on its front page. These videos feature employees and convey a positive message about the future of the company. By reaching out to their consumers with their everyday employees, I believe that GE is trying to establish a bond with its customers and to change the way they are seen in the customer’s eye. The videos generally take place right in the factory where the GE employees are working. Here is the first video featured on the main website:

Facebook

Facebook is probably the best social media outlet for consumers who want to gain a lot of knowledge about the company and GE seems to be very conscious of that. Their Facebook page is very detailed and has many different pages within its page. I was surprised to find that GE has over 20 Facebook pages which are broken down by types of products and also by people looking for careers in certain areas. It is clear that GE sees a lot of value in having the company involved on Facebook because they have built it up so much. The other pages on its Facebook page feature information about getting involved in their charity and getting to know the people behind GE.

Twitter

I think General Electric does a great job at maintaining their Twitter feed and reaching out to consumers to establish a more personal connection. They have an overall General Electric twitter account, but the website also features the twitter accounts of employees on the front page.

Twitter accounts of employees featured on the homepage

 I think this is a great strategy for such a large corporation. It allows consumers to put faces to the business and to feel much more connected. I am very impressed the GE chose to feature these employee Twitter accounts right on their front page of the main website. This shows that General Electric understands the power in utilizing social media.

Tumblr

While I think General Electric is very effective in its other forms of social media, I feel that they are lacking when it comes to the Tumblr.The General Electric tumblr only features pictures posted by the company with some caption. Tumblr is a great outlet to interact with consumers by reposting pictures that consumers post. GE could utilize Tumblr much more, I believe.

Overall, General Electric has a solid social media presence that could be improved with more interactivity.

Not Your Great-Grandfather’s Electric Company

Thomas Edison founded General Electric in 1890 and although, for obvious reasons, he is no longer with the company, his innovative spirit has always remained in tact. GE is an amazing company in the sense that it has become successful in four different industries including energy, technology infrastructure, capital, and home and business solutions, and many subsectors of all of those industries. While other companies may find it difficult to keep all four of those sectors unified, but GE accomplishes this through the consistent messages it sends to its publics. While it is great for General Electric when all of its sectors are running smoothly, it could be a huge public relations disaster if something goes wrong in one area and that affects the public’s perception of the entire company.

Clearly General Electric has been doing something, or more likely many things, correct over the past 120 years that has allowed them to remain in business and thriving. For those reading this who are unfamiliar with what exactly GE does, definitely check out this video and keep in mind it all started with a lightbulb!

Besides producing quality, reliable products, General Electric has kept a positive reputation with consumers partially through charity work and partially through the way they present the company to the public. The first page on the General Electric website navigation bar is simply titled “Innovation” and features 24 stories of innovation at General Electric. Also from the “Innovation” page is this statement:

General Electric has come a far way from the days of Thomas Edison and lightbulbs. More than likely, it would be fairly difficult to walk around your house and not find a single General Electric product. As such a prominent company in our everyday lives, it is important to understand what this company stands for and where it plans to go in the future.