Jack Welch - Essay Example

Winning” by Jack Welch-A Book Review THESIS The study intends to present a book review of the book ‘Winning’ written by Jack Welch, the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of General Electric. The key idea of the book is to provide a brief understanding about winning strategies for organizations. This book demonstrates winning as being constructive at several levels and provides information about developing and thriving in today’s business environment along with creating employment opportunities for people (Welch 1-363). CENTRAL PILLARS There are four pillars of the book namely ‘underneath at all’, ‘your company’, ‘your competition’ and ‘your career’. In ‘Underneath At All’ section, Jack Welch talks about mission and values, Candor differentiation and voice along with dignity. The ‘Your Company’ section is characterized by the aspects of leadership, hiring, people management and crisis management among others. Then again, ‘Your Competition’ deals with aspects such as strategy, budgeting and six sigma among others which are vital for remaining successful within a competitive landscape. Finally, ‘Your Career’ comprises the aspects such as right job, hard spots and work life balance (Welch 1-363). DISCUSSION Opinion. From personal opinion, it can be stated that the book is about ‘winning’. The author Jack Welch has provided several key ideas regarding what it takes an organization and an individual to win. It also provided information about ethical aspects and the requirements to win in an honest way. An entire section of the book is allocated to describe the concepts of mission and values of an organization and the requirement to implant them in the organizational work culture (Welch 1-363). The book provides various good lessons concerning leadership and strategy. The author describes eight great things which successful leaders usually do. One of the overwhelming topics of the book is Candor, which is a truly influential ability for an individual. By reading the book, it is understood that Candor can assist in including more people in discussion, generating speed in work and reducing expenses. Furthermore, Candor can also remove unproductive politics in the organizational environment. However, this book acknowledges that if Candor is not utilized properly, it can ruin the organizational as well as career life (Welch 1-363). The most important facet of the book is that it discusses about winning from both personal as well as corporate viewpoint. For example, success of an employee can have a direct impact on the success of an organization (Welch 1-363). The book also provides opinion regarding every vital aspect which must be considered while operating a business. From leadership to recruitment and from human resource management to crisis management, the book offers an in-depth understanding regarding managing dynamic facets of a business. The author talks regarding the three categories of employees in an organization namely the top performers who are the key for organizational motivation, middle level employees who are the lifeblood of the organization and bottom level employees who eventually might be required to move (Welch 1-363). Besides, it is worth mentioning that that the book has provided clear advice about career development along with rendering tips on maintaining a better work life balance. The guidance on career improvement can be agreed upon by every individual. Finally, it can be specified that the book offers a view about the mind-sets of the most successful leaders in the present times and how they have made their organizations to achieve profitability (Welch 1-363). Evaluation. As stated above, there are four pillars in the book and in the first pillar; it has been argued that organizational approach is demarcated by mission and values. It differentiates vision with mission and states that mission statement must be solid and should stimulate people with principles, while providing a concrete set of conducts to obey (Welch 1-363). The desire of winning has been significantly described while discussing the aspect Candor. The book states that Candor is the only facet that aids to involve individuals in constant discussions on organizational strategies such as budgeting and hiring among others. It makes a major contribution towards making decisions within an organization (Welch 1-363). Concerning the third pillar, aspects such as hiring and terminating along with merger and acquisition stood out. However, it should be stated that the merger and acquisition concept defined in the book has concentrated much towards making agreement and taking decision about organizational culture, where in reality this strategy is also subjected to accounting and finance. Still, the grounds though which most of the organizational agreements fail have been delineated in the book nicely (Welch 1-363). With regard to the fourth pillar, Jack Welch describes the key aspects associated with career life. The author has depicted a clear thought that no matter how effective an organization’s strategies and resources are it is ultimately the employees that can make them work. The book has clearly demonstrated the methods of solving problems, dealing with people and making organizations to perform effectively in order to win (Welch 1-363). Nevertheless, the key drawback of the book is that at times, it has demonstrated preachy concepts. Besides, the book also does not cover clichés succinct about management topics. To a certain extent, the strategy chapter demonstrates a sense that it is almost self-congratulatory in nature (Welch 1-363). CONCLUSION The book ‘Winning’ provides a set of core thoughts regarding how strategies work in practical life. It observes inner constituents of an organization in order to make changes and win in the industry. It also explores that the external aspects of an organization which are helpful for the corporation to strive in competition and to provide a path easier towards success. Finally, the book also concentrates on proper management of career ranging from searching the appropriate employment to accomplishing a great balance between personal and professional life, as employees are the key for success for an organization. BOOK’S IMPACT ON THE FUTURE MANAGER The book can have certain impact on the activities of the future manager. It has demonstrated that the managers in an organization should undertake activities such as team evaluation, training, articulation of the mission and vision, making proper decision, investigating and encouraging curiosity and taking risks. These are the key tasks which are done by every successful leader and therefore need to be considered by the future managers as well. Besides, the book can also change the view of managers regarding the aspect of Candor and how it influences the performance of an organization. Finally, future managers can also learn more about strategies such as budgeting and how it can be implemented in the real life scenario. Work Cited Welch, Jack. Winning: The Ultimate Business How-To Book. United States: HarperCollins, 2009. Print. Read More