Introduction
GE Healthcare is a General Electronic Company that focuses on the development of information technology that is concerned with health issues. It transforms the existing health technology to enhance accessibility, quality, and affordability of healthcare. Certain trends that were emerging from the healthcare industry compelled GE Healthcare to form apt strategies to promote the production and marketing of low-cost electroencephalography (EEG) machines.
This case study analysis provides an overview of the operations of the GE Healthcare Organization by examining its internal and external barriers that had stalled its efforts to penetrate emerging markets. Based on this context, this analysis also explores the company’s strategies that eradicated the aforementioned barriers to restore the relevance of the company in the international economy.
Monopoly by Superior Nations in Global Conference such as China
At the outset, the development and growth of GE Healthcare had dwindled due to monopolization of the economy by superior nations such as China. The organization did not obtain sufficient returns due to low product sales to Indian customers. In the context of this analysis, the main issue is portrayed in a way that the Indian market was not popular amongst the global centralized organizations. The company’s leaders acknowledged that their business interventions failed to meet the needs and preferences of their customers (Singh, 2011).
Neglect in the Global Market
The main barrier of GE Healthcare is noted in its incapability to grasp a sizeable global market share. The overall sales that were received from India comprised a small fraction of the global market sales volume. The main cause of such a problem is that India’s market needs were not recognized at the global market level. This situation is revealed where the R&D program descends to meet the needs of the medium Indian market (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013).
Internal Barriers that are faced by the GE Healthcare Organization
Difficulty in Establishing Quality Products
Initially, the GE Healthcare organization focused on producing products that suited the pockets of its consumers due to low income. They were not able to deliver high-quality products to their customers. As a result, it was difficult for the organization to increase service delivery and expand its production capacity (Singh, 2011). A new team was set up by the Indian GE Healthcare management to focus on the development of new and high-quality standard products to gain competitiveness in the accessible market. The management acknowledged that there was a need to develop suitable machines such as electrocardiograms and electroencephalography to tackle cardiovascular diseases (Singh, 2011).
Increase in Non-communicable Diseases in India
Statistics show that India has experienced over 2 million cases of heat-related deaths due to stroke and diabetes. Patients who had heart diseases were escalating in number. As a result, there was a need for earlier detection of this disease to enable a patient to undergo an early checkup for commencement of treatment (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013). Consequently, the ECG machines were needed to help in the detection of such non-communicable diseases. These high-end machines were expensive and only the upper-class populations were able to afford them (Singh, 2011).
External Barriers that are met by the GE Healthcare Organization
Global Competition by Players in the Healthcare Industry
Before the GE Healthcare organization became independent, several stakeholders such as China who were superior at the global level controlled the conference’s decisions and above all, they had a bigger market share globally. However, the company’s products still face inescapable competition from those that are delivered by China and other superior parties who rely on lower-cost scales and strict organization for better control (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013).
Limited Market Research and Channels of Distribution
Initially, the marketing of the GE Healthcare devices was slow due to insufficient market and few distribution channels (Singh, 2011). However, various ways were used to curb the problems. Firstly, the GE Healthcare organization depended on other companies such as Wipro to sustain cost-effective means of distribution. It also emphasized the training of customers on the use of ECG machines by collaborating with surgical and pharmaceutical companies. As a result, the company grasped a great percentage of the Indian market. To solve the problem of the limited market, GE Healthcare not only evaluated its projects on a financial basis but also applied the technique of viewing its system as an experiment to test the BOP market opportunity. As a result, the organization built a huge resource to sustain its future operations (Singh, 2011).
Steps used by GE to develop strategies
The GE Healthcare Company introduced the “in India for India” strategy that was meant to address two key issues. Firstly, the strategy was aimed at addressing the dimension of the geographical domain in India. India was to be treated as an independent nation to ensure that it presented itself independently at the global conference (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013). Secondly, the strategy focused on independent control of GE Healthcare’s profits and losses. This state of affairs led to an improvement in a local adaptation that speeded up the management’s decision-making processes.
According to Singh (2011), good managers should think and realize exceptional opportunities. For instance, the health situations in India call for the use of healthcare services that are not easily affordable. However, GE Healthcare India regards these situations as opportunities to deliver expensive health services to the locals amidst stiff global competition and market commands by superior nations. Development of solutions to challenging health situations in India has led the company to attain global recognition. Singh (2011) reveals that the company’s prudent strategies unite both emerging and developed economies.
Strategic planning strives to present a future blueprint to an organization. It emphasizes the need to remain productive by providing guidelines on the allocation of the available resources to achieve objectives. The strategies establish the best marketing methods for smaller organizations that have inadequate capacities to sustain progress (Ginter, Duncan, & Swayne, 2013).
The manner in which the GE Healthcare Strategy contributed to the Value Chain in both Emerging and Developed Markets
The GE Healthcare strategy to improve its BOP has led to expansion value chains of both the developing and developed markets. Singh (2011) reveals that most physicians use simpler devices that are manufactured by GE Healthcare. The company has made a reverse innovation. Goods that were designed for the developed economies are now sold in the local and upcoming markets. Therefore, the company’s strategy has enabled it to prosper in the global market where most businesses use their distracting techniques.
Conclusion
GE Healthcare has proved that innovation by small and upcoming enterprises has significance in the international market regardless of the competition that is experienced by multinational organizations. The company’s products have been redesigned for both local and global standards. As a result, the company has managed to maneuver its interventions in both developing and developed nations due to the versatility of its healthcare merchandize. Consequently, small businesses should use GE Healthcare strategies as a source of information to improve their businesses.
Reference List
Ginter, P.M., Duncan, W.J., & Swayne, L.E. (2013). Strategic Management of Healthcare Organizations. Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Singh, J. (2011). GE Healthcare (A): Innovating for Emerging Markets. Web.