One Project, One Community at a Time

Community Relations is essentially a company’s involvement with the community in order to build acceptance and trust. Corporations accomplish this by not only writing a check or providing in-kind donations, but also contributing their time and energy to a community project. GE has an outstanding record of community relations. GE Volunteers are improving their communities by donating their time and money in community-based projects.

The Man of Steel
GE’s Volunteers Foundation provides over 1 million hours of community service a year. They call it volunteerism. This Foundation is made up of GE employees and retirees, who share a common goal of improving the communities in which they live and work by donating their time and money to community-based projects. There are more than 150 GE volunteer councils located in over 41 countries; each responsible for addressing serious social issues facing their communities. From providing the Bell Gardens Public Library of Los Angeles with a $10,000 grant, to funding two food banks in California and Florida GE has gone above and beyond supporting its community.

The GE Volunteers organization is the driving force behind all of GE’s community relations, including volunteer activities around the world. According to GE’s website, their aim is to focus their imagination and expertise in the areas of education, the environment, and community development to those most in need. To achieve their goals, GE celebrates ‘Global Community Days’ in which employees coordinate efforts company-wide to address urgent projects around the world. It appears that GE lives discretely amongst us humans, but thrives on the opportunity to save the world. Folks, it looks like we have a modern day Clark Kent here.

Video on GE Global Community Day

Planet PaintFest

Planet PaintFest is a global GE Volunteers Event in which more than 15,000 employee volunteers help paint over 350 color-coded murals that are donated to healthcare-related facilities. In partnership with The Foundation for Hospital Art, GE is able to “brighten up and improve the physical environment for the users of hospitals and other nonprofit organizations by providing unique, eye-catching artwork for those organizations.” When GE employees aren’t working, they’re putting their Van Gogh skills to the test by making the world a better place.

People Helping People
I was very fond of GE’s values towards community relations and their motto “one project, one community at a time.” This shows their determination to finish what they start and put their best effort forth. On their website, GE provides different case studies which give readers like me an opportunity to see the improvement GE has made in communities across the country. One specific case study that stuck out in my mind was Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina devastated areas of our country, killing many Americans and leaving others without basic necessities such as food, clothing and even homes. After her mom was hospitalized due to the disaster, GE employee Kay Erwin and her sister stayed behind at the disaster site to assist with communications, food preparation and water distribution. From a corporation stand point, the GE Volunteers Foundation established the Disaster Relief Fund to enable GE people to help their colleagues who are affected by natural disasters. GE provided $464,000 in 61 relief grants to affected GE employees, in direct relief such as housing and essentials. This case study was heart-melting. It is obvious, that GE has allocated time and thought into establishing community relations.

No One Likes a Penny Pincher
When it comes to asking for donations, GE is far from shy. Conveniently located on GE’s website is a link that you can click to make a donation towards the GE Volunteer Foundation. What I found most intriguing about this link was that those wishing to contribute to the foundation had options; the typical the cash donation or the donation of one’s assets such as a life insurance policy! What would drive a person to relinquish a life insurance policy? Last year GE earned $18 billion dollars; $19 billion in cash flow and $172 billion backlog in infrastructure products and services. What are they doing with this money? By donating to the GE Volunteers Foundation, you are insured that your donation will be dispersed in the form of grants to recipients sponsored by GE volunteers. However, over the last eight years the foundation has only provided approximately $750,000 to service projects, a fraction of what they make a year. In 2006, CEO Jeffery Immelt made over 8 million dollars alone. As a stockholder you want me to consider donating my life insurance policy? Ha

Happy Halloween!! GEewhiz

Denial: It's Not Just a River in Egypt

When it comes to informing the public of an organization’s missions, policies and actions a company must think strategically in order to make the right move. It’s in that crucial moment that a company must act, in a consistent and credible manner, or else they might just lose their king.
GE’s mantra: “We bring good things to life” embodies it technological ingenuity, however it falters in many other categories. Each time GE is confronted with criticism, they launch another heartwarming ad of them lending a helping hand to third world nations and relishing in its technological advancements. Behind their public relations masquerade, we gain a completely different understanding of GE and what it brings to the world.

And Honestly, I’m Down Like the Economy
When it comes to addressing GE’s latest financial undertakings, PR practitioners look to CEO Jeffery Immelt to give Americans some peace of mind. According to the Harvard Business Review, Immelt wrote that GE and other U.S.-based multinational companies’ growth will depend on “reverse innovation,” or developing products in emerging countries such as China and India. Immelt’s bright idea is to develop products in these low-cost countries and then distribute them worldwide. Products like a $1,000 handheld electrocardiogram portable device and a $15,000 personal computer based ultrasound machine. This will allow GE to expand into emerging countries and keep firms there from creating similar products, then expand sales into the U.S.

This reverse innovation gave GE a chance to act proactively by communicating their belief directly to the media. I highlighted Immelt’s key message, “Success in developing countries is a prerequisite for continued vitality in developed ones.” GE’s PR people have done a great job relaying his message to different media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal. This is a perfect example of how GE enhances its reputation and promotes its mission.

Proud as a Peacok
Heck, if reverse innovation doesn’t bring GE out of its deficit they could always sell part of its NBC Universal unit to Comcast for about 30 Billion. According to Bloomberg.com (full article), Comcast and GE are in cahoots about forming a joint venture that would own NBC Universal. If talk is true, Comcast will soon own more than 50 percent of the film, broadcast and cable-television business. With all that money GE could cover its full dividend again. However, GE spokeswoman Anne Eisele, NBC spokeswoman Allison Gollust and Comcast spokeswoman D’Arcy Rudnay all declined to comment.

In this situation, it would appear that the cat was almost out of the bag. Although no comment sounds completely sketchy on their part, we wouldn’t want them to break cardinal rule number one about media relations: HONESTY!

Battle Royale

Are Jeffery Immelt and NBC waging war against media companies? Sources from Nielsen Business Media believe that Immelt ordered his news operations to be less critical of President Obama. Word then spread across liberal and conservative websites that Immelt put a GE company-wide ban of all advertising and editorials of Nelson Business Media, in response to their investigation. After reading internet blogs, GE’s Executive Director of Corporate Communications, Gary Sheffer, responded in Immelt’s defense by saying that “Immelt had no involvement with this matter.”

Having someone else comment on your behalf looks foolish, Immelt should have made the time for a press conference with the local media. However, Sheffer acted reactively to the reporters’ questions and allegations, which thankfully cleared the air before a crisis occurred. Future reference: don’t send someone else to do your dirty work!

American Impoverishment
“At GE, we believe ideas are limitless. Every day, we go to work innovating, inventing and building the advanced technologies that are creating jobs and redefining what’s possible. We call it the American Renewal”(Message found on the innovation page of GE’s website). Is GE constantly creating jobs and redefining what’s possible? Let’s take a look at the facts… GE hasn’t received a single locomotive order from any North American business yet this year. Their transportation division is calling for a “tough” and “bleak” railroad market through 2010. In February, GE announced it would be making 350 permanent job cuts and placed 1,200 workers on hold. How did Stephan Kolier, GE spokesperson for transportation division respond to this statement? “There is a likely hood of more permanent layoffs.” Exactly what every employee wants to her from their employer.

And the good news keeps on coming…GE Transportation CEO Lorenzo Simonelli verified what people were thinking for weeks, that the General Electric plant in Erie will permanently layoff nearly 1,500 local workers. YourErie.com argued, “You can't layoff this many highly paid workers, from Erie’s largest employer, and somehow escape the economic affects of this announcement today.”

Terrible idea for GE to go public about employee layoffs, why not release this information solely in an intranet or company news letter instead? Nobody wants to get stabbed in the back.

Thanks, GEewhiz!