Pros
Some of the best people in any industry, in fact people are the core competency in GE. We are able to hire and retain talent, in spite of the fact that we have lousy locations, mediocre pay and lack of direction. Good management training, if you are in the top talent list, you get access to GEs valuable training resources. Very execution focussed, although the buzz word these days are innovation and growth, without execution, you have no products to sell. GE has grown into an execution machine since the Jack Welch era. It will continue to be one of GE's key strengths
Cons
Too Big for its own good, Too Bereaucratic. As much as GE is a beacon for american corporation, its existence as a massive conglomerate is very inefficient, and the whole is much less than the sum of its parts. Business units like Energy, Aircraft Engines, Security and Healthcare are better off on their own, personally I feel that it is time for some private equity firms to run these businesses separately. That will fix the problem of poor leadership ( post Jeff-Immelt) that is prevalent in the organization. There is massive information hiding, and our CEO is a great visionary and a good leader, but doesnt get into the details of running the organization. This causes widespread incompetency in his direct staff due to lack of accountability.