In 1989, General Electric dropped to fifth on the list of U.S. patents, behind four Japanese companies. Technical organizations within companies were flattened by eliminating one or more layers of middle management, and the funding of corporate research was shifted from corporate sources to business units. The focus also moved gradually from improving earnings through restructuring, downsizing, and cost savings, to managing for growth in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. The current situation in the United States is much more optimistic than it was 10 years ago. Profits are healthy.
Revenues are up.
And most shareholders are happy. The globalization of markets and the Information Revolution can take plenty of credit for the healthy economy. But corporations, and the people who run them, should take a bow as well. They chose growth as a dominating strategy of this expansion. After years of playing defense by downsizing and restructuring, corporations have turned to offense to expand in the global arena.