ABSTRACT
General Electric (GE) traces its beginnings to Thomas A. Edison, who established the Edison Electric Light Company in 1878. In 1892, a merger of the Edison General Electric Light Company and the Thomson-Houston Electric Company created the General Electric Company. GE is a diversified technology, manufacturing, and services company with a commitment to achieving worldwide leadership in each of its major businesses: aircraft engines, broadcasting (NBC), electrical distribution equipment, electric motors and industrial systems, capital services, power systems, information services, lighting, locomotives, major appliances, medical systems, and plastics. In 1993, NBC purchased the Super Channel, Europe's pan-European general programming television service which is delivered to 65 million homes. A consortium led by GE Power Systems acquired a majority interest in Nuovo Pignone, an Italian electrical equipment maker, in 1994. This move strengthened GE's power generation market position in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Russia.
