GE Appliances’ Interpretation of RenDanHeYi

After GEA was acquired by Haier in 2016, the company was expected to implement Haier’s RenDanHeYi philosophy, and in order to do that, GEA had to interpret and adapt the RenDanHeYi model to its own circumstances. The author found that fundamentally, GEA has stayed true to the core principles of RenDanHeYi as developed in China. The objectives of providing great user experience, relying on people’s entrepreneurial energies, and sharing the created value are now actively promoted throughout GEA. These objectives are put into practice in pursuit of GEA’s main leading goal—to be the North American market leader in home appliances—and they are aligned with the new identity GEA declared for itself, to be “a growth platform in the IoT era.” GEA also has closely emulated key principles of RenDanHeYi, such as zero distance to users and creating microenterprises and platforms. Some “customized” elements at GEA have included adapting previously used management tools such as Hoshin Kanri for use in new ways that fit the RenDanHeYi philosophy and deploying entrepreneurial initiatives such as the Shark Tank method. As of late 2021, GEA had not yet implemented some principles of the RenDanHeYi model—notably the creation of ecosystem microcommunities (EMCs), which was being contemplated for the near future.