I think it's a mistake to imagine GE as some sort of monolithic "engineering firm". GE is a huge conglomerate with business in countless different industries (trains, nuclear plants, chemicals, light bulbs, jet engines, health care, missiles, oil & gas... the list just goes on). There's no way the MBA team at the top can have the faintest idea what's going on in each of those companies, engineering-wise.

It's better to think of GE as a mutual fund. Management and financial engineering is what holds it together.