FDI Confidence Interval
Companies come and go. Only the most efficient ones have survived the test of time and emerged as successful. BusinessWeek magazine gives recognition to exemplary companies by producing its yearly list of the 100 Top Brands. It is interesting to note that majority of the companies in the 100 Top Brands are American, which illustrates the American belief that hard work pays off in the end-literally speaking. In addition, the companies included in this list makes billions of dollars annually, are global in scope and have available public data about its financial and marketing practices.
There is no doubt that the success of these companies is due to its employees, innovative products that meet the needs of people and their global reach. Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM, GE, and Disney are just some of the household names that we are familiar with. All of these companies have two things in common, they are American companies and they are included in the top 10 of the 100 Top Brands compiled by BusinesssWeek magazine. The list contains more American companies. This fact may not be surprising to most people because it seems that almost everyone thinks that Americans are hard-working.
Compared to Europeans, Americans work more per week and take less vacation. This is because “…Americans believe in the value of hard work. Work isn’t just a way of making money–it’s a virtue to us…,” and American society clearly demonstrates this notion (Eskin). Likewise, the American Dream-wherein hard work and determination will enable a person to succeed-is an ideal that also reflects the mentality and attitude of most Americans. Therefore, Americans take their work seriously because they know that the fruits of their labor will be worth it.
Thus, it is not uncommon for Americans to work overtime. Excessive effort and time that a person puts into his or her work can actually result in workaholism, which 5% of the American population experiences (Seybold and Salomone). Workaholism is actually “‘the addiction [that is] most rewarded in our culture’…” (Seybold and Salomone). Rewards come in financial and material assets, and in a consumer-driven, materialistic society that values hard-work; these things are not hard to acquire.
American companies, along with other international companies, are ranked by BusinessWeek magazine on factors such as earning forecasts of more than $1 billion dollars annually, wherein 20% of the sales are generated overseas. Although, a yearly net income of over a $1 billion dollars is difficult to achieve, a strong global market and presence seems more challenging to maintain. Companies that have attained this already possess a strong grasp of various cultures, which they have clearly and greatly transcended.
Aside from companies’ global extent, the earning forecast of these companies also takes into account market leadership and stability. Thus, without an excellent leadership a company will eventually fall apart. In addition, the availability of financial and marketing practices enable investors to closely monitor the stocks and performance of these companies. Successful companies hire, train, develop and retain the right people (Bigelow). This is essentially the main component of a successful business. The other key to a profitable and thriving business is innovative products that meet the needs of people.
Hence, “unless their research and development efforts are driven by a thorough understanding of what their customers want, their performance may well fall short” (Jaruzelski and Dehoff). Effective businesses know all to well that they should be at the forefront of any changes that will serve and “solve the unarticulated needs of their customers” (Jaruzelski and Dehoff). Thus, successful companies have focused all their time, effort, research and development and resources into customer insight and market needs (Jaruzelski and Dehoff).
In addition, companies that are “directly engaged [with] their customer base had twice the return on assets and triple the growth in operating income” (Jaruzelski and Dehoff). Equally important is the global nature of the operations and sales of a company, as was mentioned earlier. A company that goes global actually expands its business and creates “growth and value opportunities” (Delfeld). As writer Thomas Stewart puts it, ““The smaller the world gets, the greater the number of its pearls. ” However, a global company needs to adapt and continually learn everything it can about the foreign countries they conduct business in (Hill).
Also, “a common vision or philosophy for [the] organization and how to best adapt that in all the markets of the world… ” should be strictly enforced and followed (Hill). All in all, more than a billion dollars of annual sales is not possible without hard work. However, companies are well-aware that its employees, their innovative products and global scope all contribute to where they are right now. These three factors are what new and small companies should focus on in order to make it big in the rat-race world known as the business world.
References: Top 100 Global Brands Scoreboard. BusinessWeek magazine. Retrieved January 11, 2008 from http://bwnt. businessweek. com/brand/2005/ The 100 Top Brands 2006. BusinessWeek magazine. Retrieved January 11, 2008 from http://bwnt. businessweek. com/brand/2006/ Bigelow, P. (2007). Training for success; understanding the specific needs of your company is key to developing an employee development and training… Printed Circuit Design and Manufacture.
Retrieved January 11, 2008 from http://www. allbusiness.com/labor-employment/human-resources-personnel-management/5517655-1. html Jaruzelski, B. , and Dehoff, K. (2007). The Customer Connection: The Global Innovation 1000. Resilience Report. Retrieved January 11, 2008 from http://www. strategy-business. com/resiliencereport/resilience/rr00053 Delfeld, C. (2007). Ten Steps to Inventing Success. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved January 11, 2008 from http://www. forbes. com/2007/12/07/etf-international-global-pf-etf-in_cd_1207soapbox_inl. html Stewart, T. (1999). A Way to Measure Worldwide Success Going Global, Part II.
Fortune Magazine. Retrieved January 11, 2008 from http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/03/15/256484/index. htm Hill, W. R. (1998). Not just for the big guys! Chief Executive (U. S. ) Retrieved January 10, 2008 from http://www. allbusiness. com/human-resources/employee-development-leadership/702412-1. html Eskin, L. (1988). Five American Values. Scholastic Update, 120, 64. Seybold, K. C. , and Salomone, P. R. (1994). Understanding Workaholism: A Review of Causes and Counseling Approaches. Journal of Counseling and Development, 73.
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