Concepts in Strategic Management and Business Policy 14th Edition by Thomas Wheelen,David Hunger,Alan Hoffman,Chuck Bamford

Exercise 7

Each year, Fortune magazine publishes an article entitled, "America's Most Admired Companies." It lists the 50 most admired companies in the United States and in the world. Fortune 's rankings are based on scoring publicly held companies on what it calls nine key attributes of reputation: Ability to attract and retain talented people; Quality of management; Social responsibility to the community and the environment; Innovativeness; Quality of products or services; Wise use of corporate assets; Financial soundness; Long-term investment value; and Effectiveness in doing business globally. In 2012, Fortune asked Hay Group to survey more than 15,000 people from multiple industries. Respondents were asked to choose the companies they admired most, regardless of industry. Fortune has been publishing this list since 1982. The 2012 Fortune list of the top 10 most admired U.S. companies were (starting with #1): Apple, Google, Amazon.com, Coca- Cola, IBM, FedEx, Berkshire Hathaway, Starbucks, Procter Gamble, and Southwest Airlines. 110
Eight years earlier in 2004, the list of 10 most admired U.S. companies was: Wal-Mart, Berkshire Hathaway, Southwest Airlines, General Electric, Dell Computer, Microsoft, Johnson Johnson, Starbucks, FedEx, and IBM. 111
Why did the most admired U.S. firm in 2004 (Wal-Mart) drop off the 10 listing in 2012
Why did Apple go from not even being on the 10 U.S. listing in 2004 to No. 1 in 2012
Which firms appeared on both top 10 listsWhy
Why did some firms drop off the list from 2004 to 2012 and why did others get included
What companies should be on the most admired list this yearWhy
Compare Fortune's list to that compiled by the Reputation Institute (www.reputationinstitute.com). Why is there a difference between the ratings