Apple has been announced as the World’s Most Admired Company (WMAC) of 2012 by Fortune Magazine and Hay Group, with BHP Billiton ranking fourth in the mining and crude-oil industry.
In the 15th annual study of the World’s Most Admired companies, Apple took out the top post and was followed by Google, Amazon, Coca-Cola, IBM, FedEx, Berkshire Hathaway, Starbucks, Procter & Gamble and Southwest Airlines..
Australian company BHP Billiton came in fourth place globally in the mining and crude-oil production industry.
The 2012 report uncovered four significant characteristics for success amongst the WMAC’s, according to Hay Group head of consulting Anand Shankaran.
“Over the past 15 years, we have seen the composition of the World’s Most Admired Companies list change, but the attributes that enable those companies to excel have remained the same,”
Businesses that place high in the list did so by devoting time to creating clear objectives, long-term goals and putting strategic planning into practice. The WMAC’s are also recognised for successfully building strong structures and processes to sustain long-term performance.
Moreover, the WMAC’s successfully leverage their global reach while simultaneously giving local business units the flexibility to respond to local market needs.
Businesses that wish to emulate the success of the WMAC’s can work towards giving employees opportunities to thrive via personal achievement and grow through planned career assignments and one-on-one coaching.
“Throughout the past fifteen years, the World’s Most Admired Companies have continued to invest in their employees, engaging and enabling their people to drive the organisation forward. We see this holding true not only today, but over the next fifteen years as well,” Shankaran added.
To create a people-focused cultures, businesses need to enact a rigorous selection process for evaluating hires, place a strong emphasis on growth and development opportunities and closely link pay and performance.
Developing a reward programs and promoting a ‘total reward’ approach is also an effective measure for business success.
“In today’s uncertain business environment, it is more important than ever for organisations to place value on core practices, engaging and developing the talent that will be critical to long-term success,” Shankaran added.
