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Technology companies were among the best performers in the US this year, as companies such as Walmart and Tractor Supply were labeled red flag employers.
Apple dethroned Microsoft for the top spot in the Management Top 250 for 2024, while Nvidia came in second, Microsoft third and Intel rounded out the top four. reports the Wall Street Journal.
The Management Top 250 compares companies that use the principles of the late management guru Peter Drucker each year to identify the best-managed companies.
For 2024, 842 companies were assessed in five categories, including customer satisfaction, innovation, social responsibility, employee engagement and development, and financial strength.
These categories are measured based on 35 indicators provided by third-party data providers, using a statistical model developed by researchers at the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University.
Companies that rank in the top 15 percent in each of the categories are classified as “all stars,” while companies that rank in the bottom 25 percent in any category are classified as “red flags.”
But this year, Apple was listed as the only all-star. That’s the first time the roster has had just one all-star – usually there are about six.
Other companies such as Nvidia and Microsoft came close this year, as tech companies emerged as this year’s big winners after a recession that saw them lay off thousands of workers.
The Management Top 250 compared 842 companies in five categories, including customer satisfaction, innovation, social responsibility, employee engagement and development and financial strength
“The technology is booming,” says Michael H Kelly, executive director of the Drucker Institute.
“Companies that know how to best integrate technology into their organizations, not just for innovation, but that realize that their employees are customers too, and what their employees experience is what their customers will experience, are companies that thrive.”
For Apple, 2024 marked a recovery after it started the year with faltering iPhone sales and new competition from rivals in China but exceeded Wall Street expectations in the quarter ended in June.
It was supported by the company’s services division, which includes revenue from the App Store and streaming services, which provided a cushion for declining iPhone sales.
At the same time, sales of iPads and MacBooks increased, and in September Apple reported record sales.
The company has also been trying to catch up with its rivals in the AI arms race, unveiling a suite of new tools in June that investors hoped would encourage users to upgrade their iPhones.
The new Apple Intelligence software now pulls information from a user’s apps and scans personal information to help users proofread text, retrieve photos of specific family members, or measure traffic ahead of their commute.
Users can also create their own images and emojis and convert sketches into diagrams, the Journal reports.
To realize these features, Apple partnered with OpenAI and ChatGPT.
Apple topped the list and was listed as this year’s only “all-star” company
Some experts now credit the company’s success to CEO Tim Cook.
“While he hasn’t been a pioneer in areas like AI, he is wisely a fast adaptor,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for leadership studies at the Yale School of Management.
“And in a company that used to be resistant to outside partnerships, what he has done with the promising Apple Intelligence, in partnership with OpenAI, is an example of why people are so excited about the company.”
Sonnenfeld also cited Cook’s public advocacy for consumer privacy and his collaborative approach as factors that helped the company excel in social responsibility and employee engagement.
“Steve Jobs often had a fair amount of internal warfare and Tim Cook had none of that. He got these people working together,” he said.
‘Employees really feel involved. They really feel appreciated.”
Experts have attributed Apple’s success this year to CEO Tim Cook
The tech giant dethroned Microsoft to claim the number one spot
Other companies that performed well include Mastercard, Philip Morris International and Johnson & Johnson.
Mastercard executives have told investors they are working to improve the convenience and security of payments technology through contactless cards and tokenization, while also building banking and retail experiences that can be personalized through augmented reality and AI-powered cybersecurity to thwart potential scammers.
Johnson & Johnson also benefited from a high innovation score, having filed 28 regulatory applications in the US and EU for innovative medicine activities and launching 10 major products in the US and EU on December 2.
Tobacco giant Philip Morris International, meanwhile, is riding high on innovation and social responsibility amid a yearslong mission to transition from cigarettes to smoke-free products like Zyn-flavored nicotine patches and a device called IQOS that heats tobacco but doesn’t burn it. .
The company announced earlier this year that its Zyn patches had become so popular that its sole U.S. factory couldn’t produce them fast enough.
Retail giant Walmart was red flagged for employee engagement
This year’s list also included some newcomers, such as Airbnb and Netflix.
Airbnb narrowly missed out on the list last year, but benefited from strong innovation and financial strength scores as it generated more revenue than expected thanks to the Paris Olympics and the Euro Cup in Germany.
Netflix also scored high across the board, except for employee engagement.
Its ranking on the list suggests its efforts to change subscription prices, limit password sharing and expand advertising are working.
Companies that received red flags include Meta Platforms, Walmart and Tractor Supply, which received a low score in employee engagement.
It announced in June that it is cutting all jobs focused on DEI efforts and withdrawing its carbon emissions targets. The company also said it would stop sponsoring pride festivals.
Meta, meanwhile, has been plagued by criticism over its data privacy practices, its handling of misinformation and its algorithms, which continue to promote problematic content such as sex with minors.
And while Walmart rose five spots in the rankings, it received a red flag for employee engagement.
Over the past year, the retailer has changed wages and titles for company employees, including a reduction in stock compensation, changed the pay structure for hourly employees, cut wages for some new hires and laid off hundreds of employees.
Walmart also asked most remote corporate employees to return to the office.
Still, a Walmart spokeswoman pointed to a number of ways the company has invested in its associates, including increasing the average salary of store managers, starting a new bonus program for hourly associates and launching a program that helps supply chain workers per hour helps learn new trading skills. and moving into higher-paying technician roles.
Pfizer was one of the worst performers this year, following the COVID emergency
Among the worst performers were healthcare, life sciences and pharmaceutical companies that folded after the pandemic.
Once the COVID emergency ended, sales of Pfizer’s vaccines and antiviral products fell more than executives expected, while the new drugs failed to gain steam.
Eli Lilly also had a tough start to the year as supply constraints for a popular class of diabetes and obesity drugs limited first-quarter sales.
Separately, in the auto industry, Tesla had low scores in every category except innovation, and Chevron suffered from lower scores in satisfaction, innovation and financial strength.