What's the world's best run public company?

[milagro]

Originally posted by: Mani
Best run would be a toss up between a few companies for me.


Companies like MS and Cisco wouldn't qualify as the best run for me because they won their success based on being the first ot market with a killer product. As a result they were able to all but monopolize them and derive enormous margins. A company like MS can run itself like crap and still bring in billions because of the strangehold it has on PCs.

hey man..remember..netscape came before yahoo...so first to market doesn't always hold water..

 

[Nemesis77]

Not Microsoft. A company with a monopoly doesn't need to be well-run, it generates profits regardless. And considering that they have been found guilty of software piracy (Link) sabotaging competitors products (well, they settled that out of court), illegal abuse of monopoly, blackmailing of customers... Hardly a best run public company.

 

[Sepen]

Originally posted by: tweakmm
Enron

Or Xerox.

 

[BooneRebel]

Originally posted by: Nemesis77
Not Microsoft. A company with a monopoly doesn't need to be well-run, it generates profits regardless. And considering that they have been found guilty of software piracy (Link) sabotaging competitors products (well, they settled that out of court), illegal abuse of monopoly, blackmailing of customers... Hardly a best run public company.

Well, for all their faults they're still number 1 and worth billions. How else would you define 'best'? I could say that the guy on the corner drycleaners is honest and has happy employees. But if he only makes $15,000 net a year would you say that he's the best?

 

[Mani]

hey man..remember..netscape came before yahoo...so first to market doesn't always hold water..

Obviously ftm is not guaranteed success. My point was that those two had ftm products that cornered the market- especially true with MS, and were able to monopolize it and profit considerably. It was having the right product at the right time, not necessarily being the best run.

 

[Nemesis77]

Originally posted by: BooneRebel

Well, for all their faults they're still number 1 and worth billions. How else would you define 'best'? I could say that the guy on the corner drycleaners is honest and has happy employees. But if he only makes $15,000 net a year would you say that he's the best?

They are nr. 1 and worth billions because they are a monopoly. It doesn't take geniuses to run a company and bring in huge profits if you have a stranglehold on your customers. So you define "best" as being the company with most money? Then I guess some bank or financial institution would be the best.

Sorry, MS just doesn't cut it. They get their money from their abusive monopoly (like happened at my workplace. MS doubled the price of their licenses. We don't really have any options, so we just pay). If MS really had to compete with their products and technical merits and prices of their products, they would fail, But since they are a monopoly, they don't really have to do that.

Company doesn't have to be best run company to bring in huge profits, if that company happens to be a monopoly.

 

[Mani]

How else would you define 'best'?

The original question wasn't "best" but rather "best run". MS could be the most bloated, inefficient company on earth and still turn a profit by virtue of its stranglehold on operating systems. It's certainly in an admirable position but not necessarily an admired company.

 

[calbear2000]

Intel Corp

 

[PCHO]

<steps into flame retardant suit>

What about Best Buy? (since 1996) Went from a company who many thought would go out of business to a $20 billion empire now with a record label and many smaller retailers under its domain.

 

[Random Variable]

Enron

 

[gopunk]

If MS really had to compete with their products and technical merits and prices of their products, they would fail

you mean like they had to do with windows, office, vs, and IE? people were using macs before windows, wordperfect before MS Word, borland before vs, netscape before IE. it's not like MS started out with a monopoly. and do you honestly think that if it didn't practice so-called unfair business practices that it would just flop?

not to mention, none of the stuff you mentioned has anything to do with how well the company is run. have you been on campus? have you seen their facilities and talked to their employees? i have, and i think it's well run.

 

[777php]

Best CEO = Cisco systems w/ John Chambers