Johnson & Johnson wins Economist Intelligence Unit awards programme
Pharmaceuticals giant Johnson & Johnson yesterday won first place in the Americas region in the Global Corporate Achievement Awards 2002, an awards programme organised by the Economist Intelligence Unit to recognise companies that have delivered outstanding performance in volatile economic conditions. Sponsored by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Oracle, SG Corporate & Investment Banking and Heidrick & Struggles, the awards sought out companies that have been able to thrive in bad times as well as good.
(PRWEB) October 25, 2002
Johnson & Johnson wins Economist Intelligence Unit awards programme
Southwest Airlines awarded special commendation for strategy
New York, October 23 2002 -- Pharmaceuticals giant Johnson & Johnson yesterday won first place in the Americas region in the Global Corporate Achievement Awards 2002, an awards programme organised by the Economist Intelligence Unit to recognise companies that have delivered outstanding performance in volatile economic conditions. Sponsored by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Oracle, SG Corporate & Investment Banking and Heidrick & Struggles, the awards sought out companies that have been able to thrive in bad times as well as good.
Johnson & Johnson won top honours in a highly competitive group of ten finalists, all with records of sustained profitability, innovation and leadership. Southwest Airlines, a thriving regional airline whose no-frills approach has been widely imitated, took second place, with a special commendation for strategy. Apollo Group, Harley-Davidson and Whole Foods Market were all awarded third-place honours; Apollo, a pioneer in adult education, won a special commendation for innovation. FedEx, Johnson Controls, MBNA, Starbucks and Wal-Mart were finalists.
Honourable mentions went to firms that, while not qualifying for an award under the programme criteria, were success stories: Caterpillar of the US; and Cemex and Grupo Bimbo, of Mexico.
An awards ceremony held yesterday in New York was the culmination of a rigorous selection process. First, an expert panel comprising leading business thinkers and corporate leaders—among them the chief executives of Tesco, Nissan and Schlumberger, and the former CEOs of Nestlé and SAS—set tough criteria for the awards. Outstanding financial performance over a period of years was a prerequisite, but each company was also required to have shown particular resilience in turbulent times. Next, the Economist Intelligence Unit selected 30 finalists—ten per region—from among 175 firms nominated by executives and business writers around the world. Finally, the expert panel chose the winners, after vigorous debate, in September.
Johnson & Johnson exemplified the awards criteria on all counts:
· Performance: With revenues of $32bn in 2001, the company has recorded 17 straight years of double-digit profit growth, increased its dividend 40 years running and roughly doubled its share price over the past five years.
· Strategy: Strong research-and-development efforts are matched with an aggressive acquisitions strategy; the company’s decentralised structure, with nearly 200 autonomous businesses, helps make acquisitions a success.
· Leadership: Low-key rather than flashy, the company’s leaders encourage decentralised decision-making paired with an ironclad responsibility to deliver results. The recent succession, from Ralph Larsen to current CEO William C Weldon, took place in quiet harmony, without rancour or defections.
· Innovation: More than one-third of sales come from products launched in the past five years, or from existing products launched in new markets.
· Impact and image: Long a model of corporate responsibility, the company won a reserve of public credit in its handling of Tylenol product-tampering cases. Despite recent challenges, its reputation as a values-based business remains intact.
Johnson & Johnson had plenty of competition. Indeed, although scandals and faltering performance have tarnished corporate reputations, the awards programme showed that there is no shortage of companies that exemplify outstanding achievement. Even in industries where conditions have turned hostile, innovative firms are bucking the trend. The aviation industry is in a tailspin, but second-placed Southwest expects a 30th year of profits. The Internet is in disrepute, but third-placed Apollo Group is recording phenomenal growth in its online education business.
Such success stories are not confined to the US. Winners for the Asia-Pacific region, selected from an equally impressive roster of finalists, will be announced on November 6th; winners for Europe, the Middle East and Africa will be honoured in London on November 13th. Profiles of the finalists are available on the awards website, www. eiu. com/awards (http://www. eiu. com/awards), along with a list of nominated firms, interviews with the experts, the awards criteria and a description of the selection process. An Economist Intelligence Unit white paper, to be published in November, will present case studies of the winners and define the factors that enable firms to thrive in good times and bad.
_______________________________________________________________________________ _______
About the Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit, the business information arm of The Economist Group, publisher of The Economist, is the worldÂ’s leading provider of country intelligence, with over 500,000 customers in corporations, universities and government institutions. Our mission is to help companies do better business by providing timely, reliable and impartial analysis on market trends and business strategies. Through its global network of 500 analysts, the Economist Intelligence Unit assesses and forecasts political, economic and business conditions in 195 countries.
About the sponsor companies
The Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Group is one of the largest management and IT consulting organisations in the world. The company offers management and IT consulting services, systems integration, and technology development, design and outsourcing capabilities on a global scale to help businesses implement growth strategies and leverage technology in the new economy. In early 2002 the organisation employed more than 56,500 people worldwide and reported 2001 global revenues of more than €8.4bn. More information about individual service lines, offices and research is available at www. cgey. com.
Oracle is the world's largest enterprise software company. For more information about Oracle, visit the company's website at www. oracle. com.
SG Corporate & Investment Banking is the corporate and investment banking arm of the Société Générale Group. Present in over 50 countries and with expertise in capital markets, advisory and origination services, structured finance and commercial banking, SG builds innovative, integrated financial solutions for its corporate, institutional and public-sector clients. For more information, visit www. sgib. com.
Heidrick & Struggles International is the worldÂ’s premier provider of executive search and leadership services consulting, employing approximately 1,600 executive search professionals and employees around the world. The companyÂ’s core business, Heidrick & Struggles Executive Search, has been an industry leader for nearly 50 years, specialising in chief executive, board member and senior-level management assignments for a broad array of clients. The firms conduct more than 4,000 search engagements a year worldwide for clients representing every industry. For more information, visit www. heidrick. com
