Summary of Article, "the World's Most Admired Companies: After the Tumult of the Recession, Our Annual Survey Finds a New World Order" (fortune Magazine)

Running head: SUMMARY OF ARTICLE, "THE WORLD'S MOST ADMIRED COMPANIES: AFTER THE TUMULT OF THE RECESSION, OUR ANNUAL SURVEY FINDS A NEW WORLD ORDER". (FORTUNE MAGAZINE)

Assignment

Summary of article, "The World's Most Admired Companies: After The Tumult of the Recession, Our Annual Survey Finds a New World Order"

(Fortune Magazine)

Elisa Y Park

MKT 520: Marketing Strategies

Dr. Bishnu Poudel

April 23, 2011

Elisa Y Park, iGlobal University of Annandale, Virginia

(Cable News Network, 2011). Fortune Magazine online article titled, "The World's Most Admired Companies" by Geoff Colvin tells the story of a boat race.

"The worst storm in the history of modern yacht racing was the monster gale that struck the Fastnet race in the summer of 1979. The Fastnet (named after its turnaround point, Ireland's southernmost spot) is one of racing's most prestigious events, and it had attracted more than 300 competitors, including several of the world's most famous and successful boats. Conditions were fine at the starting gun, and while a storm was predicted, not even the best forecasters had imagined how ferocious it would be. At its worst, waves were 50 feet high and winds were 70 mph, devastating many of the boats and terrifying many skippers. Of the 306 yachts in the race, 69 didn't finish, including some of the most exalted competitors; 23 sank or were abandoned. The winner was the brashest of yachting's young disrupters, 40-year-old Ted Turner. His strategy? "We kept going at full speed during the height of the storm," he told an interviewer. But wasn't he afraid? After all, 15 people died. Yes, he said, "but I was more scared of losing than I was of dying" (page 1).

When you get on the boat, there could be very strong winds and there could be strong waves - as there were in this case. It is very hard to survive. Boats can go through the worst time in the water, and the economy is also going through a very bad time right now.

Geoff Colvin states in the (Cable News Network, 2011) Fortune Magazine online article:

"That's a story for our time. . .the worst economic storm in modern history -- far more violent than the experts had predicted. . .Stress in the recession and financial crisis brought out traits that may not have been noticed when the sailing was smooth. . .How the winners won and the losers lost holds lessons of value for everyone" (page 1).

How a person or a company win, and how a person or a company loses through an economic storm is the lesson, and there are many examples noted by Geoff Colvin states in the (Cable News Network, 2011) Fortune Magazine online article:

"No longer is Verizon Communications or AT&T the World's Most Admired telecom company; the new titleholder is Madrid-based Telefónica, which dominates Latin America and has far more customers than Verizon