If you have driven down Route 15 in the last year, I am sure you have stopped by Panera Bread for a delicious sandwich, soup, or salad. As someone who has certainly done this a few times, I am always astonished by the speed at which they can deliver their freshly made food. It is a unique quality I attribute to Panera and part of the reason I am a returning customer. In marketing terms, I would say I appreciate that the company and I share the values of time and quality.
In today’s increasingly informed and transparent world, however, this simple connection is not enough. Should I find out that Panera’s speed and freshness come at the cost of harming the environment, Continue reading Purpose-Based or Purpose-Faced?→
CarMax was featured on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” with an impressive ranking of 64. It’s diverse and well compensated workforce are among the country’s happiest employees. But how does this fit in to CarMax’s reputation as a whole? Continue reading CarMax: Redefining the Greasy, Sleazy Used Car Salesman→
I read a book called “Let My People Go Surfing” for a class on Strategy I took last semester. It was written by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. In it, he explains how and why he started the company and the type of environment he sought to create for his employees. He started out selling climbing equipment in order to pay his bills and eventually built what is now one of the largest outdoor clothing & gear companies in the world. Continue reading Patagonia–My Type of Company→
The first part of the question is easier to answer. Simply put, employees want to be in a positive and supportive work environment while maximizing their salary and benefits. Employees also want to have meaningful work, but that is difficult to apply as people can have very different perspectives on what is “meaningful”. Fortune List of Best Companies to Work for is determined by two surveys which are sent to a random sample of employees. The first survey asks about management’s credibility, job satisfaction, and camaraderie. This accounts for two-thirds of the score. The remaining third is based on responses to the second survey, which includes questions about pay and benefit programs as well as training, hiring practices, internal communication, etc.
The second question is hard to answer. What quantifies makes a company do great things? There is an endless range of “great things” that a company can do, depending on…
Capital One is ranked 91 on Fortune 100’s best companies to work for list. I actually applied for a position at this company. I was intrigued by the fact that they are in the banking industry, but they do not have a banking culture. They place a high emphasis on having an entrepreneurial culture; using their vast amount of consumer data to improve customer experiences; and being on the cutting edge of the digital revolution. When researching Capital One, I found a lot of evidence pointing to their strong ethics as a company, but also a few events that painted a picture of less than ethical decision making practices. Continue reading What’s in your wallet (that you aren’t telling us about)?→
Cheesecake Factory: a well-known chain restaurant we all know that is usually connected to a mall. We all enjoy their cheesecake and their large portioned entrees. Cheesecake Factory provides their waiters and waitresses with good benefits like health insurance and service to their immediate families, which are uncommon in this field. Fortune ranked Cheesecake Factory Incorporated number 88 out of 100 Best Companies to Work For. Servers have the ability to earn $42,455 a year with benefits makes it a place severs enjoy the benefits of working there. These benefits are not normally offered to individuals who work as severs in other restaurants. But are employees allowing the benefits of the company to blind their judgment upon Cheesecake Factory’s social responsibility and supply chain. Continue reading Whose fault is it anyways?→
One of the “big three” management consulting firms, Boston Consulting Group is a prestigious, private company providing advisory services to many public, private and non-profit firms, with over two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies as clients. An elite, highly competitive firm, BCG is also apparently a great place to work, ranking second on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2015. I find this rare because finance and consulting firm’s with such strong reputations typically aren’t listed among the top places to work due to the pressure, money and high stakes of the industries. I have never had any sort of interaction with Boston Consulting Group, but based on reputation, their website and third party reports, I am impressed.
As you walk off of Borgo Pinti and into the Four Seasons hotel in Florence, Italy, you are immediately greeted and welcomed by the staff. As you make your way to the front desk, your eye is drawn towards a statue resembling Michelangelo’s Bacchus statue in the Bargello Museum in Florence. The statue is in the center of an atrium and is surrounded by floral arrangements and provides seating for guests to sit and enjoy the grand interior architecture and design of the hotel. After having the opportunity to stay in the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, I understood why this hotel chain is one of the most well known in the world. Have you stayed in a Four Seasons Hotel? What was your experience?
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