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Title: 50 Companies That Changed the World by Howard Rothman ISBN: 1-56414-496-8 Publisher: Career Press Pub. Date: May, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $21.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (6 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Solid, Sensible, and Open to Disagreement
Comment: The total number of companies on a list such as this need not be 50. Moreover, there can be (and is) honest disagreement about the inclusion of some companies and not others. My own opinion is that all of the 50 companies which Rothman selected are worthy of inclusion...as are several others. The great value of this book is that Rothman is more than a list maker and a writer of mini-profiles. As he explains in the Introduction, his purpose is to examine 50 companies "that have dramatically and permanently altered us. In the process, you will also see how the general structure of business -- and along with it, our society -- has evolved over the past few centuries. You will meet with some individuals with extraordinary vision, courage, and commitment who struggled to realize their ideas and drive their companies to success. n a very real sense, they are the true forces that have changed our world."
According to criteria which are unclear to me, Rothman ranks the 50 in terms of their relative impact: Microsoft is #1 and H.J. Heinz is #50. In doing so, Rothman also invites honest disagreement about his ranking decisions. I certainly disagree with the ranking of Wal-Mart at #10. Oh well. He devotes about four pages to each of the 50 companies, with a "Fact File" preceding his brief commentary. He also includes a section called "Honorable Mentions" following by an extensive Bibliography.
This is a solid and sensible but not especially thought-provoking book, except to those who disagree with Rothman's selections and ranking of them, one which provides quite a bit of information on companies which have obviously made significant contributions to our society and, in most instances, to the global marketplace in which they have competed. To his Bibliography, I presume to add H.W. Brands's Masters of Enterprise, Stuart Crainer's The Management Century, the Forbes Greatest Business Stories of All Time, and John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge's The Company.
Rating: 5
Summary: You won't be disappointed
Comment: After hearing Rothman on NPR's Marketplace I wanted to read more and was not disappointed. "50 Companies" is positioned as a kind of encyclopedic guide to the top businesses of our time, and it certainly is that. But even more so, I believe, it's about the reciprocal relationships between all of business and all of society and individual businesses with each other. And in this it succeeds even more. Rothman mentions in the beginning how many of these companies touched his life as he was writing the book, and I found even more connections with my own life.
Rating: 4
Summary: Insightful!
Comment: Howard Rothman, a writer who specializes in technology and management, profiles the 50 companies that had the strongest impact on the development of modern business. He sought input from high-tech executives, teachers, public relations professionals, engineers, business writers, shopkeepers, salespeople and managers in selecting the top 50, which he ranks in the order of their influence. While many of the stories in these four-page portraits are familiar, the book presents helpful historical profiles of how each company developed and influenced the business world and society. While some readers may like tackling all these capsule bios as a collection, many may prefer to regard the book more as an encyclopedia or directory and draw on the corporate information as needed. We [...] appreciate the solid work here, although the result may be more interesting as a reference book than as a cover-to-cover page-turner.
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Title: Forbes® Greatest Business Stories of All Time by Forbes Magazine Staff, Daniel Gross ISBN: 0471196533 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 07 August, 1997 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Sam Walton : Made In America by John Huey, Sam Walton ISBN: 0553562835 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 May, 1993 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Masters of Enterprise : Giants of American Business from John Jacob Astor and J.P. Morgan to Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey by H.W. Brands ISBN: 0684854732 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 07 June, 1999 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Forbes Great Success Stories: Twelve Tales of Victory Wrested from Defeat by Alan Farnham ISBN: 0471383597 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 28 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Grinding It Out : The Making Of Mcdonald's by Ray Kroc ISBN: 0312929870 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 April, 1992 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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