Fortune 500 Similarities

Similarities of Fortune 500 Companies

According to Office of Advocacy, there are 29.6 million businesses in the United States. Surprisingly, 99.9% of them have fewer than 500 employees. Thus, there are only about 18,000 large businesses in the United States today (Office). The most outstanding 500 of these 18,000 companies are placed on premier business list in the world, the Fortune 500. If a corporation manages to make this list, they have basically done everything right; they have treated their employees very well and promoted a happy and healthy working environment, they have adapted to change tremendously in today’s fast-moving world, and they have been the frontrunners and leading innovators in their particular industry. With that,
The employees are what push any company to develop and thrive. Without good employees, companies tend to go backward rather than forward. When employees are dedicated and involved in the company, profits and successes are generally higher. Conversely, when they become uninterested and unappreciated, the company surely suffers. This is why the majority of successful companies on the Fortune 500 list make it a priority to keep their employees as happy as possible. According to Dr. Donna LaMar and Betsy Laney, both world renown psychologists, “Happy employees miss work less, perform better, and are more supportive of changes and willing to make them happen.” Some good ways to keep employees happy are to be encouraging and thankful, create a productive and good working environment, and make sure that everyone is involved as a team. “Happy employees make the customers happy,” says Alexander Kjerulf, a self-proclaiming chief happiness officer, and consultant on happiness at work, as well as the author of ‘Happy Hour Is 9 to 5’. “Studies show very clearly that when employees like their jobs, customers get better service and are more satisfied” (O’Brien). If a company shows encouragement, appreciation, and a good working atmosphere, they will have happier, more creative, and efficient employees
According to Robert Safian, editor of Fast Company magazine, there are three particular companies who have done well in this aspect; Nissan Motor, Intel, and Amazon.com. These three corporations have taken the lead and are working hard to maintain and extend their control over their particular industries. In 2006, Nissan Motor took a giant risk in investing into the unproven all-electric technology. But with their new product “The Leaf,” Safian notes that Nissan has grabbed the lead in sustainable transportation. Intel Corporation has also invested quite a bit into the future of their company; $8 million worth to be exact! According to Safian, “They plan to build a brand new research lab in Oregon in order to create their new shrinking chip for computing innovations yet to be imagined, and are also renovating and upgrading their other facilities all across the country.” Amazon.com, the world-wide internet shopping site, has also done a great job leading the innovations in their industry. They created and manufactured “The Kindle,” a rival of Apple’s “Ipad.” Critics said that the “Ipad” would easily win over customers, but Safian reminds us that when Amazon released “The Kindle” for only $139, Amazon sold over 8 million devices. Amazon also created and sold a mobile app, which is