蘋果不裁員 獲《財星》票選最受尊敬企業

美國 《財星》雜誌公佈2009年全球最受尊敬50家公司排行榜

來源：2009年3月9日 NOW News

金融海嘯之下，美國人票選「最受尊敬企業」的標準也降低了嗎？《財星雜誌》最近公布的「50大最受尊敬企業排行榜」中，不乏又裁員、又向政府要錢的企業，例如豐田汽車。也因此，蘋果電腦雖然多種「i」字頭產品都傳出過問題，但相對不裁員，成了最受尊敬企業第一名。

早就知道美國人愛啃蘋果，沒想到蘋果電腦也是老美心中最愛，在《財星雜誌》舉辦的票選活動中，榮登最受尊敬企業第一名，比較令人費解的是，蘋果產品一路走來始終如一，幾乎都傳出過小瑕疵，像是薄如牛皮紙袋的MacBookAir一度有機體過熱現象，iPod Nano電池曾起火，還有iPhone驚傳3G敏感度差、收訊不理想。

但整體來說，Apple堪稱良心企業，IT寒冬中仍舊沒裁員，自然受尊敬。而其實榜單上其他公司在金融海嘯中或多或少也都有問題，第二名是股神巴菲特的波克夏公司，第四季淨收益下滑96%無人不知，不過大家長巴菲特使出誠實為上策，也就是三十六計中的苦肉計，承認在投資上做了蠢事，股神放低身段，馬上贏得更多投資人敬重。

另外，榜上第三的豐田車廠，減產、裁員樣樣來，更在預期半世紀首度出現虧損後，向日本政府要錢，好在金額不過美金20億元，和美國通用、克萊斯勒紓困金相比，算是小巫見大巫，所以美國人用選票說出：豐田還是可敬的。

其他擠入前十名的還有員工福利縮水的Google及奇異電器，信用違約交換CDS的等級，快和AIG一樣爛；少數相對正常的上榜企業就屬嬌生，之前也才獲《霸榮金融周刊》戴上「最受尊敬企業」的王冠，還有微軟不斷把觸角拓展到手機、硬體設備。看來在金融海嘯中越努力掙扎，越能得到老美尊敬。

Why Apple's admired

It's been a rocky year for Apple: CEO Steve Jobs' health made headlines, and critics said Cupertino wasn't being open enough about it. But customers remained loyal to the brand that made white ear buds cool. As much of the computer industry struggled, Apple shipped 22.7 million iPods during its first quarter (up 3 percent from last year), 2.5 million Macs (up 9 percent), and 4.4 million iPhones. No wonder Apple tops our Most Admired list for the second year in a row.

Why Berkshire Hathaway's admired

Warren Buffett's firm helped beleaguered General Electric and Goldman Sachs wrestle with the financial crisis by purchasing billions in their preferred stocks. Still, Berkshire itself suffered this year, with Class A shares falling 49% since their peak in Dec. 2007, as its investments in Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp and American Express got hit hard. But as one financial advisor told Reuters: "[Buffett] admits when he is wrong. You don't get candor from other CEOs. That's why his credibility is so high."

Why Toyota's admired

As U.S. automakers GM and Chrysler went crawling to Washington for help, Toyota was still looking relatively strong. But the global downturn still took a toll: For the first time since 1950, in February Toyota forecasted that it would post a net loss -- almost $4 billion in its 2008 fiscal year. Just days earlier, the company named Akio Toyoda, the grandson of renowned founder Kiichiro Toyoda, as president. By going back to the basics, the world's largest and richest automaker hopes to drive its earnings north again.