14 DAY TRIAL // The second Trust Across America annual study has been completed and the list of most trusted companies narrowed down to ten.
As it happens, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) ended up on the fifth spot, which is really quite the feat.
The FACTS method was used for the classification and, for some reason or another, Intel, Apple, Microsoft, Verizon, Vodafone and other giants failed to make the cut.
FACTS is the shortened form of Financial stability and strength, Accounting conservativeness, Corporate integrity, Transparency, and Sustainability.
Over 200 data points regarding these five corporate indicators were analyzed as part of a framework described as “the most holistic and comprehensive trust 'health' checkup for public companies.”
Smithfield Foods (SFD), a global food company, secured the first spot, while Xcel Energy (a regional supplier of electricity and natural gas) Nike (global footwear, equipment and apparel provider) and Dole Food (worldwide producer of fruits and vegetables) got second, third and fourth spots, respectively.
The only companies from AMD own field (technology) that also figured on the list were Texas Instruments and Lexmark.
“Trust Across America provides key analytical tools to begin the journey,” Frank Sonnenberg, author of the newly released book Managing with a Conscience (2nd ed.) agrees.
“If businesses are to thrive in the global marketplace, they must be able to outshine the competition in critical areas such as trust. In fact, trust must be more than something that is talked about; it must be at the core of everything that is done. Trust is not an abstract, theoretical, idealistic goal forever beyond our reach. Trustworthy business behavior MUST become a priority.”
The Trust Across America study probably found that Intel, Microsoft and the rest of the major players failed in one or more of the aforementioned five FACTS areas.
It is worth noting that Lexmark and TI also made the list back in 2010, even though, like the others, they failed to actually score 100, or even 90.
“We are pleased to see two companies, Texas Instruments and Lexmark International on our 'Top 10' for two years in a row,” stated Kimmel. “It’s all about corporate culture. While most CEO’s aspire to run trustworthy companies, most don’t know where to start.”