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1、CHAPTER1AnOverviewofFinancialManagementandtheFinancialEnvironmentInaglobalbeautycontestforcompanies,thewinneris…Apple.OratleastAppleisthemostadmiredcompanyintheworld,accordingWWWtoFortunemagazine’sannualsurvey.TheothersintheglobaltoptenareBerkshireHa
2、thaway,Toyota,Google,Johnson&Johnson,Procter&Seehttp://money.cnn.com/Gamble,FedEx,SouthwestAirlines,GeneralElectric,andMicrosoft.Whatmagazines/fortune/forupdatesontheranking.dothesecompanieshavethatseparatesthemfromtherestofthepack?Accordingtoasurvey
3、ofexecutives,directors,andsecurityanalysts,thesecompanieshaveveryhighaveragescoresacrossnineattributes:(1)innovativeness,(2)qualityofmanagement,(3)long-terminvestmentvalue,(4)socialresponsibility,(5)employeetalent,(6)qualityofproductsandservices,(7)f
4、inancialsoundness,(8)useofcorporateassets,and(9)effectivenessindoingbusinessglobally.Aftercullingweakercompanies,thefinalrankingsarethendeterminedbyover3,700expertsfromawidevarietyofindustries.Whatdothesecompanieshaveincommon?First,theyhaveanincredib
5、lefocusonusingtechnologytounderstandtheircustomers,reducecosts,reduceinventory,andspeedupproductdelivery.Second,theycontinuallyinnovateandinvestinwaystodifferentiatetheirproducts.Someareknownforgame-changingproducts,suchasApple’stouchscreeniPhoneorTo
6、yota’shybridPrius.Otherscontinuallyintroducesmallimprovements,suchasSouthwestAirline’sstreamlinedboardingprocedures.Inadditiontotheiracumenwithtechnologyandcustomers,theyarealsoontheleadingedgewhenitcomestotrainingemployeesandprovidingaworkplaceinwhi
7、chpeoplecanthrive.Inanutshell,thesecompaniesreducecostsbyhavinginnovativeproductionprocesses,theycreatevalueforcustomersbyprovidinghigh-qualityproductsandservices,andtheycreatevalueforemployeesbytrainingandfosteringanenvironmentthatallowsemployeestou
8、tilizealloftheirskillsandtalents.Doinvestorsbenefitfromthisfocusonprocesses,customers,andemployees?Duringthemostrecent5-yearperiod,thesetencompaniespostedanaverageannualstockreturnof6.9%,whichisnottooshabbywhencomparedwiththe−4.1%averageannualreturno
