Microsoft - The World's Most Trusted Company

I mentioned in a previous post about how Microsoft is the No 1 brand in Japan.  Now the Wall Street Journal reports that opinion leaders worldwide have rated Microsoft as the 'world's most trusted company' 

For those familiar with the travails that Microsoft has gone through in the public eye, this is nothing short of astonishing - for us it is both a matter of pride as well as great responsibility. 

As they say it is extremely hard to build a reputation - and this has taken Microsoft many, many years- but very easy to lose it. So now there is the burden of these expectations as well.

But for employees this is such a terrific motivator. The article is below...

Wall Street Journal

How Microsoft Rebooted Its Reputation

By Alan Murray

March 1, 2006

 What's the world's most-trusted company?

 A survey of global opinion leaders, circulated at January's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, by Richard Edelman, chief executive of the Edelman public-relations firm, tackled that question. Mr. Edelman's research found that certain companies rank high in their home markets -- Toyota Motor in Japan, Samsung Electronics in Korea, Siemens in Germany, International Business Machines in the U.S. But the reputation of one company was on the rise throughout the world: Microsoft.

 Microsoft?

 The same company that has been found guilty of anticompetitive practices on three continents? The company that is dubbed the "evil empire" on 3.6 million pages on the World Wide Web? Microsoft's predatory nature is so widely criticized it has become the stuff of satire. "Microsoft purchased evil from satan for $2.7 billion," read a news article posted on the humor Web site BBspot several years ago. The company "already controls 15% of the evil market, and with this purchase, that number nears 100%."

If Mr. Edelman's research is to be believed -- and it is worth pointing out Microsoft is one of his firm's largest clients -- the devil days may be over. Other studies seem to buttress the finding. Media research firm Delahaye culls newspaper stories for positive mentions, and it gives Microsoft the highest score in its latest index of corporate reputations. A survey in December by Burson-Marstellar found that Bill Gates is the world's most-admired chief executive. That is especially surprising because Mr. Gates hasn't actually been CEO of the company since January 2000, when he became "chief software architect" and gave Steven Ballmer the CEO title.

 What gives? In part, these surveys simply reflect Microsoft's size and extensive reach. Moreover, Mr. Edelman believes, Microsoft benefits from a "halo effect" of the independent Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It is hard to appear evil when you give $6 billion of your own money to combat disease -- even if the money was earned in part from anticompetitive practices.

 But Microsoft has also changed. Its critics still find plenty to fault in its hard-charging business practices. But the company has settled most of the lawsuits against it, and has "placated" -- in some cases, with money -- many critics. It has also lost some of its arrogance, in part, perhaps, because computing has moved from the desktop to the Web, where Microsoft is less dominant and has less reason to be arrogant.

 In addition, the company has been running what looks in some respects like a global political campaign, relying on the advice of Bill and Hillary Clinton's pollster Mark Penn, among others. In June 2002, Mr. Ballmer sent an email to company employees heralding a change in the corporate mission. The email emphasized values, put a new focus on "trustworthy computing," and talked about Microsoft's responsibilities to "customers, partners, shareholders, employees and communities in which we live and serve." Subsequently, company officials started focusing attention on programs serving "stakeholders" such as the arrangement announced yesterday with the U.S. Department of Labor, that provides computer-skills training in a number of cities.

 Reputation is a hot topic in executive suites, largely because the overall reputation of business is so poor. Two weeks ago, the Business Council, a group that includes chief executives of many of the largest companies in the U.S., devoted a day to the topic at its retreat in Boca Raton, Fla. Some executives expressed surprise that the negative effects of corporate scandals have lingered for so long. Others felt victimized by a hostile press. But all seemed to agree that reputation has become increasingly important to their businesses.

 A good reputation doesn't guarantee results. Microsoft's share price has been stagnant even as its reputation has been on the mend. But reputation can be especially important in recruiting and keeping employees, executives say. And it is certainly helpful in dealing with activist shareholders, nongovernment organizations and interventionist governments. "The consequence of reputation is much greater in today's environment than it used to be," public-relations executive Alan Towers says.

For its part, Microsoft hopes the boost in reputation will help in its showdown with European antitrust authorities. Faced with the threat of fines of more than $2 million a day for failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust ruling, the company has taken the unusual step of publicizing a 75-page "confidential" response that attacks European authorities for false, misleading and unfair charges. That confrontational tactic is reminiscent of the old Microsoft, but the new Microsoft may have just enough public support to prevail.