Inside the 2019 ‘U.S. News’ Best Online MBA Program Ranking
Where is the best online MBA program in the country? Who tops the charts when it comes to student engagement, student excellence, academic faculty, and more? The U.S. News & World Report just released its 2019 ranking for the “Best Online MBA Programs” in the US. The Online MBA programs at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School each came in tied at first place. Continue reading…
Forbes, Statista Analyze The Best U.S. Employers for Women
Forbes, in partnership with German data company Statista, surveyed over 40,000 U.S. employees (including 25,000 women) that worked for companies that had at least 1,000 total employees in an effort to find which companies were the best US employers for women. While several big-name companies earned high marks, one particular Iowa-based company managed to stand out among the competition.
The first set of criteria Forbes and Statista analyzed to calculate its best US employers for women ranking centered around factors such as working conditions, diversity, and “how likely they’d be to recommend their employer to others.” When accounting for the men in the survey, in contrast to the women that were asked the same set of questions, scores were adjusted if the differences if answers became apparent. For example, Statista would adjust scores if men in the survey said a company had a lot of diversity, but women said that the same company did not.
The following set of criteria used in the survey, specifically for the female respondents, focused on “on factors such as parental leave, discrimination, and pay equity,” as well as nominated companies outside of the one they happen to work for. “The final list ranks the 300 employers that both received the most recommendations and boast the most gender diverse boards and executive ranks,” Forbes says.
Des Moines, Iowa company Principal Financial Group was the best U.S. company for women, according to Statista data.
Principal Financial Group, based out of Des Moines, Iowa, earned the highest honors for the 2018 ranking, with an official score of 91.4. The company, ranked 210th overall on the Fortune 500 list, employs 9,978 U.S. workers, nearly 60 percent of which are women. Speaking with Forbes, Kerry Gumm, the Principal Capital Director of Human Resources Strategy, says, “It really does start with the culture of the organization.”
“You can have a holistic life if you’re part of this organization,” she adds. “I’ve not felt the need to compromise in any way.”
Principal Financial Group earned high recommendations because of its benefits, which include “flexible work schedules, prenatal care programs, and an onsite childcare center.” The company also manages an annual review of all of its pay practices to better combat any potential biases, alongside an anonymous call center to help discuss compensation disputes. Not to be outdone, the company also implements rigorous standards in helping its own employees earn promotions, of which include “three women’s networks for those in leadership, technology, and sales roles.” In contrast to many of the companies listed in the aforementioned Fortune 500 listing, 42 percent of executive roles and 45 percent of the boards seats are held by women Principal Capital Group.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System, more commonly referred to as Penn Medicine, earned the number two spot on the ranking. The organization has over 35,000 U.S. employees; the third highest among the top ten ranked companies. With a significantly larger employee base than Principal Financial, Penn Medicine also has one of the largest percentages of female employees in the country at 77 percent. This also includes 55 percent women in the organization’s executive roles, as well as five out of its seven CEOs.
Card manufacturer Hallmark, based in Kansas City, Missouri, rounded out the top three. The company sports the smallest employee base out of any company in the top 10, with 2,500 U.S. employees. However, Hallmark featured an even larger portion of U.S. female employees than Penn Medicine, with a figure of 83 percent overall. About 70 percent of the Hallmark board is also held by women.
Several of the nation’s most prominent universities also managed to land in the top 50 of the new ranking, the highest of which was Harvard University at 9th overall. New York University, UVA, Stanford, and Emory University also earned high honors in the 2018 best US employers for women ranking.
2018 Best US Employers for Women
| Ranking | Company | # of U.S. Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Principal Financial Group | 9,978 |
| 2 | Penn Medicine | 35,273 |
| 3 | Hallmark | 2,500 |
| 4 | BayCare | 25,600 |
| 5 | Oregon Health & Science University | 15,642 |
| 6 | Keller Williams Realty | 154,000 |
| 7 | Boston Children's Hospital | 5,001 |
| 8 | Providence Health & Services | 82,000 |
| 9 | Harvard University | 18,724 |
| 10 | Gwinnett County Public Schools | 23,300 |
Click here to see the 2018 entire ranking.
London Business School Prof Warns of the Future for Tech Giants
Last year, tech giants such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook already started facing new regulations and pushback from government officials. For example, last November, the State of Missouri launched an investigation into Google to see if it had violated antitrust and consumer protection laws. Julian Birkinshaw, a professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at London Business School, thinks that’s only the beginning.
“The tech giants are huge beasts, and there is a growing sense of unease about their power,” Birkinshaw said in a news article on the school website. He went on to talk about various fines already levied against big tech firms such as Google, which was ordered to pay €2.4 billion last June for abusing its internet search monopoly to promote its online shopping service. Facebook, meanwhile, got slapped with a €110-million fine by the European Union for providing misleading information about its takeover of WhatsApp.
According to Birkinshaw, these examples are just the tip of the iceberg. “Over the coming year we can expect to see more of this aggressively activist approach in tackling companies with dominant positions,” he wrote.
What’s driving this more aggressive regulation? Birkinshaw believes it has to do with the old supplier-manufacturer-distributor-consumer model, which doesn’t fit these new tech giants. Antitrust legislation wasn’t designed to cope with tech companies whose profitability increases rapidly alongside its growth.
For example, Facebook has more than two billion active users, Google handles 42 percent of all U.S. digital advertising, and Amazon has all but eliminated would-be competitors. Birkinshaw sees no signs of these companies slowing down.
“The more people who join Facebook or use Google, the more data the company can mine. The economies of scale become ever greater,” Birkinshaw wrote. “So we need to rethink the way we monitor the power of the huge companies now dominating the business landscape.”
