Microsoft world's best company to work for: Study

Software giant Microsoft has topped a list of the world's best multinational companies to work for, where all the top-ten positions have been bagged by American firms.

Internet giant Google has been ranked at the fourth place in the list of compiled by human resources consultancy 'Great Place to Work Institute'.

Microsoft is followed by software developer SAS and network storage provider NetApp at the second and third ranks, respectively, while logistics major FedEx Express is ranked fifth on the list of '25 best multinational workplaces'.

While there are no Asian companies on the list, all the top-ten positions have been bagged by the US firms. Also, 18 out of the total 25 firms on the list are from the world's biggest economy.

The inaugural rankings were based on opinion surveys of more than 2.5 million employees across the world about their workplace culture.

Others in the top-10 include IT company Cisco (sixth), hospitality giant Marriott (seventh), food and beverage service provider McDonald's (eighth), personal and household goods makers Kimberly-Clark (ninth) and SC Johnson (10th).

The HR consultancy that prepared the list said that the rankings recognize those global companies that have demonstrated "a truly serious commitment to creating workplaces that foster trust, pride and camaraderie amongst their employees."

The list also included UK-based Diageo (11th), American Express (12th), Medtronic (13th), Intel (14th), Hilti (15th), 3M (16th), (17th), National Instruments (18th), Mars (19th), Accenture (20th), Roche (21st), Novo Nordisk (22nd), The Coca-Cola Company (23rd), Atento (24th) and Quintiles (25th).

Only those companies were considered for the list which have have at least 5,000 employees worldwide and a minimum of 40 per cent (or 5,000 members) of their global workforce were outside of the company's home country, among other conditions.

Yahoo could be up for sale following firing of CEO Carol Bartz

Internet services company Yahoo could be sold before it appoints a new chief executive to replace recently fired Carol Bartz, according to sources.

Software giant Microsoft that tried to buy Yahoo in 2008 for 45 billion dollars is likely to reprise its bid.

 “Some of the same rationale, in terms of expertise in display advertising and search - still stands, so if Microsoft can get it for half the price, it will want to do so,” the Telegraph quoted a source, as saying.

 According to the paper, former chief executive of AOL Jon Miller, who is now heading digital at News Corporation, is tipped as a frontrunner, and could also double as a buyer.

 Miller earlier held talks with private equity firms to raise the money to acquire Yahoo.

According to the infuential technology blog ‘Techcrunch,’ Miller also held ‘early and unofficial’ talks with the Yahoo board in June, the paper said.

 Bartz was recently fired by the company’s board over the phone, ending a rocky two-year run marked by stagnating growth and a bitter rift with Chinese partner Alibaba.


The board named Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse to be interim CEO while it searches for a replacement for Bartz.