Tata Steel, ONGC in Fortune's most admired cos list

Two Indian companies -- Tata steel and ONGC -- have made it to a list of the world's most admired companies, compiled by management consultancy giant Hay Group and global business magazine Fortune.

While the global rankings of the Indian companies were not known, the worldwide list has been topped by US-based technology giant Apple.

While Apple has topped the list for the fifth consecutive year, it is followed by internet major Google and online retailer Amazon are ranked second and third respectively in the latest list for the year 2012.

The list comprises of a total 358 companies, but mentions specific rankings for only the top-50 companies -- globally and for the geographic regions. Tata Steel has been ranked 17th in the Asia-Pacific region.

However, Tata Steel has been assigned an overall score of 6.46 points and state-run energy giant ONGC of 5.86 points. Apple has topped the global rankings with a score of 8.42 points, while Unilever, ranked 50th, has scored 6.84 points.

"It is a matter of pride that some Indian companies have also made it to the Most Admired Companies lists for their respective industries. We are confident that more such names will make it to the global list next year," Hay Group India Managing Director Gaurav Lahiri said.

The rankings are based on factors like innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, management quality, financial soundness, long-term investment, quality of products/services and global competitiveness.

Among the top-ten companies, Apple, Google and Amazon are followed by Coca-Cola, IBM, FedEx, Berkshire Hathaway, Starbucks, Procter & Gamble and Southwest Airlines.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Japanese automaker Toyota has been ranked on the top, followed by Canon at the second and South Korea's Samsung Electronics at the third place

"For the 50 most admired companies overall, respondents in the region were asked to vote for the companies that they admired most, from any industry," the magazine said.

Hay Group has collaborated with Fortune magazine annually since 1997 to rank the world's most admired companies and identify the business practices that make these companies highly regarded and successful.

The group said that the core business practices that distinguish the World's Most Admired Companies have remained consistent, despite economic change, technological advances and increased globalization during the past 15 years.

As per its research, the four most significant factors that have consistently enabled these companies to outperform their peers include their 'executing and enabling strategy, building structures and processes to sustain long-term performance, achieving success through people and placing a high value on leadership and talent', it noted.