What is the most influential corporation of all time? - Page 2

notyoueither · May 17, 2003, 01:23

Quote:

Originally posted by SlowwHand
Calculators.

Well, calculators made in Texas are surely sweet, but...

SlowwHand · May 17, 2003, 01:25

Man, that's like the tip of the ice-berg.

Ted Striker · May 17, 2003, 01:27

I'd say in terms of lifestyle, GM and McDonald's have had the two biggest impacts (not necessarily good either) in the last 50 years.

1. GM changed the way people live, allowed the suburbs to be possible, bought out public transportation and then destroyed it.

2. Mickey Dees did two things:

a. Paved the way for successful cookie cutter franchising en masse

b. Allowed the instant gratification culture in America to come into being

Ted Striker · May 17, 2003, 01:28

TI does other things too, they still make alot of really good chips...

notyoueither · May 17, 2003, 01:30

Quote:

Originally posted by Ted Striker
TI does other things too, they still make alot of really good chips...

I know. I buy them. Don't tell Sloww that though.

JohnT · May 17, 2003, 01:39

Quote:

Originally posted by Ted Striker
I'd say in terms of lifestyle, GM and McDonald's have had the two biggest impacts (not necessarily good either) in the last 50 years.

A couple of notes:

GM became GM in no small part to the efforts of Bunkie Knudson, a Ford executive who jumped ship in 1919 and brought the secrets of mass production to GM and its divisions. Bunkie became head of US War Production prior to WW2 (keeping the position throughout the conflict) and was responsible for organizing the entire war production of the United States.

His son started at GM as well, switched over to Ford and was fired within 10 months. Given that there are only 3 companies in the American market at the time, ouch!

McDonalds became possible due to the mobility of the American public, a mobility brought about by the availability of individual automobiles. They started as a carhop service in 1937, after all.

http://academic.bellevue.edu/~jpatto...mcdonalds.html

orange · May 17, 2003, 01:43

Absolutely Ford Motor Company. General Motors in general...I don't think anything else comes close.

cia · May 17, 2003, 01:44

Bell Labs invented the transistor.

LoneWolf · May 17, 2003, 01:47

The East India Company. Or possibly Krupp. Maybe deBeers. Come on, people, this is "of all time" not now.

JohnT · May 17, 2003, 01:47

Quote:

Originally posted by cia
Bell Labs invented the transistor.

Bell Labs is a subsidiary of ATT Corporation, brought about by a 1925 agreement with Western Electric to pool resources for a research lab.

ATT History: http://www.att.com/history/milestones.html

Bell Labs History (pretty informative): http://www.bell-labs.com/about/history/timeline.html

UNIX, laser... who knows, maybe ATT is more influential than Ford.

St Leo · May 17, 2003, 02:14

Hudson's Bay.

Sten Sture · May 17, 2003, 02:38

(edit: Bell Labs is now in the Lucent group iirc)

for Influential I would have to go with Dow Jones (Wall Street Urinal) or the New York Times - they both had amazing influence well beyond their business size and beyond their industry. We forget these days how big those papers were.

Ford was just an efficient manufacturerer of a product and GM a conglomerate of the same ilk. Textron could go in the same catagory, well down the list. US Steel was the equivalent of a merger between Ford and GM - that would be higher than the autos, imho.

Stefu · May 17, 2003, 02:54

Nokia.

Lord Merciless · May 17, 2003, 03:05

Bell Labs was a subdivision within ATT, so I think ATT belongs to one of the most influential companies ever.

The German IG Farben was a very powerful entity before WW2. During WW2, IG Farben gained notoriety through supplying chemicals to concentration camps and employing thousands of slave labors. It was broken up after the war into Bayer, BASF, and Hoechst. As you know, these companies are still the world-leading companies in chemical industry, and Germany is still the world leader in chemical industry.

Bugs ****ing Bunny · May 17, 2003, 03:21

The Dutch East Indian Company. Most powerful force in most of the countries it operated in. Most powerful private body in Europe at the time. Richest private body in the world at the time. Set the blueprints for global capitalism and political meddling. Established western imperialism in South-East Asia. Smashed the power of the Spain/Portugal axis. Most powerful navy in the world at the time.

Why any other contenders are being suggested is a bit of a mystery to me.

Sarxis · May 17, 2003, 03:36

McDonald's.

That or one of big Tobacco companies.

Ming · May 17, 2003, 03:43

McDonald's is lossing money, and so are the big Tobacco companies...

It's the energy companies and Microsoft that are in charge now

DinoDoc · May 17, 2003, 03:45

Quote:

Originally posted by Ming
It's the energy companies and Microsoft that are in charge now

My vote goes for Wal-Mart.

Promethus · May 17, 2003, 03:52

Anyone remember Buck Duke

notyoueither · May 17, 2003, 03:54

Quote:

Originally posted by DinoDoc
My vote goes for Wal-Mart.

for revolutionising the American shopping experience?

Ming · May 17, 2003, 03:57

Walmart is a good choice... but I see them slipping right now. They are still trying to get a grip on their target audience, while other retailers are nipping at their heels.

Some people just don't like the "walmart experience"...

notyoueither · May 17, 2003, 04:01

They are influential, obviously. But most influential of all time? Well, to each their own...

Ming · May 17, 2003, 04:08

Of all time... let's talk about the Railroads then... In their hayday... the ran the government.

notyoueither · May 17, 2003, 04:19

A good railroad could be in the money, however they never coalesced into a monolith. Collectively, yes. But not as a whole.

But then again, neither did Ford. However, Ford did lead industry into a new way of doing things and utilising labour. Not to mention what he did for the labourers.

Ming · May 17, 2003, 04:27

While many may want to say the current admin is controlled by "some" big business.... it isn't as bad as it used to be....

notyoueither · May 17, 2003, 04:47

I believe that. A small portion of our constitutional history is based purely on rail roads. They had to promise BC a rail link or no go. Hense the drive to the west. I won't complain. They needed consumers along the way so they drove the settlement along the prairies and a couple of promising provinces popped up as a consequence.

Az · May 17, 2003, 05:44

Ming, but there was a period, in the mid 20th century, that the US government was less dependant on big bussiness than now. At least this is the impression I get as an outsider. Of course the US government was once more "in touch" with corporations. That's a well-known fact.

Buck Birdseed · May 17, 2003, 07:25

Bah. Changing the way people live? Small potatoes! Proper corporations control the fates of entire countries. Like United Fruit.

Barley · May 17, 2003, 07:35

Another worthy contender.

De-havaland.

Built the Comet, the first jet powered passenger airliner. This was a catalyst of the mass international travel and commerce (through tourism) that we have today.

JohnT · May 17, 2003, 11:36

Quote:

Originally posted by Ming
Walmart is a good choice... but I see them slipping right now. They are still trying to get a grip on their target audience...

That's an odd thing to say about a corporation who had a quarter-trillion in retail sales last FY. Seems to me that they know their target market pretty well.

In terms of long-term influence, I wouldn't have Wal-Mart #1 among even American retailers - Sears has a better claim to that throne, imho.