Dozens of excellent books already exist to help
you choose a career, write a resume, apply for a job, dress for
the office and so on. This is not the purpose of PLUNKETT'S
COMPANION TO THE ALMANAC OF AMERICAN EMPLOYERS. Instead,
this book’s job is to help you sort through America’s
mid-size corporate employers to determine which may be the best
for you, or to see how your current employer compares to others.
Whether you are entering the job market and looking for your first
position, or you are thinking about switching companies in mid-career
to find more promising vistas, this book will be a valuable guide.
The two primary sections of the book are devoted
first to general information for job seekers (trends analysis
and advice on conducting employer research, along with resources
and contacts) and then to the “Individual Data Listings”
for THE MID-SIZE EMPLOYERS 500. If time permits,
you should begin your research in the front chapters of this book.
Also, you will find lengthy indexes in Chapter 4 and in the back
of the book.
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR JOB SEEKERS
Chapter 1: Major Trends Affecting Job Seekers.
This chapter presents an encapsulated view of the major trends
in business and the economy that are creating rapid changes in
the employment picture at major corporations.
Chapter 2: Research–7 Keys for Job Seekers. This
chapter provides a definitive list of items that job seekers should
look for when conducting research into major corporate employers.
Chapter 3: Important Contacts for Job Seekers.
This chapter covers contacts for important government agencies,
organizations, job banks, reference sources and more. Included
are World Wide Web sites and contact addresses for a wide variety
of uses.
THE MID-SIZE EMPLOYERS 500
Chapter 4: THE MID-SIZE EMPLOYERS 500: Who
They Are and How They Were Chosen. The companies compared
in this book were chosen from all industries, on a nationwide
basis. They were individually chosen from the largest U.S. employers,
based on type of business, industry sector and competitive advantage.
For a complete description, see Chapter 4.
Individual Data Listings:
Look at one of the companies in THE MID-SIZE EMPLOYERS
500’s Individual Data Listings. You’ll find
the following information fields:
Company Name: The company
profiles are in alphabetical order by company name. If you don’t
find the company you are seeking, it may be a subsidiary or division
of one of the firms covered in this book. Try looking it up in
the Index by Subsidiaries, Brand Names and Selected Affiliations
in the back of the book.
Ranks:
Industry Group Code: An
NAIC code used to group companies within like segments. (See Chapter
4 for a list of codes.)
Ranks Within This Company’s
Industry Group: Ranks, within this firm’s segment
only, for annual sales and annual profits, with 1 being the highest
rank.
Types of Careers: A grid
arranged into six major career categories and several sub-categories.
A “Y” indicates yes. A complete Index by Careers is
included in the back of the book.
Types of Business: A listing
of the primary types of business specialties conducted by the
firm.
Brands/Divisions/Affiliations:
Major brand names, operating divisions or subsidiaries of the
firm, as well as major corporate affiliations—such as another
firm that owns a significant portion of the company’s stock.
A complete Index by Subsidiaries, Brand Names and Selected Affiliations
is in the back of the book.
Contacts: The names and titles
up to 27 top officers of the company are listed, including human
resources contacts.
Address: The firm’s
full headquarters address, the headquarters telephone, plus toll-free
and fax numbers where available. Also provided is the World Wide
Web site address.
Financials: Annual Sales
(2003 or the latest fiscal year available to the editors, plus
up to four previous years): These are stated in thousands of dollars
(add three zeros if you want the full number). This figure represents
consolidated worldwide sales from all operations. 2003 figures
may be estimates or may be for only part of the year—partial
year figures are appropriately footnoted.
Annual Profits (2003 or the latest
fiscal year available to the editors, plus up to four previous
years): These are stated in thousands of dollars (add
three zeros if you want the full number). This figure represents
consolidated, after-tax net profit from all operations. 2003 figures
may be estimates or may be for only part of the year—partial
year figures are appropriately footnoted.
Stock Ticker: When available,
the unique stock market symbol used to identify this firm’s
common stock for trading and tracking purposes is indicated. Where
appropriate, this field may contain “private” or “subsidiary”
rather than a ticker symbol.
Total Number of Employees: The approximate total number of employees,
worldwide, as of the end of 2002 (or the latest data available
to the editors).
Apparent Salaries/Benefits: A
“Y” in appropriate fields indicates “Yes.”
Due to wide variations in the manner in which corporations report
benefits to the U.S. Government’s regulatory bodies, not
all plans will have been uncovered or correctly evaluated during
our effort to research this data. Also, the availability to employees
of such plans will vary according to the qualifications that employees
must meet to become eligible. For example, some benefit plans
may be available only to salaried workers—others only to
employees who work more than 1,000 hours yearly. Benefits that
are available to employees of the main or parent company may not
be available to employees of the subsidiaries. In addition, employers
frequently alter the nature and terms of plans offered.
NOTE: Generally, employees
covered by wealth-building benefit plans do not fully own (“vest
in”) funds contributed on their behalf by the employer until
as many as five years of service with that employer have passed.
All pension plans are voluntary—that is, employers are not
obligated to offer pensions.
Pension Plan: The firm offers
a pension plan to qualified employees. In this case, in order
for a “Y” to appear, the editors believe that the
employer offers a defined benefit or cash balance pension plan
(see discussions below).The type and generosity of these plans
vary widely from firm to firm. Caution: Some employers refer to
plans as “pension” or “retirement” plans
when they are actually 401(k) savings plans that require a contribution
by the employee.
Defined Benefit Pension Plans:
Pension plans that do not require a contribution from the employee
are infrequently offered. However, a few companies, particularly
larger employers in high-profit-margin industries, offer defined
benefit pension plans where the employee is guaranteed to receive
a set pension benefit upon retirement. The amount of the benefit
is determined by the years of service with the company and the
employee’s salary during the later years of employment.
The longer a person works for the employer, the higher the retirement
benefit. These defined benefit plans are funded entirely by the
employer. The benefits, up to a reasonable limit, are guaranteed
by the Federal Government’s Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
These plans are not portable—if you leave the company, you
cannot transfer your benefits into a different plan. Instead,
upon retirement you will receive the benefits that vested during
your service with the company. If your employer offers a pension
plan, it must give you a summary plan description within 90 days
of the date you join the plan. You can also request a summary
annual report of the plan, and once every 12 months you may request
an individual benefit statement accounting of your interest in
the plan.
Defined Contribution Plans:
These are quite different. They do not guarantee a certain amount
of pension benefit. Instead, they set out circumstances under
which the employer will make a contribution to a plan on your
behalf. The most common example is the 401(k) savings plan. Pension
benefits are not guaranteed under these plans.
Cash Balance Pension Plans:
These plans were recently invented. These are hybrid plans—part
defined benefit and part defined contribution. Many employers
have converted their older defined benefit plans into cash balance
plans. The employer makes deposits (or credits a given amount
of money) on the employee’s behalf, usually based on a percentage
of pay. Employee accounts grow based on a predetermined interest
benchmark, such as the interest rate on Treasury Bonds. There
are some advantages to these plans, particularly for younger workers:
a) The benefits, up to a reasonable limit, are guaranteed by the
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. b) Benefits are portable—they
can be moved to another plan when the employee changes companies.
c) Younger workers and those who spend a shorter number of years
with an employer may receive higher benefits than they would under
a traditional Defined Benefit Plan.
ESOP Stock Plan (Employees’
Stock Ownership Plan): This type of plan is in wide use.
Typically, the plan borrows money from a bank and uses those funds
to purchase a large block of the corporation’s stock. The
corporation makes contributions to the plan over a period of time,
and the stock purchase loan is eventually paid off. The value
of the plan grows significantly as long as the market price of
the stock holds up. Qualified employees are allocated a share
of the plan based on their length of service and their level of
salary. Under federal regulations, participants in ESOPs are allowed
to diversify their account holdings in set percentages that rise
as the employee ages and gains years of service with the company.
In this manner, not all of the employee’s assets are tied
up in the employer’s stock.
Savings Plan, 401(k): Under
this type of plan, employees make a tax-deferred deposit into
an account. In the best plans, the company makes annual matching
donations to the employees’ accounts, typically in some
proportion to deposits made by the employees themselves. A good
plan will match one-half of employee deposits of up to 6% of wages.
For example, an employee earning $30,000 yearly might deposit
$1,800 (6%) into the plan. The company will match one-half of
the employee’s deposit, or $900. The plan grows on a tax-deferred
basis, similar to an IRA. A very generous plan will match 100%
of employee deposits. However, some plans do not call for the
employer to make a matching deposit at all. Other plans call for
a matching contribution to be made at the discretion of the firm’s
board of directors. Actual terms of these plans vary widely from
firm to firm. Generally, these savings plans allow employees to
deposit as much as 15% of salary into the plan on a tax-deferred
basis. However, the portion that the company uses to calculate
its matching deposit is generally limited to a maximum of 6%.
Employees should take care to diversify the holdings in their
401(k) accounts, and most people should seek professional guidance
or investment management for their accounts.
Stock Purchase Plan: Qualified
employees may purchase the company’s common stock at a price
below its market value under a specific plan. Typically, the employee
is limited to investing a small percentage of wages in this plan.
The discount may range from 5 to 15%. Some of these plans allow
for deposits to be made through regular monthly payroll deductions.
However, new accounting rules for corporations, along with other
factors, are leading many companies to curtail these plans—dropping
the discount allowed, cutting the maximum yearly stock purchase
or otherwise making the plans less generous or appealing.
Profit Sharing: Qualified
employees are awarded an annual amount equal to some portion of
a company’s profits. In a very generous plan, the pool of
money awarded to employees would be 15% of profits. Typically,
this money is deposited into a long-term retirement account. Caution:
Some employers refer to plans as “profit sharing”
when they are actually 401(k) savings plans. True profit sharing
plans are rarely offered.
Highest Executive Salary:
The highest executive salary paid, typically a 2003 amount (or
the latest year available to the editors) and typically paid to
the Chief Executive Officer.
Highest Executive Bonus: The
apparent bonus, if any, paid to the above person.
Second Highest Executive Salary: The
next-highest executive salary paid, typically a 2003 amount (or
the latest year available to the editors) and typically paid to
the President or Chief Operating Officer.
Second Highest Executive Bonus: The
apparent bonus, if any, paid to the above person.
Competitive Advantage: A
brief statement regarding an outstanding feature that gives the
firm an edge in the marketplace.
Other Thoughts:
Apparent Women Officers or Directors:
It is difficult to obtain this information on an exact basis,
and employers generally do not disclose the data in a public way.
However, we have indicated what our best efforts reveal to be
the apparent number of women who either are in the posts of corporate
officers or sit on the board of directors. There is a wide variance
from company to company.
Hot Spot for Advancement for Women/Minorities:
A “Y” in appropriate fields indicates “Yes.”
These are firms that appear either to have posted a substantial
number of women and/or minorities to high posts or that appear
to have a good record of going out of their way to recruit, train,
promote and retain women or minorities. (See the Index of Hot
Spots For Women and Minorities in the back of the book.) This
information may change frequently and can be difficult to obtain
and verify. Consequently, the reader should use caution and conduct
further investigation where appropriate.
Growth Plans/ Special Features: Listed
here are observations regarding the firm’s strategy, hiring
plans, plans for growth and product development, along with general
information regarding a company’s business and prospects.
Locations: A “Y”
in the appropriate field indicates “Yes.” Primary
locations outside of the headquarters, categorized by regions
of the United States and by international locations. A complete
index by locations is also in the front of this chapter.
