India's Most Admired Companies 2011

Fortune Magazine's annual ranking of the World's Most Admired Companies – a most coveted place to be for any business, large or small, across the globe. Criteria considered: innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long term investment, quality of products/services and global competitiveness – almost the entire gamut of what spells success in business today.So, what's in the DNA of a most admired company? While there is no one uniform (genetic) code, there are several prerequisites that make such a company stand out. For starters, strategic thinking and vision, which lend direction and constancy of purpose to the firm; aligning of culture and leadership, and setting a forward-looking tone; focusing on people by considering them as a competitive advantage and through talent retention and employee engagement; and focusing on customers through a customer-centric philosophy and yes, consistency of delivery.Notwithstanding the broader strokes, the devil, as they say, lies in the details. Should the company primarily concentrate on creating value for its shareholders or should it also take into account the interests of all stakeholders including employees, customers, suppliers, society and more? Latest management thinking does not consider such competing claims as mutually exclusive; research conducted at IMD (International Institute for Management Development), Switzerland, shows that companies that take care of their employees, customers and other stakeholders also deliver value to their shareholders. And, turns out, they are significantly more successful at it than their competitors.Then again, it's not just about optimising current share prices or earnings of the quarter ended. Companies that are able to look beyond such short-term goals and towards long-term value creation are more likely to win the respect and admiration of their stakeholders. Companies in construction are in no way an exception to this rule.The good news is that CW has continually endeavoured to bring such frontrunners within the industry to the fore. In keeping with this tradition, we bring you, for the 7th year in a row, India's Most Admired Companies, selected through a rigorous process, where a total of 78 contracting and engineering companies were put to vote. Our voters, comprising industry professionals, were asked to choose, basis criteria ranging from performance, scale of projects and corporate governance to ethics, best business practices, social responsibility and transparency, among others. They were also given the option of including three companies of their choice that were not there in the existing list of 78.The survey proved to be a success: we received nearly 521 votes, zeroing down to the top ten that made the final cut. Our winners, as always, will be felicitated at the CW Annual Awards. For now, they are profiled in the ensuing pages of this story. Read on to find out...Winners...Then and Now!(All names appear in alphabetical order)2008Afcons InfrastructureEngineers IndiaGammon IndiaHindustan ConstructionIRCONJaiprakash AssociatesLarsen & ToubroNagarjuna ConstructionPunj LloydTata Projects2009Afcons InfrastructureEssar ProjectsGammon IndiaHindustan ConstructionJaiprakash AssociatesKonkan Railway CorporationLarsen & ToubroNagarjuna ConstructionPunj LloydTata Projects2010Afcons InfrastructureGammon IndiaHindustan ConstructionIVRCL Infrastructure & ProjectsJaiprakash AssociatesLarsen & ToubroNagarjuna ConstructionPunj LloydSimplex InfrastructureTata Projects2011Afcons InfrastructureEssar ProjectsGammon IndiaHindustan ConstructionLanco InfratechLarsen & ToubroNagarjuna ConstructionPunj LloydReliance InfrastructureTata Projects