Spin Control: An analysis of CEO Rhetoric in Letters to Shareholders
Author:
James Scott-RansomMentor:
J. Goosby Smith, Assoc. Prof. Management and Organizational Behavior, Pepperdine UniversityEvery Fortune 100 company produces an annual report, each of which commences with a Letter to Shareholders (or Stakeholders). These letters are meticulously crafted and "spun" since they serve as the preface to informing organizational shareholders and stakeholders of the company's performance in the prior year. Using linguistic analysis and ratios of financial performance, we examine several aspects of the letters: positive and negative affect, tentative statements, methods of address, and mention of Balanced Scorecard terminology. More specifically, we will be using Fortune 100 (2011 Most Profitable) ranking, net profit margin and P/E ratio Our goal is an exploration of linkages between firm performance and CEO rhetoric.