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Here is a small "sampling" of the factors<1> used to evaluate a given enterprise and calculate its score<2>:
(No order nor weight implied)  ?
  • What is the mission of the enterprise (other than to make money)?
  • Is there a long range vision (20-50 years)?
  • What is the percentage of American ownership of the enterprise?
  • What is the quality of enterprise's disclosures?
  • What is the amount of the political contributions by (or on behave of) the enterprise?
  • How many operations does the enterprise have in tax havens?
  • What is the positive contribution of the enterprise to society?
  • What is the public visibility of the enterprise leadership?
  • How many competitors does the enterprise have?
  • How easy could a new competitor enter the market?
  • How much "skin in the game" have the major decision makers?
  • How many years in the present location?
  • How much "spin" have the corporate press releases?
  • What is the vision horizon of top management of the enterprise?
  • How many partnerships and joint ventures with competitor enterprises?
  • The dollar value of government contracts obtained on a non-competitive basis.
  • The percentage of corporate growth during past decade which came from mergers and acquisitions.
  • The percentage of consumer products for which the price to the consumer is held constant via various means for the entire US market.
  • The percentage of corporate assets invested in stocks and bonds of other enterprises.
  • The tax advantages granted to the enterprise by Federal, state, and local governments.
  • Are you respected by your peers?
  • On what percentage of revenue do you pay taxes?
  • Are you accountable for the results of you actions and the actions of your products?
  • Is your set of ethics unique or limited to your industry segment?
  • Is you executive compensation commensurate with company performance (both up and down)?
  • Do you readily accept the consequences of poor decision or poor performance?
  • What is the level of complexity in the enterprise (e.g., reporting levels)
  • How many subsidiaries and joint ventures does the enterprise have?
  • What percentage of the employees does the top executive know by name?
  • Are your products and services priced at fair market value?
  • Do your customer have freedom of choice, including to take their business elsewhere?
  • Does your complexity of scale exceed your economy of scale?
  • Have you done any mergers or acquisitions that reduced or eliminated competition?
  • Have you ever done a leveraged buyout?
  • Have you been involve in a hostile takeover?
Note 1 From data collected and assembled by Free Enterprise students at Zo^o University.
Note 2 The exact formula is a very complex algorithm resulting from University student research and is a proprietary trade secret of the University Trustees and Alumni Fund.
Note 3 Data is first sought from corporate disclosures, next from numerous public and private sources, followed by questions to employees and business associates of the enterprise, and - when all else fails - estimated by the senior students in the department (with assistance and guidance from trusted University alumni).
Note 4 Wherever possible, quantifiable, numeric data is used in preference to subjective values.
Note 5 Data errors will be corrected promptly upon proper receipt of objective, verifiable data.
Note 6 A worthy participant in American Free Enterprise will usually have an AFER score of at least 3000.
Note 7 The University trustees, students, alumni, and business partners make no claims as to how the AFER score could be used, and thereby they accept no responsibility for any decision someone chooses to make as a result of an AFER score having been assigned.


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Last updated * 2010-06-13
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