Amid today's information tidal wave, rankings - including business ratings - are all the rage. A prominent example is the World Competitiveness Yearbook, which compares the performance of 46 business destinations.

It's a praiseworthy endeavor - but the rather subjective perceptions of international managers regarding political and macroeconomic conditions can find their way into such ratings. Still, the judgment of multinational management is meaningful on business operating issues.

And that's where Austria scores: number one compared to all other European locations in quality management, number two in worker motivation and number five in the quality-price relationship. Demonstrating once again: Austria may not be a "cheap" location, but when it comes to quality, it's the number 1 choice.

By Ren Siegl, Austrian Business Agency

Visit Austrian Business Agency's website at http://www.telecom.at/AustrianBusinessInfo or enter a text search 'Austrian Business Agency' and 'Business Monitor'.

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