One of the fundamental performance measurements in an organization's balanced scorecard learning and growth perspective is the number of patents obtained. The following information from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office indicates the total U.S. patents issued for 2008. Company 1. IBM 2. Samsung 3. Canon 4. Panasonic 5. Toshiba 6. Microsoft Company 7. Sony 8. Seiko Epson 9. Hon Hai Precision Industry 10. Hitachi Total Patents 6,180 4,894 2,821 2,559 2,483 2,311 Total Patents 2,286 1,533 1,514 1,465 In a team of three or four people, research these companies on the web and prepare a written report on their financial performance, customers' perceptions of their service and product quality, and manufacturing operations (such as level of automation in plants).