19 November 2007
"Influential" citizens say corporations should tackle world’s woes
Room for improvement in uptake of CSR initiatives.
Corporations and CEOs should take more responsibility for helping to solve major social problems, such as poverty and access to adequate health care, according to an international study of the roles of corporations and CEOs, conducted by global PR agency, Ketchum.
The researchers polled 2,750 "influential citizens" (defined as the 10 to 15% of the population who initiate changes in their community or society) across 11 countries. Most of those surveyed said corporations are falling short as environmental stewards and failing to measure up in honesty and ethics.
Clearly, there's room for internal communicators to influence and guide CEOs in communicating more effectively.
Are your ethics intact?
The survey also revealed that while honesty, ethics and fairness are seen as the most important personal characteristics for a CEO, they're the ones that seem to be least often fulfilled.
Influentials in Canada, the UK, Germany and the US gave the lowest marks to CEOs for being/seeming ethical.
Clearly, there's room for internal communicators to influence and guide CEOs and organizations in communicating more effectively their stance and action they take on tackling major social problems.
CEO could be the weakest link
Areas identified as in need of improvement include employee relations and communication – they're deemed the CEO weak spots. There seem to be huge gaps between the expected behavior of corporations and the way they’re actually perceived to be behaving.
For example, 90% of Canadians said following ethical standards is important, but only 14% are confident that it's being done. Among the influentials, 87% said communicating honestly is important, but only 11% believe corporations do that.
Governments and non-governmental organizations fared the worst in the trust rankings, with just 10% saying they trusted each while 30% said they didn’t.
"This was an eye-opening piece of research," said Geoffrey Rowan, managing director of Ketchum PR Canada. "The level of mistrust for institutions, the frustration with business leaders, and at the same time the expectation that corporations can and should be doing a lot more than just building shareholder value is both a threat but it's also a remarkable opportunity."
Expectations of influentials in different countries
Respondents in most European nations say that corporations should focus more attention on environmental protection, while those in North America and the developing nations – India, China and Argentina – attach approximately equal significance to environmental issues and profits.
The study identifies employee relations and communication as CEO weak spots that need improvement.
On a worldwide basis, environmental stewardship is the area where the gap between expectations and performance is the greatest, followed closely by honesty and ethics.
Have your say
Do you agree with the survey's findings? How far do the results tally with your opinions? Share your thoughts with other communicators worldwide on the Communicators' Network.
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