Keeping track . . .
What people want from big companies
Percentage of consumers polled that want firms to:
Set Operate Create
higher in between profits,
ethical the two jobs, and
standards positions pay taxes
India 46% 17% 36%
Australia 45 34 8
Canada 43 45 11
Great Britain 39 42 17
Uruguay 38 26 25
Italy 36 31 30
USA 35 53 11
Venezuela 35 25 37
Mexico 35 26 25
Indonesia 35 29 34
Source: Environics International
Consumers worldwide say the role of business is to make profits and create jobs, but far more important over the next decade will be helping build a better society, according to the largest-ever global survey of public expectations of corporations.
After 20,000 interviews in a total of 20 countries, the global-research firm Environics International found that citizens of India felt most strongly about business ethics. Meanhwhile, people from Kazakhstan (48 percent), the Dominican Republic (45 percent), and China (45 percent), said creating profit is most important.
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