Influential Citizens Have Mixed Feelings About Global Corporate Practices

On Tuesday, public relations giant Ketchum announced that according to a recent global survey of 2,750 "influential" citizens in developed and developing nations, non-political public activists have mixed feelings about the standards and practices adhered to by most corporations.

"Ketchum commissioned the study to explore the expectations influential citizens have of corporations and CEOs," said John Weckenmann, director, North American Corporate Practice, Ketchum.

These "influentials", who in the context of the survey were defined as the top 10 to 15% of a nation's "movers and shakers" and those who work to make changes in society (but not including any politicians), say that corporations' practices usually have too much of a gap between making money and being socially and environmentally responsible. However, at the same time, they feel that it is private industry and the corporate world, not the government, that can rise to the occasion and make the changes that people want and need.

The survey talked to "influentials" in 11 different nations. Most influentials overall expressed distrust of all big institutions including major media, religious organizations, government and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and, most especially, large corporations.

However, in the developing nations, the influentials put greater trust in NGOs, major media outlets, and corporations than they do in religion or government.

CEOs are very distrusted by developed nations, especially because of their huge amounts of pay, and most influential people would never want to be a CEO. However, in the developing nations, people tend to see CEOs as great leaders and many would love to run a company as a CEO.