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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