31
March
2011
|
04:08 AM
America/Los_Angeles
Edelman Barometer Trend: Corporations And Social Responsibility
I popped into Edelman's San Francisco offices to hear a presentation on the findings of this year's Edelman Trust Barometer - a global survey measuring "trust" in institutions.
One of the key findings was a huge expectation that businesses create shareholder value by aligning with "society's interests." In the US, 85% agreed that this is an important attribute in how they "trust" corporations.
That's why so many companies talk about "social responsibility" and how important this is to their corporate mission (Twitter, Google, Salesforce, etc).
Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, talks about how "Trust is no longer a commodity that is acquired, but rather a benefit that is bestowed."
Here is part of that presentation:
Twitter should take notice. It talks about "social responsibility" in public forums but then demands special deals on local taxes, which takes resources out of the community where it lives and works. Talk is easy, the walk is not.
You can't have it both ways. Hypocrisy doesn't build trust -- it removes it.
