-----Original Message----- From: owner-lbo-talk at lists.panix.com [mailto:owner-lbo-talk at lists.panix.com]On Behalf Of Chris Kromm Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 10:02 PM To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com Subject: AMERICANS ARE DOWN ON CORPORATE AMERICA
February 26, 2002 AMERICANS ARE DOWN ON CORPORATE AMERICA
Nearly 70 percent of Americans say they do not trust Corporate America, according to a survey conducted for Interpublic's Golin/Harris International unit.
Sixty-nine percent of respondents to the "Trust Survey" say "recent economic events have created a crisis of confidence and trust in the way we do business in America," and as a result, they're "going to hold business to a higher standard in their behavior and communications."
"When more than two-thirds of Americans express this level of skepticism and cynicism, American business has a serious problem that goes beyond the `Enron factor,'" said Richard Jernstedt, CEO, G/HI.
"Obviously, the current wave of scandals has a direct impact on specific industries, but when you look at trust levels across the entire spectrum of American business, almost every category is affected. The malaise of trust is becoming epidemic, and no business can escape by saying `It's not my problem,'" said Jernstedt.
To measure attitudes regarding trust, the Chicago-based PR firm created the survey to identify and compare both the degree and direction of trust across more than 25 different business sectors and express it in a single number.
A positive score indicates a strong trust profile, while a negative index number signals trust challenges that should be addressed immediately.
The survey indicates which industries Americans trust the most and trust the least.
The survey uncovered at least 14 business sectors that have scores of -25 or less--indicating they have severe trust problems, including:
Oil & Gas (-63) Insurance (-59) Brokerage/Wall Street (-58) Utilities (-52) Airlines/Travel (-52) Telecom (-42) Advertising (-41) Media companies (-39) Journalism (-38) PR (-31) Accounting (-48) Chemical (-43) Pharmaceuticals (-30) Management consulting (-25)