From BizEthics Buzz Newsletter:

The latest McKinsey Quarterly global survey finds that executives around the world overwhelmingly embrace the idea that the role of corporations in society goes far beyond simply meeting obligations to shareholders. More than four out of five respondents agree that generating high returns for investors should be accompanied by broader contributions to the public good -- for example, providing good jobs, making philanthropic donations, and going beyond legal requirements to minimize pollution and other negative effects of business. Only one in six agrees with the thesis advanced by Nobel laureate Milton Friedman, that high returns should be a corporation's sole focus, the survey found.

According to McKinsey, executives are hard-nosed about why companies are engaging in this new agenda. Only 8 percent think that large corporations champion social or environmental causes out of 'genuine concern.' Almost nine in ten agree that they are motivated by public relations or profitability, or by both concern and business benefits in equal measure.

McKinsey says the most enthusiastic proponents of a social role for business are executives in India: 90 percent of them endorse the "public good" dimension. Executives based in China are the most lukewarm, with 25 percent saying that investor returns should be the sole focus of corporate activity. Looking ahead, the survey finds, executives expect that a wide range of concerns will dominate public and political debates. Asked which three issues will have the most impact, for better or worse, on the shareholder value of companies in their industries during the next five years, 41 percent choose job loss and offshoring. Also at the top of many minds are corporate political influence and involvement; environmental issues, including climate change; pension and retirement benefits; and privacy and data security.

Read the entire article: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/category_editor.aspx?L2=39  (Registration required)