Neil Stott of Cambridge Judge writes foreword to values report.
Global Tolerance, a social change consultancy, has released a report entitled “The Values Revolution” that examines what people think about organisations – businesses, governments and non-profits – when it comes to making a positive impact on the world.
The research in the report is an “organisational wakeup call and pointer to how important it is that values, mission, governance and impact are aligned,” writes Neil Stott, Senior Teaching Faculty in Social Innovation and Executive Director for the Centre for Social Innovation at Cambridge Judge Business School, in a foreword to the report. Stott says:
We will all be increasingly held to account for our virtuous promises. The good news is, it is good for business too.
According to the report, around 42 per cent of respondents said they want to work for a company that makes a social difference and around 60 per cent would prefer buying products or services from ethical businesses. Around one third of individuals would work harder if their company benefitted society.
The social shift is particularly noticeable in “millennials” – those born between 1981 and 1996. According to the report, 62 per cent of these young people would choose to work for a company that makes a positive impact and more than half of millennials would work harder if they knew that company is making a difference.
An interesting highlight is that the vast majority of millennials (84 per cent) think they “have a duty” to make a positive impact through their lifestyle and more than half (61 per cent) are concerned about the current situation in the world and “feel personally responsible to improve it.”
The report concludes that: “More and more, people are seeking to make a difference to the world – through places they work, the products they buy and their day-to-day activities – which is, in turn, increasing expectations for all sectors.”