More than two-thirds of people believe the current economic crisis is also a crisis of ethics and values, according to the results of a global poll released by the World Economic Forum.

The public opinion poll, which was conducted through Facebook, generated over 130,000 responses from France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and the United States.

The WEF reports that when asked to identify the values most important for the global political and economic system, almost 40% chose honesty, integrity and transparency; 24% chose others’ rights, dignity and views; 20% chose the impact of actions on the well-being of others and 17% chose preserving the environment.

The poll also found that only one-quarter of respondents believe that large, multinational businesses apply a values-driven approach to their sectors, while over 40% believe that small and medium-sized businesses apply such an approach.

Additionally, almost two-thirds of respondents believe that people do not apply the same values in their professional lives as they do in their private lives. When asked whether businesses should be primarily responsible to their shareholders, their employees, their clients and customers, or all three equally, almost half of the respondents chose the option of “all three equally”.

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, said the report underlines the need for a set of values around which our global economic institutions and mechanisms of international cooperation must be built. “Our present system fails to meet its obligations to as many as 3 billion people in the world. Our civic, business and political cultures must be transformed if we are to close this gap,” he said.

IE