Global Values in Business 385It is very important that the results of the survey be independently
analysed and fed back to people in organisational groupings which are
large enough to protect the anonymity of any individual respondent. In
that way people can compare the responses for their unit in relation to
those of other units in the same business or region, as well as trends for
the corporation as a whole at various levels of aggregation. It is equally
important that there be open discussions on what changes in approach
are needed to address issues which emerge from the survey and that
there are commitments made at different levels in the organisation as to
how this is to be addressed. People will only take part in a survey if they
think that their views will be listened to and that action will be taken. A
very important signal from a global survey is whether participation is
rising or falling. In a healthy company with an open environment for
communication and where results are discussed and actions taken in
response, participation rates can be above ninety percent.
Such a survey needs to be professionally designed and analysed.
People experienced in this type of work will ensure that several ques-
tions asked in different ways seek to examine the same point. In that
way there are internal cross checks. Furthermore professional organisa-
tions often have comparative results from other companies in the indus-
try or of similar size and scope. I am not an expert in these matters but I
have been impressed by the insights which come from such surveys
when professionally handled.
The third check is external and is obtained by engaging with those
outside the company, both critics and others who are more supportive.
Surveys can also be useful in this, but a lot of the feedback comes from
merely listening carefully to those outside the company. People form an
opinion of the behaviour and policies of a company based on their expe-
rience and their perceptions. It does not matter if those inside the com-
pany think that the perceptions are erroneous; they still need to be ana-
lysed carefully. Often reality lies somewhere between the perceptions of