UPDATE 1-Davos elite's largesse fails to appease critics

Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:05pm GMT
 

* Young demand business goes beyond profit

* Trust in CEOs tumbles, confidence in politicians even lower

* Occupy protesters sceptical of corporate social responsibility

* Banks, energy firms have particular image problem

* Companies must clean up act to attract employees

By Emma Thomasson

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Under-fire businessmen are falling over themselves in Davos to show how sharing and caring they really are as they try to repair the tarnished image of the privileged "1 percent" but their detractors remain unconvinced.

"CEOs have a bigger job than ever because they both have to perform for their shareholders and perform for the world at large," said Mark Penn, chief executive of public relations firm Burson-Marsteller who advises top executives and politicians.

"For the clients I work with today, every one of them understands that companies have to be socially responsible ... This has gone from something that a lot of companies dismissed to recognised table stakes for every company."   Continued...

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