AstraZeneca Annual Report and Form 20-F Information 2008

Doing business the right way

I want AstraZeneca to be valued as a source of great medicines, but also to be trusted for the way in which we do business. Therefore, our strategic focus includes a fourth priority, which underpins and supports achievement of the first three. We must continue to nurture a culture of responsibility and accountability across all aspects of our business activity to ensure that AstraZeneca continues to be welcomed as a trusted member of society.

Our core values are the cornerstone of this culture and in 2007, we reviewed and expanded our Code of Conduct to provide clear direction as to how these high level values are to be translated into consistent actions across all areas of our business. The new Code went into effect in 2008, and it was followed by mandatory training during the year for everyone in the Company.

During the year, 86% of our employees participated in our global employee opinion survey. Results showed that employee engagement scores – defined as the extent to which people are committed to the future success of the Company – were very strong, and we continue to outperform other pharmaceutical companies in this area. The results also indicated that people were seeing increased levels of co-operation between senior leaders, leading to more effective global and cross-functional working. The survey also identified some key areas that continue to require attention, including change management, personal development and leadership communication. I take this feedback very seriously and new targets that address these issues have been included in the Senior Executive Team’s performance goals for 2009.