“Monsanto Attempts to Balance Stakeholder Interests.”
Cynthia Cooper
Liberty University
Professor Julia McMillan
June, 12, 2017
Introduction
Ethics has been a huge issue in our society for generations. Ethics is a system of moral principles; the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, and culture (Dictionary.com). Every human action that has ever taken place in a business has had some form of ethics in it. The world expects for individuals and businesses to act in the best interest of the all stakeholders. Business must be aware that there are people in the world that looks for businesses to show any unethical practices. In this case study of Monsanto, This company was not in my opinion properly maintaining any ethical culture. Monsanto attempted to develop a culture within itself, which was a failure and could very well affect the shareholders. Monsanto has caused several problems including stakeholders concerns with the company, which includes the safety and environmental effects of seeds, organizational misconduct and patent issues, Monsanto’s corporate responsibility initiatives and the challenges and opportunities that Monsanto may face in the future.
Efficacy of Monsanto’s Ethical Culture
Monsanto in past has not shown any indication of being able to maintain high ethical culture. There has been several instances that has revealed how Monsanto has failed to act ethically towards its stakeholders. Ethics must begin at the top of an organization. It is a leadership issue and the chief executive must set the example (Hennessey, 2006). Ethics requires that an organizations should have self-control (Kerns, 2003). This means that an organization can not engage in any actions that may be for its own gain. Monsanto has engaged in various activities that did not benefit the stakeholders or anyone else. Evidence showed that Monsanto was taking part in a production process that polluted the environment. It showed that the company never intended to solve the pollution issue until they were forced to be taken to court and given a fine. Monsanto also went ahead and produced products that stakeholders were not conversant with sot that they would charge higher prices. The products have created effects such as as endocrine disrupting, teratogenic, and carcinogenic and now has been held responsible for weakening the life support system on the earth. Therefore, Monsanto had to follow ethical cultures that suggested that it needed to produce ethical products and implements rather than following ethical culture.
Ethical Standards requires that any decisions made during an ethical dilemma should always be beneficial to the organization and the stakeholders (Kerns, 2003). Monsanto had the idea that they could make seeds that could be planted in the summer and they would grow faster than any others seeds grown. Monsanto genetically modified the seeds, but the problem was how they were to distribute fairly the seeds to the farmers, especially those living in countries that had been less developed. Instead of Monsanto making the decision to distribute the seed at a cheaper price, Monsanto patent rights on the seeds so that farmers would buy them at higher prices.
Finally, an organization should comply with all laws and regulations that govern ethical standards (O’Toole, 2009). Laws has been put in place which includes giving reports on the conduct of their business or on new products scheduled for introduction into the market. Monsanto did not make it clear whether their genetically modified seeds were harmful to the environment or not. Therefore it is safe to say that, Monsanto did not subject the stakeholders to the best ethical standards.
Costs and Benefits of Growing GM Seeds
The production of genetically modified seeds has various benefits. The first advantage of genetically modified seeds is that they increase food production (Herrera-Estrella & Alvarez-Moralez, 2001). Another benefit of the genetically modified crops is that they have a higher nutritional quality (Herrera-Estrella & Alvarez-Moralez, 2001). Monsanto seeds have been resistant to environmental factors such as weeds and chemicals that normally destroy any crops. Even though scientist proven this to be true, Monsanto used roundup herbicides in their production of