Unethical Business Behavior (Monastato company) - Essay Example

?Introduction The implications with ethics often lead to difficulties and problems with corporations. There are a variety of companies that have established corrupt systems or which move beyond ethical boundaries because of the main structure of the organization. Identifying what the main problems are and analyzing these theoretically is one which then creates a different understanding of the corporations and the main associations which they have in terms of ethics. This can be furthered with the ideologies of libertarians or Aristotle, specifically which helps to develop a deeper understanding of what the moral and ethical problems are within a company. When analyzing Monsanto, an agricultural company, there is an understanding of the deeper problems of ethics as well as why this becomes important to alter with the company. Background of the Problem The company Monastato was chosen because it is recognized as the top unethical company in the world. The company is located in Missouri and offers agricultural products to grocery stores. The company is known for providing genetically modified foods and seed to the world as well as agricultural products that are used to change the quality of foods. The company is known for being unethical first because of the approach taken to competition. If there is a farmer that is working ethically or which provides organic food, then Monsanto will try to sue them for offering the wrong products. The company’s strategy isn’t one based on winning or losing the suit, but instead of driving the farmers out of business because of the amount of money that is spent on putting them through court. The company moves beyond this with the foods and weed killer that is used. It is known that the weed killer is so potent that it is damaging to the ecology and to humans and may be responsible for the death of unborn babies (AFOP, 2011). The particular company was chosen because of the current controversy which they are under as well as the controversies that are associated with the food and agriculture, both politically and in society. There are several that are now pressuring companies to begin altering the way in which food is provided with the concept of processing food and other components being difficult with those that are looking at the different processes for agriculture. The current health issues which many are facing and which are causing difficulties are leading to problems in becoming more renowned in political and social groups. Examining the different layers of Monsanto and the unethical behaviors that are associated with this then builds a deeper understanding of why it is important to pay attention to the problems that the company currently is sending to others while developing a deeper understanding of how ethics in terms of agricultural reform need to be reconsidered with this particular company as an example (Cesca, 2010: 1). Theories on Ethics The concepts that are associated with Monsanto relate directly to theories on ethics and the association which this creates with how the corporation needs to alter policies specifically for ethics. The first concept which can be looked into in terms of reform for ethics is the libertarian point of view. According to this viewpoint, every individual should have rights while restricting the political or corporate affiliations that are linked to this. More important, there needs to be a sense of independence and freedom that is associated with how one is able to maintain their own needs and concepts within society. This moves into the understanding that each individual has specific rights and expressions that are associated with the individual while creating the understanding that there needs to be a sense of balance with different needs. The belief is that this will associate with changes with class struggle as well as understanding what one’s natural rights are within society (Sandel, 2009: 60). The libertarian viewpoint is one which is looked at with the different policies and practices of Monsanto. The first is with the suing of other farmers. This forces them into a legal position where they end up losing control of finances and the ability to farm. This takes away their independent choice of being able to farm the way that they see best. This also takes away the rights of consumers to decide which type of produce they should be eating and how they should be associating with agriculture in society. The result is a variety of individuals are forced to eat genetically modified foods while farmers are forced out of their livelihood and beliefs. This links directly to the class struggle that is a part of libertarianism in which the individual loses rights because of money and politics. The second part of libertarianism that is noted with Monsanto is the use of weed killer. This is sprayed into the air and into the ground, forcing those that are surrounding the environment to breathe in and lose their health from the weed killer. The result is a lack of freedom in terms of individuals being able to breathe fresh air while creating an alteration in the environment. The second theory that links to the unethical behaviors of Monsanto comes from the philosophies of Aristotle. Aristotle states that the concept of justice is teleological. This means that justice has to be a social practice and linked to creating the sense of justice first through social and political means. If society practices justice and ethics while sharing the concept of justice among others, then it begins to spread and become a part of what is expected within society. This is then combined with a different format of distribution which occurs. The virtue; however, must not only come from society and the decisions which are made. There is also a responsibility that is placed on political leaders specifically to create recognition that there needs to be ethical and unethical choices that are a part of society and what is being looked into in terms of different corporations. This is able to alter the way in which the individual creates a response to society while developing an alternative to the unethical behavior that is recognized by society (Frederick, 2002: 30). There are different concepts which link to the case of Monsanto and the responses which are a part of those who are looking at the virtue. Even though Monsanto is noted for unethical behaviors, those in society continue to support the injustice. The company is also recognized as a top provider of genetically modified foods with the demand continuing to increase. This is combined with the products offered by the company that continue to be offered by others. The social behaviors and consumption are then either not aware of the damage or continue to support the unethical behaviors that are a part of the agricultural practices offered by Monsanto. This is developing a lack of responses politically, specifically which is noted from the cases that are not lost by Monsanto. This is also noted with the lack of responsiveness from others to push and demand a change in policies and practices with agricultural systems to bring a higher sense of justice. Solutions to Unethical Behavior The first concept which can be looked at in terms of the unethical behavior comes from the corporation of Monsanto and how it is linking to the needs of individuals in society. The concept of Monsanto begins with the corporate ethics and social responsibility that is a part of the corporation. There are specific policies and procedures that Monsanto has a part of their commitment to others. However, this is not being followed, as noted from the responses of unethical companies that are within society. The corporate social responsibility then has to be reexamined and evaluated in terms of what the company should be doing and what the results need to be with the different concepts and approaches that are a part of the corporation. The socially responsible business should have positive responses in terms of the practices and procedures offered, as opposed to the lack of this shown from other viewpoints. Changing the position internally is one of the demands which need to be looked into within the corporation (May, Cheney, Roper, 2007: 13). Even though there needs to be a direct change with corporate social responsibility, this won’t occur until there are pressures from the external environment that make Monsanto responsible for the products and responses they are taking within society. When looking at this from the libertarianism point of view, there is the need to create individual decisions that are based on the knowledge of Monsanto and what it is developing in terms of agriculture. From this libertarian viewpoint, there needs to be a change in individual choices to purchasing specific products while active voices that are able to associate with what is needed within society. By doing this, there will be the ability to create a different development and understanding of what is required for progression of Monsanto so it begins to become responsible for the actions it takes or lose the business that it is currently associated with (Kymlicka, 2002: 102). The third component which is associated with the way in which Monsanto is practicing different ideologies is from the Aristotle point of view. For justice and a good life to be achieved, the corporate politics have to be altered by the social viewpoints. When a group of individuals recognize that the corruption that is a part of Monsanto is one that should not continue then it will begin to pressure changes within the organization. This may be continued into pressuring politicians and others that are within society. As this is done, there will be a sense of changes in terms of policies and expectations with agricultural groups. This will stop the political corruption that Monsanto is now using to put farmers out of business and will also cause the harmful substances to be re-examined and no longer used within the land. By doing this, there will be the ability to create new solutions for the company and with terms of justice that are required by individuals in society. Educating individuals on the problem, building social groups to create the needed response and moving forward into political policies and actions can provide a new movement toward the necessary solutions required for justifying the company and what is being done (Crane, Matten, 2007: 111). The concept of business ethics from these viewpoints is one which can further expand with ways in which direct action can be taken with Monsanto and with the understanding of ethics. The change which needs to be made is one which is first defined by understanding the goal of ethics and what it is meant to achieve with the particular company. The main consideration then first needs to be what changes are required for better living and to create a sense of justice from the practices which are a part of Monsanto. This needs to be further developed with the understanding of how society, political approaches and the main goals can work together to create the necessary solutions with the company. As there is an understanding of the ethical while creating knowledge and responses against the corporate social responsibility that is now being withheld, there will also be pressure for the corporations to change that are corrupt. This is based on the understanding of social and political responsibility outside of the corporation first. Combining this with the corporate social responsibility that is created to respond to what is occurring then develops more options to achieving the end goal. This goal is one that is based specifically on the ability to create and understand what is occurring within society while developing the needed alternatives for the virtue and ethics which are a part of the different corporations (Jones, Parker, Bos, 2005: 8). The problem of Monsanto is one which is now becoming recognized because of the ethical behaviors which they are portraying within society. This is noted through the internal practices specifically that are cutting competition by causing others to go out of business through lawsuits that lead to bankruptcy. This is being combined with foods and other products that are not considered as safe and may attribute to the death of unborn children and health problems within others. While this is noted as unethical, very little response is being given. The ethical considerations need to point out the problems that are associated with this. However, there needs to be a step further with those who are looking at the unethical behaviors in terms of responsibility to Monsanto. If the ethics continue to spread with Monsanto, there is the danger of this becoming the standard for other companies. More important, the lack of regulations and ethical values that are recognized by social and political institutions have to compensate with the idea of change and justice while recognizing new standards of basic humanitarian rights that are not being given by Monsanto. Conclusion The corruption that is within different corporations is done specifically with a lack of ethics or values that are associated with this. The concept of ethics begins with the goals that are defined on what is considered ethical and how this may affect others. This is combined with the understanding of what is required to create the right corporate social responsibility to others that are within society. When looking at Monsanto, it is noted that there is a lack of ethical value and corporate social responsibility. This comes from the actions which are taken against others in society as well as products that are known to be harmful to the environment and others within society. Creating a difference in how one responds to the ethics that are a part of the social needs then changes the approach that is a part of the ethical concepts with agriculture while creating new ways of monitoring the company. However, for this to happen, there needs to be a combination of recognition as well as thoughts based on libertarianism and Aristotle based thoughts. Combining this with social and political actions can help to develop new standards and policies for the agricultural companies while developing a different response to the harm which is being done by Monanto. References AFOP. 2011. “Top 10 Unethical Companies.” Retrieved December 3, 2011 from: http://www.actionforourplanet.com/#/top-10-unethical-companies/4545796858. Cesca, Bob. 2010. “Monsanto Leads in Genetically Modified Agriculture, Trails in Ethics.” Daily Finance (April). Crane, Andrew, Dirk Matten. 2007. Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Corporate World. UK: Oxford University Press. Frederick, Robert. 2002. A Companion to Business Ethics. UK: Blackwell Publishers. Jones, Campbell, Martin Parker, Rene Bos. 2005. For Business Ethics. New York: Routledge. Kymlicka, Will. 2002. Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction. UK: Oxford University Press. May, Steve, George Cheney, Juliet Roper. 2007. The Debate Over Corporate Social Responsibility. UK: Oxford University Press. Sandel, Michael. 2009. Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Read More