When eating a banana in the morning, do you ever think to yourself, “I wonder if the company supplying these bananas follows good business ethics?” One of the biggest suppliers of bananas and other fruits, Chiquita, tried doing just that, before being penalized for being ethical in their business. In order to become a more sustainable and ethical corporation, Chiquita bent to the will of social activists and environmentalists that protested against the use of oil from the tar sands due to their dirty extraction process. Creating this type of space for many activist groups must’ve been a huge step for the company that had a positive impact, right? Wrong. Despite of all of Chiquita’s endeavours to promote ethical business, it was not successful in gaining recognition for it. Instead, the company angered many Canadians who made a living from the Canadian oil industry, thus causing boycotts against the company leading to heavy losses. For the reasons Chiquita hoped to gain positive recognition, it now faced massive losses in revenue and gained hatred. In my opinion, not only does this response affect Chiquita, but also the many other firms who read about this and are discouraged to remain ethical in their own businesses because they can see no benefit in it. As students, we learn the importance of business ethics and standing by your principles and morals, but reading this article makes you realize the difficulty of standing by your values and still succeeding in the business world. However, I do not believe doing so is impossible. Chiquita is a company hindered, but not abolished, and the example they have set forward may urge other entrepreneurs to follow their moral compass. In the words of Chiquita’s chief executive, “We can do good and do well at the same time.”
Sources:
http://www.economist.com/node/21551500
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