Leanne Li COMM101 104

R. Edward Freeman states that if a business is not a “good citizen in the community” and routinely ignores “local customs, laws and quality of life,” then that business will eventually decline. One example of a company that defies these morals is Monsanto. A multinational biotechnology and agriculture development based corporation, Monsanto is one of the largest producers of herbicide and genetically modified foods. It also reigns as one of the most irresponsible and environmentally damaging companies in the world. The company’s most famous products are also known to be the most hazardous including; Agent Orange, anti-freeze, genetically modified seeds, PCBs, and harmful pesticides.

In 2011, Monsanto was thrown into the spotlight when the U.S Environmental Protection Agency discovered that one of the company’s factories was contaminating water supplies with toxic chemicals. Unfortunately, this is not the first time Monsanto has done something like this. Monsanto is responsible for creating over 50 Superfund sites over the past 50 years, with one of the worst being in Anniston, Alabama. They routinely disposed toxic waste into the West Anniston Creek while manufacturing PCBs (an extremely harmful coolant) at the same time (now banned). Over the years, they continued dumping millions of chemicals into open-pit landfills, then proceeded to cover up the issue by changing documents and test results. This breaks the first principle in ethical decision making – health and safety. Monsanto knew exactly how harmful these chemicals were, but continued to keep it under the covers. Clearly, this company does not give two cents about people’s wellbeing and life. They use obstructive strategies when trying to solve issues, and repeatedly makes the same mistakes over and over again.

A company or organization’s success may be widely based upon their public image. For a business to succeed, they must not only consider their stockholders when making decisions, but also the shareholders – entities that will affect the company such as; employees, the community, society, customers etc. Companies like Monsanto, that uses defensive and even obstructive strategies will eventually find themselves with lower profits, a tarnished image, and heavy prosecution.

R. Edward Freeman Stakeholder Theory Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIRUaLcvPe8

Recent Monsanto Chemical Dumping Case: http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanielparishflannery/2011/09/03/monsantos-pesticide-problems-raise-awareness-for-corporate-environmental-responsibility/

Anniston, Alabama PCB Case: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A46648-2001Dec31