V Social Issues Monsanto example essay topic

Executive Summary Monsanto's downfall could be attributed to several reasons. The passion of Alan Shapiro's vision blinded the Company into making rash decisions and the large amounts of money spent pursuing the objective prevented any U-turns later. The company's unshaken beliefs that it was correct had made it arrogant and not listen to the outrage all around. Monsanto underestimated consumer resistance.

There was no obvious benefit in the products introduced. It may have been a different story if the products were introduced in developing counties where transport is poor or people starving from crop failures. Monsanto also ignored cultural differences. Canada and US were indifferent to genetically modified products but there was anger in Europe and the UK. Recent blunders by government handling the BSE and! SSM ad Cow!" outbreaks dampened people's confidence in genetically modified products.

Selling the idea of genetically modified crops is not easy. The industry needs to persuade people of the benefits and the companies must be seen to be socially responsible, socially responsive and ethical. Companies mission statements must not seem to be solely profit driven. Introduction - Monsanto and Alan Shapiro's Vision " It's about the earth, it's about the environment, and it's about food.

It's about health and nutrition. Those are deep, ancient things for civilisation, and they are for the people. ' - Alan Shapiro The Monsanto Company in 1995 led by Alan Shapiro was involved in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, food and chemicals. Shapiro's passionate vision was the application of biology to food, nutrition and human health. He believed that people would want the products offered by Monsanto. The products themselves are protected by patents, thus restricting competition.

All Monsanto needed to do was dominate and position all their products as either number one or two in their respective markets. Consolidation started in the seed market that was already concentrated in the hands of a few companies. By 1999 Monsanto spent more than $8 billion making acquisitions. Four corn seed companies had controlled 87% of the US market in 1996. Monsanto acquired two of them, Holden's Foundation Seeds and De Kalb. Delta & Land Pine controlled 75% of the cottonseed market and Monsanto made a bid for that company too.

It was a simple winning strategy preached by Jack Welch at GE, dominate your market or get out. (a) The downfall on Monsanto. Mission Statement Did Not Include All Stakeholders! V Ethical Issues All entities, individuals and companies should have a mission statement, a set of beliefs and priorities that guide actions and ethics in decisions. Typical mission statements include paying particular attention to the demands and requirements of certain, if not all stakeholders. For an individual, it may be the family and employer, for a company, it can include shareholders, customers etc. The term stakeholders for a company can be narrowly defined to include only shareholders, customers and employees or a wider definition to encompass the community and society generally.

Mission statements or objectives are an integral part of any organisation's culture. These beliefs are so deeply entrenched into staff's disposition that they would act automatically on them. I have no doubt that Shapiro's passionate belief in genetically modified (! S SGM!" ) products would have had a strong influence on the Company's corporate objective. Shapiro's passion and having $8 billion committed (! SS sunk cost!" factor) to this strategy would have effected his decisions.

Their confidence on the technology may even have promoted arrogance within the organisation. With hindsight, it can be seen that Monsanto's mission or corporate objective did not include listening to the community and society generally. As Shapiro confirmed at a Greenpeace conference in 1999! SS Because we thought our job to persuade, too often we forgot to listen. !" If Monsanto's mission statement included care for the society and the community it operated in, it is unlikely that it would have suffered the fate it did. A poorly defined objective resulted in the Company's unethical behavior and ultimately its demise.

Incorrect Product and Target Market! V Social Issues Monsanto targeted the wrong segment of the market. Developed countries, especially Europe did not appreciate, or need genetically modified foodstuffs. These products offered no obvious benefit, solved no problems but posed possible risks. R&D has been focused on the needs of the U.S. society.

Hence, the largest segments of GM products are seeds that are herbicide tolerant. Unfortunately, developing countries cannot afford herbicide whilst European consumers prefer organic produce. Many commentators believed that the range of GM seeds and products introduced were unsuitable for developed nations. Consumers who were not starving and health conscious would appreciate a cholesterol free egg more than a delayed ripening tomato. If Monsanto introduced a rice with increased pro-vitamin A to underdeveloped countries, where vitamin A deficiency was a major cause of child blindness, Shapiro would be placed on the same stage as Fred Hollows and not treated as an outcast. This lack of social commitment and responsibility by Monsanto resulted in it being criticised and branded Mon Satan.

They should have listened, surveyed and anticipated the people's opinion. Different Countries, Different Cultures! V Political Issues In the US and Canada, consumers were indifferent to GM products. However, in Europe and the UK there was outrage at their introduction.

Recent failures of Government agencies and departments to deal with BSE had undermined public confidence. Monsanto failed to consider this localised sentiment. Europeans are very much more conscious of the environment. The introduction of herbicide resistant crops would encourage mass spraying of fields and widespread effect on insect and bird life.

Cross-pollination of herbicide resistant crops with weeds could result in herbicide tolerant weeds. There is a growing belief that humans should not tinker with nature. In order to pacify the electorate, political parties adopted the extreme and banned many GM products. As highlighted by the Working Party of the Nuffield Council in the U.K., this! SS Avoidance Principal!" tilts the balance towards the avoidance of harm as opposed to the achievement of good. With hindsight, Monsanto should have financed and encouraged more independent studies that could have pacified raging emotions and persuaded people of the benefits of GM produce.

Not only should Monsanto be truly independent but seen to be independent. The appointment of certain staff to the U.S. FDA (Margaret Miller Director was an ex-Monsanto employee, Michael Taylor Executive Assistant to the Director was the legal counsel for Monsanto) did not project an ethical independent image (b) Other Companies's strategies and Approach. I have selected three companies and examined their approaches to dealing more sensitively the issues that toppled Monsanto. The companies are Advanta Seeds, Syngenta and Pioneer Hi-bred (owned by DuPont). Political and social issues are external environmental factors faced by all three companies.

Ethical practice is an internal factor base on company culture. There is little to differentiate the political and ethical practices. However, in social issues Syngenta seems to be far ahead of the others. Syngenta's theme is good environmental stewardship, with due concern for all societies and strong relationship with all stakeholders.

The company f'a Operates sustainable agricultural programs around the world e.g. farmer training centres in the Philippines. f'a Provides free technology to subsistence farmers. f'a Has developed the! SS Golden Rice!" , rice with increased Vitamin A whose deficiency is a major cause of child blindness in the developing world. f'a Adopts a screening process to ensure lowest risk (does not say it is risk free) to the environment, users and consumers. f'a Aims for openness and transparency, seeks opinions of all stakeholders. f'a Holds public debates and sponsors the Council for Biotechnology to share information. Advanta was established in 1996 between Royal Vander House (Dutch) and Zen neca Seeds (UK) and offers a wide range of GM seeds. Advanta seems to avoid language associated with gene manipulation. They describe their products as! SSb red!" and emphasizes!

SSbreeding!" . Cross breeding and grafting of vegetables and plants have been around for centuries and has become an acceptable method of genetic adjustment. Advanta also stresses the importance of! SSbreeding!" to meet increasing food demand, population growth and the ever-shrinking land. Pioneer Hi-bred adopts what they call the! SS long term!" view and its objective is dedicated to its employees, sales force, customers and stockholders.

The Company aims to deal with all, honestly and fairly, dignity without misrepresentation. This approach seems to be working well in the US and Canada, but in my opinion is insufficient should Pioneer wish to be more global. It is an old fashioned approach to business, focused on the internal and external specific environment. It totally ignores all external environmental factors e.g. political and social. Despite this, Pioneer has not suffered the same fate of Monsanto. This I believe is due to the!

SS greening!" of its parent DuPont. For the past eight years Dr Paul T ebo VP for health, safety and environment at DuPont has been working to change the perception of this company. He sees a future where a giant company like DuPont is accepted as a crusading global environmentalist, using advances in biotechnology to create new safe products, eliminating waste, curb energy demands and stop depleting the world's resources. (c) Successful strategies to adopt. Adopting Syngenta's strategies would be a step in the right direction. These include'a A wide definition of stakeholders. f'a Undertaking some R&D that is focused on the needs of developing nations. f'a Free education and technological transfer of some of its products that can enhance the diet of poorer nations and reduce the wealth gap. f'a Promoting discussion and disclosure. Emphasise wider benefits and its potential of GM products, nutritional products, plants resistant to pests and difficult farming conditions, engineered to resist salty soil or even absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere. f'a Active support of accurate labeling (to be seen to give consumers a real choice).

The above steps are to position a company as being socially responsible and responsive hence acceptable to society generally. However, these steps alone will not ensure success. To overcome regulatory and political hurdles, there must be a sound process to ensure consumer, environmental and user safety. Figure 3 shows a suitable process where products are assessed prior to introduction and results evaluated. It is important for organisations operating in this area to be ethical. The organisation must be socially responsible, i.e. monitor social developments, forecast potential problems and even conduct surveys to determine social requirements.

The organisation must have special departments, taskforce or committees e.g. DuPont that are responsive to the changing social sentiments. The company must persuade people of the benefits of biotechnology and genetically enhanced products listen to all stakeholders and not underestimate consumer resistance.

Bibliography

Byrne, J.! Show Jack Welch runs GE!" ! V Business Week 8 June 1998 Genetically Modified Crops: The Ethical and Social Issues - web N.
SS 50 Harmful effects of Genetically Modified Foods!" - web M.! SS Food that Bit Back!" - Good Weekend 10 June 2000.
Hewett, J.! SS DuPont turns into a green crusader!" ! V Sydney Morning Herald 4 June 2001 Advanta Home Page - web Home Page - web Hi-Bred Home Page - web.