Every year awards are handed out to companies around the globe. Many awards are prestigious and the company will celebrate with joy. Others, companies simply ignore, wishing the award would silently die. Well in the past week, Monsanto, the agriculure powerhouse based out of St Louis, Missouri won two awards - one of each.
The first award was special. Monsanto made Fortune’s 100 Best Companies To Work For List - they we’re #59. Congratulations. Monsanto’s press release reads, “FORTUNE magazine announced Thursday, January 21, 2010 that Monsanto has been ranked 59 on the “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. The 100 Best Companies to Work For is an annual list published by FORTUNE magazine. FORTUNE magazine collaborates with the Great Place to Work Institute to compile the extensive list. This recognition is determined by an extensive employee survey as well as an internal culture audit.”
The second award placed them dead last, a showing I’m certain Monsanto has no plans to promote or recognize. “This week, the Swiss research firm Covalence released its annual ranking of the overall ethical performance of multinational corporations. The idea behind the Covalence research is that there’s value — both for companies and consumers — in measuring corporations against an ethical standard. (We’re hoping this idea also applies to Wall Street firms.)
To complete its ethics index, Covalence compiled both quantitative and qualitative data, spanning seven years, for 581 companies. The data encompass 45 criteria that include labor standards, waste management and human rights records. And because it is a reputation index, the Covalence survey also incorporates media, industry and NGO documents into its evaluation.
Monsanto, the Missouri-based agriculture giant, ranked dead last in the Covalence ethical index. The company, which leads the world in the production of genetically-engineered seed, has been subject to myriad criticisms. Among them: the company is accused of frequently and unfairly suing small farmers for patent infringement.”
I just find it interesting that a company that is awarded as one of the top 100 corporations to work for is also considered to be the least ethical company to work for. Yes, at times extremes do seem to coexist. It also raises a bigger question, the value of awards - period.
What are your thoughts? Is Monsanto really as Good or as Bad as the awards might suggest? Or is this simply madness?
