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 ¡§Mad 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 DeKalb. Delta & Land Pine controlled 75% of the cottonseed market and Monsanto made a bid for that company too.
It was a simple winning strategy preac...
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...d 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. ¡§How Jack Welch runs GE¡¨ ¡V Business Week 8 June 1998
Genetically Modified Crops: The Ethical and Social Issues - www.nuffieldfoundation.org
Batalion, N. ¡§50 Harmful effects of Genetically Modified Foods¡¨ - www.cqs.com
Specter, M. ¡§Food that Bit Back¡¨ - Good Weekend 10 June 2000.
Hewett, J. ¡§DuPont turns into a green crusader¡¨ ¡V Sydney Morning Herald 4 June 2001
Adventa Home Page - www.advantacan.com
Sygenta Home Page - www.syngenta.com
Pioneer Hi-Bred Home Page - www.pioneer.com
Monsanto is for a lot of people the great evil in the agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology because of the genetically engineered (GE) seeds, field where the company is the leader worldwide. The number in this industry has been growing pretty fast and the expectations for 2020 are very positive, with a 250 Billion US Dollars industry.
Monsanto is getting bigger and is now supplying their genetically altered crops to over 70 different countries including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and China. That’s over three quarters of the world’s food dominated by one company. They can control everything from the prices, to the farmers crop itself. Without any say, farmers from around the world are forced to pay whatever Monsanto wants because...
Challenges facing the Monsanto Company have been many. This company has been engaged in unscrupulous undertakings that have resulted in innumerable lawsuits against the company. In many countries, Monsanto Company’s products continue to be banned while others face law suits on their viability and safety of the public.
Homeschooling is probably one of the least known and least understood issues in education. Many people tend to think that most homeschoolers are religious conservatives or extremists. However, the truth is that people from all walks of life are joining the homeschooling bandwagon (Ray, 2004). The main misconception is that homeschooled children don’t get the same academic and social education as traditionally schooled children. Contrary to popular perception, homeschooled children have the same, if not better academic opportunities, social opportunities and college admissions prospects than traditionally schooled students have.
Everyone has likely already heard the name Monsanto, the largest seed distributor in the world. Nearly fifty percent of all seeds in the world are owned by only three corporations. These companies account for trillions in fertilizer, pesticide, seed patents and herbicide sales annually. These companies have been building a seed empire within the food industry for over thirty years now and they have plans to patent every seed with biotechnology. Thoreau wrote in his book, “The condition of the operatives is becoming every day more like that of the English; and it cannot be wondered at, since, as far as I have heard or observed, the principal object is, not that mankind may be well and honestly clad, but, unquestionably, that the corporations
Homeschooling offers students a more time efficient education that allows the student to focus on education in which is the sole purpose for school. Homeschooling also gives the teacher a thorough evaluation of a student’s strengths and weaknesses by visually seeing what subjects they excel in and what subjects they are weak in. At this point students can increase their individual progression in each subject. Homeschooling permits control of the environment a student learns in to retain the focus of the student. This will reduce the chances of drug usage, bullying, and violence. Samuel Blumenfeld said this on the importance of homeschooling “The home is a safe haven for the children in a world awash with drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, violence, and moral corruption” (Cindy Mur et al.76). When parents come to realize that the home is the safest place for their children, then will they act as Blumenfeld concludes “I look forward to the day when the public schools will be virtually empty not because we have abolished public education but because the parents will have abandoned it” (Cindy Mur et al.
Homeschooling is often portrayed as an overprotective mom - unwilling to let her kids leave her for a day at school, and a large number of children, all unable to hold a conversation, let alone function normally in society. As someone who was homeschooled from kindergarten through eighth grade, I can attest that my homeschool experience was the exact opposite of this confining stereotype.
There was a stark difference in the working styles of Bob and AL and how they handled their day to day work related problems. Bob generally paid a lot of attention to minor work details, and provided closer supervision to subordinates. On the other hand, AL believed in delegating work and preferred not to closely monitor the work of subordinates if they did their job adequately. He used to overlook the rules and regulations both for himself and others if the job was being done. This was the source of great frustration for Bob who believed in following rules and regulations for achieving better results.
Federalism has a very important impact on american history, it 's based on the relationship between the u.s. government and the each government in our fifty states. That 's very important because we have laws that need to be enforced everyday. The separation of government between state and federal laws can help give us an understanding of what both mean and how big of an impact it has on us as a nation.
Rivero, Lisa. The Homeschooling Option: How to Decide When It's Right for Your Family. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Print.
What if everyone sat alone for lunch, each company did not interact with other businesses, and everyone lived a life of solitude? During college, learning to interact with others plays a large role in shaping the individual. College life provides many opportunities for a student to become involved with others. This socialization can result in a person gaining many benefits, including preparation for the work world. Social development helps a student to meet new people as well as making a person aware of the diversity on a college campus like Saint Peter’s. Human traits have evolved because of the influence that our surroundings exert upon us. The manner in which a person socializes in his or her environment determines how a person develops. In the college environment, the process of socialization turns students into adults.
There are many options for school that every child has. There is the option of private school, pubic school, boarding school, and home school. In the case of home schooling, there are simply too many disadvantages for the child though out the educational process. There are many reasons for home schooling a child. These reasons include, religious reasons, lack of a good public school district, and distrust of any school district for one’s child, to name a few. Many professionals are completely against the practice of home schooling, Thomas Shannon; executive director of the National School Board Association says that home schooling is “a giant step backward into the 17th century. (Stencel, 1994) These disadvantages include, grading, laws on home schooling, social atmosphere, education and the quality of the teacher.
Perhaps the most significant impact of home schooling is the actual learning. There are many academic advantages. In a home schooling situation, there is no doubt a more individualized program of study than any traditional school can offer. Whatever a child's pace or level of ability is, it can be met directly. A parent or tutor can focus exactly on what the child needs extra help or improvement in, as well as what the child excels at.(Ray, 2014) In a public school, teachers must teach to "the middle" and have little time to cater to an individual student's needs on a regular basis.
Thesis Statement: Homeschooled students often achieve higher academic success and are more active in their communities than traditionally schooled students, due to a personalized approach to learning that emphasizes individuality.
The major reasons for homeschooling cited by two-thirds of the parents interviewed are concern about the school environment, dissatisfaction with the academic programs, and the desire for religious or moral instruction (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2004). Parents feel ...