Admired vs. Ethical, A Corporate Paradox
For those who hold store in “best of” lists it’s been a busy week. First, Fortune ran their Most Admired Companies list. Apple, Google, Berkshire Hathaway, Southwest Airlines and Proctor and Gamble took the top five slots in that order.
Then www.ethisphere.com weighed in with the 2011 World’s Most Ethical Companies, those who do the right thing. And none of the top five Fortune companies appear on the ethical list, although Colgate-Palmolive, a Proctor and Gamble competitor did.
Have we arrived at a moment when ranking companies begins to approximate the rankings of colleges that have bedeviled students for so long? And given the choice would the management of a company prefer to be admired or ethical?
In the coming weeks we’ll be talking to academics, the corporate executives and the consumers who use the products to try to make sense about the distinction.
Tags: Corporate Ethics, Fortune
