Over at the Ethisphere website they have compiled the 2007 listing of companies worldwide that they consider to have the right amounts of ethics while still being able to make a honest profit. On their site they state:

The winners of the World’s Most Ethical Companies are the standouts. Each of these companies has materially higher scores versus competitors in their industries. Each forces other companies to follow its leadership or fall behind. Each uses ethical leadership as a profit driver. And each of these companies embodies the true spirit of Ethisphere’s credo: Good. Smart. Business. Profit.

I am not going to quibble about the methodology used by Ethisphere to pick the winners. Nor am I going to argue who or who not should of made the list. The fact is that after viewing the list of winners, including McDonalds which they state on their site:

Some may ask, “How can McDonald’s be on the list?” The answer is that the food service industry is the largest industry in the world—and McDonald’s has clearly stood apart in introducing
healthier food fare, sustainable packaging, food safety, and ethical purchasing practices.

Is the companies that didn’t make the list who are in the technology field. Companies like Microsoft and Intel who may of have had a problem passing one of the requirements ‘litigation’. Also missing were Apple and Sony, two big players in the industry. But with Apples latest shenanigans with their price drop of the iPhone and Sony’s rootkit fetish, one can see how it might be hard to say they are ‘ethical’. Also note worthy was that Target made he list while Wal-Mart didn’t. Do you think that the way Wal-Mart treats their slaves, I mean employees, has anything to do with it?

Take a look at the list and see what you think.

Comments welcome.

Complete article here.

Tags: ethics, business, microsoft, intel, apple, sony, target, wal-mart