Regulations 2/13

Do you believe self regulation is more or less effective than governmental regulatory agencies?  Why?



           Self regulation is more effective than governmental regulatory agencies. A company can look internally and assess the ethics and legalities of its own business better than a Government agency because a company's sole interest is in its actions; whereas a government agency has to look over every company, and thus are more likely to miss an unethical practice. Evidence that self-regulation works better that governmental regulations can be found in companies that used to be unethical and made steps to make themselves the top ethical company’s in the country such as GE and GAP. Companies like Nestle are working on their own to try to leave behind their notorious reputation and become more ethical demonstrate the success of self regulation. The main reason self regulation is more effective is that companies that truly self regulate and have become ethical not only follow the law and do no harm to the community, but they are actually helping improve it. The difficulty is in making a company self regulate itself.

 Companies such as Monsanto, Enron, Phillip Morris USA, and Halliburton are companies that refuse to self regulation even with the penalties they receive from government agencies. Phillip Morris, the largest cigarette company in the United States, didn’t put Surgeon General’s warning label on their cartons until government regulations forced them. the government also had to force them to no longer sell cigarettes in vending machines or be marketed toward children in any manner. in the past 20 years Monsanto has sued farmers that use their seeds for saving seeds from one season's crop to plant the next, which is a standard farming practice. They also tried to patent pig breeding techniques so that any farmer who bred pigs would have to pay Monsanto a gratuity. Monsanto has also been sued for dumping of toxic waste, committing corrupt foreign practices, and the harm that some of their chemical products has cause the community.  It is for these types of companies that don't self regulate that the governmental agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and Consumer Product Safety Commission exist to at least make sure that the company is not harming society. 

 Government Regulations have only existed and been implemented in a relatively short amount of time. Since then many companies have become more environmentally, socially, and ethically conscious. Do you think there will ever be a time when we won't need government regulations? Why?