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Here in the States, we do things differently than they do across the pond in the U.K.  After all, we’ve only existed for a couple of hundred years. It’s easy to understand how a country that traces its heritage back to the Middle Ages might have a slightly different approach to business.

In the U.S., for example, we elect a president to lead our government. Still, we generally feel that our president should remain impartial in showing any favoritism toward specific American businesses. Especially when it comes to formal recognition that could result in economic gain for the company earning those kudos, we Americans tend to see a conflict of interest that shines unfavorably on the president’s public image – which is probably why there are no “President’s Awards for Business” in our country.

In England, however, this sentiment is not shared similarly. Unlike in the U.S., the Queen of England is a cultural icon that embodies the very core of the national and cultural spirit of her country. She is not elected or restricted to an eight-year maximum time slot in the public spotlight. Holding the monarch in Great Britain is a lifelong role that enables a much more intimate, literally matriarchal relationship to develop between the people and their Queen “mother.”

Nevertheless, with such privilege and power comes supreme responsibility and integrity. To lose the people’s trust is to lose the power of influence, and cultural irrelevance is the British equivalent of what we Americans would correspond with impeachment.

The Queen of England takes her job very seriously, and (unlike the “temporary” role of the president) she isn’t about to be swayed by financial incentives when it comes to publicly recognizing the few British companies that she feels are truly helping make the world a better place to live.