“The Coca-Cola Company Struggles with Ethical Crises”

717 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Ethical dilemmas facing coca cola

The Coca-Cola Company
For more than a century, the Coca-Cola Company has been a leader in everything from sales, marketing/advertising, and most recently ethical issues. The company has seen its fair share of lawsuits from competitors, employees, and customers alike. In the beginning of 2013, Coca-Cola’s Chairman and CEO, Muhtar Kent, issued a statement that relayed Coca-Cola’s renewed efforts to “be guided by their established standards of corporate governance and ethics.” (Coca-Cola Company, 2013, para. 1) His stance on corporate responsibility, ethics, and compliance while well-laid out, were not always the determining factor of how the company did its business. In 1996, this was all a different story and a somewhat seemingly downward spiral of unethical events began to happen at Coca-Cola.
Contamination Scare
The beginning of Coca Cola’s ethical issues started in 1999 when several hundred people in Europe were sickened after consuming allegedly contaminated Coke products. It took 14 days for then Chairman to take notice and issue statement in response to the problem. And in the response they never actually took responsibility for their actions but addressed the fact their quality was paramount and that it couldn’t be the cause of the possible contamination. Coke passed the blame to just about everyone during this debacle. During this controversy, the main ethical issue was the lack of social responsibility shown by Coca-Cola. They didn’t officially apologize for the alleged contamination issue for seven months. This showed the consumers, especially the EU, that they really didn’t not value or respect the consumers; both affected and unaffected. One of the most effective solutions would be that Coke take on all publicity issue...

... middle of paper ...

...huge changes to their personnel department. Having an outside group is ideal in situations like this, and I would have suggested the same to help them out of this ethical crisis.
In summation, the case study brought to light several ethical issues that Coca Cola improperly handled. By highlighting a few and giving alternate solutions, the aforementioned solutions could have seriously helped maintain Coke’s image.

Works Cited

BusinessWeek. 1999. The Name Coke Now Scares People. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/stories/1999-07-04/the-name-coke-now-scares-people Ferrell, O.C., Ferrell, L., and Fraedrich, J. (2013) Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Mason, Ohio: South-Western.
Fox News. 2004. Coke, Bottler Settle Antitrust Issue With EU. Retrieved from
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2004/10/19/coke-bottler-settle-antitrust-case-with-eu/

Show More
Related

  • Citizen Coke Sparknotes

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    Opinions coupled alongside historical accounts provide a lesson demonstrating the truths of Coke’s corporate greed. Elmore’s argument development progresses in a way that the reader becomes furthered dismayed as the history lesson goes on. Coca-Cola ravaged precious water resources in third world countries which eventually resulted in a scale of humanitarian crisis, yet today The Coca-Cola Foundation’s mission statement reads: “…[We have] Committed ourselves to improving the quality of life in the communities where we do business”. Television commercials depicting delight paired with the soft drink, Coca-Cola’s slogan of, “open happiness” along with massive international event sponsorships that universally are recognized currently label the company as having a positive impact in communities. Elmore’s arguments successfully connect the dots, illustrating to the reader on the dissolute framework which held together and lead to the rise in Coca-Cola’s present day

    Read More

  • Unit 3

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hartman, L. P., DesJardins, J., & MacDonald, C. (2014). Business ethics: Decision making for personal integrity & social responsibility (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.Shen, K.F. (2011).

    Read More

  • Case Analysis Using the Eight-Step Model

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    The eight-step module is a framework tool used to help analyze and assist you in thinking through an ethical dilemma. After Koch Industries acquired Georgia-Pacific, they immediately took steps to transfer its unique and highly ethical culture to their new “family member.” Tom Butz along with a few other Koch employees and Georgia-Pacific employees were in charge of getting the transition started immediately. Butz says “The key, was the commitment from leadership across the company to our vision for compliance and to building the desired culture.”(Travion & Nelson, 2011, p.247) There were some breakdowns in communication at the beginning that may have possibly led to the firing of some employees but I do not believe this can completely be the blame. They have to take responsibility for their own actions, when you deliberately go against something you have to be prepared for the consequences. Letting the employees go will benefit the company and other employees in the long run. I will begin my analysis by gathering facts and defining the ethical issues. Once the ethical issues are defined I will identify who these issues affect and think about the potential consequences. Then I will identify the obligations and reason for each one depending on the people involved. I will then ask myself what a person of integrity would do in this specific situation. And before making any decisions I will think creatively about any potential actions and check my gut feelings about the situation.

    Read More

  • Nike and Its Ethical Behavior

    1821 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2013). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases: 2011 custom edition (9th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

    Read More

  • Coca Cola Cost Of Production Case Study

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    Considering individuals are becoming more health conscious it would be beneficial for Coca Cola to continue producing even more healthy products. Producing healthier drinks could potentially get their products back in schools. Researching into cheaper materials as well as environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic would be another recommendation. The main concern for Coca Cola is water supply. Without water Coca Cola would not be able to stay in business. It is recommended for Coca Cola to reduce the amount of water it uses. They have already begun a goal to improve water use. “Our 2020 goal is aggressive and builds on the 21.4% water efficiency improvement we’ve made since 2004. We expect to increasingly assess not just the quantity of the water used to grow our product ingredients, but the impact of that use as well” (Improving,

    Read More

  • Coca Cola's Ethical Dilema in Belgium

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    This Coca Cola malfunction incident demonstrates that if attention is not paid to the ethical operation or the company it could challenge and threaten a company’s short and long term performance. This could have long lasting affects on the companies operations and requires strategic decisions to restore company’s image in the eyes of the customers. Gaining the trust of customers takes long time but it is broken with one small incident.

    Read More

  • Starbucks Business Ethics Case Analysis

    1448 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every thriving company must embrace some sort of code of ethics ground rules which will guarantee its success. In this case, Starbucks wants to promote high standards of practice; by selling the richest and aromatic coffees in the world to the ...

    Read More

  • Coca Cola Stakeholders Essay

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Coca-Cola HBC has a close relationship with its investors as an important stakeholder to discuss different strategies on water stewardship and anti corruption. Annual assessment of the company’s sustainability performance is provided by Foundation Guile. Coca-Cola HBC is chosen among top three in Europe by analyst regarding investor relations (Coca-Cola HBC Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2011).

    Read More

  • Coca Cola Rhetorical Analysis

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, many consumers of Coca-Cola products are unaware of the number of problems that Coca-Cola has had with the subject of racial discrimination, the most significant of these issues being a class action lawsuit filed against the company in 1999. This lawsuit was filed by four current and former African-American employees, alleging to have “suffered discrimination in pay, promotions, and performance evaluations” (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre). These individuals, along with over 2,000 other African-Americans employed by the Coca-Cola Company, had “statistics showing that the median salary for African American employees was about one-third less than that of whites within the company” (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre). As a result, Coca-Cola eventually agreed to pay $192 million in settlement charges, which stands as the largest settlement met in any corporate racial discrimination case (Business & Human Rights Resource

    Read More

  • Coca Cola Social Media Analysis

    1610 Words  | 4 Pages

    In addition, discussed Coke’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and potential ethical issues. While there are a number of challenges that Coca-Cola could face with using social media, they have actually used social media to their advantage. They also understand the ethical responsibility one must have if a company uses social media to advertise its products. Coca- Cola’s social media presence and engagement with the consumer grows daily. As long as Coca-Cola is committed to evolving with the consumer’s ever changing attitudes towards beverage’s it will insure that it will probably remain a top-tier beverage provider for years to

    Read More

  • Coca-Cola’s Organizational Development Problem and Recommendations

    2203 Words  | 5 Pages

    Jeseph University, S. S. (2006). Evidence of The Coca Cola Company’s Human Rights Abuses and Environmental Violations brought to. Saint Joseph’s University Students for Workers’ Rights, 1, 1-78. Retrieved April 22, 2014, from Evidence of The Coca Cola Company’s Human Rights Abuses and Environmental Violations brought to

    Read More

  • Coca Cola Competitive Advantage Essay

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    Coca-Cola is a company with sustainable competitive advantage. The company is innovative and has an extensive business model with boasts of a sustainable distribution network. The company was incorporated in the late 1800s to commence the production of a sweet fizzy beverage that has become the world's most known brand. Presently, the company is still on an upward trajectory as it remains one of the world's most sought-after stocks. The company's competitive advantage has shown resilience and sustainability over the years.

    Read More

  • Coca-Cola Brand Image

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    Coca - Cola : Claims, Values and Polices Coca-Cola is a well-known and cherished brand name. When people think of this name, memories tend to overflow in their heads. Why do you need to be a member? Because, not only does Coke taste great and refresh your own personal memories, it also fills you with memories of the Coca-Cola like "Always Coca-Cola", the antics of the Coke polar bears, and all of the different ads that have represented Coke over the years. Just about every ad you see, as a consumer, has tons of hidden meanings.

    Read More

  • Trends Of Coca Cola

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    Learning from experience Coca-Cola has had some fierce competition over the years but nothing in the form of an entire health market shift like now. As well as mounting political persecution of its products like they are facing today. They must rely on past experiences to get through but likely will need to start studying the new trends to stay relevant.

    Read More

  • Coke And Pepsi Case Study

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    Also, to save and recycle the usage of water. To defuse further boycotts or demonstrations against their products, they need to set up specific funds to have people cultivated on certain awareness, help fund agricultural products and set up seminars in schools to make people aware of certain information they need to know. The furor will definitely subside in long-term if Coca-Cola doesn’t talk to the people but the best way is to face the situation directly by giving a statement to the

    Read More

More about “The Coca-Cola Company Struggles with Ethical Crises”

Open Document