...COKE ETHICAL ISSUE WHO IS THE REAL GUILTY? The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, which is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia. The Coca-Cola formula and brand was bought in 1889 by Asa Griggs Candler (December 30, 1851 - March 12, 1929), who incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in 1892. On June 13, 1999, Coca-Cola (Coke) recalled over 15 million cans and bottles after the Belgian Health Ministry announced a ban on Coca cola's drinks, which were suspected of making more than 100 school children ill in the preceding six days.This recall was in addition to the 2.5 million bottles that had already been recalled in the previous week. The company's products namely Coca cola, Diet Cola and Fanta had been bottled in Antwerp, Ghent and Wilrijk, Belgium while some batches of Coca cola, Diet Coca cola, Fanta and Sprite were also produced in Dunkirk, France. Children at six schools in Belgium had complained of headache, nausea, vomiting and shivering which ultimately led to hospitalization after drinking Coca cola's beverages.A week after the reported ilnesses, the Coca cola company responded.They said that The Coca cola company`s highet priority is the quality of our products.We deeply regret any problems encountered by our...
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...The Coca-Cola Company Struggles with Ethical Crises "Coca-Cola has the most valuable brand name in the world and, as one of the most visible companies worldwide, has a tremendous opportunity to excel in all dimensions of business performance" (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2008). However, as proven in this case study, Coke has a lot on their plate as the biggest brand name in the world. Ethical issues throughout different aspects of the company, and with multiple leadership changes in the last ten years, Coke has some catching up to do. The company has been involved in racial discrimination, misrepresenting market tests, manipulating earning and disrupting long-term contractual arrangements with distributors. Neville Isdell, the new president of Coke is currently working to improve their reputation cause by some of the problems presented next. The Coca-Cola Company Struggles with Ethical Crises Coca-Cola History Coca-Cola is the world's largest beverage company that operates the largest distribution system in the world. This allows Coca-Cola companies to serve more than 1 billion of its products to customers each day. The marketing strategy for Coca-Cola promotes products from four out of the five top selling soft drinks to earn sales such as Coke, Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite. This process builds strong customer relationships, which gives the opportunity for these businesses to be identified and satisfied. With that being said, customers will be more willing to help...
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...The Coca-Cola Company Struggles with Ethical Crises 1. Delineate the ethical issues and dilemmas (as found in Chapter 3) the company faced. In 1999 Coca-Cola started to encounter its first taste of ethical issues and all the baggage that is associated with it. One of the first challenges that Coca-Cola was confronted with was an environmental problem in some of its foreign markets which lead to health issues. After drinking some Coca-Cola products, around thirty two children in Belgian became ill. Once Coca-Cola ascertained that problem was derived from an inferior batch of carbon dioxide. For whatever reasons, Coca-Cola assumed this wasn’t a real health hazard and procrastinated on mentioning the issue. Coca-Cola would pay a heavy price because once the media learned of the problem; they chastised them for their slow reaction. The negative news became damaging to the Coca-Cola reputation. To make matters worse for Coca-Cola, France claimed that in excess of a hundred people became ill after consuming their products and the country banned all the Coca-Cola products until they could prove that the problem was solved. In Poland, Coca-Cola introduced a new product called Bonaqua. Unfortunately the Bonaqua arrived in Poland infected with mold. In essence, Coca-Cola’s reputation became tarnished because of its slow response time and failure to address the health risk associated with each situation. Also in the spring of 1999 Coca-Cola was faced with a massive Discrimination...
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...Coca-Cola Company Richard Bonds Dr. J. A. Anderson, Sr. Date May, 31 2014 Abstract Coca-Cola Company or Coke s the largest distributor of soft drinks in the world. Businesses such as Coke and other corporations set a strict code of ethics laws to live by and operate upon. This paper will illustrate the code of ethics of Coke the industry leaders and two of its partners/competitors PepsiCo and Dr. Pepper/Snapple Co. and the similarities of their ethics code for operations as American multination companies. Coca-Cola Company or Coke is the largest distributor of soft drinks in the world. A successful businesses like Coke and other large corporations set a strict code of ethics laws to live by and operate upon. A brief look at the industries three largest leaders in the soft drink industry, with Coke being the front runner followed by the PepsiCo Groups and Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group all unique in their own way with a variety of products consumers have been using for nearly 100 years. All three companies born in the southern part of the United States has provided different brands names under different company logos worldwide. Coke has such names in the soft drink industry like Sprite, Minute Made, Fanta, Power Aide, an Simple Orange to name a few of the 3500 plus products they produce worldwide. The largest and closest competitor of Coke is a bit more diverse in the product line with a group of companies under one umbrella, the PepsiCo Group includes...
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...The Coca – Cola Company struggles with Ethical Crises Coca-cola has the most valuable brand name in the world and, one of the most visible companies worldwide, has a tremendous opportunity to excel in all dimensions of business performance. However, over the last ten years, the firm has struggled to reach its financial objectives and has been associated with a number of ethical crises. Warren Buffet served as a member of the board of directors and was a strong supporter and investor of Coca-Cola but resigned from the board in 2006 after several years of frustration with Coca-Cola’s failure to overcome many challenges. Many issues were facing Doug Ivester when he took over the reins at Coca-Cola in 1997. Ivester was heralded for his ability to handle the financial flows and details of the soft drink giant. Former CEO Robert Goizueta had carefully groomed Ivester for the top position that he assumed in October 1997 after Goizueta’s untimely death. However, Ivester seemed to lack leadership in handling a series of ethical crises, causing some to doubt the “Big Red’s” reputation and its prospects for the future. For a company with a rich history of marketing prowess and financial performance, Ivester’s departure in 1999 represented a high-profile glitch on a relatively clean record in one hundred years of business. In 2000 Doug Daft, the company’s former president and chief operating officer, replaced Ivester as the new CEO. Daft’s tenure was rocky, and the company was allegedly...
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...The case study prepared by Archie B. Carroll entitled, “Coke and Pepsi in India: Issues, Ethics, and Crisis Management”, describes issues two major, well known multinational corporations (MNCs) have been facing in India over the past several years, since 2003. Coke and Pepsi are known competitors in the world of soft drinks, but have become allies given the situations they are facing in India. There are allegations of highly contaminated soft drinks, which claim to cause cancer and birth defects. An interest group in India, Center for Science and Environment (CSE) made the allegations and stated tests can verify the products contain high levels of pesticide residue (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2012, p. 649). Another special interest group, India Resource Center (IRC) raised concerns of an issue Coke experienced which is the claim of overconsumption and pollution of scarce water resources due to plant operations and production. This affected many cities and regions of the country, especially in the communities of Kerala and Mehdiganj (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2012, p. 649). In addition to the scarcity of water, there were also complaints of the water around the soft drink giant’s plants tasting and smelling bad. Donated waste to farmers for fertilizer tested positive for cadmium and lead creating toxic waste (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2012, p. 649). The allegations made by these groups were taken very seriously and believed valid because of the support of a very powerful and influential...
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...President and CEO of Coca-Cola India (Coke India) Sanjiv Gupta is faced with this question: Should he act further on the Center for Science and Environment’s (CSE) allegations that cold drinks contain too much pesticides or should he remain silent and let the information fade from public view? Section 1: Assumptions and Stakeholder Analysis The first assumption taken in this case is Coke India is not breaking any laws and telling the truth when it comes to the level of pesticides in its products and its routine testing for chemicals. This case is not about concealing illegal activity or lying to the public, rather, it discusses the question whether or not corporations have a right to influence government to regulate various systems. If the analysis takes lying and cheating into consideration, this interesting discussion would appear convoluted. The second assumption taken in this case is the definition of “acting further” means for Coke India. Because Coke India and Pepsi already called the study “baseless” in a press conference launched independent marketing campaigns and published open letters referring to fact/myth websites, this analysis assumes acting further means more than public relations (Coke India, 12). Pepsi has already “filed a petition with the high court questioning the credibility of the CSE’s claims” and Coke India has threatened legal recourse meaning acting further means more than legal recourse against the CSE (Coke India, 1). The case also states “the Delhi...
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...Problems with Unions and Coke Trade Secrets Amongst other international problems faced by Coca-Cola, they ran into trouble related to labor unions as well. The major cause of these problems occurred in Columbia where there were unfortunate deaths of Coca-Cola workers as well as forty-eight who went into hiding and another sixty-five who received death threats. The labor unions claimed that Coca-Cola chose to be involved with illegal dealings surrounding these deaths, death threats and disappearances. Coca-Cola denied any of the allegations and claimed that only one of the deaths was on the premises of the bottling plant that Coke worked with while the other ones were located off the premises where Coke had no involvement. Rather than take swift action Coca-Cola made itself look bad by not offering to help to any of the workers or their families. The further denial along with not providing any aid or action caused animosity with labor unions regarding the case and put another black mark on Coca-Cola's currently sliding ethical reputation. Sure there may have been other circumstances behind the problems in Columbia but Coca-Cola did nothing to help anyone else or themselves in the situation. Another problem Coca-Cola faced came a little closer to home. Coca-Cola had three employees get arrested in 2006 for fraudulently and unlawfully stealing and selling trade secrets from Coca-Cola. One of the people accused in the case contacted Pepsi and told them he was a high level employee...
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...Leadership Ethics As children we are taught the difference between right and wrong very early in life. Knowing the difference doesn’t change in the business world. A lot of times in business, leaders find themselves in situations where they have to choose an ethical or unethical way out. The Ethical Behavior and Social Responsibility slide says, “If it looks, smells, or acts illegal, it probably IS.” I believe in most ethical cases, the individual knows when they are doing something illegal or wrong. Unethical decisions not only ruin careers, but also ruin the reputation of companies, brands, and stakeholders. These leaders’ often make these horrible decisions without thinking things through, and end up losing their job. Is it really worth it? When I was the Culinary Manager at Red Lobster my goal was to always be consistent and keep food cost percent down. The company food cost percent goal was to be between three and five percent. My restaurant was consistently below two percent each month, which made others wonder how that was happening. I had nothing to hide, and at the time I loved the attention, so I was always eager to talk about our success. This was very early in my career, and I was a little naïve and didn’t realize that the numbers we were producing were thought of as unethical. We went through audits just like all of the other restaurants and the mainly, we had the paperwork to support everything. We had created different ways to spot check things and made...
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...Running head: COCA-COLA ETHICAL ANALYSIS Coca-Cola Ethical Analysis Coca-Cola Coca-Cola is a reputable company that has been a recognizable brand in the United States since it’s creation in the late 1800s. Rapidly expanding in the international market, Coca-Cola has proven to their competitors they are innovative, forward-thinking, and here to stay. After the untimely death of CEO, Roberto Goizueta, Coca-Cola has experienced various ethical dilemmas. These ethical dilemmas have had a direct impact on Coca-Cola’s business relations, stakeholders, corporate culture, and financial advancements. By thoroughly examining ethical issues of the past, resolving legal grievances, and consulting third party organizations Coca-Cola is striving to regain the trust of consumers and business partners worldwide. Background Stakeholders are various parties who are directly or indirectly affected by the decisions and/or actions of a company. Throughout Coca-Cola’s history their business endeavors have had both positive and negative impacts on members of society. The primary stakeholders such as; employees, customers, investors, government agencies, community organizations, and shareholders are essential for a business to survive. However, the direct impact a company may experience from the influence of secondary stakeholders such as; media, trade organizations, and special-interest groups may also contribute to a company’s downfall. The constant changes in top level...
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...CASE STUDY Is Coke losing its Fizz? “The Coca-Cola Company exists to benefit and refresh everyone it touches” Coca-Cola ’s mission statement Can Coca-Cola, one of only a handful of truly global brands, really be in trouble? Amidst adverse media coverage and concerns about the sugar content of its core brands, Coca-Cola’s share price has taken a nose dive. The drinks giant has been hit by the explosion of the obesity time bomb! Worse still, industry experts are accusing the company of panic as it struggles to bolster market share with a host of new product launches. Diagnosing Coca-Cola’s malaise reveals rising public expectations about the behaviour and responsibilities of such corporates. The danger is that consumers angered by food companies’ role in the obesity crisis will use their spending power to enforce higher ethical standards. “some consumers are becoming edgy” The nation is suffering from a serious weight problem. With a 400 percent rise in obesity levels in just 25 years and weight problems set to overtake smoking as the main cause of premature death, the scale of the problem is huge. Faced with headlines dominated by scare stories about childhood obesity and ‘pester power’, some consumers are becoming edgy. The problem for Coca-Cola is that these concerns are hitting sales of its core brands such as Coca-Cola, Sprite and Canada Dry. At a time when junk food and sugar-laden fizzy drinks are taking some of the blame for this weighty crisis, the government is...
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...plays as we see every material thing owned by burns is being taken away, even his loyal assistant. Distraught and miserable, Burns watches as the mansion is being lifted away by a bunch of helicopters. In the next scene Burns is walking down the park’s pathway where he sees the other residents of Springfield playing, laughing and enjoying their cokes. One of the residents, Apu, sees the depressed man while carrying his bottles of coke and offers him one of his extra bottles. Giving Apu a small smile, Burns drinks the beverage. Afterwards a visually happier Burns is then welcomed into the fun by the other residents. The end scene continues skyward where there is a picture of a Coca-Cola bottle. On the side of the bottle it says “open happiness” as the music turns into a whistled version of the classic Coca-Cola tune. This commercial consists of two parts of affiliation, the negative and the positive. At first Burns was ostracized by the whole community because of his recent misfortune but after he accepted and drunk the Coke, the Springfield residents accepted him into their happiness. The commercial implies that drinking a Coke...
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...available at a comparable cost and quality; the company can also charge a premium for products and services; and stakeholder support for the company in times of controversy. Good reputation also adds to the company’s value in the financial marketplace. (Management, 2013) In 1999, poor decisions and mismanagement cast a shadow over Coca-Cola. “Following the hospitalization of dozens of Belgians, Coke admitted Tuesday that it had problems at two of its plants—one involving pesticide on the outside of cans the other sub-standard carbonation gas.” (Sathiah, 1999). Even though dozens had fallen ill after drinking Coke products, Coke claimed its products were still safe. Coke failed to act appropriately after hearing that many were getting ill after consuming Coke products. This lead for Belgium to ban all Coke soft drinks, this prompted Luxembourg, Netherlands, and France to also stop the sale of Coke soft drink. (Sathiah, 1999). Some of the strategic steps I would take to remedy the concerns that the company is faced with would be, is bring in new management. A management team that would take issues like this seriously before they caused damage to the company. Had Coca-Cola acted in a responsible manner, the company would have recalled its own soft drinks. Countries should not have had to stop the sale of the drinks. This was very irresponsible on behalf of the company. The company should also be as transparent as possible as far as how the company operates especially in other countries...
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...The Coca-Cola Company Struggles with Ethical Crisis Lisa San MGMT 366 6/30/13 The Coca-Cola Company is one of the most well known companies in the U.S. and quite possible the world since its origination in the late 1800’s. Coca-Cola’s rapid expansion and innovation have provided ample evidence that the company is here to stay. However, after the death of the companies CEO, Robert Goizueta, the company has faced multiple ethical dilemmas. These problems have had a direct negative impact on Coca-Cola’s financial expansion, corporate culture, business relations, as well as their shareholder. Through thorough examination of past ethical dilemmas, grievance resolution, and utilizing third party consulting, Coca-Cola is on route to regain trust from consumer and business partners. Coca-Cola began to struggle in 1997 shortly after CEO Robert Goizueta passed away and Doug Ivester was appointed CEO after years of training from his mentor, Goizueta. Doug Ivester was a strong leader for the company in terms of financial flow; however, Ivester was not equipped to handle many of the ethical crises that arose. Ivester left the company in 2000 leaving Dough Daft CEO and leaving Daft with a company that was somewhat tarnished after having a relatively perfect record for 100 years. Daft reputation while as CEO was unsound and caused the company to face allegations of racial discrimination with distributors. Daft left Coca-Cola in 2004 and left the CEO position to Neville Isdell. ...
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...Coke – Ethical Issues “Our product is quite healthy. Fluid replenishment is a key to health. Coke does a great service because it encourages people to take in more and more liquids.” - Michael Douglas Investor, Coke’s Chairman and CEO. “Public schools are funded by the public to educate the children as provided by state law. It is totally inappropriate that its facilities and employees are being used by corporations to increase their own profits on public time and with public dollars.” Dr. Brita Butler-Wall, Executive Director, Citizens’ Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools, US. THE RECALL On June 13, 1999, Coca-Cola[1] (Coke) recalled over 15 million cans and bottles after the Belgian Health Ministry announced a ban on Coke’s drinks, which were suspected of making more than 100 school children ill in the preceding six days. This recall was in addition to the 2.5 million bottles that had already been recalled in the previous week. The company’s products namely Coke, Diet Coke and Fanta had been bottled[2] in Antwerp, Ghent and Wilrijk, Belgium while some batches of Coke, Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite were also produced in Dunkirk, France. Children at six schools in Belgium had complained of headache, nausea, vomiting and shivering which ultimately led to hospitalization after drinking Coke’s beverages. Most of them reported an ‘unusual odor’ and an ‘off-taste’ in the drink. In a statement to Reuters, Marc Pattin, a spokesman for the Belgian Health Ministry explained the seriousness...
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