Business Ethics Of Coca-Cola
Charlene Cowan
Business Ethics
Position Paper 1
Introduction:
“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, Ferrell, Fraedrich, p. 308). However, the beverage giant has severe ethical problems in its relationship with stakeholders. Despite Coca-Cola’s philanthropic donations to educational and community programs, many stakeholders are losing trust in the over 100-year-old company.
In 1999, many European consumers and government agencies lost trust in Coca-Cola after witnessing its slow reaction to beverage contamination incidents. Shipments of Coca-Cola products contained mold and some products had “a poorly processed batch of carbon dioxide” (Ferrell, Ferrell, Fraedrich, p. 311). Coca-Cola hesitated to react causing negative criticism from stakeholders. Along with the negative criticism, Belgium banned a marketing campaign for one of Coca-Cola’s newest products.
Competitive issues, as well as a negative image after the contamination incidents, fostered European’s pessimistic attitude toward Coca-Cola. Many of Coca-Cola’s business practices in France and Italy violated European common business practices and culture, and thus furthered consumers’ lack of confidence in the company.
Coca-Cola experienced racial discrimination allegations in 1999. Two thousand African-American employees and former employees accused the company of “discriminating against them in pay, promotions, and performance evaluations” (Ferrell, Ferrell, Fraedrich, p. 312). As a result, Coca-Cola paid millions in reparations and created a “diversity council” to prevent future discrimination of women and minorities. Other problems with employees involved the unlawful sale of trade secrets to competitors and problems with employee unions in Colombia (Ferrell, Ferrell, Fraedrich, p. 314-315).
In 2002, Coca-Cola was found to have...
View Full Essay
