Coca-Cola Company free essay sample

Why do you think Coca-Cola has had one ethical issue to resolve after another over the last decade or so? There is not single crisis situation for Coca-cola over last decade . The organization has been questioned in different areas of its operations from product to the relationship with workers . It has been facing allegations of misconduct and its questionable behaviour. Contaminated Product This is one of the most serious and frequent problem of Coca Cola products . In the case it is mentioned about the contaminated products of year 1999 . Coca Cola products have been found contaminated in various countries even after 1999 . There are different ethical crisis company has faced in last decade . In most of the crisis , company is also accused for its slow response to the problem . Contaminated products in 1999 like Coca Cola with poorly processed batch of carbon dioxide , Bonaqua contamination with mold had severely affected health of many consumers in French market. Unethical Competitor In the year 1999 European Market Coca-cola was accused of adopting unethical competitive strategies . Companies like PepsiCo and Virgin accused Coca Cola for using discounts and rebates to decrease the shelf life of the product Employee Related Ethical Issues Racial Discrimination Charges Internally organization faced the racial discrimination allegations by the African American employees in 1999 . This was serious allegations African American employees alleged Coca Cola management for not taking action even when they knew about the discriminatory practices Union Problems Coca Cola was criticized for with poor trade union dealing in Colombia where four workers died , forty eight went hiding and sixty five received death threats . Union alleged Coca Cola to be behind all these activities Breach of Confidence in Employees In the year 2006 , three Coca Cola employees were charged for trying to sell trade secrets and confidential information to the competitor PepsiCo . PepsiCo had taken an ethical decision by informing the Coca Cola about the offer . This has increased the brand image of PepsiCo but questioned Coca Cola s ability to maintain confidence among its employees Unethical Behavior with Burger King In year 2002 , Coca Cola has been charged for fraud in market testing with Burger King . Burger King was a major customer for Coca Cola . It had to pay 21 million to Burger King but the cost of losing a major consumer was higher than that . It lost trust of stakeholders . This case hampered its reputation and brand image Channel Stuffing It is also accused on channel stuffing by shipping extra inventory form the wholesale and retailers at the end of quarter . It was a kind of financial malpractice . It faced lawsuit regarding channel stuffing in four of its major markets Japan , North America , Europe and South America Distributor Trouble In 2006 it faced problems with bottlers , who accused it for the breach of contract and violation of antitrust law ) A news analyst said that Coca-Cola could become the next Enron. Do you think this is possible and defend your answer? 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. The Coca-Cola Company is the world largest beverage company, and markets four of the world’s five leading soft drinks Coca-Cola is the most recognized trademark brand name in the world with a trademark value estimated to be $25 billion. The company has always demonstrated a strong market orientation, making strategies decisions and taking action to attract, satisfy, and retain customers. : Coca-Cola is the most recognized trademark brand name in the world with a trademark value estimated to be $25 billion. The company has always demonstrated a strong market orientation, making strategies decisions and taking action to attract, satisfy, and retain customers. As one analyst said later, Customer loyalty never came cheaper. This philosophy make Coke a more truly global brand, with its trademark brands and colors recognizable on cans, bottles and advertisement around the world. However in 2000 the Coke failed to make a top ten’s of Fortune annual America most admired companies’ list for the first time in a decade. The problems that are faced by company are : ; Leadership issues ; Poor economic performance ; Other upheavals. Coca-Cola promise that the company exits ‘to benefit and refresh everyone who is touched by our business. will coke became next enron? Enron is one of the company that faces a lot of ethical crises. And Enron is not able to recover from these crises. In my opinion it is not possible that Coke will become next Enron. No doubt Coke facing a lot of ethical crises but it is a global brand. Although Coca-Cola seems to is trying to establish its reputation based on quality products and socially responsible activities. The company is also adopting new age drinks such as lower caloric PowerAde sports drink and flavored Dasani water. These attempts will enough to compare with other beverages like PepsiCo In the 1990’s the Coke facing a lot of cries but recovered with the passage of time. And still recovered 50% of market share. If so many ethical issues not distracted the coke would its financial performance would be much better. So it is not possible that Coke will became next Enron.