Discuss The Ethical Issues Of Coca Cola

Coca–Cola a leading manufacturer, distributor and marketer of soft drink products. Coca–Cola was not always the sugary syrup soft drink most people know today. As a matter of fact, before 1886 Coca-Cola was made with alcohol and cocaine. Concocted by Dr. John Pemberton a pharmacist in Atlanta Georgia Coca-Cola was originally named Pemberton’s French Wine Coca. Dr. Pemberton marketed the drink as a cure all for mental and physical disorders and was sold from a soda fountain at his local drug store. A step ahead of prohibition, Dr. Pemberton replace the wine in his formula with a sugary syrup. The cocaine portion of Coca-Cola was removed before 1914 when cocaine was deemed illegal in the United States of America. Coca-Cola as we know today still contains coca but the narcotic portion of cocaine, it is removed. Today, Coca-Cola has expanded to over 200+ countries. From concerts to sport venues to local restaurants you are more than likely to come across a Coca-Cola product, Coca-Cola has had such an impact on society that it is given credit for how we portray Santa Clause today. Other credits should also be given to Coca-Cola like an increase in diabetes and other diseases.

When reading the letter from the chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent the content of the letter was optimistic and upbeat. Also, the CEO references to the company as global thirst quenching corporation that do not take the size for granted, this helps the reader understand Coca-Cola modesty. Likewise, the CEO added Targeted disciplined investments for the future of the company that will help the company to expand and grow. Furthermore, increasing revenue, profit and growth by building the brand Coca-Cola. Furthermore, Simplifying and streamlining operations of the company enabling to standardize the operation around the world.

In a globally competitive environment, Coca-Cola engaged in questionable conduct such as channel stuffing, falsifying marketing research, anti-trust issues or racial discrimination for a few reasons (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2013). Coca-Cola used channel stuffing as a short term tactic to artificially report an increase in sales, which could entice more shareholders to invest into their company (Edwards, 2015). But in the long run, it becomes similar to a Ponzi scheme. The distributor returns the unsold cases of soft drinks to Coca-Cola, in which Coca-Cola would add them as sales returns on their accounting ledger. The shareholders see an increase of Coca-Cola shipments and an increase of sales revenues on the financial reports. Channel stuffing draws a lot of attention from executives and investors as profits decrease and sales increase (Edwards, 2015).

Coca-Cola has a trademark value of $25 billion with the ability to make strategic decisions to satisfy and retain consumers (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2013). However, Coca-Cola has struggled to maintain a strong ethically sound integrity. Not only has the beverage giant struggled with ethical issues in the U.S., but has also had difficulty maintaining a positive reputation abroad as well.

The discovery of oil has led to an abundance of new opportunities that have helped people create new inventions with the biggest being the automobile. Major corporations have arisen from “The impact of oil derived, in large part, from its attractiveness as an energy-dense, easily deliverable source of fuel for transportation.” Oil is sometimes coined the term black gold because of its value. Corporations like Chevron have made billions of dollars in the oil industry. With the rise of oil, the destruction of the environment has also become a serious issue in some parts of the world. Oil spills that have taken place in the gulf and in the forests have had a huge impact on both the people and wildlife that have lived around these affected areas. Black streaks of oil are seen in the sand in some beaches still to this day and. But these are just some of the major environmental disasters oil companies like Chevron are responsible for. Chevron has also made an impact on the environment around its refineries, and it is not a positive impact. The waste that comes out of these refineries is dumped into the ocean, rivers, and these toxic waste sites severely hurt the environment in the process. One of the biggest issue the company faces, is with the country of Ecuador where a lawsuit was filed against Texaco, which was acquired by Chevron in 2001. The corporation was blamed for the mass pollution across the Amazon after the company left the refineries with mass traces of toxic waste

Navigating through the myriad of regulations of any country is important to comply with legal and ethical issues that can impact any organization. Every global region has its perspective on how employees should be regulated and what the rights that should be adhered to. Most of the global region closely regulate their workforces to their economic philosophies and vision. It is therefore important that organizations acknowledge and have a deep understanding of any international region perspective on employment ethics and regulation. Currently the three largest regions for employment and economic growth include the United States, Europe, and Asia. These two regions and one country are the global economic drivers internationally, and have different views of labor ethics and laws.

Many business people and ethicists believe that it is time for businesses to start following human rights. There is however the lack of agreement of human rights laws from transnational corporations. Transnational corporations support human rights by providing jobs with livable wages and show respect for rule of law. However, transnational corporations are also known for violating human rights laws by providing very unsafe working conditions, lower than average pay, have harmful environmental pollution, commit bribery and seem to ignore the laws of the host nation. Non-governmental and transnational organizations have not been very effective in abiding by human rights laws and must begin to follow set human rights laws if they want to receive more support.

Here we will analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for Coca-Cola. The strengths and weaknesses will be internal to Coca-cola and the opportunities and threats will be external to Coca-Cola.

* Issues of human rights are constantly climbing up the business agenda.  With various governments encouraging companies to take part in tackling these issues both domestically and globally, one can see

In the management of multinational corporations there are a multitude of ethics issues that arise. For instance in the United States it is illegal to bribe someone, but in Romania where it is illegal but still socially acceptable bribes sometimes are required to make a deal in business; when it comes down to a matter of cultural differences there is a lot more pressure for corporations to behave in an unethical manner. Other common problems are things like a corporation asserting political influence, using products that are legal in one country but illegal in others, tax evasion, and the exploitation of workers in developing counties. Though there are many problems faced there are solutions to these problems as well.

Firstly, I would like to express my appreciation towards your dedication for Coca-Cola for the past ten years. Coca-Cola is one of my favorite beverages and it can always remind me of the joy in my childhood. I am really surprised to hear that your company has suffered a sales decline during the past few years and been evolved in some reputation problems.

The finished products are transported to customers once finished. As Dell has promised, customers will receive their orders generally within 7 working days.

Coca-Cola is a big recognized brand that produces many products than just soda drinks. With all the money and brand recognition the company possesses, there are possibilities for the company to past the scandals and keep up in the business market, like we have discovered the company has invested money to cover illicit activities. However, it is very important for the company to act ethically and respond to the scandals that the company has been accused. If Coca-Cola responds morally correct, it will shows the customers that the company cares about social responsibility, but if the company does not act fast and ethically, it exists the possibilities that the company’s sales keep declining.

However, some companies have been starting to recognize that being more ecological and having in consideration moral principals, can represent an advantage. Multinationals, which are companies that deliver services or produce goods in more than one country, can provide benefits for the host country, but it can also create ethical dilemmas. The fact that it operates in different societies, it make international managers have to deal with employees that may not share the same beliefs and be in a society that can have differentiated rules, regulations and values. In that case, ethics pay an important role because there’s the necessity to respect and follow the companies’ practices used in the home country but most importantly, to respect the employees that have the right to be treated according the universal moral principals. On the other hand, as countries has its differences, it is possible to observe that most of the developing countries have weaker rules in terms of the environment, pollution, the social rights and other various points and as a consequence some firms see this as an advantage and opportunity for the company to in some way increase production’s output by adopting unethical practices or work methods.

The challenge for managers in the global market is that the cultural differences impact behavior of employees, and it can be difficult to manage an ethical issue the same here in the United States as you would internationally. Using discrimination as an example, businesses here in the United States have standard workplace discrimination policies regarding fair treatment of all workers regardless of race, color, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Using gender as an example, in the United States women have an equal right to work and are expected to be treated the same as their male counterparts, and sexual harassment is taken very seriously. In some European countries, it is not uncommon for