Examples Of Unethical Practices Of Coca Cola

“Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism” by Bartow J. Elmore tells a story of how Coca- Cola have changed its industry as well as the globe by utilizing natural resources. To start on his journey about Coca-Cola, Elmore questions the success of the company behind selling Coke, a low-priced mixture of “sugar, water, and caffeine, packed in glass, plastic, or aluminum” (Elmore 8). Elmore discovers that even though advertising plays an essential key in selling products, Coca-Cola is mostly profitable from outsourcing the supply (Elmore 9). Besides explaining his research on the Coca-Cola capitalism, Elmore also emphasizes on the ecological evidences that support it, which make this book an environmental history of Coca-Cola capitalism (Elmore 14).

John Stith Pemberton, a pharmacist and “cash-strapped morphine addict,” created Coca-Cola in 1886. He used a French wine called Vin Mariani as his product to replicate. Coca-Cola was different because it was water-based, not wine-based, and included kola nut, caffeine, coca leaf extract, and sugar. It was originally sold as a medicine, a “brain tonic” that “Cures Morphine and Opium Habits and Desire for Intoxicants.” Later broke and ill from his stomach problems and morphine addiction, Pemberton sold the patent to Coca-Cola to Asa Candler, who later officially created The Coca-Cola Company.

Coca cola has been accused of providing commercial waste to farmers to use as fertilizer. This has been faulted to have toxic substances . The management of Coca cola India has denied presence of toxins and termed the waste as safe.

Coke was invented by Dr. John Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist and his three-legged brass pot all the way back in 1886; by 1985 Coke was closing in fast on its centennial anniversary. (Cook, 2002) Coke along with the legendary chairman Roberto C. Goizueta had witnessed a remarkable set of accomplishments during the 1980's. There were some creeping problems, however. The 87-year old rivalry between Coca-Cola, the

The origin of Coca-Cola was based on a lot of trial and error. It had first started off as soda-water and functioned medicinally. It apparently had the ability to prevent/cure putrid fevers dysentery. As the drink evolved so did the function as well. The addition of coca leaves and kola nuts made the drink more invigorating due to its caffeine. Now its importance and second function came in July 1. 1886. That date marks the start of Prohibition, the drink served as an alternative to alcoholic drinks. Fast forward to 1938 after the changes in its medicinal function, distribution, ingredients, and more importantly its popularity. Coca-Cola’s importance was as a “sublimated essence of all America stands for…” this statement by veteran journalist William Allen White was said based on the fact that Coca-Cola was drank by men and women of all ages and classes, that was the drink’s

From the late 1800s until today, the Coca-Cola’s brand has evolved into a top contender in the beverage industry, which ignited the “cola wars” with the company’s top competition PepsiCo. with Coca-Cola controlling 45 percent of the global soft drink market; Coca-Cola’s most famous brands include: Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Powerade, Dasani water and Fanta with Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta being four of the top five leading soft drinks. At the peak of Coca-Cola’s reign, an estimated $1 billion of their products were consumed daily. In 2006, Coca-Cola lost it’s top position to PepsiCo. due to their competitors diverse strategy to include snack foods in their product line. As a result, Coca-Cola’s reputation was in jeopardy. Although Coca-Cola takes pride in its social responsibility by offering educational opportunities and learning tools to the youth and graduates, environmental conservation efforts and charitable donations for HIV/AIDS research, the company has encountered a stream of ethical dilemmas. Coca-Cola’s ethical dilemmas include: contaminated products, antitrust violations, racial discrimination suits, fraud accusations, manipulating marketing and financial statements, anti-union tactic allegations, ‘strong-arming’ distributors and channel surfing. This misconduct has severely affected Coca-Cola’s reputation with its shareholders. Although Coca-Cola has set a strong standard of accountability and is reinforcing the integrity that once fueled the company, their

The brand Coca-Cola has been around for over 130 years. Coca-Colas inventor, John Pemberton has marketed his creation from the very beginning as a product that can serve others beneficially. Perbertons “brain tonic” later turned into a global empire of Coca-Cola. Professor Bartow J. Elmore’s book Citizen Coke: the Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism explores in detail about Cokes formula and how it is made and how it affects individuals and the planet in which we live. Elmore discuses how Coca-Cola has sold its low-price syrup while unloading expenses and risks onto their suppliers, franchisees, and the government. Elmore makes a compelling argument throughout the book that Coca-Cola trademarks it self as a device of economical expansion and a charitable force, however Cokes initiative for growth has made it damage the health of both the public and the planet. Elmore explains each ingredient in the Coca-Cola formula and how it has affected others, business and the environment.

The history of Coca Cola began in 1886 when Dr. John S Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist created a tasty soft drink which could sell at soda fountains. Since then, Coca Cola grew to be a global brand and touched great heights. Today, it sells across 200 countries and is just as popular across all the markets and nations. The company today, owns or licenses and markets more than 500 non alcoholic beverage brands. The brand has only few major competitors in the global market. The daily servings of coca cola are estimated to be at 1.9 billion globally. (Coca-Colahellenic, n.d.) This is just another proof of the popularity of the brand which has a very large and diversified

One big change that needs to be made is pesticide free water in the Coca-Cola products. Indians have a lot of trouble with making sure their food and water is contaminated, and things like this aren’t going to help Coca-Cola’s business because they aren’t going to want to risk their health. Indian’s need to feel safe and trustful of Coca-Cola that their products are safe for themselves. Coca-Cola made also need to use less Indian water in their products if that problem cannot be fixed. Whatever it takes for Indian’s to understand that Coke’s products are pesticide free is what Coca-Cola needs to do. The future of Coke in India is in the hands of

Since the 1990’s Coca-Cola has been involved in some scandalous and very unethical activities in areas such as product safety, anticompetitiveness, racial discrimination, channel stuffing, distributor conflicts, intimidation tactics, pollution, depletion of natural resources, and health concerns (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Farrell, 2015). According to the case study, they have been named in multiple law suits; some which resulted in out of court private settlements, others in a court battle and still others that remain unresolved at this time (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Farrell, 2015). By all accounts, Coca Cola has made attempts to resolve all complaints and issues but sometimes their technique was not what many thought it should be. Even with a history of troubles, Coca Cola remains one of the most recognized brand names in the world. In the south, if you ask someone what they want to drink they will most likely say a “coke”; one must understand that this could actually mean any of a dozen different carbonated soft drinks because everything is a “coke”. They are well known for their savvy marketing and a reputation for quality (Farrell, Fraedrich, & Farrell, 2016).

Who would have known that Coca-Cola debut to the world was all because of a pharmacist? And just a touch of carbonation has truly made it a refreshing and an enjoyable carbonated soft drink. It is within “arms reach of desire” as former CEO Robert Woodruff notes. The Coca-Cola Company ultimately cares about its customers and prides itself into providing good citizenship. One of Coca-Cola’s largest international investors was India, from 1993 up until 2003, Coca-Cola invested more than US$1 billion into the country. In August of 2003, CEO of Coca-Cola India, Sanjiv Gupta came to a standstill where he had to further anticipate his next move for the company. The company faced a crisis where the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) issued a press release affirming that three samples of the 12 cold drink brands sold in and around Delhi containing pesticide residues were of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo brands.

“A Coke is a Coke, and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same, and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it."(Andy Warhol, 1975) Regardless of its corporate reputation, the organizational performance and its social responsibility of Coca-Cola makes it loved around the world. Ever since its creation in 1886 Coca-Cola has been a household brand known globally for generations of families. I have to mention, of all the cases researched this is my least favorite not only because of my childhood love for the product because the ethical issues in one way or another always manage to resolve themselves not before further tainting the reputation Coke worked so hard to obtain. Most times, whether an organization is innocent of an unethical act, it becomes secondary to the suspicion of the original act. Almost as if the court of public opinion has the power to ruin the reputation of an organization based on an unfounded accusation. In spite of my loyalty after having ready the case, I do believe Coca-Cola to be flawed. The contamination scare in Belgium is a great example of a public relations nightmare. The slightest hint of impurity should have pushed Coca Cola into crisis management mode but they were slow to react, citing it a minor issue (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, (2011). It was not until local officials

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.

This case study is about Coca-Cola in India and the difficulties faced by it in the different parts of India, especially in the south India region (Kerala).In 2006-2007, the main problem arose when the bottling plants of the company found with pesticides in its water used for manufacturing its products. Testing was taken place to check the issues regarding pesticides by an environmental group, the centre for science and environment (CSE) and after hard-core search and analysis two companies were found guilty having more than 50 bottles of coke and Pepsi products that contained unsafe level of pesticides from 12 different states of India.

The Ethical issue concerning Coca Cola happened in India in the year 2003. The problematic situation happened in Kerela where the population near the Coca Cola plant complained regarding the passage of sludge as fertilizer, causing health and environmental damage. The most important issue concerning the Indian population is the depletion of water resources caused by the Coca Cola bottling operations which have dramatically