One of the biggest concerns when the Body Shop was taken over by L'Oreal was the issue of corporate culture. The cultures of the two organizations are very different. The Body Shop has positioned itself as an ethical firm, avoids animal testing and has made its ethics a core part of its marketing message. A recent situation in Colombia illustrates the ethical culture at Body Shop. A palm oil supplier there had attempted to evict farmers from a ranch where they had been living. This situation created a controversy specifically because of the Body Shop's ethical position the company would be held in the court of public opinion to high ethical standards (Syal, 2009). The company responded by severing ties with the supplier, as a means of upholding its ethical standards, even though that supplier had been their main supplier of palm oil, a key ingredient in soap (Glennie, 2010).
The topic of this paper is business ethics within Gap Inc., a multinational retail – clothing company. The foundation of its corporate ethical approach is summarized in the Code of Conduct . This paper outlines the ethical problems Gap Inc. faced in the last years and more important, the solutions they found in order to remain a successful company. It shows how large companies deal with common issues like child labour and sweatshops.
Microsoft is the global leader in computer software, and well recognized in the field of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. However, since 1990 the computing giant has been plagued by allegations of antitrust violations and monopolistic, non-competitive business practices. By answering the three questions posed in Part 5, Case 7 of Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases; this review will address how such a legal and ethical dichotomy is possible, and how the issues relate to one another in terms of corporate reputation.
Important Note: This sample essay mainly illustrates the structure of your assignment on ethical issues of a company selected by you. You may first identify two or three ethical problems and then discuss how to solve them. Remember including relevant citations to support your evidences and viewpoints.
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.
P6: This report describes the influence of political, legal and social factors on the activities of Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd and Croydon Health Services NHS. The report also identifies how the aforementioned factors may affect its stakeholders.
Companies in the U.S are taking full advantage of people in foreign countries as a means to creating profit. Illegal and hazardous products are being shipped overseas, as it is impossible to will the maxim governing their actions as a universal law. U.S companies are not regarding the well being of the consumers, in which case the U.S fails to respect these third world countries as ends and humans of intrinsic worth. Therefore, the company’s actions are morally wrong.
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).
Business ethics since the beginning of this decade has been slowly eroding; if we are to believe what we see and hear in the media. Several times a day, one can view some derogatory piece of information concerning a business. However, it must also be considered that these companies are contributing to that stigma. There have been a variety of companies and individuals who have figured prominently in the media concerning their unethical behavior.
Pepsi is a world famous carbonated soft drink made by American company PepsiCo. Its distinctive blue packaging makes a huge contrast with its long-time rival’s signature red packing, Coca-Cola. First introduced as 'Brad's Drink' in North Carolina, USA at 1893 before renaming to Pepsi at 1898, Pepsi has always trying to be the dominant brand in soft-drink market while completing with Coca-Cola, known as the Cola War, where the two brands used a series of television advertisements and marketing campaigns trying to get more influence in the soft-drink market among the consumers. Pepsi launched its new commercial advertisement ‘Live For Now Moments Anthem’ in April 2017, as a part of its previously launched Pepsi's first global campaign ‘Live For Now’ in April 2012. The protest-themed advertisement, however, not only was nowhere near Pepsi’s original expectation, but it causes a huge ethical issue, backlash and controversy that made Pepsi took down the advertisement and issue an apology in less than a few days.
In this memo, we will examine comprehensive research on some of the ethical issues that occurred as Pepsi published a commercial that harmed many people. Further, we will discuss how it had a substantial impact on a variety of stakeholders. The issue that occurred was regarding the “black lives matter” and how Pepsi did not take the issues that it still going on in our society into account.
“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
The crisis that happened at Coca Cola was a very crucial incident. It affected issues such as brand and reputation, and the company has to take action so as not to ruin its image. Coca Cola is a company with a very strong brand name all over the world. An attack like this of the NGO can lead any company to problems. Although the Center for Science and Environment attacked the safety of Coca Cola India 's products, Coke was well within the Indian government 's legal limits for pesticide residue in beverages. The fact is that the country 's standards are weak, so the problem of Sanjiv Gupta and his team is how to rebuild trust. Furtherore, Gupta tries to find ways on how he could contribute on the creation of higher standards for food and
Stakeholder-orientated framework, analyzing ethical problems on the basis of whom they affect: consumers, competitors, society as a whole •