Ethical Issues in Coca-Cola Company
Section I
The diversity of Coca-Cola’s workforce has been a significant reason for the challenges facing the organization despite its good reputation across the world. The Coca-Cola Company has been on the spot for unethical treatment of its workers, an issue that has exposed the company to harsh criticism as well as a series of dilemmas emanating from attempts to overcome the issues.
Section II
The maintenance of a company’s workforce is essential for the success of any organization in the long run. However, the success of large companies may be used to cushion the public from identifying the issues happening within the organization. The Coca-Cola Company has faced significant challenges in managing its diverse workforce since most of the company’s activities have been received negatively on different parts. The growth of the Coca-Cola Company across borders has exposed it to diverse cultures, which have come with different opinions concerning. Besides, the company prioritizes local employees in the countries where they have opened their businesses. Currently, the Coca-Cola Company has managed to establish its business in more than two hundred countries, and the diversity has been too huge for the company to bear. Unfortunately, the company has been applying management strategies that have been interpreted differently among employees, with some citing racial discrimination and others, citing disrespect for workers’ rights. Moreover, the employer-employee relationship ethical issues emanate from dilemmas caused by the diversity of the workforce.
People from different parts of the world have different definitions of workers’ rights as well as social responsibility. When a company takes its business into a government’s territory, the requirement is that the business adheres to the laws of the land. However, the objectives of the company are always prioritized over the government’s requirements. Also, most territories are founded on laws that may contradict the objectives of the company and could lead to severe challenges. Business ethics require that businesses should adhere to the legal processes set within their business environments. Therefore, a business that continues to operate against the laws of the land is said to be going against the ethical standards. The Coca-Cola Company has faced serious dilemmas attempting to come into terms with the legalities of the territories that it has managed to take its business (Kaptein, 2017). The issue of employee unions has hit the company hard in the past since unions in different countries have different requirements for employers.
Workers’ unions pose significant challenges to employers due to their influence on judicial procedures. Companies have found themselves in dilemmas caused by expectations from workers’ unions. The Coca-Cola Company has, for a long time, been a victim of workers’ unions’ dilemmas. However, the strategies and efforts to overcome the challenges have exposed the company to serious criticism as well as conspiracies. For example, the company has been accused of assassinating its employees for their involvement with workers’ unions. In 1989, eight Coca-Cola workers died in what was believed to be the company’s move to discourage workers from joining workers’ unions. Also, several other workers were exposed to intimidation and threats to discourage them from continuing to be members of union members. Although the claims cannot be substantiated, the Coca-Cola Company can be blamed for doing little to ensure the saved of its workers at the period when its workers needed protection. The events have since then caused sour relationships between the company and workers who are members of workers’ unions and especially where the membership to unions is responsible for poor alienation to the company’s objectives. Moreover, some employees have been caught in between the company’s legal battles with health activists.
The Coca-Cola Company has not invested in diversifying its business and has instead fought to maintain its stay in the market. However, the company has been a frequent victim of health and human rights activists’ legal battles. The most common battle has been on the move to challenge the Coca-Cola Company from producing products that have been associated with health complications. The battles have always put the company in a dilemma in attempting to maintain a strong workforce and ensuring that its employees are not suffering from the activities of the company. When a person works for a company that is considered an enemy of the people, they are judged as being part of the peoples’ enemy (Crane, Matten, Glozer & Spence, 2019). The dilemma has emanated from the company’s inability to ensure that the criticism has been taken positively and ensured that its products are free from the ingredients that have been blamed for health complications.
Section III
The relationship between the Coca-Cola Company and its employees has been on the rocks for several years. The diversity in Coca-Cola’s workforce has given the company a dilemma in aligning the performance of the employees to the main objectives and goals of the company. When a company fails to take charge of an ethical issue, the employees tend to get harmed. For example, the claims of the death of the workers in 1989 have been left unaddressed while the concern on health risks associated with Coca-Cola products has been ignored. Employees have continued to suffer from consumers blaming them for the health complications associated with the company’s products. However, the company has not suffered to the extent of losing its good reputation, and therefore the ethical issue can be addressed to maintain the company’s reputation.
The first recommendation for a company struggling to improve employee relationships would be to invest in honoring social responsibility. Large companies are expected to give back to the societies hosting them as an appreciation for a favorable business environment. However, social responsibility may not be an obligation in all the territories but has more benefits than the disadvantages that could be pointed out. The society meets at personal levels with the company’s employees and also provides the workforce required by the company (Nikpour, 2017). If the society realizes the company’s integrity in honoring its social responsibility, the employees will have an easy time interacting with the locals, and performance will be boosted. Also, the local employees will be motivated to work towards achieving the goals of the company after seeing the company’s commitment to social responsibility. Eventually, the impacts will be replicated to the employee relationships because the employees will recognize the company’s commitment to providing better working conditions. Moreover, the company can address the various criticism claims and show its concern for the issues.
Ethical issues may have a significant impact on a company’s productivity, especially when they affect its workforce. The Coca-Cola Company has tried to address most of the ethical issues, but it needs more stringent measures. For example, the company came up with ethics and compliance offices to address the issues in various territories. However, the company needs to improve its efforts by ensuring that every branch has an ethics and compliance office. Also, the goods produced and distributed under the company’s name should be thorough to ensure their safety. The employees should not be allowed to suffer on behalf of the company as that would worsen the already-sinking employee relationships. Furthermore, the company should have well-stipulated policies to protect its employees from cases of racial discrimination and intimidation. Generally, the company will be saved from strategies that may expose it to more ethical issues is it sets strategies to address the ethical issues that have already been identified.
Section IV
In sum, the Coca-Cola Company has witnessed criticism due to unethical treatment of its workers, an issue that has exposed the company to harsh criticism as well as a series of dilemmas emanating from attempts to overcome the issues. The growth of the Coca-Cola Company across borders has exposed it to diverse cultures, which have come with different opinions concerning. Some events in the past have caused sour relationships between the company and workers who are members of workers’ unions and especially where the membership to unions is responsible for poor alienation to the company’s objectives. However, the company has not suffered to the extent of losing its good reputation, and therefore the ethical issue can be addressed to maintain the company’s reputation. The Coca-Cola Company should consider the recommendations made since its long term performance lies in the performance of its employees.
References
Crane, A., Matten, D., Glozer, S., & Spence, L. (2019). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press, USA.
Kaptein, M. (2017). The battle for business ethics: A struggle theory. Journal of Business Ethics, 144(2), 343-361.
Nikpour, A. (2017). The impact of organizational culture on organizational performance: The mediating role of employee’s organizational commitment. International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 6, 65-72.