The coca-cola Company struggles with Ethical Crises Case Study

The coca-cola Company struggles with Ethical Crises - Case Study Example Coca cola Company, one of the most revered and common soft drink manufacturers in the world has had to deal with a number of ethical complaints against it. The company has had a number of influential business people serving various positions within its ranks, including Warren Buffet who served in the company’s board. In this paper, one out of a number of the ethical misdeeds raised against Coca Cola Company will be analyzed. In this analysis, the company’s response to the issues raised by the company and how it affected the success and operations of the business will be discussed. The economic and social impacts of the complaints against the company will also be discussed in line with differential business practices and response to ethical concerns (Jennings, 2011). Ethical concerns Just like any manufacturing company, coca cola has had a number of ethical challenges especially on their manufacturing and package practices. In 1999, the company was faced with one of the most dreaded ethical concern that arose after the safety of its products was questioned. The source of this questioning arose after thirty Belgian children developed health complications after consuming a wide range of the company’s products. This forced the company to react immediately by recalling its Belgian based products to enable them conduct tests to confirm the source of the illnesses (Jennings, 2011). ... This created a major public outcry with the media giving the company a lot of negative publicity. These developments forced the company’s management to give a detailed apology to enable them gain the public confidence that was forced fading. This was the end of the company ethical manufacturing practices as France followed suit and banned all products from the company after a number of coca cola consumers developed complications. Other products from the company like the coca cola water that was being supplied to Poland reported the presence of mould, fungi that are harmful to human health (Jennings, 2011). Coca Cola Company and the community Organizations today have more roles, not just to the stakeholders and the consumers but to the general population and the society. In this regard, Coca Cola Company has not been left behind in developing proper community based projects and serving in different roles as part of its corporate social responsibility. To enable the company rega in the trust of the community as a whole and recapture the mass consumers, especially those who migrated to other brands like Pepsi, the coca cola company have developed a number of programs that targets the community (Kesler, 2012). These projects are supported and coordinated by its philanthropic and community based wing known as the coca cola foundation. Through this foundation, the company is engaged in community development and environmental programs in different parts of the world, especially in countries where it operates its subsidiaries. It funded the education on wheel program in Singapore in which students were allowed to learn different historical developments in the country through interactive mobile visits. This program has been lauded for its ability to