Coca Cola’s CSR Issues, Essay Example

Background

Coca-Cola is the global biggest beverage corporation that refreshes its clients with over 500 sparkling, as well as still brands. Through the globe’s largest distribution network, consumers in over 200 nations enjoy the company’s beverage at the rate of over 1.8 million servings every day. The company is confronted with a number of opportunities and challenges that have made the company vulnerable to some of the corporate social responsibility issues (Hawkins, 2006).

Corporation’s Corporate Social Responsibility Issue

The CSR is the change in the leadership in the company has made Coca-Cola vulnerable to regarding ethics decisions and issues. The constant changes in the top level management from 1999to 2004 left the company in a vulnerable situation, where the inconsistencies in leadership directly affected principal stakeholders. During this period, because of the changes in leadership consumers experienced negative consequences due to the company are manufacturing practices (Mangos, 2014).

Corporation’s Current Situation

This affected the performance of the company where some employees were retrenched, or laid-off, consumers were also affected after taking contaminated products. The company had to reduce the number of suppliers and distributors. The competitors benefited during this time because the unethical practice had made consumers switch to other companies that were rivals of the company (Hawkins, 2006).

Conscious Capitalisim

Coca-Cola fulfills the “conscious capitalism” by making people in the world more conscious of the opportunities in the world through sustainable, entrepreneurial and social commitments. They use the resources they accrue from the business to impact the world in many ways (Hawkins, 2006).

CSR Now And In The Future

The company reacted to these issues by developing programs and policies to deal future occurrences. The company has developed policies that focus on the processes of production and distribution. This has been coupled with an effective quality management and assurance programs. The company has solicited the assistance of an outside agency to maintain a diverse labor force. The two CSR forces that have driven the corporation towards embracing effective CSR practices are sustainability and globalization (Ferrell et al, 2008).

Coca-Cola has been involved in programs that are aimed at increasing its CSR initiatives. These programs include energy efficiency and climate protection, education on HIV/AIDS, and water stewardship. These initiatives have received full green light from the main stakeholders because they were involved in every decision-making process (Mangos, 2014).

Lessons Learned

The company learned from the CSR issues they were passing through those CSR initiatives are important towards sustainability and profitability of the business. The company understood that they have the responsibility to maintain shareholders’ interest as they undertake their CSR practices through addressing social demands, as well as fashioning accountability to all their shareholders (Hawkins, 2006).

References

Ferrell, O., Ferrell, L. & Fraedrich, J. (2008).Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, 7th Edition.

Hawkins, D. E. (2006) .Corporate Social Responsibility: Balancing Tomorrow’s Sustainability and Today’s Profitability.NY: Palgrave MacMillan.

Hopkins, M. (2003). The Planetary Bargain: Corporate Social Responsibility Matters. London: Earthscan Publication.

Mangos, S. (2014). Coca Cola Hellenic Inc. Corporate Social responsibility Report and GRI statements. Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia, viewed on 2014.