Ethics is a core component of contemporary business and this paper sought to perform an ethical analysis of The Coca-Cola Company. The first part of the paper looks at the degree to which the company’s guidelines and behaviors are driven by its mission and values. In this section, the paper analyses the Coca-Cola’s missions and values and how they impact on its guidelines and behaviors. Additionally, this section also looks at how the company monitors the ethical behavior of its employees. The second section of the paper examines how ethics of the company ensures stakeholder balance. Moreover, this section also examines how the management strikes a balance between customer value and profitability and how it gives back to society through its various initiatives. The third section of the paper analyses the leadership of Coca-Cola in relation to ethical behavior. This is analyzed in terms of their commitment to the organizational mission and ethical behavior. The last section of the paper examines how Coca-Cola demonstrates values through its processes.
Moral/Ethical Organization Analysis
To what Extent is the Organization Mission or Values Driven?
The Coca-Cola Company is a global leader in the soft drinks and beverages industry. As such the company is driven the organization is driven by its mission, vision as well as, values. Coca-Cola’s mission revolves around refreshing the world, inspiring happiness and making a difference in the society. Indeed, this is reflected in the company’s guideline and behaviors such as its sponsorship of sporting events and ensuring sustainability in all its actions. Furthermore, through its mission, the company weighs its actions and decisions to ensure that they reflect what they represent (The Coca-Cola Company, 2017). For example, when Coca-Cola sponsors sporting events such as the FIFA world cup, it sticks to its mission of refreshing the world and generating happiness in the world population. Generally, the company’s actions are driven by its mission.
Additionally, the values of Coca-Cola are also reflected in its guidelines and behaviors. The values include “leadership, collaboration, integrity, accountability, passion, diversity, and quality” (The Coca-Cola Company, 2017). Each of these values is reflected in the company’s behavior in several ways. For example, in 2013, the company showed its leadership, integrity and accountability values by terminating suppliers who were accused of and grabbing. The suppliers affected were from countries such as Colombia, Brazil, and India; the termination of these contracts demonstrates Coca-Cola’s commitment to its customers and the general public (Oxfam International, 2013). In essence, any company that collaborates with Coca-Cola should reflect that values that the company upholds. Furthermore, the company also reflects its diversity value as it has in place a policy that provides guidance on the same.
The mission together with values of the organization has been in place for close one hundred years. Indeed, the mission to refresh the world was formulated in 1929 and has been in place to date. Furthermore, the company has also run various campaigns such as “open happiness” to remind its consumers about its mission. In terms of its values, Coca-Cola has shown consistency by maintaining the values that were envisioned by the early founders of the company. In essence, these values have provided guidance for the company in terms of operating in a changing environment.
The Coca-Cola Company also monitors the ethical conduct through its governance and ethics program. All employees of the organization are required to read and understand the code of business conduct and follow its requirements both in the workplace and their communities. To ensure compliance, the company has put in place and EthicsLine call center that is available to all consumers around the world. Translators are available to ensure that any unethical behavior reported by the customers is filed (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016). Any employee who fails to toe the company’s ethical code is dismissed.
To what extent does the organization demonstrate stakeholder balance?
Coca-Cola acknowledges the diversity of its basic stakeholders as well as their impacts on strategy. The management recognizes that it needs to anticipate their views so as to come up with relevant strategies and uphold the company’s reputation. Coca-Cola engages with its shareholders and analysts through Annual General Meetings, outcome briefings, quarterly roadshows, webcasts, and ongoing consultations with analysts as well as investors. The company maintains the welfare of its employees through sustainable engagement as well as values index assessments, and quarterly CEO management interactions. Additionally, the company facilitates yearly leadership meetings, worker communication platforms including social media. Further, Coca-Cola employees are allowed to access community and lifestyle program, whistleblower hotlines, and they can voice their concerns through the Employee Works Council.
Similarly, the company acknowledges the impact that customers have as their key stakeholders. The company ensures that the client's concerns are considered during decision making through regular visits, joint business planning, customer care centers as well as committed account teams. Consumers of the Coca-Cola products, on the other hand, get access to consumer hotlines, local websites, surveys as well as focus groups. The organization engages its suppliers through shared value development initiatives, yearly supplier conference, supplier guiding principles as well as packaging association. According to the Coca-Cola Company (2017), the management gets in touch with communities through regular plant visits, meetings, and alliances on common issues, sponsorship activities and offering lectures at colleges and universities. It is evident that Coca-Cola has divided its organization setting into identifiable stakeholders thus making the process of decision making more manageable.
The company also strikes an appropriate balance between delivering value to the customer and profit for the company. First, Coca-Cola ensures that customer value is achieved by offering a diverse product portfolio. This aspect ensures that customers are satisfied while the company is generating revenues in return. Coca-Cola also ensures customer value through partnerships with suppliers; these collaborations ensure that they share mutual values of realizing organizational goals. Additionally, customer value is also realized through the support of sustainable communities around the world. In general, through these initiatives, Coca-Cola maximizes its returns while at the same time being mindful of overall responsibilities to customers.
The Coca-Cola Company has developed a resilient legacy of giving back to the community. It is dedicated to giving back at least 1 percent of its annual operating income. This is achieved through donations as well as financing the Coca-Cola Foundation which is often involved in various charitable activities. According to The Coca-Cola Company (2017), it is estimated that its foundation has granted an estimated $917 million to organizations as well as communities across the world for over three decades. Notably, the Coca-Cola Foundation promotes programs that are aimed at providing access to clean water as well as sanitation, engaging agricultural ingredient farmers in advancing sustainable water utilization while creating awareness regarding water concerns among societies. Further, Coca-Cola is dedicated to the economic empowerment of women across the world. In Myanmar, for instance, the company worked closely with PACT which is a global NGO, to ensure that women are provided programs that acquaint them to land rights, savings accounts, domestic violence law as well as common business skills.
To what extent does organizational leadership demonstrate moral/ethical behavior and commitment to the mission?
Coca-Cola’s top leadership has on several occasions conveyed the importance of ethical practice in their business. The company has put in place a code of business conduct that ensures ethical practice. Notably, the leadership of the company is tasked with ensuring that the conduct of each employee is ethical. For example, the leadership of the company provides ethics training to all its associates to ensure compliance. The CEO of the company has also demonstrated his commitment to ethical practice by formulating the anti-bribery policy. This policy has led the increase of ethical officers by fifty percent and screening of suppliers has also been enhanced.
The leadership of the organization also keeps their word through their actions. For example, when the company realized that some of its suppliers were engaging in unethical conduct, the top leadership decided to terminate any further contracts. The top leadership also keeps their word as none of them have been caught in an ethical scandal in recent times.
The organizational leadership also leads their personal and professional lives with great personal integrity. For example, the current CEO of the company was appointed in 2017. However, he has been with the company for over twenty years having joined in 1996. The CEO has worked with integrity throughout his career in Europe and America. Moreover, other executives of the company also ensure integrity in their practice as none of them has been caught up in scandals.
To what extent does the organization demonstrate its values in its processes?
The Coca-Cola system has been credited for containing the highest standards as well as processes to ensure constant quality from concentrate production, bottling, and the actual product delivery. The packaging suppliers, for instance, are required to determine, document as well as implement and sustain the quality of food safety management system in accordance with the company’s requirements (The Coca-cola Company, 2018). Additionally, the Coca-Cola packaging suppliers are required to implement a policy which shows its dedication to providing quality products which are safe and appropriate for contact with foodstuffs. Further, packaging suppliers are required to utilize risk assessment procedures to establish quality control points as well as food safety threats.
Regarding the immediate consumption equipment, the Coca-Cola company suppliers are required to implement a procedure to ensure that the manufactured equipment is in line with applicable regulatory requirements relative to where the equipment is manufactured as well as delivered. Further, suppliers are required to uphold a program to cater for unplanned events, potential emergencies as well as disasters. Ultimately, the Coca-Cola operating requirements combines business and quality objectives while aligning them with proper metrics to oversee performance.
The ethical business conduct also provides for the training of employees ethical compliance. Each new associate that joins the company must undergo rigorous ethical training where they are taught about the company’s values and standards of practice. The compliance training also includes as aspects of how employees are expected to handle ethical issues in the workplace. The training on ethical practice at Coca-Cola is facilitated by the ethics and compliance office (The Coca-Cola Company, 2017). The training the company provided by the company ensures that they ethical practiced is sustained. Furthermore, the company also monitors the conduct of all employees constantly to ensure ethical behavior.
References
Oxfam International. (2013). The Coca-Cola Company declares “zero tolerance” for land grabs in supply chain. Oxfam.org. Retrieved fromhttps://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2013-11-08/coca-cola-company-declares-zero-tolerance-land-grabs-supply-chain
The Coca-Cola Company, Foundation, Leadership, System, History, " Reports et al. (2016). Governance " Ethics. The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved fromhttp://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/workplace-overview/governance-ethics/governance-and-ethics
The Coca-Cola Company, Main, O., Journey, A., Mission, V., Inclusion, D., " Rights, H. et al. (2017). Mission, Vision " Values. The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved fromhttp://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/mission-vision-values
The Coca-cola Company. (2018). Stakeholder Engagement. Coca-colahellenic.com. Retrieved fromhttps://coca-colahellenic.com/en/sustainability/sustainability-approach-and-performance/stakeholder-engagement/
The Coca-cola Company. (2018). Stakeholder Engagement. Coca-colahellenic.com. Retrieved from https://coca-colahellenic.com/en/sustainability/sustainability-approach-and-performance/stakeholder-engagement/
The Coca-Cola Company. (2018). Supplier Expectations. The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/workplace-overview/suppliers/supplier-expectations
