Coca Cola India
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International Management Strategy MKT B890
Assignment 1
Student Name: Sin May Yin Jennifer
Student ID: S11005210
Tutorial Group: 01
Introduction:
To ease the discussion in the 4 areas required, an introduction has been added to summarize the challenges faced by Coca cola in India. More details have been added from various sources to provide a more detail picture outlining the plight of Coke in India.
Coke has suffered the below difficulties when operating in India. Reports of Center for Science and Environment (CSE) release in 2003 and 2006 claiming its drink contained unsafe level of pesticide. CSE tested the soft drink under European Economic Commission (EEC) standards and find out samples sold in India contained pesticides 30 to 36 times more than the EEC limits. However, the same test conducted to samples of Coke’s soft drinks sold in the US can meet the standards (R. Harish and Bharathi S. Gopal, 2008). This leaded to six states imposing restrictions on the sale of Coca Cola’s soft drink while the Kerala Government imposed a complete ban on the sale of soft drinks from Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola across the state. Brand image of Coke were vastly affected in light of these government actions (Viswanathan, 2003).
Further, Indian government’s Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) further found that the sludge at eight Coca-Cola bottling plants has high levels of lead contaminating soil and water sources nearby (Burnett & Welford, 2007).
It was also accused of setting up production facilities in drought prone areas in India like Mehdiganj and Kaladera, where the ground water has been depleted (refers to figure 1), water shortage was resulted and locals’ livelihood was worsened, which leaded to protests from local villagers (Viswanathan, 2003).
Further, Baker (2006) reported tests by an independent agency conducted on behalf of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had confirmed the plant’s sludge, which the
International Management Strategy MKT B890
Assignment 1
Student Name: Sin May Yin Jennifer
Student ID: S11005210
Tutorial Group: 01
Introduction:
To ease the discussion in the 4 areas required, an introduction has been added to summarize the challenges faced by Coca cola in India. More details have been added from various sources to provide a more detail picture outlining the plight of Coke in India.
Coke has suffered the below difficulties when operating in India. Reports of Center for Science and Environment (CSE) release in 2003 and 2006 claiming its drink contained unsafe level of pesticide. CSE tested the soft drink under European Economic Commission (EEC) standards and find out samples sold in India contained pesticides 30 to 36 times more than the EEC limits. However, the same test conducted to samples of Coke’s soft drinks sold in the US can meet the standards (R. Harish and Bharathi S. Gopal, 2008). This leaded to six states imposing restrictions on the sale of Coca Cola’s soft drink while the Kerala Government imposed a complete ban on the sale of soft drinks from Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola across the state. Brand image of Coke were vastly affected in light of these government actions (Viswanathan, 2003).
Further, Indian government’s Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) further found that the sludge at eight Coca-Cola bottling plants has high levels of lead contaminating soil and water sources nearby (Burnett & Welford, 2007).
It was also accused of setting up production facilities in drought prone areas in India like Mehdiganj and Kaladera, where the ground water has been depleted (refers to figure 1), water shortage was resulted and locals’ livelihood was worsened, which leaded to protests from local villagers (Viswanathan, 2003).
Further, Baker (2006) reported tests by an independent agency conducted on behalf of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had confirmed the plant’s sludge, which the
Bibliography: California Management Review, Vol. 47, No. 1, Fall 2004 Baker, M., “India: Coca-Cola Attacked for ‘Toxic’ Fertiliser Gifts to Farmers”, http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/CSRfiles/page.php?Story_ID=1011, 2006, retrieved from World Wide Web on 7 Oct 2012 marketing implications: An analysis, Cross Cultural Management, Vol. 15 No. 4, 2008 pp. 365-377 Bhagat, R Burnett, M. and Welford, R. (2007). Case study: Coca-Cola and water in India: episode 2. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 14(5), 298-304. Chella, G. (2007). The changing face of Indian work culture. The Hindu Business Online 2007091051810900.htm. (retrieved 15.2.2008). Corporate Responsibility Review, Coca Cola, 2006 Data Monitor, Soft drinks in India, Industry report, Reference Code: 0102-0802, May 2011 Harish, R. and Gopal, B. S., Coca-Cola in India: A Responsible Corporate Citizen? The Icfai University Journal of Corporate Governance, Vol. VII, No. 4, 2008 Hofstede, G Hofstede, G. (2001), Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. Tuesday, April 17, 2012 http://www.fnbnews.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=31715&SectionId=17, retrieves from World Wide Web on 20 Oct 2012 Lewis, R