Ethical Analysis of Coca-Cola & Columbia/Hca
Ethical Analysis of Coca-Cola & Columbia/HCA
Case # 1: Coca-Cola
1. Why do you think Coca-Cola has had one ethical issue after another over the last decade or so?
Ethical issues have been a problem for Coca-Cola because the company has lacked quality leadership in many areas of the organization. It seems that the company was not prepared to handle disputes or incidents when they occurred. They were slow to respond in many incidents because they were ill equipped to handle the fall out. They essentially had no crisis management skills. It seems that a company as large as Coke would have already had an ethical compliance committee and a diversity council yet these two all important functions were not created until after a problem was discovered or reported. This demonstrates a clear lack of focus on the part of Coke, the company was so consumed with dominating the global market that it failed to provide adequate leadership to its firm and as a result Coke has been plagued with incident after incident that as hurt the image of the firm as well as its market share.
2. A news analyst said that Coca-Cola could become the next Enron. Do you think that is possible and defend your answer?
I do not think that Coke will become the next Enron because they have taken proactive measures to address many of the issues that have affected the organization. Coca-Cola’s leadership has never been anything close to that of Enron. Yes, Coca-Cola has had ethical issues in its past but nothing like Enron. I think that the leadership that is displayed at Coca-Cola is rooted in helping the company maintain its global position and I think the employees have a vested interest in its success. I don’t think that the employees of Coke are driven to succeed at any cost and I feel that they will put the interest of the company ahead of their own personal goals and objectives. I think the culture of Coke has encouraged employees
Case # 1: Coca-Cola
1. Why do you think Coca-Cola has had one ethical issue after another over the last decade or so?
Ethical issues have been a problem for Coca-Cola because the company has lacked quality leadership in many areas of the organization. It seems that the company was not prepared to handle disputes or incidents when they occurred. They were slow to respond in many incidents because they were ill equipped to handle the fall out. They essentially had no crisis management skills. It seems that a company as large as Coke would have already had an ethical compliance committee and a diversity council yet these two all important functions were not created until after a problem was discovered or reported. This demonstrates a clear lack of focus on the part of Coke, the company was so consumed with dominating the global market that it failed to provide adequate leadership to its firm and as a result Coke has been plagued with incident after incident that as hurt the image of the firm as well as its market share.
2. A news analyst said that Coca-Cola could become the next Enron. Do you think that is possible and defend your answer?
I do not think that Coke will become the next Enron because they have taken proactive measures to address many of the issues that have affected the organization. Coca-Cola’s leadership has never been anything close to that of Enron. Yes, Coca-Cola has had ethical issues in its past but nothing like Enron. I think that the leadership that is displayed at Coca-Cola is rooted in helping the company maintain its global position and I think the employees have a vested interest in its success. I don’t think that the employees of Coke are driven to succeed at any cost and I feel that they will put the interest of the company ahead of their own personal goals and objectives. I think the culture of Coke has encouraged employees