Coca-Cola's corporate social responsibility initiatives in the workplace

Coca-Cola CSR-WorkPlace

Coca-Cola CSR - WorkPlace

Humans and the Workplace

Human beings spend a large number of hours working, and where they work can really matter. If they have a poor environment in which to work, they can end up miserable and unhappy - and that is not good for their productivity (Dubinsky, et al., 1995). Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to make the workplace great, so people can enjoy their work as much as possible and so they can feel safe and secure and comfortable when they go to work for the day. While not all working environments are ideal, all of them can be made better with some effort and some understanding. One of the most important things to consider is that every person is different. There are many different attitudes, styles, and beliefs in a workplace - especially if someone works for a large company. Because of all the diversity, there can be tension - but it can be avoided or at least controlled when people are willing to work together to find common ground (Depree, 1990).

Diversity is one of the best things about a big workplace, and it can be used to everyone's advantage if it is done the right way. For example, because different people have different perspectives, there are many ideas that will come up in meetings. Instead of only considering the ideas that one person likes, or even the ideas that the majority likes, it is much more important to consider all of the realistic ideas that have been presented. People who are different do not exist in a bubble. There are others like them, and it is possible that the company is ignoring an important market by not considering the ideas that one person has and that might be significant. Listening is one of the best things that people can do for one another in a workplace environment, even if there is never complete agreement on many of the thoughts and ideas that are provided to consider.

Without being able to listen and communicate well, a person who is focused on making sure that he or she is part of the team may end up ignored instead. Miscommunication is a serious problem for many workplaces and all kinds of companies. Big or small, no company is immune to the ideas behind miscommunication. It is very easy to misunderstand what someone is saying or what that person means by what is said. That can be exacerbated by things like body language and culture. People from different cultures do not speak or act or gesture the same way as people from other cultures, and the clash between the different cultures can make for a very confusing mix of styles. If someone really wants to make sure that he or she is getting along well with others and being understood, listening is key - and so is repeating the information that a person feels he or she heard back to the speaker, in order to make sure that nothing was lost in translation.

The workplace can be daunting because of culture, diversity, and other issues, but that does not have to make the workplace un-enjoyable or cause it to become a place where the employees are not comfortable. Being open and honest about issues that come up, and striving to work together as easily and clearly as possible are both vital aspects of being an employee of any company. Larger companies can sometimes make people feel as though they are lost in the shuffle, but really they are not - they just need to make their voices heard and pay attention to what others have to say so that there can be cohesiveness and strength throughout the entire organization. When that is achieved, it is very hard for a business to fail. Teamwork, true teamwork, is far and away one of the greatest things that any company can get from its employees, and when it gets that it will be able to move forward and head off any problems that may come up from competition or from anything else that happens in or to the company as a whole.

HIV / AIDS

Diseases like HIV / AIDS are serious problems, and they have been problems in other countries for a long time. For people who live in the U.S. they are a concern, but most people understand how to prevent HIV / AIDS and they know that, if they do contract the disease, there are many different medications they can take that will help them live a long life. People who have HIV no longer have a death sentence, provided they take their medications correctly and do not develop complications. Those who have AIDS, which is what HIV becomes if left untreated, are in a more serious crisis with their health - but they are still living much longer than they did in the past as new and better medications become available to help them treat their disease and any complications that might arise from it. Overall, though, the biggest problem with HIV / AIDS is that there are so many people in countries like Africa who are contracting it and who cannot get proper treatment for it (Batchelder, 2002).

A large segment of the population is sick in that country with HIV / AIDS, and more children are being born to mothers who are infected. Most of the time, the infection passes to the children before or during birth, and that drastically shortens the life spans for these children (Cohen, 2005). This is a sad state of affairs, but there is only so much that can be done. The people in Africa and other countries where HIV / AIDS is rampant need education, but they also need supplies like condoms to protect themselves from disease. If they do not understand about protection and/or they do not understand that they could catch a deadly disease if they are not careful with their sexual life, HIV / AIDS will continue to spread. There was a time not that long ago when scientists had no idea how to treat HIV / AIDS in any country, and there was speculation that the disease could wipe out very large segments of the population. That did not happen, of course.

However, just because that did not come true does not mean that anyone should get complacent about HIV / AIDS. The creation of better medications stopped or at least greatly slowed the spread of HIV / AIDS in developed countries, but it did virtually nothing for countries like Africa where supplies of life-saving drugs are generally not available and more people are getting sick every day. There is also the concern that a new strain of HIV / AIDS will appear, or that the virus will change enough that the current drugs will lose some of their effectiveness or stop working altogether. By paying attention to what researchers are doing and by working to help people in less fortunate countries, it is possible for companies to do big things to slow the spread of diseases like HIV / AIDS. That is very good news for people who live in places without much access to medical care, because they do not get much help from anyone for any reason. They may seem like a lost cause, but there is plenty that can be done to help them have a better quality of life.

Ignoring world health problems like HIV / AIDS is not the way to go. Even if a person does not know someone who has been directly touched by the virus, an expanding circle of friends would likely turn up at least one person who has been related to, involved with, or friends with someone who contracted HIV / AIDS. Not everyone gets the virus through sexual activity, either. It can also be spread through sharing needles to inject drugs and through blood transfusions. Understanding that sexual activity is not the only way to contract HIV / AIDS helps to take some of the stigma off of the virus, and allow more people who have the disease to be accepted. That is progress, and it is very important no matter whether that progress is being made in a developed country or in one that is not as developed. All progress that leads people toward a common goal of better health is good progress, and big companies (and even small companies) can play a huge role in that progress.