Coca Cola Is the Most

Coca Cola is the most famous and strongest brand name in the world. The Coke was initially invented for medicinal use in the late-19th century. Coke after moving from the hands of different businessmen reached its cult status uner the marjeting and business startegies of Asa Griggs Candler who purchased Coca-Cola and developed its unique contoured bottle. Coca cola had a clear and strong position in the consumer's mind but over the years it has somewhat diluted as the company had to face ethical issues. "After decades of growth, Coca Cola has stagnated - much to the annoyance of investors, who have watched the shares tumble from almost $70 to about $40 in the past five years" (Sterlicchi 2005).

Ethical Shortcomings

The case of Coca Cola reminds us of the significance of business ethics. Ethical lapses can seriously affect corporate operations and reputations. The incident like Burger King Market test, channel stuffing etc. would not have happened had management been active in implementing ethics at all levels of management. The lapses were also on part of management in terms of slow rsponse to a public issue. The incidents show the signs of expediency and importance of short-term gains over long-term profits. Ideally there should be a code of ethics in place to deal with the possible issues and it should be the part of the company's mission, vision, goals and reason for being. In the event of drastic issues like contamination or racial discrimination management has to adhere to stringent corporate policies & practices that are ethicaly sound. If management does not give importance to ethics then situation like Coke's develops. The problem Mostly management gives importance to all the operational, branding, marketing and technical issues because they all translate into bottom line profits. What management fails to realize that issues of ethics, corporate responsibility etc. directly or indirectly becomes part of the organizational cultutre and cultutre eventually determines the mannerism in which emoploees work and contribute to its short as well as long-term standing in the eyes of consumers as well as the corporate world. The problem of basic ethics with the management has created such torubles for Coca Cola and its reputation and standing. The management should have become proactive when one incident took place but lack of aaction and consideration for the concept of 'quick response' plague the company resulting in more issues related to ethics.

Further Degeneration

The scandals surrounding companies like Enron etc. have highlighted the issue of ethics in business. The repercussions of unethical business or personal conduct became known to all and sundry. Coke's expansion worldwide has resulted in its vast growth. The management of such a large network becomes a matter of concern. The company currently does not set common corporate goals and it allows the management of each region to sets it own goals. The brand name of Coke has been developed with a lot of efforts and the company has sustained its position at the top for decades. The problem of ethics is so grave that we have seen the organizations like Enron, Exxon, and WorldCom etc. To fighting their battles for mere survival. If Coca Cola does not pay heed to the issues at hand continues to look at ethical issues as short-term measures then it would not be hard to predict the company's eventual degeneration. The ethical lapses have occurred locally as well as internationally and a t a small scale as well as a large scale. This shows that the problem of ethics is the major and basic problem. The issues should be addressed at different levels of management starting from the top. Strong measures should be taken to address the issues locally as well as internationally. All departments: marketing, production, distribution, sales, customer service should be trained for ethics. Company should become the flag bearer of equal employment and diversity as some measure has already been taken by the management. It is not just the product that goes into market; for the company as old as Coca Cola a lot more is at stake. The voices of employees, complaints of customers, grievances of distributors and even concerns of competitors should be given importance. Ethics is the do or die situation and if not tackled and constantly monitored, then the fate of Coca Cola would not be different from that of Enron.