Cocacola and Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cocacola and Ethics - Essay Example Coca Cola has long been embroiled in competition with other beverage brands such as Pepsi. The company has marketing tactics that are largely anticompetitive. It is aggressive in its quest for joint ventures, mergers, and acquisition, in a manner that does not encourage perfect competition and sustainability in the market. It contravened European laws in its aggressive tactics through rebates and discounts to crowd shelves with its products (457). Another issue is health concerns from contamination and pollution. There are reports of people becoming ill, specifically in Belgium, because of the consumption of Coca Cola products. The cause was the improper processing of a batch of carbon dioxide. The slow response to the situation, and its dismissal as a minor issue worsened the situation because of the public outcry on health concerns. There were reports in France about health effects of the company’s products, and later mold-contaminated products arrived in Poland (456). Health issues also include its relationship to obesity and claims that some of its ingredients contribute to cancer. The company has faced court cases from African American employees on racial discrimination. The areas of discrimination, in the 1999 case, involved delayed promotion, pitiable remuneration, and performance evaluation. African Americans earned less than their Caucasian counterparts did in comparable jobs, regardless of qualification, skill, and work output. This came after its attempt corporate social responsibility to purchase most of its products from minority vendors. It had to spend millions to settle the claims and lessen public unrest about the racial diversity issues. Coca-Cola has been accused of groundwater contamination and depletion. Research studies indicate that its bottling plant in India released pesticides that contaminated the water. It encountered a drop in sales because of the pollution saga. In addition, the public accused Coca Cola of