Business Ethics and Social Responsibility of Coca-Cola Company - Assignment Example

Business Ethics and Social Responsibility The Coca-Cola Company since 2002 has been actively involved several projects that focus on controlling the rate HIV/ AIDS spread in Africa. Coca- Cola realized that it had to implement a damage control because of the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in the continent threatened its economic viability and operations within this emerging market (Zhang 2010). The CSR implemented by Coca- Cola Company in this case is both a matter of ethics and strategy. Since HIV/ AIDS now qualifies as a workplace issue, Coca-Cola together with its bottling partners in Africa, formulated a distinctive programme concerned with handling HIV/AIDS in its all workplaces across the continent (Zhang 2010).

The Company identifies HIV/ AIDS as a world epidemic and observes the role of the workplace in preventing and limiting its spread. Coca-Cola has also collaborated with several NGOs and pharmaceuticals companies in Africa in providing services such as, free HIV testing and counseling, antiretroviral drugs provision, caring for children orphaned by AIDS and creating international preventive and awareness campaigns (Zhang 2010). This CSR project implemented by Coca-Cola Company is currently covering an estimate of over 60,000 system Coca-Cola employees together with their partners and children (Zhang 2010).

By implementing such CSR project, Coca- Cola Company is not only exercising its ethical and social responsibility to its employees in Africa, but also strategically protecting its businesses and operations. The stakeholders at Coca-Cola Company include its customers, suppliers, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), industry, academia, industry, bottlers and partners. Coca-Cola is a multinational business that covers that an extensive consumer base in over 200 countries (Zhang 2010).

Currently, the company stands as the World’s No. 1 still and sparkling beverage distributor. It also boasts of over 500 brands and some of its notable brands include, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Minute Maid, Fanta, Sprite and Del Valle. Reference Zhang, F. (2010). Progressive Thinking For a Global Change. The Foreign Policy Center, 1-13.