The Coca-Cola Company & Ethical Crises - Essay Example

These ethical issues have made Coca Cola a difficult place to work in. for instance, between 2001 and 2004, the Coca Cola Company was accused of being abusive and intimidating in Colombia, following its response to the deaths of eight of its employees in 1989. Even though the link between the company and the eight deaths was not properly established, Coca Cola was left with a wounded reputation as it began to have a rough relationship with human rights activists and environmentalists. The aftermath of these developments has been Coca Cola taking on a more socially responsible mien.

As such, Coca Cola has tremendously improved its working conditions and accorded marginalized communities financial support.    There have been many cases of legitimate allegations concerning Coca Cola lying to the public or consumers concerning the recipe that is used to make Coca Cola drink. In 1999, Belgium, there was a significant ethical dilemma following Coke’s conflict interest with a major contamination scare. Resultantly, Belgian officials made a recall on all Coca Cola Company products following outbreaks which had accosted Coca Cola products consumers.

Although Coca Cola was very swift in denying its responsibility for the outbreaks, yet it remained unable to evidence to discount claims and questions against the safety of its beverage. After several bouts of resistance by Coca Cola, the company finally capitulated into making its own investigation. All the ethical issues discussed above are very serious.