Coca-Cola Ethical Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Coca-Cola Ethical Issue - Essay Example Coca-Cola has been engaging in philanthropy in the societies where it operates but it has been found guilty of racial discrimination; they discharge their economic and legal responsibilities as well but they have not been able to remain ethical in their stand on several issues. The top managers and the directors are the ethics teachers of an organization. They serve as a role model because their behavior and actions reveal, test and shape the character of the organization. Coca-Cola claims to lead by example (Company website) but reports suggest otherwise. Clement (2006) believes that top management commitment is essential to develop an ethical organizational culture. Ethical decision making has to be integrated into a firm’s culture. The antitrust dispute and the channel stuffing could happen because of lack of top management commitment to the organization. The top management commitment is not surprising given the high turnover of top management. While the firm does have ethi cs programs and codes of conduct but the success of such efforts is limited unless the support of top management is forthcoming. Because of frequent changes in top management, the company was ill-equipped to handle issues internally. The filing of a whistle-blowing suit by a mid-level employee demonstrates that their procedure for handling internal complaints was inadequate. Whistle-blowing occurs when management and employee relationship lacks professionalism (Kaplan & Kleiner, 2000). Whistleblowing becomes essential for companies such as Coca-Cola where the top management is unaware of events taking place at the lower level. Small issues can be handled as a part of the daily routine but remain neglected. Employees bring it to the notice of the seniors only when the situation becomes difficult. When Whitley disclosed accounting irregularities he sent a detailed report to the President of the company but instead of dealing with it internally and professionally, he was fired (Ford, Stephens & Cooper, 2007).