WEEK 5 Discussion

My selected company is Coca Cola. Coca-Cola is dedicated to contributing positively to the life of the whole society, particularly in the take care of consumers, employees and the environment. To help progress the city and the area in which we work and live. Coca Cola attentions on the subsequent main areas of social activity: funding for sports, a lively and healthy lifestyle, education and development of youth ; environmental Defense; social and charity programs.

As the largest beverage producer in the world, Coca-Cola distributes its products almost everywhere in the world. Even in villages almost cut off from civilization, one finds the brown shower. This can be pretty scary but is another topic. Coca-Cola supports the project The Last Mile with its huge distribution network . The initiative will ensure that drugs reach even the most remote areas of Tanzania. According to Coca-Cola , the drug delivery times in Tanzania have been significantly reduced from 30 to 5 days since 2010 thanks to the project. The project was also extended to Ghana in 2012. In addition to Coca-Cola, NGOs and governments are also involved. Here There is an infographic on the project including all organizations involved. (Banks, 2016).

So far so good. Drugs are urgently needed, and Coca-Cola helps to procure them. But one question comes to mind: is not that double standard in its purest form? A company that excuses (excuses the generalization and expression) children and is certainly responsible for so many diseases in Western society, ensures that diseases are treated? What is this concept? Do damage here and fight there? If a child has diabetes here, we have helped elsewhere to transport malaria medications.

Of course, these statements are exaggerated, but I think it is important that such actions are not simply accepted or heroized in the worst case. It must be clear to everyone that this is the calculation of a huge group that does not have a sustainable origin. A group that has no conscience, shows little social responsibility and only the goal of making a profit. Nonetheless, they have helped people in Tanzania (if you can believe their reports). Even if there is no conclusive assessment, we all need to be aware of such relationships again and again and to critically consider any corporate social responsibility campaign.

An important area in the corporate social responsibility of the Company is the support of volunteer initiatives, as well as the development and implementation of special corporate programs designed to help reveal the volunteer potential of employees The Company regularly conducts voluntary trips to orphanages with training and development programs, campaigns to collect donations for those in need, and joint projects with non-profit organizations. In 2013, 904 employees took part in volunteer projects in the different regions, and in 2014 - 1,153. This is 21.5% more than in the previous year, which indicates an increase in employee interest in corporate volunteer initiatives. For several years, the company has been cooperating with the PLARUS plastics processing plant within the framework of the Take plastic into circulation program implemented (Gaither & Austin, 2016). Containers for collecting plastic bottles are installed in the city, which are processed at the factory into plastic granules, which are then used for further production. Coca-Cola also traditionally supports sports events and competitions, and we are talking not only about professional sports, but also about mass, non-professional, amateur sports tournaments and holidays. Opening of workout sites, support for sports in cycling and running, for children and youth non-professional football “Leather Ball - Coca-Cola Cup” is only a small part of sports events to promote a healthy lifestyle and sports, implemented with the assistance of Coca-Cola.

References

Banks, H. (2016). The business of peace: Coca-Cola’s contribution to stability, growth, and

optimism. Business Horizons, 59(5), 455–461. https://doi-org.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/10.1016/j.bushor.2016.03.018

Gaither, B. M., & Austin, L. (2016). Campaign and corporate goals in conflict: Exploring

company-issue congruence through a content analysis of Coca-Cola’s twitter feed. Public Relations Review, 42(4), 698–709. https://doi-org.southuniversity.libproxy.edmc.edu/10.1016/j.pubrev.2016.07.001

Reply to Christopher Parkman

Thank you for your informative post. You have decided Pepsi co. this week it is really interesting to read your post because I have selected Coca cola company. CSR means the voluntary contribution of business enterprises to sustainable development that goes beyond legal requirements. Corporate social responsibility therefore stands for responsible action in the actual business activity, over ecologically relevant aspects up to the social relations with coworkers and I feel you are justified by explaining it in detail.

Reply to Sonia Gomez

Hello Sonia, thank you for your thought-provoking post . yes you are right that CSR is important for companies. Business development is possible only in a developed society, therefore, with the help of CSR companies are trying to ensure long-term existence in a competitive market. Implementing the principles of CSR, companies work with several areas of social programs. The most common are: staff development, health and safe working conditions, environmental activities and resource conservation, local community development and good business practice.