INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

ABHIJNA V C PES1UG22BB011

ANSWER:
“Humanistic business will stay true to its intention towards its purpose and genuinely attempt
to balance all these important values.”according to Humanistic Business by Bloomsbury
Publishing. We could say that, it is upholding the moral values towards others and being
lawful.
If we examine the instances that were mentioned in the case, we find that Coca-cola had
numerous reasons to be the center of such urban legends and be a subject of unusual
experimentation.

1.
● The cons of being popular :Coca-cola is a corporate giant that holds a large market
share of 44% in the US, has profits rising at rates of 3.82% in India even at times of
global distress like the pandemic. It has been the market from 1892 with the top
management stressing on mass advertising from the very beginning. All these are
good reasons for the rise of several competitors who aspire to outperform coca cola
one day and might be conspiring against the company.
● This also could be that just the general public was using the company's name in
negative ways to garner attention to their cause.

● Not the complete truth: The point is could be true as a lot of the urban legends and
unusual uses have been proven to be untrue. For example; there were reports that coca
cola was being experimented with as a pesticide by some farmers in Andhra Pradesh
but later it was revealed that it was a publicity stunt by local activists and farmers
But the damage was done as now they started to take the form of “fun facts”

2.
● Fear as a weapon: The urban legends and other uses such as blood cleaning with
coke, dissolving a tooth in coke, using coke for rust control could have been blown
out of proportion because of fear. A large chunk of the population consumes coke on a
 daily basis and seeing that such a product can be used for purposes that it was NOT
meant to be used for, can be quite concerning.
We observe that in all the above cases of urban legends and unusual uses, it might be either
false or exaggerated. So there is a probability that coca cola is an honest and humanistic
business and like the cases mentioned above, people and companies might be trying to frame
it.
Not the complete truth after all:
But if we change our perspective, we find that information that was exaggerated has some
truth at the core. The cases of high acidity, high traces of pesticides , high caffeine and high
fructose corn syrup have been proven true . There are instances when researchers were
financially aided by the company to report the acidity levels to be normal.

The test about traces of pesticides was conducted by an NGO in New delhi, a certified
candidate which was backed up by another government appointed committee.

The open end:

Such cases make it impossible to conclude if the Urban legends and unusual uses are
just because of attention craving competitors and farmers or because of the company
not abiding by the honest and humanistic business policies.

Answer:
● Coca cola’s popularity, built on billions of dollars, was on the brink of extinction
in India due to a report published by an NGO on unacceptable levels of toxins and
pesticides.
● The Center of Science and Environment tested the soft drinks from multinational
companies such as Pepsico. And Coca cola and found them to have 36 times and 30
times more pesticides and toxin levels.
● The companies refuted the allegations but the committee sent in by the government
backed CSE’s findings. This might have been the reason protests were held around the
year 2003.
 ● Were the human activists rights? Given that a government commissioned
committee verified the report by CSE; it is surprising how the company was still
allowed to function . the human activists criticizing the company are valid in this
situation and should have been more seriously and the investigation should have been
more transparent.

● The second issue was the insatiable thirst of coca cola for water at the cost of
Indian farmers. The company exploited the water resources at an unsustainable rate
which drove out the indian farmers from their lands.

● Coca cola in this situation is an epitome of corporate greed. Agriculture and

environmental sustainability should be given prime importance by any government
for long term growth of a country. The government should have scrutinize the
situation and made policies and regulations for the companies to protect both the
environments and the rudimentary elements to our economy who are our farmers.

Answer:

or
 ● Coca cola is a company with a long history. It has been managed by several people
throughout the years and like any corporation we cannot be sure of the inner workings
of the company as transparency is rarely assured.
● Coca-Cola, like any other large corporation, has faced various allegations and
criticisms regarding its business practices over the years, such as environmental
impact, marketing practices, labor conditions and so on.

1.Environmental impact: Coca-Cola has been criticized for the large amount of plastic
waste generated by its products, as well as for the high levels of water consumption involved
in its manufacturing process, which can have a negative impact on local water resources.

2.Marketing to children: Coca-Cola has been accused of marketing unhealthy sugary drinks
to children, contributing to the global obesity epidemic.

3.Labor practices: The company has faced criticism for its labor practices in some of its
overseas facilities, including allegations of poor working conditions and low wages for
workers.

4.Misleading advertising: Coca-Cola has been sued for false and misleading advertising,
such as claims that its products can help with weight loss or provide other health benefits that
are not scientifically supported.

The company’s response : It's important to note that the company has taken steps to address
some of these concerns and improve its ethical standards and practices. For example, it has
pledged to reduce its plastic footprint and increase its use of recycled materials, and it has
launched initiatives to support healthy lifestyles and promote physical activity.

As there is a shortage of authentic information on labor conditions that the company provides
, its history of advertising the fad drink as a healthy and tasty drink but at the same time we
public hear and see a the company trying to engage in improving ts standards ; it is not
possible to take and side and be sure of the opinion that i have.