You will need access to Case 18-Coke and Pepsi in India: Issues, Ethics, and Crisis Management as presented in the book.
Please respond to following prompt using Case 16 from our textbook, entitled “Coke and Pepsi in India: Issues, Ethics and Crisis Management”. While the case provides your source material (I do not expect you to collect data from additional external sources), you will need to integrate general topics, specific concepts and terms covered in the assigned readings, classroom lectures, and activities.
The general question to be answered is: Could and should The Coca-Cola Company (“Coke”)* have managed things differently in India during the period covered by Case 16? In answering this general question, please address the sub-topics below.
Using class concepts as your analytic tools:
-Identify and prioritize the most relevant CSR/Ethical issues in case. Why are they issues? Who are the stakeholders and what are the stakes? What values/principles are competing or are in conflict?
-Out of the multiple issues you discuss above, pick out the issue you consider most relevant, and analyze it using the General Ethical Decision-making Process for CSRM (pdf slides on Canvas) and the analytic frameworks embedded in it. What does each ethical framework ( Utilitarianism, Deontology, and Virtue Ethics) tell us about what is the ethical way forward in this case (use the facts of the case as you apply and explain your logic)? Does one framework win out or can they be synthesized for a more balanced decision? You may also use the Business Ethics Toolkit for additional insights.
-Finally, based off your analysis, critique Coke’s actions related to the issue you chose AND present alternative approaches they could’ve/should’ve considered. Be specific in recommending what you believe they should’ve done. How should coke move forward from the end of the case?
A well written response will seamlessly link together the data from the Case, and your subsequent analysis with the judgments/recommendations you make…in other words make sure you justify your recommended approaches with coherent logic.
Although the topics above need to be addressed in your answer, I am not looking for disconnected short answers to each question. It’s time for you pull the concepts together into a cohesive narrative (write your answers in one connected essay-but please use paragraph headings to organize sections), and show that you can see the big picture and how the class concepts are inter-related in the support of sound Corporate Social Responsibility Management. Your response should be detailed and thorough (as thorough as the data/facts in the case allow).
Personal advice: Trust in the concepts we’ve discussed in class. You’ve all shown great progress and I’m confident that you can do this well. Good luck!
* NOTE: I have consciously limited the (sub)questions’ focus to Coke in order to keep the essay’s scope manageable. On occasion you may wish to reference the parallel and/or distinct India impacts on/by PepsiCo Inc. (“Pepsi”), but do not waste your time and limited textual space with a full Pepsi analysis (as I will not score that or other “out of scope” considerations).