Coca Cola Water Neutrality Initiative
1. What was the issue facing The Coca Cola Company in this case? What stakeholders were concerned and how did their expectations differ from the company’s performance?
The major issue facing The Coca Cola Company is the availability of water. Because all aspects of the production are dependent on this resource, from the company’s perspective water is the key component of profitability. Other stakeholders, such as residents of the surrounding area and organizations such as the World Wildlife Foundation and other environmental groups had a different point of view; profitability was not a concern. These stakeholders were concerned with long term effects of demand on the water supply and contamination of water runoff.
2. If you applied the strategic radar screens model for this case, which of the eight environments would be most significant and why?
The Coca Cola Company (TCCC) seemed to that it did not do deep environmental analysis before they operated in the state of Kerla. If we applied the strategic radar screens model for this case, we believe that the Geophysical and Social environments would be most significant. The plant was surrounded with villagers that would need the water to live, and the mass production capacity for the soft drinks deprived the local villagers of supplies for drinking and irrigation. However, TCCC was not concerned with the physical surroundings of the company’s plant and the effects it would have on the village. In addition to the lack of geophysical analysis, TCCC forgot to study the social environment. The India Resource Center seemed to have an influence on the people in India and a non-profit organization with one full-time employee was able to impact the sales of the company and shut down its plant. We believe that a company must scan and analyze the environment surrounding its operations for potential threats.
3. Apply the issue management life cycle process model to this case. Which stages of the process can you identify
The major issue facing The Coca Cola Company is the availability of water. Because all aspects of the production are dependent on this resource, from the company’s perspective water is the key component of profitability. Other stakeholders, such as residents of the surrounding area and organizations such as the World Wildlife Foundation and other environmental groups had a different point of view; profitability was not a concern. These stakeholders were concerned with long term effects of demand on the water supply and contamination of water runoff.
2. If you applied the strategic radar screens model for this case, which of the eight environments would be most significant and why?
The Coca Cola Company (TCCC) seemed to that it did not do deep environmental analysis before they operated in the state of Kerla. If we applied the strategic radar screens model for this case, we believe that the Geophysical and Social environments would be most significant. The plant was surrounded with villagers that would need the water to live, and the mass production capacity for the soft drinks deprived the local villagers of supplies for drinking and irrigation. However, TCCC was not concerned with the physical surroundings of the company’s plant and the effects it would have on the village. In addition to the lack of geophysical analysis, TCCC forgot to study the social environment. The India Resource Center seemed to have an influence on the people in India and a non-profit organization with one full-time employee was able to impact the sales of the company and shut down its plant. We believe that a company must scan and analyze the environment surrounding its operations for potential threats.
3. Apply the issue management life cycle process model to this case. Which stages of the process can you identify