Introduction
In 1999, a lawsuit was filed against Coca-Cola Company by four current and former African employees. In their cases, the plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and the other 2200 members, accused the institution of violating their inclusivity rights under the US Civil Rights Act. They alleged that they had suffered a high discrimination rate in performance evaluation, promotion, and pay (Chaney et al., 2019). These members provided statistics showing how the salary and evaluation performance for the Africans was about one-third less than the white counterparts in the organization. The plaintiffs further claimed the high wall policies that had been set to the Africans for rising to top positions and, in particular, to the firm’s departments.
Main body
In response to the court determination, the organization’s management decided to compensate the case. In 2000, Coca-Cola agreed to a $192 million court settlement on the matter (Chaney et al., 2019). This amount has been regarded as one of the largest settlements in a corporate racial discrimination case (Chaney et al., 2019). Nevertheless, in the settlement, the institution denied the allegations but agreed to change the policies regarding inclusivity and diversity. The payment allowed the plaintiffs’ lawyers and the task watchdog to revise the institutional rules and regulations regarding discrimination. The task force worked and provided their final report in 2006, terming their mission a success. They believed that through their efforts, they managed to correct the unequal treatment at the institution.
During the period, the leading manufacturers and distributors of non-alcoholic beverages were headed by Doug Investor, Doug Daft, and Nevile Isdell. During his tenure, the institution experienced a decline of over $115 billion following stiff competition from rivals such as Pepsi, political issues, and court cases in Belgium, the United Kingdom, and France (Chow et al., 2021). The institution was also working towards catching up with other no-carbonated beverages such as water, energy, and tea. However, the hardest hit was the court case on discrimination against black Africans. Therefore, these leaders continued to work on the best modalities for improving the institution’s performance.
The main reason why Coca-Cola has continued to face the challenge is due to its orientation towards employees of white origin, especially Americans. In comparison to their rivals, such as Pepsi or Heineken, the organization has continued to alienate black people from the preferred whites. The approach has made many workers from black communities complain of harassment, low pay, and poor working conditions compared to their white counterparts. The protests among these people have resulted in national boycotts of Coke’s products, thus resulting in limited sales (Chow et al., 2021). In some cases, the leaders of the firm have been ridiculed and humiliated. The institution has been accused of intimidation while dealing with employees from African nations. Finally, the company’s top management is characterized by American origin, creating many concerns about violating inclusivity rights.
Conclusion
Ideally, Coca-Cola should work on the best modalities for overcoming racial discrimination. They should work to ensure that all workers in the institution are racially and ethnically diverse. Consequently, the institution should set the right policies to ensure that every member’s concern is taken care of irrespective of their origin (Devlieger & Nwokorie, 2019). Finally, the organization’s leadership should be blended to ensure that they portray the diverse population of the present society. Applying the above principles will ensure that the concerns of the customers and members of society are addressed. They will work to promote tolerance and understanding among all players in the institution.
References
Chaney, K. E., Sanchez, D. T., & Maimon, M. R. (2019). Stigmatized identity cues in consumer spaces. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 29(1), 130-141. Web.
Chow, R. M., Phillips, L. T., Lowery, B. S., & Unzueta, M. M. (2021). Fighting backlash to racial equity efforts. MIT Sloan Management Review, 62(4), 25–31. Web.
Devlieger, P. J., & Nwokorie, O. V. (2019). ‘We only got Coca-Cola’: Disability and the paradox of (dis) empowerment in Southeast Nigeria. African Journal of Disability, 8(1), 1-13. Web.