INTRODUCTION

Corporate reputation within an organization

Corporate reputation is the overall estimation in which an organization is held by its internal and external stakeholders based on its past actions and probability of its future behavior. Stakeholders may hold different opinions of the organization based on their experiences in dealing with the organization or in what they have heard about it from others.

Many organizations consider their reputation or good name to be their greatest asset thus they put much effort in upholding this in their day to day activities. The ability to recognize and deal with complex business issues has become significant. Mainly in response to this crisis, business decisions and activities have come under great scrutiny by different stakeholders these include, consumers, employees, investors, government regulators and special interest groups. (Ferrell, 2011, 2008)

Corporate reputation in an organization is essential in helping a business achieve its objectives more easily. The stakeholders who are its customers, opinion leaders in the business community, suppliers and current and potential employees should be confident in the organization they are dealing with (Chris, 2009). Customers will always prefer to deal with a reputable organization regardless of the price or quality of the products of other competitors being similar. Stakeholder’s confidence in the company ensures their support in times of hardship and controversy. Corporate reputation also adds value to the organizations share value in the financial markets. Likewise, the organization attracts highly qualified employees, whereas also current employees will have higher productivity when the company invests in its reputation.

Corporate on social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility of an organization is to guarantee that the organization does not exploit stakeholders. Customers with preexisting favorable opinion of a firm now in crisis would discount negative information of an organization, whereas consumers who lacked a preexisting favorable opinion of an organization would draw more negative conclusions. An organization thus has a responsibility to respond to a crisis and to take responsibility for a crisis.

Organization should offer transparency in financial and in respect to other issues such as social and environmental. In financial transparency the organization should give annual reports with terms that are easily defined by the stakeholders. They should also have sound accounting rules to protect the interest of investors. Dialogue is instrumental to raising the transparency of the company and thus organizations should hold active dialogues with its stakeholders.

Furthermore, an organization should state its basic responsibilities towards its stakeholders in labeling products. This plays a role of increasing credibility by revealing certification, content of a product in both a physical and moral sense by reporting on a certain aspect of the product.

Environmental issues should be addressed by the organization since some stakeholders might have a moral right to question the firm’s environmental policies and to lobby the organization to develop environmentally friendly policies. For example Coca-Cola encountered trouble in India after being accused of both groundwater reduction and contamination. This sparked reaction students at the University of Michigan who asked the university to cancel its contracts with Coca-Cola based on these issues.

Factors that affect stakeholders view on corporate reputation

Stakeholders have different ways of measuring an organizations reputation. One needs to understand that reputation depends on who is asked, not all stakeholders think alike. Employees may be concerned about the quality of their work-life, customers may be concerned about the quality and price of products and services, while investors may be focused on the ability of the management to meet its objectives past financial results and future prospects for return on investment.

Customers, investors and shareholders, employees, suppliers ,government agencies, communities and many others who can claim some aspect of an organizations products and operations also known as stakeholders are influenced by business. Negative press generated by special interest groups can force an organization to change its practices. For example in the racial discrimination allegations in 1999, by African American employees working with Coca-Cola, the company has taken strides toward countering diversity protests by forming a taskforce to oversee the hiring, compensation and promotion of women and minorities.

There are a variety of sources that stakeholders might use to assess corporate reputation. These measures are:

• Personal experience

The stakeholders’ experience past and present with the company determines how they view the organizations reputation. Trust in product and strong attachments through brand recognition and product loyalty foster good relationships.

• Word of mouth

This is measured by what stakeholders and other potential clients hear about the organizations reputation. Word of mouth and weblogs can be critical for some crises since information travels fast and can transpire in creating bigger problems.

• Media

The role of the Media has risen due to the technological development which has increased communication possibilities and made it easier for the media to communicate with the public. Stakeholders receive mediated reports about an organization from the news media and advertising.

• Financial statements

This is measured by looking at the management’s capability in running the company, whether it plays a role in sustainable development and whether it has an adequate record on managing its human capital.

However corporate reputations are evaluative and some point of comparison is required. Thus stakeholders compare what they know about an organization to some standard to determine whether or not an organization meets their expectation for how it should behave. These factors are consistent in that misconduct and decisions that damage stakeholders generally impact on the customers’ confidence. In turn customers will put into scrutiny the goods and services they are willing to purchase which might damage the company’s value.

2. Contributions of Reputation Management

As the CEO of Coca-cola I would ensure that I uphold the ethical culture that provides leadership, values and compliance. By doing this I would be ensuring that the expectations of the board of directors are met. Since the board of directors’ act as the trustees and confidants of those they serve I would ensure transparency and openness in financial system. The board of directors would not have to worry about any financial losses stemming from lawsuits.

Consumers are critical for any business and for it to be successful thus customer satisfaction should be prioritized (Jonathan, 2006. As a CEO I would seek to develop long-term relationships with customers and stakeholders. I would seek customer feedback so as to better understand how to serve them better.

Employees who believe that their future is tied to that of the organization will always make personal sacrifices for the organization. As the CEO I would create safe working environment for my employees, ensure that there is no abusive behavior, offer competitive salaries and create social programs that improve ethical culture. Considering the racial discrimination allegations in 1999 I would ensure that employees are hired on the basis of their knowledge and experience but not basis of race, sex, religion, political affiliation or disability. I would initiate affirmative action programs which would involve recruiting, hiring, training and promoting qualified individuals from groups that have been traditionally discriminated against.

Business partners are integral in any company they are the investors, owners and managers. To crate their confidence as CEO I would ensure that the company does not suffer profit lose through fines or compensation payments. I would ensure that the company does not involve itself in illegal activities, like the inflated earnings that were related to channel stuffing practice (Ferrell 2011, 2008)

For an organization to thrive the employees should feel that the organization is taking care of them. My priority as a CEO then would be to create a safe working environment, ensure that there is no abusive behavior, give competitive salaries, ensure there is no discrimination and crate social programs that would enhance ethical culture.

Governments should enact laws to safeguard the interest of consumers and to protect the environment from unethical organizations (Chris, 2009). I would as the CEO seek to understand the different laws and regulations of different countries. I would engage with national governments where they are based with whom good relations may be nurtured, build trust and where channels of access and representation would be clearly defined.

Information plays a significant role in making or breaking an organization. Media acts a source of giving informing to the public. Since the public relies on the viewpoints presented to them by the media it is therefore crucial to create a relationship with them. Having this in mind as the CEO I would seek to establish relationships with the media so as to build a more effective program of communication.

As a result the Corporate social responsibilities should be part of an organizations business strategy it is just as important as sharing the profit. The key elements that have drawn from the issues tackled could be summarized as:

1. Customer service: The most influential and targeted stakeholder for any organization is the customer. Hence, an organizations social responsibilities to the customer is to provide safe and durable products. Providing full and unambiguous information to their customers and potential customers.
2. Economic function: In applying this social responsible behavior the organization’s public image would improve, the social environment would be improved translating into growth in profits.

3. Employee satisfaction: Productivity would improve due to employee motivation and social problems caused by the company would be corrected (Horrigan, 2010). For example, in Columbia Coca-Cola tries as much to protect its employees and works to aid Colombian children and families.
4. Social investment: The organization is involved in protecting and improving the welfare of society by prioritizing local education and community improvement programs. For example, Coca-Cola is involved in Education on Wheels in Singapore. It is also proactive on issues such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.
5. Quality of life: Improving the quality of life is another focus of Coca-cola and is working to create new jobs throughout the developing world in an effort to fight poverty.

Coca-Cola’s Contribution to Environmental Preservation

Environmental protection is one of the social responsibilities that an organization should undertake. After the crisis Coca-Cola Company took the initiative to focus on positive environmental projects. These included:

• Its commitment to reduce the amount of water it uses, to improve the recycling of water at Coca-Cola plants and to replenish natural water sources. Coca-Cola pledged $20 million to the initiative which would go out to protect seven of the world’s most important freshwater river basins.
• Coca-Cola is also addressing the issues of recycling and climate change. In 2007, it launched “Drink2Wear” clothing made from recycled plastic bottles.
• The company also signed the UN Global Compact’s “caring for Climate: The Business Leadership Platform.” And in so doing it pledged to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions
• Expanding to its portfolio Coca-Cola by co-founding Refrigerants, Naturally! Initiative aimed at addressing climate change through the promotion of HFC-free alternative refrigeration technologies.

I believe Coca-Cola is committed to the cause since it has an obligation to encourage more sustainable practices to benefit its stakeholders (Timothy, 2007). Also, being a global company has a responsibility to make a positive difference in the world. It is increasingly focused on energy efficiency and climate protection to help reduce costs and minimize its environmental impact. Due to it size and scale of its global system Coca-Cola is sure to make far reaching impacts on improving energy efficiency. It is also committed in effectively tracking and managing its carbon emissions whereby they are investing in renewable energy resources where required.

Water being a necessity for Coca-Cola Company, it is focused on water stewardship. Thus they are intensely focused on water stewardship. They have focused their efforts in three areas: improving their water efficiency, recycling the water used in their operations (wastewater treatment.), and replenishing through community water access and watershed restoration and protection (John, 2005). I can conclude and say that Coca-Cola is committed to the sustainability of water resources since in 2009 it achieved its seventh consecutive year of improved water use efficiency.

Large volumes of Coca-Cola products being delivered in recyclable bottles and cans, they are focusing on the packages by creating more value with less a material, using more recycled and renewable materials and increasing community recycling. As a result they have prioritized three key areas for preventing waste; optimizing packaging efficiency, increasing their use of renewable and recycled materials and eliminating waste to landfills through recycling.

In conclusion, Coca-Cola is focused on implementing responsible ways of conserving the environment (Coca-Cola 2006-2011). Consequently they have invested a lot of money towards making a difference in water stewardship, sustainable packaging, energy management and climate protection.

References

Chris, M. (2009). Corporate social responsibility: a case study approach. Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing,Inc.

Coca-Cola. (2006-2011). Environmental Initiatives. Retrieved 08 27, 2011, from The Coca-Cola Company: http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/environment.html

Ferell, F. F. (2011,2008). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Ohio: Cengage Learning.

Horrigan, B. (2010). Corporate social responsibility in the 21st century: debates, models and practices across government, law and business. Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.

John, B. (2005). Environmental management in organizations: the IEMA handbook. Virginia: Earthscan.

Jonathan, S. (2006). Brand Culture. Florida: Taylor & Francis.

Timothy, C. (2007). Protecting Organization Reputations During a Crisis: The Development and Application of Situational Crisis Communication Theory. Palgrave macmillan , 163-176.