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Racial Discrimination in the Workplace at the Coca-Cola Company

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The Coca-Cola Company is an American organization that manufactures nonalcoholic beverage, syrups and concentrates. Just like all the multi-nationals, Coca-Cola has strict policies when it comes to dealing with racial discrimination in the workplace. We will now look at the ethical theories relating to business organizations.

Ethics is the study of proper business policies and practices regarding potential controvential issues and how companies integrate values such as honesty, trust, respect and justice. Although these values must be practiced in companies, they are not always considered for decision making.

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With the advent of administrative theories focused on people and human relations, from the mid-twentieth century began to perform various studies that highlighted the compatibility between ethically correct and successful businesses. Subsequently, a further step was taken, pointing out the need for ethics for the achievement of professional excellence. Since then, ethical values and, specifically, respect for people and an authentic spirit of service have been at the base of companies that stand out for their good results. More recently, new research has been presented that reinforces the idea that there is a high correlation between a very demanding ethical action and the high profits achieved by companies. Regardless of their business or commercial position, companies have an obligation to act in accordance with moral values and to have a clear ethical-business responsibility towards society. The decisions of the company, ethical or not, have long-term implications. Acting without moral values can be highly profitable, but if society values an unethical niche due to its high profitability, both the life of the company and the company are in precarious condition.

In contrast, when business activity, for example, maintains a constant concern for employees (human and intellectual capital, quality and organizational climate, fair remuneration, positive leadership, quality of life at work and outside of work, sense of family, adequate incentives, security) providing dignity and respect, they will be motivated to print their best effort in each task entrusted to them. This state of mind is in itself an ethical question. In many companies immersed in the current commercial maelstrom, the relentless competition and lack of time for everything makes it easier for managers to make the mistake of considering their workers not as people but as resources.

As experts say, employment is a scarce commodity and work is a natural necessity for the vast majority of people. But simultaneously, work is also one of the main sources of personal fulfillment. It gives dignity to man, gives him a sense of belonging, responsibility and being useful. To the extent that the labor reality is considered from the point of view of a dignifying need of the human being, work will be seen under a deep sense of solidarity. Ethical values are at the base of companies that stand out for their good results. Ethics is not only a subject for specialists; it is a living part of the business reality and a necessity for all its members. The universities are called to train the entrepreneurs of the future and therefore play a very important role in reinforcing the thinking and ethical behavior of their students. Throughout its history, the Coca-Cola has always been characterized by printing a high ethical sense in its students and we are fully committed to sustain that commitment with our future generations. Max Weber in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, argued that the spirit of capitalism preceded its economic embodiment, because the Protestant ethic conformed that spirit that encouraged the body of capitalism, a body that seems to be immortal, because has at least two reincarnations. Bearing in mind that 'competitive' means not that it acquires the ability to throw its competitors out of the market (something that many people dream of), but that it maintains its 'viability', its capacity to remain in the market, with a good value for money, conquering new customers.

Ensuring viability is impossible, because human beings always move in uncertainty; No company can guarantee it, even if those who work in it have the best training. But one thing is to 'guarantee', another, 'to increase the degree of probability' and, from this last perspective, the 'excellent' companies, the most ethical companies, increase that probability of maintaining their competitiveness in a Darwinian market.

In it, the 'physically strong' do not prevail, those who possess great physical capital, but the excellent ones: those who attend to those affected by the business activity and not only the shareholders those who know how to use their cognitive resources; those that raise their activity from ethical values that constitute the identity of the company and that are all the more necessary the more it occupies transnational scenarios. Precisely the geographical dispersion requires a greater nuclear identity, which is modulated in each country according to its culture, learning from it, but with some basic values that serve as an answer to the question: 'Who are we really?'. Excellent companies would be, then, those that strive for quality, harmonize the capabilities of the group from the exercise of leadership, they forge a good character day by day and try to create an 'ethical climate', in which the group perceives that in the different levels the decisions are made counting on ethical values. To collaborate in this task there are quite outlined instruments, such as ethical codes, monitoring committees and audits, provided that it is understood that the way of obliging 'ethical' is not the way to bind 'legal', because the ethical It always passes through that difficult but unsuspected sieve of conviction, which is not resolved by external sanctions.

According to the well-known trilogy of Castells, the goals for which informational capitalism emerged are somewhat discouraging for ethics, since it was born with the aim of deepening the logic of profit seeking, intensifying labor productivity and capital, globalize production and get state support to increase productivity and competitiveness- Titration of national economies; all of which would be to the detriment of social protection and public interest. Not to mention the great ethical challenge, which is -also for companies- in forging a character, a responsible ethos, through decisions that have medium- and long-term horizon, when short-termism is, to put it with experts, the time of this informational society. The list of problems would be widened with those of capital mobility, which seems to introduce a gap between the real economy and the speculative one, and with that painful marginalization of countries and workers that are no longer of interest or to be exploited.

A community accepts to be governed by laws, mainly by the socialization of the individuals that make it up, to make this bond stronger and to establish a certain order. It is important to reassess that the basis of social life is the family, from which part the search for other factors that promote coexistence. The situation of young people in today's societies is very particular. In fact, in this stage of life, two different social scenarios are confronted and contrasted: the closed and overprotected space of the family, which often becomes suffocating for the adolescent; and the open, threatening and unpredictable horizon of the larger society. All societies have institutions or resources that facilitate the integration of individuals and the fulfillment of psychosocial tasks and, therefore, protect physical and mental health. They configure social support systems or networks that, as their name indicates, provide the help or 'support' that individuals receive from the different social groups to which they belong.

To start a socialization, it is important that young people discover what the commitments they have with society and learn to fulfill them in a satisfactory manner; they will have to adopt the behaviors of the roles to be performed; they must learn to distinguish between what they would like to do and the expectations of others about themselves and themselves; and they must also use the resources of their society to carry out these tasks. So here it is intended that the boys prepare for the future by strengthening values, skills, abilities, receive the necessary motivation (both by parents and teachers, patterns of the main axes of the formation of citizens), and help to relate and socialize, thus contributing to the benefit of a healthy personality, without forgetting that this also involves the group of peers and friends, an important factor for adolescents. To achieve socialization, it is important to clarify some important aspects for it and thus be able to achieve a good relationship with society, which soon will be part. One of these is the role of the social context, where the key elements of the conditions in which the social and professional insertion of young people are carried out are framed.

This is what is so acceptable can be, according to the judgment of each one; remember that ethical theories want to establish principles that justify norms and judgments of this style, but the way to justify them changes from one theory to another. Let us also recall that the grammatical structure of a moral norm is 'Everyone must do X', the form of moral judgment is 'X is good'. Now let's review some statements of the following classification of ethical theories: Cognitivist theories, which affirm: That 'GOOD' is a quality of X. That 'X IS GOOD' is a descriptive sentence. That such a prayer brings a new knowledge about X. Theological (material) theories. Non-cognitivist ethics, if ethical terms do not represent observable qualities, mean nothing. The use of these terms has to represent some meaning, although not cognitive. The fundamental question of ethics is: 'What should I do? Although it can also be formulated: What conditions must a moral norm fulfill so that it can be enforced?

Kant rejects the ethics of good, and considers the ethics of selfish happiness, because the pursuit of happiness cannot find universal norms. It proposes a deontological and procedural ethics, it does not appear only as a search criterion, but also as a moral norm (categorical imperative) Kantian morality rests on freedom. The categorical imperative assumes that it is the moral subject who gives himself moral standards. It is deontological and procedural, because it only attends to the procedure to establish what is correct.

The social transformations of the twentieth century, and their profound effects on the family, have marked a strong family dysfunction, within which one of the challenges it faces is to satisfy the basic requirements for the healthy development of adolescents and young people. To face this challenge effectively, it is convenient to review the family functions that are important for the socialization, development and well-being of adolescents and their families.

Coca-Cola believes that the outcomes of the new strategy will help in fostering a culture of team spirit in the organization as well as a culture of community sustainability through taking part in the process of supporting and building sustainable communities. Additionally, the outcomes will ensure that this organization becomes a responsible global citizen to ensure that its production process is environmentally friendly. Racial discrimination is understood as the exacerbation or defense of the racial sense of an ethnic group, especially when it coexists with another or others, as well as designates the anthropological doctrine or political ideology based on this feeling. This behavior is quite common and prevents the progress of millions of people around the world. Intolerance caused by racial discrimination can lead to genocide.

Complaints about cases of abusive working conditions to the point of even reducing bondage in fields of the country with exploitation by multinational companies (in several cases) have not generated a unanimous disgust as could have been expected. Some rural and political leaders of 'good family' do not agree that it is 'slave labor'. Perhaps they think that they are even better than in their miserable ranches hidden deep in the poverty of Santiago. It is simple, this is how the poor live, or so they have always seen the poor live (some are even able to affirm that they like to live like this). Without reasoning of this nature, such ferocious exploitation would run into itches contrary to voracity.

It also happens in numerous cases of abuse and reduction to servitude in the industrial field, particularly in the textile industry and very close to the Obelisk. There are countless clandestine workshops in which, above all, illegal immigrants from Bolivia, work almost non-stop for a few coins, sleeping a few hours crowded and enduring the urge to go to the bathroom, because the permits are counted. This would not be possible if the exploiters, as well as voracious, do not get soaked with a good dose of racism that tells them that these people are made to live like that. In addition, they argue that at least they have water, food, light and bathroom.

As much as Barack Obama's father is from Kenya and the mother of Kansas, racial gaps still remain deep in the United States. Some social indicators converge with the passing of the years (such as life expectancy), but other differences become encyst or even increase (such as economic differences). Black employees are still discriminated in the United States in terms of salaries, privileges and related labour issues. Numerous amounts of demonstrations in the United States particularly after the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown indicate that racial animosity - conscious or unconscious - is still alive. This seems to translate into racial discrimination in labor market outcomes, such as wage discrimination. Restrictions on labor mobility - such as quotas, work permits, or restrictive hiring rules for national employment - limit the ability of black workers to move from prejudiced to unprejudiced enterprises while allowing companies to take letters about prejudice. Equality, wisdom, and comfortable life are values that are present in every culture across the world. These are natural and inborn qualities in a person as equality, wisdom, and a comfortable life are universally applicable values. 

Equality has a vast meaning, implying the fact that all men and women are equal to each other without any discrimination. In every walk of life, each and every person should have equal rights and duties to other members of a society. For instance, women and men must be treated equally in every aspect of life. If men can work and own property, a woman should have the access to resources and job opportunities to work and own her property. Nothing should stop any man or woman from competing with other humans on any ground. The right to live, pray, and speak should be extended to everyone without any discrimination. Similarly, wisdom is a quality that helps us in making important decisions on the basis of logic and also acts in a more socially acceptable manner. Wisdom demands perfection and morality from its beholder and in order to behave morally, one must treat other individuals with courtesy and kindness. Similarly, the desire to a comfortable life is universal as every human being comes equipped with this desire. This desire means hard work and diligence without any consideration for subjective values as discrimination on the basis of ethnic background. The will to live a comfortable life can motivate employees to stay away from negativity and focus on their work.   

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