Child Obesity in Minority Communities in Britain - Literature review Example

May 3, Members of the Board, Coca Cola Limited Re: A Company Response to Child Obesity Dear Mr. Chairman and Members of theBoard: Introduction Thank you for providing this opportunity for me to present a proposal that I believe will accomplish three significant goals for Coca Cola. First, the company will be at the forefront in addressing a major health concern—child obesity in minority communities in Britain. Second, through this concerted effort at community outreach, the “Coke” brand will become synonymous with healthy children. Third, as a result of the anti-obesity campaign, the company will increase its market share in the soft drink industry in Britain and perhaps throughout the rest of Europe as well. Overview Many of the multi-national beverage corporations are involved in corporate outreach as part of the recent phenomenon referred to in the business literature as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Coca Cola, of course, is one of the major players along with Pepsico and Dr. Pepper. Pepsico, for example, has gained considerable positive press with its World Water Day 2010 goal of bringing drinking water to three million people in developing countries (www.pepsiindco.com). The reality, however, is that the soda industry has come under attack of late because a number of independent public health studies have linked daily consumption of soda to a growing list of health problems (osteoporosis and pancreatic cancer are two examples). The industry’s response has been to release results of internal studies that refute these findings. The tobacco industry is a case in point where this strategy has failed miserably. Some politicians in the United States have now taken up the cause and when government gets involved, the outcome is usually bad for industry. The State of New York is considering levying a hefty tax increase on soda products and a congressional committee on health will begin debate on this matter shortly. A January, 2010 article in the New England Journal of Medicine, promotes increased taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages as a means of reducing public consumption of these products (Kaplan et al). I suggest that the Coca Cola Board of Directors take a proactive approach in directly confronting this growing public criticism by launching a corporate campaign against childhood obesity in the United Kingdom. Corporate Social Responsibility and a New Accountability Corporate Social Responsibility has become a topic of great interest to companies of all sizes in all locations. The public image of corporations has been damaged significantly with revelations of misdeeds and wrongdoing on the part of many corporate executives. The Madoff scandal in the United States is one recent example. These unethical practices, coupled with the recent problems in the global financial markets, have many people questioning the integrity of our most prestigious business institutions (Cegarra-Navarro and Martinez, 2009). One response to this negative public image has been a renewed effort at re-connecting with the communities that are the backbone of a company’s success. Harvard University’s “Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative” notes that companies are no longer accountable to their shareholders alone. Society now has an increased expectation of the social roles that corporations are expected to play. They must be cognizant of the social and environmental impacts of their business and engage in the new paradigm of accountability—to consumers, employees and local communities as well as shareholders (hks.harvard.edu/csri). This “new paradigm” represents a significant departure from the old school axiom of maximizing wealth for shareholders, and will challenge the very foundation of corporate culture. Schreck(2009) notes that the successful companies of the future will begin to link their long-term economic success to the corporate-community partnerships that are developed today. Childhood Obesity and Soda Consumption A number of recent studies draw a direct relationship between soda consumption and obesity in children under the age of ten. In an article published in the American Journal of Public Health, Vartanian, Schwartz and Brownell (2007) conclude that there is a direct correlation between daily soda consumption and obesity in young children. In a 2008 New York study, the researchers reached similar conclusions. They also discovered that the incidence of obesity was 1.8 times more prevalent in African Americans. Moreover, they found that those living below the federal poverty line were twice as likely to be obese than whites. In other words, there appears to be a direct correlation between daily consumption of soda and obesity in poor, minority children. The U.K. Department of Health data located on their website shows that 27.3 % of children in Britain between the ages of 2 and 10 are overweight or obese, and 13.9 % of these children are categorized as obese. The DOH identifies obesity as “one of the biggest health challenges we face” (www.dh.gov.uk). Selling the Obesity Initiative to Stakeholders Herein lies the challenge. In order for the company to successfully engage in supporting a community campaign against childhood obesity, it must first win over the support of its stakeholders. This can be tantamount to re-shaping the culture of Coca Cola. Richard Farmer describes the culture of a company as the key factor that separates the business winners from the business losers. It is not something that one tinkers with lightly but as Farmer notes, to create a culture of success requires that the company be able to adapt to position itself to take advantage of what he calls the culture of opportunity (2005). Coca Cola’s stakeholders include its employees, it customers and its shareholders. It addition, under the new paradigm of accountability discussed earlier, the British public is a stakeholder as well. There are three primary strategies that the company can employ to ensure stakeholder buy-in with the anti-obesity initiative; Tie the program directly to the core values that have made the company successful. Specifically, the company’s challenge to its stakeholders to “develop the courage to shape a better future.” Tie the initiative to new market opportunities in the U.K. and beyond. Develop a theme that links the anti-obesity program directly to the “Coke” brand. An example might be the “Coke Healthy Kids Campaign.” If the stakeholders believe that this initiative will serve a public health need as well as increase the company’s revenues, they will be eager to see the program move forward. Locate the responsibility for the healthy kids campaign within the existing Coca Cola Youth Foundation headquartered in London. This is an ideal choice because the Foundation already enjoys pre-existing government approval for its programs and many of the company’s employees and shareholders are aware of the Foundation’s work. In fact, some have contributed personal funds in support of the Foundation’s youth programs in the U.K. Now is the right time for Coca Cola to move forward with the healthy kids program. A consultant should be hired to develop a complete proposal including deliverables, timeline, costs and benefits, marketing plan and evaluation metrics. This program is a win-win for Coca Cola and for minority children throughout Britain who are victims of obesity. Summary of Recommendations 1. Hire a consultant to begin program development. 2 .Communicate goals and objectives to stakeholders. 3 Develop a name that links the Coke brand to the program. 4 Begin to develop ideas around a comprehensive marketing strategy. 5 Begin to identify community partner agencies such as schools and health centers. Child obesity is one of the major public health issues that we face today. The problem is particularly acute in low income, minority populations in Britain. It is in the best interests of Coca Cola to become proactively involved in helping to promote healthy diet choices in this at-risk population. It is the socially responsible thing to do. Failure to act, will surely bring more negative publicity on the soda industry and will increase public demand for government intervention. Bibliography Cegarra-Navarro, Juan G. and Aurora M. Martinez. 2009. Linking Corporate Social Responsibility with Admiration Through Organizational Outcomes. Social Responsibility Journal. 5 (4): 499-511. Farmer, Richard T. 2005. Corporate Culture Defines a Company and its Future. American Journal of Business. 2(2): 7-9. Kaplan, M.G., M. Keane, and M.J. Rinaldi. 2010. Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages. New England Journal of Medicine. Jan 28, 2010: 362-368. Rehm, Colin D., Thomas D. Matte, Gretchin Van Wye, Candace Young, and Thomas R. Frieden. 2008. Demographic and Behavioral Factors Associated with Daily Sugar-Sweetened Soda Consumption in New York City. Journal of Urban Health. 85(3): 375-385. Schreck, Phillip.2009. The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility. Heidelberg: Springer. Vartanian, L.R., M.B. Schwartz, and K.D. Brownell. 2007. Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. American Journal of Public Health.97 (4). April: 667-675. www.dh.gov.uk. www.drpeppersnapplegroup.com www.hks.harvard.edu/csri www.pepsico.com www.thecola-colacompany.com. Read More