1. Identify the issues that are going on in this case with respect to issues management, crisis management, global business ethics, and stakeholder management. Rank these in terms of their order of priorities for Coca-Cola and for PepsiCo.
2. Evaluate the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of Coke and Pepsi in India.
3. Are these companies ignoring their responsibilities in India or is something else at work?
4. Why does it seem that Coke has become a larger and more frequent target than Pepsi in India? Did having an Indian-born CEO help Pepsi’s case?
5. How do companies protect themselves against the nonstop allegations of special interest groups that have made them a target? Is stakeholder management an answer?
6. What should the companies have done differently in 2003 to address the water allegations? What should the company now do as it moves forward?
7. What lessons does this case present for MNCs doing business in the global marketplace?

There is nothing new about multinational corporations (MNCs) facing challenges as they do business around the world, especially in developing nations or emerging markets. Royal Dutch Shell had to reduce its production of oil in Nigeria greatly due to guerrilla attacks on its pipelines. Cargill was forced to shut down its soy processing plant in Brazil because it was claimed that it was contributing to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Tribesmen in Botswana accused De Beers of pushing them off their land to make way for diamond mines.1 Global business today is not for the fainthearted.