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Causes of unethical behaviours as reflected in the issues and examples

Discrimination- Systemic Racism

According to Feagin and Elias (2013), in a theoretical analysis on racism in the USA, systemic racism is described as refers to the foundational, large-scale and inescapable hierarchical system of US racial oppression devised and maintained by whites and directed at people of colour (p. 936) and is noted to be deeply rooted in US history and society. Feagin and Elias (2013) notes that this ordering of groups based on race and results in inequitable distribution of power and resources.

The allegations levied at Coca-Cola point to a case of systemic racism, where African-American colleagues alleged they had suffered discrimination in pay, promotions and performance evaluations (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, n.d., para. 2). In this case, African American employees argued that this discrimination was based on race, amounting to systemic racism embedded in the organisational culture of the US corporation. According to Schafer (2000), Elvenyia Barton-Gibson, a Marketing employee at Coca-Cola, was noted as having alleged that, in referencing African-American colleagues, people either quit in frustration or be systematically eliminated from the company (para. 15). While Coca-Cola denied these allegations, the outcome was a $192 million settlement, the largest settlement ever in a corporate racial discrimination case (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, n.d., para. 3).