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Chiquitas Global Turnaround

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Executive Summary
This report details several international management problems that Chiquita has been faced with over the past two decades. Many of these problems are to do with the company’s previously poor image when it came to Corporate and Social responsibility. Over the years Chiquita faced many accusations about the conditions workers were faced with at many of their facilities in Latin America and have also had their environmental policies questioned many times in the press. The company has made great strides in recent years in improving their public image with regards to corporate and social responsibility. In particular Chiquita’s commitment to the Better Bananas Project has helped improve their public image along with the …show more content…

For example, in 1998 Chiquita fell a victim of an undercover investigation into dangerous and illegal business practices. The Cincinnati Enquirer, a paper based in Kentucky, accused the company guilty of “labour, human rights, environmental and political violations” in central America, leaving an “unsavoury impression of our company” according to Jeff Zalla, current corporate responsibility officer at Chiquita. (Luthans, F., & P. Doh, J. 2012).
The centre of the debate about the CSR is the nature and extent of corporate obligations that extend beyond the economic and legal responsibilities of the firm. “The idea of social responsibilities supposes that the corporation has not only economic and legal obligations, but also certain responsibilities to society which extend beyond these obligations” (McGuire, 1963: 144). The issue is therefore critical for the firm as it is in the business’s long-term self-interest to be socially responsible. If Chiquita wants to have a healthy climate in which to function in the future, it must take actions now to ensure its long-term viability. Ultimately it will benefit the company by “winning the public” because the public believe firms should take on social responsibility.
Issue #2: Tariff

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