Strategic Management- Chiquita's Banana Business in Columbia Essay

Strategic Management- Chiquita's Banana Business in Columbia - Essay Example This is evident in the Chiquita group of companies, which is involved in banana trade within Columbia. Over the past six decades, Columbia’s political unrest makes it problematic to conduct business, despite its promise of growth. Paramilitary groups control various business organizations, in their efforts to dominate the nation’s political and economic platforms. These revolutionary groups achieve this through extorting money from multinational companies, such as Chiquita Brands International, and threats of death and property destruction to the repudiators. ChiquitaBrands International complies with this but faces legal challenges fro its home country, the US. This manuscript mulls over Chiquiata’s predicaments, and mitigation measures towards repositioning itself in the competitive industry within the politically unsafe nation. Factors compelling Chiquita into its Actions Chiquita Brands International has been extremely profitable within the conflict prone Col umbia. Sources indicate that the firm is the among the largest global traders in the banana industry. The company also benefitted the nation significantly, with the employment creation, tax payment and the general improvement of the inhabitants’ living standards.... However, the judiciary refuted this justification, claiming that the paramilitary group used such funds in the purchase of ammunition and other items that aided them in the accomplishment of illegal activities such as kidnappings, forceful extortions and murder of innocent victims who failed to comply to their rules. This also obliged the US judiciary department of employing personnel that looked into other such firms that conform to the terror groups’ demands. The legal suit found Chiquita firm guilty, and encountered various severe losses, including paying a fine of $25 millionand a probation of five years (Jennings, 2011, p. 656). Families of the victims of theAUC activities also filed suits against the firm, owing to its involvement in the funding of AUC. This has severe implications for the firm, since it tainted the image of the firm, thereby affecting its profitability. As such, the current management of Chiquita’s subsidiary group Banadexhavean enormous task, to improve its image, and reposition itself in the ever competitive industry. Though Chiquita’s management attempted unsuccessfully to rationalize their involvement in funding a terror gang, their act seems questionable (Gottschalk, 2010, p. 17). In my opinion, their claim to fund AUC, with the promise of security is ethically incorrect (Pohl, 2012, p. 68). They claim to protect their employees, without regarding the impacts their deeds have to other inhabitants of the nation (Hellriegel and John, 2008, p.31). As such, they ought to have sought protection from other legal organizations such as the authorized US security groups. They also display they self-centered behavior by