• • • • • Introduction Every university gives certain assignments to their students so that their learning can be improved. In the case of Harvard University, they assign case studies to their students. Most of the times their case study is about the analysis of a company or project of a product. Students are asked to analyze the whole industry where they operate or sometimes just a specific sector.

Sometimes, students have to evaluate a project or company as well. And, after analyzing Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Colombia they have to define the position of the company and give some appropriate recommendations to rectify the identified problems or to improve the company’s position. The following steps have to be followed by students to perform a detailed case analysis: Step 1-Reading up Harvard case study method guide for Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Colombia Before starting an analysis students have to understand what is required? They have to make a structure which will allow them to handle the study. To achieve the above objectives, case study guidelines are provided. Students are required to read and understand the guidelines very carefully so that they can analyze Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Colombia the given enterprise well and recommend appropriate measures for the problems identified. Poor grasping of guidelines will result an inappropriate start up and due to this the overall direction of the analysis will deteriorate.

In result, one will be unable to tackle the case study in accordance with the guidelines and hence will provide inappropriate solution. For a decent solution, one has to read the guidelines before reading the case study and then he can understand the case in accordance with the guidelines. Step 2-Reading the HBR Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Colombia case study After reading the guidelines, students need data on which they can apply the guidelines. Case study provided by HBR is one which should be solved by students in accordance with guidelines provided. Students should read the case study well to understand the requirement so that they give their best as an output.

Blood Bananas: Chiquita in Colombia Case Solution, Chiquita Brands International and its leaders learned a very hard lesson about paying off terrorist groups in order.

For understanding the case study well students should read the case study twice. At the first time, they should just go through the case. This will make them familiar with the industry about which the case is based on. A case study has too much data all the data are not relevant to the requirement.

Therefore, at the second time students should read the case study carefully and highlight the important data. So, when performing the solution, they can save their time by looking to the valuable data. Students should note the following at the time of reading the case study At first time: • The industry in which the organization operates. • The operations of the company. • The country in which the organization operates. • The external environment of the company. • Understand the basics which are discussed in the Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Colombia case.

• Problem faced by the company • Strategy and goal of the company. At the second time: • Highlight the important data.

• Give more consideration on quantitative (numerical) data. • Make linkage between different data. • Consider any proposed strategy with the company goal and overall objectives. • Identify the key players of the company. After reading and understanding the case study one should go to the next step case analysis.

Step 3-Doing Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Colombia Case Analysis A proper case analysis starts when the reader starts reading the case a second time. Because for the analysis he has to identify the problem faced by the organization.

And, this must be done in the second reading of the case. An organization may face multiple problems the reader has to identify them.

At this stage, an analyst can start to write a proper report. There should be an introduction of the company at the start so that readers of the report can get a general idea about the organization. The introduction should be focused on the company’s main features like when it was incorporated, its main products, how it has grown, its goals and some other basic information. Introduction should not be more than 2 or 3 paragraphs.

The report should be focused on the core theme rather than the introduction. After the introduction, there should be a paragraph which states the problem faced by the organization.

In this paragraph, problems should be in a summarized form. Students may provide a short summary of the actions which should be taken to solve these problems in this paragraph. The paragraph may be headed as a problem statement or any other appropriate heading. Now the required working analysis of the case will start.

Step 4-SWOT Analysis of Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Colombia case SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threat. It is the model which can be used to evaluate the internal and external environment of the company. It is a powerful model which can help the company in making the future strategies.

Analysts should use this model to identify problems and develop solutions. Strengths Strength evaluates the internal features which give the company competitive edge.

By analyzing the strengths, company can propose the strategies which suits it hence, this will improve the position of the company in its relative market. Strengths may be like the highly skilled labor, updated technology and etc.

Weaknesses Weaknesses evaluate the gaps of the company due to which the company is behind from the competitors. This is very important for a company to know about its weaknesses so that these can be removed.

Weaknesses may be like demotivation among the labor force, unnecessary activities and etc. Opportunities Opportunities evaluates the external environment through them one can understand the emerging opportunities of the industry or market which can help it in increasing the market share or even to strengthen their position in the market. Opportunities may be like increase in demand of any product, availability of some new distribution channels, availability to introduce itself in the global market and etc. Threats Threats also evaluate the external environment of the industry through them one can familiarize itself by the possible threats which can jeopardize the company’s position in the market. Companies should make the threat so that they can save their position by developing defensive strategies.

Threats may be like emergence of new competitor, possible penalties due to any new or existing regulations breach and etc. At the time of applying SWOT matrix, one should take care that they categorize each strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threat in appropriate heading and describe that how an activity with regard to str, weakness, opportunity or threat so that reader can understand well.

Step 5-Porter 5 Forces/Strategic Analysis of Industry of the Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Colombia case Using Porter 5 forces, one can analyze the position of the organization in the industry where it operates. Porter 5 forces consider five factors: Bargaining Power of Customers, Bargaining Power of Supplier, Threat of Substitutes, Threat of new Entrants and Competition Rivalry. These five forces consider a micro-environment. These will evaluate the market strength of the company in which it operates and its ability to serve the customer and earn profit. Bargaining Power of Customer This evaluates how much powerful the customer is? And how much they can effects on the company’s profit? Customer power is presumed high when there are too many alternatives available in the market.

It will also be high when there is no or low switching cost. In opposite to it, this will be low when the supplier has a good brand name, there are no or few alternatives are in the market or when the switching cost is high. Bargaining Power of Supplier This evaluates how much powerful the supplier is? And to what extent it can affect the purchasing of the company?

Supplier power is presumed high when the company does not have alternative supplier or when there is a risk that the quality of the product will deteriorate due to changing of supplier. It will also be high when company has to face a huge cost in switching to the new supplier. Threat of Substitutes This is a threat that if the company does not supply in accordance with the customers need then they can switch to substitutes of the product. Like customer can switch from tea to coffee as they are substitutes. Customers switch to substitutes when the price of any product is high or when the product is of low quality or due to any other reason.

Threat of New Entrants Threat of new entrants will describe the difficulty level to enter any market. There are some natural barriers over entrance which makes the threat low. For example, to operate in the aviation industry one need a huge amount of capital investment. Along with natural barrier companies also create some artificial barriers like restricting distribution channels and etc. Regulations and economies of scale may some other type of barriers. Competition Rivalry This will evaluate how much competitive the market is in which the company operates.

If there are only a few suppliers in the market, then competition will be low. Furthermore, if there are strict entry barriers then the competition rivalry will also be low. Step 6-PEST Analysis in HBR Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Colombia cases: This tool is used in the HBR cases to analyze the external environment which affects the organization, company, city or country. It is widely used after performing the SWOT analysis so that the company is well aware of its possible threats and opportunities due to the changes in the environment. In strategic management course, we have learnt about performing PESTLE also known as PEST where legal environment conditions are not affecting the country and its organization much. P stands for Political, E stands for Economic condition of the country, S stands for social condition of country, T stands for technological advancement and innovation, L stands for legal environment and E stands for physical environmental changes. PEST has got so much recognition in the performing analysis for different companies so to get a better understanding of the whole tool, it is defined in more details below: Political: Before starting its operations, it is necessary for a company to check the feasibility as well as the political conditions of the country.

What is the cost of operations in that country, how much tax itwill be required to pay, how much is the license fees, what are the rules and regulations for getting a company registered and what is the penalty if a company is unable to fulfill those requirements. How frequently and quickly a government changes and whether there is any political dominance in the country or not. These things should be taken into consideration before taking decision to start its operations in any country for a company. Economical: It is necessary that the company should have a growth potential and country is growing rapidly otherwise it would be a negative sign for a company to enter into the market. Both micro and should be performed to check the inflation rate, currency revaluation and devaluation’s impact on company, how frequently the exchange rate is changing, per capita income, growth rate, unemployment rate, interest rate, taxes, government policies and money supply as well. This gives a crystal clear picture to a company whether they can survive with the present economic conditions or not. Social: This tool is used to analyse the behavioral and demographic factors of the people in the organization.

How frequently the consumer’s demand and taste is changing and which age group will be your target market and how will they react to a product launched by the company. What are the facilities available in the country for education, health and personal development? What is the attitude of people towards changing work environment and how sensitive they are in case of religious matters? How do they adjust in the diversified working environments? Technological: This is the most important in today’s high-tech environment. It is necessary for each company to analyze the technological advancement and if a company is lacking in any technical work, it should be outsourced or should be done before their competitors take benefit out of it.

In this company, also analyze Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Colombia the infrastructural changes which are necessary to provide its employees a congenial work environment so that they can demotivated. They should update themselves with the latest technology and software available such as using tabs for taking orders rather than still doing it manually etc. Step 7-Financial Analysis of Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Colombia Financial analysis of the company is performed to assess the financial position, and to see how effectively the company has been operating into the market as compared to its counterparts. Vertical Analysis Vertical analysis are carried out to see how effectively the company’s financial statements are increasing and decreasing with respect to the assets. Assets are selected as base for the analysis of the financial statements of the company. In the vertical analysis assets are used as benchmark to assess position of the company in rows in balance and income statement.

But, the income statement is also analyzed in vertical analysis but the sales is selected as base. Horizontal Analysis Horizontal analysis is also called as trend analysis of the financial statement of the company.

Through trend analysis, it can be determined that by what rate the company has grown as compared to previous years. The horizontal analysis is performed on two years to compare the performance of the company for two consecutive years. Furthermore, trend analysis is a much more effective way to assess the position of a company in short-term period. Ratios Analysis Ratio analysis is a quick technique to assess the position of the company in the market.

Such as profitability ratios indicate how much company has been earning on each dollar of investment in the assets, or overall return on assets, and overall return on equity. Similarly, leverage ratios are used to assess the leverage position of the company that how effectively could it meet with outstanding debt obligation. Meanwhile, other ratios such as earning per share, price to earn ratio, dividend payout ratio, and retention ratio are used in assessing the investment position of the company. Free Cash Flow Analysis & Valuation Free cash flow analysis of the company is calculated to value the company. In this method, all free cash flows are calculated along with the terminal value. Terminal value is long –term value of the company that adds to cumulative discounted free cash flows to value the company. With this method value of the company is calculated.

Step 8-Implementation of some other frameworks For the analysis purpose some other models can also be use like SFA which stands for suitability, feasibility and acceptability. In this model, one can evaluate that how much the proposed proposal suits the company. Is company able to complete the project? This can be evaluate through feasibility.

And lastly, the risk of the project or valuation can be done through evaluating its acceptability. Step 9-Selection of Alternatives It is very important for the company’s success, to choose the option which suits it the best. From different available companies, one should choose the option which is in accordance with its risk appetite and increases the net worth of the company more than any other option.

Step 10-Evaluation of Alternatives Selected alternatives can be evaluated using different methods. One can choose the option on the basis of pros and cons or may decide to choose that option which meets the targeted IRR or simply the one which is less sensitive. Step 11-Recommendation for Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Colombia After evaluation of alternatives and understanding the problems of the company together with the analysis made the student should make recommendation to the company through which they can solve their problem. Recommendation should be justified. Step 12-Feedback and control At last, students should give their feedback that how the recommended solution for Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Colombia will help the company in solving their problems along with the benefit of the recommendation. They should also give some advice about the controls so that company can protect itself from any future problems.

Submitted By busi Words 818 Pages 4 Summer 2013 Summer 2013 Case Report: Blood Bananas: Chiquita in Colombia BUSA 4980 Chiquita Brands international was founded in 1899 after the merger of United Fruit Company and the Boston Fruit Company. As bananas be came more of a staple in every home so do Chiquita Bananas. Bananas are know to mainly grown in tropical places like Central America, Africa and Southeast Asia.

Chiquita decided to have operations out of Colombia. During this time there was turmoil in Colombia and different terror groups form “against the government” & other wealthy people in the country. Some of these groups settled in the areas where Chiquita had facilities. Chiquita run into problems with theses groups around 1997, mainly with FARC (Revolution Armed Forced of Columbia) and AUC. They began to kidnap and kill employees of this company. The terrorist groups began asking for money in turn they would stop harming their employees. For Chiquita this decision to pay the AUC seem to be an easy one because or the lack for government and the lack of laws in place.

There are many key issues that lead Chiquita Banana’s decision to pay the terrorist groups the FARC & the AUC. One key issues the increasing demand for bananas in new countries like Russia, China and other countries in the Middle East.

Chiquita felt as if it had pressure to obtain and grow in these markets. Along with those new markets, Chiquita had their current demand in established markets like the United States and Europe. On average US consumes 27 pounds of bananas per person per year.

In Europe its about 20 pounds per person per year. Chiquita also had issues in it Corporate Governance Mechanisms. At least three of Chiquita’s top executives had a part in the decision to pay the AUC. One key individual in Chiquita’s choice to pay the AUC was Roderick Hill; he was the head of the Board of Directors. .TB0245 Andreas Schotter Mary Teagarden Blood Bananas: Chiquita in Colombia No one laughs at the banana in its areas of origin.

It is too serious a business, on which jobs and lives depend. Peter Chapman, Author of Jungle Capitalists.

For Chiquita Brands International, a pioneer in the globalization of the banana industry, bananas are not only serious business, they represent an array of economic, social, environmental, political, and legal hassles. Since its founding more than a hundred years ago as United Fruit Company, Chiquita has been involved in paying bribes to Latin American government officials in exchange for preferential treatment, encouraging or supporting U.S. Coups against smaller nations, putting in place dictatorships in Central America’s “banana republics,” exploiting local workers, creating an abusive monopoly, and now doing business with terrorists.1 For American multinationals, the rewards of doing business abroad are enormous, but so are the risks. Over the past decades, no place has been more hazardous than Colombia, a country that is just emerging from a deadly civil war and the effects of wide-ranging narco-terrorism. Chiquita found out the hard way. It made tens of millions in profit growing bananas in Colombia, only to emerge with its reputation splattered in blood.2 In 2004, Chiquita voluntarily admitted criminal responsibility to the U.S. Justice Department that one of its Colombian banana subsidiaries had made protection payments from.

Words: 9954 - Pages: 40. .Chiquita’s Core Values: “Our Core Values of Integrity, Respect, Opportunity and Responsibility form the basis of our business performance and guide our everyday activities, including our giving programs.

As part of our Core Values, Chiquita maintains a solid commitment to conducting business ethically, morally and in accordance with the law.” Short-term: 1.Agree to pay the AUC until a long-term strategic plan can be developed a.However unethical, it is not illegal, as the AUC had not been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department b.Chiquita employees would receive protection c.Time frame: 2 months 2.Refuse to pay the AUC and start a widespread campaign highlighting the positive impact Banadex has on Columbia a.Display American diplomatic strategy by refusing to negotiate with terrorists and forcing the Columbian government to provide military assistance. B.Chiquita contributed 70 million annually to the Columbian economy, something the Columbian government should make a point to protect. A widespread campaign highlighting the negative impact of Chiquita leaving the country would garner public support for government intervention. C.Time frame: 3 months Long-term 1.Sell off the Banadex subsidiary in Columbia a.This would keep the company from being at legal risk b.Chiquita’s employees would still be employed by the acquiring company – who may or may not choose to do business with the AUC c.Time frame: 1. Words: 364 - Pages: 2. .Blood Bananas: Chiquita in Columbia Blood Bananas: Chiquita In Columbia is a difficult case that touches on fundamental questions of ethics and morality while operating a business abroad.

It is a case that depicts the challenges faced by a company trying to maintain production and protect its employees while navigating between two very different cultures in a hostile situation. The lines of the ethics and morality are not as straight forward as they seem on the surface, and Chiquita’s management struggles to make decisions that will transcend both cultures’ view of right versus wrong. Was one of the largest and growing fruit company in America who faced a dramatic problem in the 90’s with the AUC, a Colombian paramilitary organization that promoted violence act and considered to be terrorist, what happened was they inquired the fruit company to pay them specific amount of money monthly that was required for their security services as they claimed! The situation was straightforward, either Chiquita pays for the terrorist Chiquita Brands International and its leaders learned a very hard lesson about paying off terrorist groups to protect their employees. Over the past 25 years, no place has been more perilous for companies than Colombia, a country that is finally beginning to emerge from the effects of civil war and narco-terrorism. In 2004, Chiquita voluntarily revealed to the U.S.

Justice Department that one of its Colombian banana subsidiaries had made protection. Words: 824 - Pages: 4. .Blood Bananas Case Introduction Chiquita Brands International is a successful company with a long history that began in 1899 as the United Fruit Company. The company has endured over time through changes in leadership, acquisitions, and process changes to become one of “the big three” banana distributors in the world.

While they have become successful; their past has been tarnished by paying bribes to government officials, supporting U.S. Coups against smaller nations and exploiting local workers. The company that originally revolutionized the banana trade by using refrigerated ships was now faced with the decision of whether to continue to pay a terrorist organization in Colombia, South America to ensure the safety of their employees, stop payment and face the consequences or sell the business and exit the country. Background The issue at hand is partly the result of the industry itself.

Bananas grow best in tropical regions, such as the Caribbean, Central America, Asia and Africa. They are critical cash crop for many of the lesser-developed countries.

The banana producing country in question here is Colombia, South America which has a population of over 45M people, the second largest in South America. It has the 4th largest economy in Latin America although the income inequality is prevalent due to very uneven wealth distribution. It is in this environment that paramilitary organizations such as the AUC thrive. According to Fernando Aguirre, a former Chiquita.

Words: 956 - Pages: 4. .Analysis Chiquita had been doing well since its inception and had created a place for itself as a leader in the banana industry. Confident about its political connections and standing, Chiquita believed it could fight the EU policy.

The company launched an aggressive and costly lobbying campaign in Washington denouncing the EU policy. Chiquita spent time and money trying to regain their power rather than looking for alternatives. Given the unpredictable politics that drive trade disputes, and the uncertain influence of arbitration institutions like the WTO, betting on a legal battle can be highly risky. They failed to realize that sometimes it is smarter to maneuver around a barrier than to try to tear it down. Under pressure from the United States, the World Trade Organization ruled that the policy was discriminatory and ordered that it be dismantled.But the Europeans were slow to comply, and so “began the 'banana war'-the worst transatlantic economic dispute since World War II. With a limited ability to export AGP bananas, Chiquita lost a third of its European Market share between 1992 and 1995” (Marcelo, 2005, 24).Determined to regain its position, Chiquita continued to fight the EU policy, increasing its debt as its hold in Europe kept slipping.

Analysis of international challenges faced by Chiquita (4 C’s) Country risk/Political risk – Chiquita was facing major political risks after the introduction of the new banana trade policy. The new policy restricted. Words: 905 - Pages: 4. .Summer 2013 Summer 2013 Case Report: Blood Bananas: Chiquita in Colombia BUSA 4980 Chiquita Brands international was founded in 1899 after the merger of United Fruit Company and the Boston Fruit Company.

As bananas be came more of a staple in every home so do Chiquita Bananas. Bananas are know to mainly grown in tropical places like Central America, Africa and Southeast Asia. Chiquita decided to have operations out of Colombia. During this time there was turmoil in Colombia and different terror groups form “against the government” & other wealthy people in the country.

Some of these groups settled in the areas where Chiquita had facilities. Chiquita run into problems with theses groups around 1997, mainly with FARC (Revolution Armed Forced of Columbia) and AUC.

They began to kidnap and kill employees of this company. The terrorist groups began asking for money in turn they would stop harming their employees. For Chiquita this decision to pay the AUC seem to be an easy one because or the lack for government and the lack of laws in place. There are many key issues that lead Chiquita Banana’s decision to pay the terrorist groups the FARC & the AUC. One key issues the increasing demand for bananas in new countries like Russia, China and other countries in the Middle East. Chiquita felt as if it had pressure to obtain and grow in these markets. Along with those new markets, Chiquita had their current demand in established markets like the United States.

Words: 818 - Pages: 4. . Case Study #3: Blood Bananas: Chiquita in Columbia Andreas Schotter Due Date: Wednesday, November 6th, 2013, 11.59pm.

Submit your paper via Blackboard. Task for Students Use just the information contained in the case study and what you have learned in class to complete this assignment. Make a list of the top five (5) opportunities and five (5) threats facing the Chiquita Brands International company.

Use the information in your list of opportunities and threats to write a memo that defines five (5) strategic actions for each of the following two roles. Each of the roles needs to support the goals of Chiquita being a great investment for shareholders and also being a socially responsible corporation. Chiquita’s American managers based overseas (in Columbia) (5 Strategies) b. Banana-pickers working for Chiquita or its suppliers. (5 Strategies) c.

Total: 10 strategies Think about Foxconn’s labors Notes 1. Do not provide a summary of the facts of the case.

Use the following naming protocol for title of the document that you upload to Blackboard: Last Name, First Name. Obama, Barack. This paper should not be longer than one page. . Words: 253 - Pages: 2. .proved using the HHI as shown below.

(Considering the banana sales of 1994 as given in the case) BrandBanana SalesMarket Share% Chiquita2,377,03248 Dole960,40019 Fyffes563,32411 Geest528,71911 Noboa280,0006 Del Monte Produce240,0005 TOTAL4,949,475100 Because there are few players in the industry, comparatively less competition and high concentration in the market, we consider the banana industry to be an Oligopoly market, which has high barriers to entry. The barriers to entry are: •High start up cost: A new firm entering the banana market will need to have huge capital to make banana production feasible. Banana production requires vast amounts of lands to grow the banana trees. Bananas are also a perishable item which increases their maintenance cost. •Economies of scale: Banana Industries have significant economies of scale where minimum efficient scales occur at high input levels. Thus a new entrant must produce high volume to reduce the cost and make profits.

If a new entrant with vast land produces fewer bananas then it will be very costly to maintain the banana production. •Licenses: The government regulations may be very stringent requiring various licenses to trade banana in the world market. The licenses would be very expensive to own which is a barrier to new entrants.

•Distribution channels: It is required to have a strong distribution system globally to distribute bananas in the world market. This is developed through.

Words: 3044 - Pages: 13. .loss to consumer surplus.

This loss to consumer surplus is evident in the Chiquita case. With this restrictions on imports outlined in the EU Banana Import Regime, Chiquita had lost 20-50% of their market share in Europe.

Under the new laws, Chiquita could only sell up to 2 million metric tons of bananas as imports. If Chiquita were to sell more than their quota they would be dutiable at 850 ECU as a tariff tax, which would be difficult to afford. The new policy had created an artificial shortage of bananas within the EU which drove up prices. The intent of this new policy was to support former EU colonies and territories that were not originally able to compete with the large corporations. The geographical restrictions created by this policy made fulfilling demand difficult for Chiquita.

Chiquita driven down their cost and subsequently increased revenues by creating efficient logistics by integrating their supply chain vertically in order to fulfill demand of customers from their plantations in Latin America. With the new impositions by the EU, Chiquita was at a loss of efficiency.

Chiquita would have to produce their bananas outside of Latin America to avoid the tariff. This provides a disruption to the cost effective integration that Chiquita had built which would result in higher cost for the company thus passed onto the consumer. European consumers were not only experiencing a shortage in bananas but also increased prices. It is important to note that although the.

Words: 301 - Pages: 2. .Case 6 KEEPING SUZANNE CHALMERS By Steven L. McShane, The University of Western Australia Thomas Chan hung up the telephone and sighed.

The vice-president of software engineering at Advanced Photonics Inc. (API) had just spoken to Suzanne Chalmers, who called to arrange a meeting with Chan later that day. She didn’t say what the meeting was about, but Chan almost instinctively knew that Suzanne was going to quit after working at API for the past four years. Chalmers is a software engineer in Internet Protocol (IP), the software that directs fibre-optic light through API’s routers. It is very specialized work, and Suzanne is one of API’s top talents in that area. Thomas Chan had been through this before. A valued employee would arrange a private meeting.

The meeting would begin with a few pleasantries, then the employee would announce that he or she wanted to quit. Some employees said they were leaving because of the long hours and stressful deadlines. They said they needed to decompress, get to know their kids again, or whatever.

But that wasn’t usually the real reason. Almost every organization in this industry was scrambling to keep up with technological advances and the competition.

Employees would just leave one stressful job for another one. Also, many of the people who left API joined a start-up company a few months later. These start-up firms can be pressure cookers where everyone works 16 hours each day and has to perform a variety of tasks. Words: 882 - Pages: 4. .Chiquita's history in Colombia is more than a century old. Its roots grow out of the United Fruit Company, notorious in Latin America as a U.S.

Army backed opponent to agrarian reform and agricultural workers' unions. Though later known as United Brands in 1970, and then Chiquita in 1989, business in Latin America has continued in similar veins. In 1928, several thousand workers of Colombia's banana plantations began a strike demanding written contracts, eight-hour days, six-day weeks and the elimination of food coupons. Military forces murdered thousands of United Fruit Company Workers who were protesting. [1] Throughout the 20th century, the company was infamous for using a combination of its financial clout, congressional influence and violent refusal to negotiate with striking workers to establish and maintain a colony of 'banana republics' in Latin America. Often the CIA and the US Marines provided the company's muscle, as in the case of the overthrow of the populist Guatemalan president Jacobo Arbenz in 1953. [2] In 1975, a federal grand jury accused United Brands of bribing Honduran President Osvaldo Lopez Arellano with $1.25 million, with the promise of another $1.25 million later, in exchange for reducing taxes on banana exports.

Lopez Arellano was removed from power, but later investigations revealed repeated bribes carried out by the company. [3] Subpoenas were also issued regarding possible payoffs in Italy, West Germany, Panama and Costa Rica.

Words: 3708 - Pages: 15. Time Context – 1997 II. Point of View – Fernando Aguirre, CEO III. Statement of the Problem Symptom: Chiquita Brands International was forced to make protection payments to paramilitary groups in Colombia to keep their workers safe from the group’s violence, which later were found illegal under U.S law. Problem: Chiquita workers are saved but the rest of the country is endangered. Objectives 1. To rebuild the company’s image 2.

To protect their employee’s lives and at the same time, to not harm the citizens of Colombia by providing funds for terrorism acts V. Areas of Consideration VI. Outline Alternative Courses of Action (ACA) * Exit the country and relocate their operations from Colombia to a nearby country with similar weather but less of a terrorism ridden culture. * Stay in Latin America but fix their public image through sustainable employment and environmental practices in order rebuild a positive image of the brand.

* Draw out from Latin America and increase their market share by focusing in other products. Recommendation Since they’ve already sold their Colombian farms, I think it’s time for them to leave Colombia and rebuild their business in another country that is free from terrorism acts that also offer similar weather conditions as Colombia. They should now pay attention on its Marketing Campaign in order to rebuild a positive image of the brand; Focusing on ethical treatment of workers, sustainable. Words: 385 - Pages: 2. .Blood Bananas – Chiquita in Colombia Introduction: Banana is a serious and a complicated business when it comes to producing and delivering it to the consumers all around the world. As most of the banana production takes a place in the tropics, the largest consumers are the U.S., the European Union and Japan.

Chiquita, Dole and Del Monte who are also known as “the big three” control 60 percent of the global banana trade. Dole was founded in Hawai in 1851 and had reported revenues of US $6.9 billion in 2007, being the largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruits and vegetables. Del Monte is one of the largest and well known producers, distributors and marketers of premium quality, branded food and pert products for U.S. Generating US $3.4 billion in net sales in 2007. Chiquita which has been the largest employer in Latin America for many years, was founded 1899 and is known for revolutionizing the banana trade by using refrigerated ships for the first time. In 2007, Chiquita was the leading distributor of bananas In the United States with annual revenues of US $4.7 billion. Chiquita and terrorist ties Chiquita has been known as a rapacious multinational corporation for a long time.

Company has been blamed for having farmers work for long hours in dangerous conditions, contaminating water with agrochemicals and harming tropical forests for expansion. Its operations in Colombia have been the most controversial topic for a long time due to the instability. Words: 1042 - Pages: 5.