Better Business Bureau: Case Study

In the early 1900s, the precursor to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) originated after a deceptive advertising lawsuit was brought up against Coca-Cola. Samuel Dobbs, a Coca-Cola was given the credit for igniting the foundation that targeted various unethical advertising issues. Since then the organization has evolved into what numerous shoppers believe as a consumer watchdog to help certify fair-trading between the consumer and business. However as the years have based, the organizational issues, distressing the BBB have become more prevalent.
The first major flaw brought into the public eyes was in 2010, when numerous major corporations, not part of the BBB association brought up issues with the rating system stating that they were being punished by the so-called “objectivity” organization for not playing by their rules or paying the annual dues. After these concerns escalated, the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) agreed to change their ranking system by discounting the method of adding additional points for association members. Additionally, they agreed to initiate a deep-dive investigation into the operational protocols of the LA BBB branch that was accused of operating a “pay …show more content…
Unfortunately for the BBB, this circumstances was only the tip of the iceberg. Although for several years the BBB has been endorsed by the government, recent research has confirmed that over 100 corporations that received high-marks from the BBB were involved in government lawsuits for acting unethical which brought up even more interrogations on the relevancy of the BBB rankings (Hicken, 2015). Additionally, even though the CBBB claimed that the pay to play scheme was an isolated incident, numerous scenarios of favorable treatment to members a part of the association has been