Introduction
Coca-Cola is a leading global company that produces the most famous beverage in the world. Aside from the Coca Cola drink itself, the corporation provides hundreds of other drinking brands, including Fanta and Sprite. With more than 150-year old history, the brand Coca Cola still holds leading positions on the global market as a result of advanced marketing strategies and constant urge for change and perfection.
Background
Stakeholders
Being a leading company, Coca Cola has partners’ worldwide, working with local and global level stakeholders. According to Coca Cola’s official website, their associates include various companies connected to bottling, supplying partners, industrial allies, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and primary stakeholders – the owners (Who are Coca-Cola’s Partners). The corporation’s stakeholders are in power to significantly influence Coca Cola’s business strategy, views, and the direction of its development.
Social responsibility
Coca Cola has always been invested in social responsibility projects, engaging in environmental, charitable, social, and sports events. Through the high social responsibility corporation’s primary goal is to minimize their carbon footprint and create more sustainable production of the product, while providing for less affluent communities. Overall, Coca Cola has clear goals regarding social responsibility, mainly aiming at the environmental impact and human rights movement.
Ethics
In recent years, Coca Cola has been associated with numerous ethical issues, which affected its reputation. In the past, the corporation had lawsuits regarding racial discrimination, which resulted in the loss of investors and loyal customers (Winter). Despite a partially bad ethical image in the past, lately, Coca Cola has been avoiding scandals, focusing on their social responsibility attentively preventing any controversies.
Globalization
Coca Cola’s globalization started in the early 1900s and has been rapidly expanding and establishing productions throughout the world. The most valuable key to the corporation’s successful globalization is its marketing strategies with catchy slogans known worldwide. An ability to promptly respond to the customers’ needs and market demands, along with modernizing technology contributes to the globalization of Coca Cola.
Planning
Goals – strategic & tactical
The Second Quarter 2020 Coca Cola Report, shares the company’s strategic goals for the next quarter. Coca Cola focuses on investments by prioritizing brands aiming at consumer satisfaction. Among other strategic goals is the «streamline of innovation pipelines against initiatives scalable regionally or globally» (Coca-Cola Reports). The company will put additional strength on its marketing strategies and investments in new capabilities. As for its tactical goals, Coca Cola is continually planning to enter new markets and outran its main competitors.
Mission & vision statements
Coca Cola’s mission statement is brief and catchy, making it known worldwide. It sounds as follows: «Refresh the world. Make a difference» (Purpose & Company Vision). The corporation has a clear vision statement that reflects its main goals. According to the company’s website, «Our vision is to craft the brands and choice of drinks that people love, to refresh them in body and spirit. And done in ways that create a more sustainable business and better-shared future that makes a difference in people’s lives, communities, and our planet» («Vision»). The vision is centered on achieving business goals and making a more sustainable living on the planet.
SWOT
Among Coca Cola’s main strengths are dominance in the beverage industry market, a diversified product, high customer loyalty, and a worldwide distribution network. The companies weaknesses include a high level of environmental issues surrounding the company, the existence of poor-advertised unprofitable brands, and lack of product diversification. Some of Coca Cola’s opportunities are beverage consumption growth, an increase in demand for healthier drinks, price reduction for the production materials. Lastly, the corporation’s threats are increasing competition in the beverage industry, the country’s local brands, and an increasing trend for a healthy lifestyle.
Effects of External Forces
Competition in the external market has an overall positive impact on Coca Cola, as it drives the company to develop innovative campaigns and strategies. Environmental issues have become one of the main focuses for the corporation making it more socially responsible. Trending healthy diets have pushed the company to invent Diet Coke and Coke Zero.
Decision-making style
Coca Cola uses a centralization decision-making style where all the arrangements within the organization are concentrated on a specific leader. The executive specialists, who give out tasks and strategies to localized Coca Cola stations, make the corporation’s decision-making arrangements from the headquarters. Such a decision style has a transparent chain of command, allowing a global company to efficiently perform tasks.
Grand strategy
The company’s grand strategy aims to achieve its long-term goals and concentrated growth, market development, product development, vertical integration, innovation, and concentric diversification. Coca Cola urges to capitalize on its strength by developing new brands according to the consumer’s demands and needs. Keeping the leading positions on the market, while maximizing revenue is the central aspect of the corporation’s grand strategy.
Porter’s competitive strategy
Porter’s competitive strategy’s first component is the threat of entrants, which is hardly possible regarding the high costs of the beverage industry entering and such big competitors as Coca Cola and PepsiCo. New entrants would face many difficulties gaining their audience due to the high customer loyalty rate in other large beverage corporations. Next is the power of supplies, which is low in the beverage industry. Similar to Coca Cola, several suppliers use common ingredients to make their drinks because they are widely available, which lowers the industry’s competitiveness.
Customers’ power in the soft drink industry is high as the main product distribution channels are stores and restaurants. A wide range of beverage brands increases competitiveness as the consumers have a big choice of drinks. The next factor is the threat of substitutes, which is low in the beverage industry. Soft drinks gained extreme loyalty on the market and became an essential part of the lives of millions. The extreme effort put in the marketing and advertising of the products eliminates the threat of replacement. Lastly, the competitive rivalry indicator is hostile in this industry because of the constant competition between Coca Cola and PepsiCo. With a significant market share, these corporations repeatedly try to overrun each other and gain the first position in the industry, which contributes to the overall high competitiveness of the industry.
Organizing
Culture
Coca Cola has a unique culture, which roots for diversity and growth, providing career development to every employee. Diversity programs are also one of the central values for the Coca Cola company, which ranked it among the top 50 best-diversified corporations (“A Q and A”). Coca Cola aims to create an inclusive and comfortable environment for every person working there as a part of the contribution to the corporation’s growth.
Structure
The vertical hierarchy model is prevalent in Coca Cola, where the top management inevitably authorizes all decisions. Corporation’s head office provides support to all regional structures, and the executive committee makes all the strategic arrangements. Every division in the company has to communicate with each other on any new campaigns or strategies and then wait for approval from headquarters in the U.S, where the Executive Committee has the final decision.
Decentralization
Coca Cola follows the decentralization organization within the centralization model of organizing itself. In detail, while the headquarters make most of the decisions, the company has its regional offices divided into departments that execute them. The company believes in simplification and standardization, that is why a decentralized model is more organic for such goals.
HR management
As a global company, the selection of employees at the Coca Cola corporation is a comprehensive process. The company focuses on recruiting highly-skilled employees that can contribute to the rapid development of the business. The HR department at Coca Cola developed strategic plans for hiring new people to the corporation, where they make predictions of future needs and productivity growth of each employee.
Change
Having a company that has existed for over 150 years, it is crucial to develop change-adaptive strategies continually. Coca Cola has always been rapid in responding to worldwide trends and maintaining high positions in the beverage production market. The company constantly designs new brands of soft drinks to keep the consumer interested and to explore the market better. The corporation also responds quickly to their customer’s demand, as it was when Coca Cola replaced their recipe for the drink on the request of its consumers.
Leading
Individual differences
Coca Cola has been a leading beverage distributor for numerous individual differences that attract customers. Besides the famous Coca Cola drink, the company has hundreds of other soft drink trademarks, which are also widely known lie Sprite and Fanta. Moreover, the corporation has a strong, loyal client base, which is a unique asset. Besides, Coca Cola has a high brand identity, a catchy slogan, and a great marketing strategy, which keeps them on the market.
Motivation
Such a big company like Coca Cola must have specific strategies for motivating their employees. The corporation is known to have great communicational channels between the workers and top management. The company itself claims to continually develop programs that increase the qualification of its employees on all levels (“Why Work at The Coca-Cola”). Moreover, the corporation itself is highly interested in decreasing the turnover and educating staff that contributes to Coca Cola’s growth development.
Leadership
By stating a compelling vision of the company and implementing strategies of effective communication Coca Cola has such a productive leadership style. The corporation has excellent strategic thinking and smart execution of the plans. Moreover, Coca Cola strictly selects only the best personnel that can contribute to the company’s success. Lastly, efficient customer and stakeholder communication is a vital part of Coca Cola’s leadership strategy.
Communication
In the world of social media, Coca Cola adopted new strategies for consumer communication. The company is extensively integrating social media platforms in its marketing communication strategies. The company’s memorable slogans and creative advertising campaigns allow the company to reach its audience through emotional connection, therefore creating an efficient form of communication. Divisional organizational structure within the company enables to build productive interaction between the employees.
Controlling
Progress Towards Goals
The corporation’s top management developer five-year growth plans that are accompanied by yearly or quarterly programs, which are more detailed. One of the corporation’s main goals was to reduce sugar usage in their drinks, changing the recipes to healthier versions. A goal of cutting carbon footprint in 2013 has been successfully implemented, where Coca Cola reduced carbon emission by 24% in 2019 (The Coca Cola Company). Thanks to effective management models, Coca Cola has successfully achieved many other strategic goals with dynamic speed.
Works Cited
“A Q and A With Lori George Billingsley – News & Articles.” Www.Coca-Colacompany.Com, 2019, Web.
“Coca-Cola Reports Second Quarter 2020 Results.” Www.Coca-Colacompany.Com, 2020, Web.
English, Simon. “Coca-Cola Accused of ‘Culture of Dishonesty.’” Www.Telegraph.Co.Uk, 2003, Web.
“Purpose & Company Vision | The Coca-Cola Company.” Coca-Colacompany.Com, 2019, Web.
The Coca Cola Company. 2019 BUSINESS & SUSTAINABILITY REPORT.
“Vision.” The Coca-Cola Company, 2019, Web.
“Who Are Coca-Cola’s Partners in Sustainability? | The Coca-Cola Company.” Coca-Colacompany.Com, 2019, Web.
“Why Work at The Coca-Cola Company – Careers.” Coca-Colacompany.Com, 2020, Web.
Winter, Greg. “COCA-COLA SETTLES RACIAL BIAS CASE.” The New York Times, 2000, Web.