The function of human resource in companies supersedes the superficial knowledge normally accorded to the function of the department. The HR department manages most companies. This includes the duties of policy design, management of human capital, and fluency in operation of the company. This paper is developed from an interview conducted on the HR manager of the Coca Cola Company in the Chicago plant, USA. The paper adopts an analytic view of the various management options that are reminiscent of the plant, the organization design, staffing, performance management and appraisals, training and general organizational development. There is also a theoretical framework inculcated in the report, in an attempt to legitimize contextually the position adopted in the development of the essay.
Company background and Organizational design
The Coca Cola Company is currently the largest beverage producer in the world (Regassa & Corradino, 2011). The company, which started in 1886, has been in existence since then, beating the tough competition from its close competitors like the PepsiCo Company who have been a significant rival company in the beverage industry. The Chicago plant is one of the biggest plants of the company in US, thereby presenting a very good case study for this report. The company boasts of five leading brands that are currently the most renowned brands in the world. This includes the Coke brand which is the seminal brand of the company. The Coke brand has been advanced through a multiplicity of line depth and width productions. This has seen the development of other alternative brands of the same product to meet the needs of customers. This has seen the production of Coke diet, caffeinated Coke, Coke Zero et cetera (Regassa & Corradino, 2011). Other top brands include; Sprite, Fanta, Coke Zero, and others. The company has a global employee of over 770,000 and continues to hire new employees in order to meet its market demands. The composition of the coca cola management has men and women with various expertise. The company does not employ its top management from one discipline, perhaps one of the reasons why it has stood the test of time (Regassa & Corradino, 2011). The Coca Cola Company handles over 1.7 billion servings on a daily basis hence generating humongous revenue on an annual basis. The Chicago plant, which operates directly under the same management of the Coca head offices, is a key part of the production. According Dr. Chapman, the company’s organization is directly determined by the board of management through a rigorous process of management placements.
Organization design
The HR function in the company is deemed as one of the major faculties that are seminal in the business strategies developed by the company. For instance, the company consists of a board of governors and trustees who have the general purpose of overseeing the stability of the company. The Board is responsible for the selection of the CEO who is the chief accounting officer of the affairs of the company. Under the senior management department lies, the department of HR, Marketing dept, Finance and other corporate relations departments which is a subdivision of the HR function. Dr. Chapman notes that the plant has two major bodies: the bottling investment and the corporate body. These two are in charge of running activities in the company. The two are subdivided into the regions of operation, where the local region is involved in the decision making. To Regassa & Corradino (2011), decentralization in decision making to the unique areas of operation forms part of the secret of the company in harnessing the idiosyncrasies that are reminiscent of the region of operation. This means that the market changes, political, social or consumer demands are met in the decision making hence giving the company an advantageous position in as far as the HR strategic positioning is concerned.
HR management functions
The HR department at the coca cola plant has the sole responsibility of taking care of the welfare of the employees in the plant, and also manage the operations between the mainstream company, and the production ability of the workers. This as Dr. Chapman asserts is in tandem with the operational requirements of human resource management. The department, therefore, indulges in activities that oversee the wellness of its employees through direct partnership with the department of operations. Trezise (1996) claims that the main function in HR is the hiring and development of a strong human resource team that helps strengthen the working force of the company. This, therefore, means that the company formulates the processes of increasing human labour and efficiency in the plant. Chapman agrees that one of his sole purpose as a manager in the company is to highlight the parts, and areas where the members need to pay particular attention as a requirement for excellent performance.
The HR dept for instance plays the role of identifying the relevant human resource personalities incepted into the company. Chapman advances that the human resource department is responsible for the recruitment of new employees, placed under line managers for technical expertise and skill training. The department of the human resource is also the overall manager of the relationships between employees as it determines the placement and strategic positioning of the employees and their duties. Dr. Chapman says that the human resource department also serves the purpose of being the strategic manager and designer for the company. It is also the department that is responsible for design of jobs and duties delegated to employees within the company. This is in liaison with the line management which is the implementation tool of the company.
Recruitment and Training of employees
The Coca Cola Company has a tough recruitment process undertaken within its operational plants. The company adopts the same and similar recruitment policy in all the countries of operation. This as Regassa & Corradino (2011) note forms the basis upon which its production efficiency and implementation of its strategic mechanisms is based. The company has several processes involved in the recruitment process if its employees. The process entails the initial stages which include the advertisements.
Recruitment process of the company is based on different factors and considerations. Dr. Chapman points out that the company has always been involved in thorough scrutiny of recruits through the options of selection and probation placement. The recruitment process begins with advertisements through the popular media of newspapers, company website and institutions directly associated with the company. The company utilizes different methods in selecting the best person for the job. The recruits are undertaken through a vigorous interview that interviews the skills and competences required. The interviewees are asked questions in relation to the company the company products and the organizational structure. There is also the use of group activities through designated activities that are meant to evaluate the interviewees’ ability to mingle and work in a unified manner. Dr. Chapman observes that this is in view of the company’s nature of business. Unity and uniformity in working is a crucial element for a successful company. Presentations and psychometric questions and testing are also utilized to a large extent. This enables the company to select the best for the job.
Training and development
After a through observation, the members are placed under training for a while. It is here that the members are trained on the values and principles of the company. Vast experience brought to the company is utilized resulting to better products used to the advantage of the company. Just as Regassa & Corradino (2011) claim in their principles of a successful company, the inception and skill handover from the company to the incoming employees is facilitated by the training thus ensuring that the members learn the strings of the job in a fast paced environment. This has ensured that the company picks the best managers and employees who continue to expand the businesses. The coca cola company has four types of training that it offers to its employees. It offers the skills training, the technical training, leadership training and the function training. The skill training encompasses skills required for the performance of the job through vigorous in-house training on presentations and public speaking. While the skills training is meant to help the new employees to adapt easily to their work, the technical training is meant to increase the professional development of employees. For instance, they are able to save time when working, thus improving on the delivery and productivity. The leadership training is meant to develop a new breed of managers in the company (Regassa & Corradino, 2011). The leadership training involves training new managers and the incumbent ones on the best management practices and skills of leadership. The members are taught on listening skills as one of the best skills in sound leadership and management. Members are also taught on management consulting, assessment and situation analysis. The last training that is offered by the company is the functional training. This training involves the on-job training. The Company has for instance started the virtual university, CCU (Coca Cola University) where all skills and research on the best practices are taught to the members. This helps in ensuring that the company is steady in terms of strategic positioning through continued support system.
Performance management and appraisal
According to Dr. Chapman, the performance of the company is evaluated on an annual basis. The HR dept is vested with the power of evaluating the company’s staff performance and rate their performance on scales that are determined by the internal chambers. Evaluation of the employees is done through interviewing, record analysis, observation and case studies. There is also a needs analysis that is determined through the same process. Nienaber (2010) observes that needs analysis serves the purpose of restitution of the company from malfunctions in case the company has needs that have to be met. Once the employees are evaluated, they can then be motivated through rewards in monetary form or promotions. Promotions are advanced through consideration of the length of service, the production efficiency of the employees and on the transactional level of the company. These form the basic levels of consideration in determining whether promotions should be made or not. The other benefits that the employees are given include substantive medical cover, paid for holidays, monetary rewards and stipends on a regular basis.
Mission, vision and Objectives
The mission statement of the company is based on endurance (Ward, 2004). The company’s actions are guided by the mission statement which spells the rationale and nature of actions that are undertaken by the company. The mission of the company is based on three principles; to refresh the world, to inspire moments of optimism and happiness and to create value and make a difference in the world (Ward, 2004). The three principles guide the company in the design and sale of their products. Wall street (2000) notes that the company has been on a steady profit generating situation because of the strict adherence to the mission of the company, where all employees are trained to live to the values that are upheld by the company and act in accordance to the mission and vision stipulated. The understanding of the mission of the company by employees ensures that the employees work with dedication and in tandem with company objectives. Working in uniformity and with a focussed trajectory leads to a positive growth in the company (Webb, 2006).
Ward (2004) defines objectives of a company as the guiding principle and the yardstick upon which actions of management and production are based in any institution of profitability. The objectives of the company in question are based on the vision statement of the company. The company aspires to achieve a global sustainable growth and become the leading global business enterprise in the beverage industry. The management of the company and its shareholders’ business enterprises is placed under stringent observatory, and managerial implementation so as to achieve the goals and objectives as adopted by the company. Holleran (1999) asserts that the nature of management and style of leadership adopted by organizations are highly responsible for their success or failure. The coca cola company has, therefore, held one of the most profound leadership and managerial support system since its inception in 1886. The success can be attributed to the leadership and managerial experience that is reminiscent of its employees over time.
Conformation to HR theoretical perspectives
The HR manager, Dr. Chapman notes that the company’s operation in the human resource strictly follows the conventions adopted by the international labour organizations. Therefore, mechanisms that ensure that the company operates within the window of proven management models are like the humanistic theory and the scientific theory of management. Dr. Chapman points out that the bureaucratic systems of government and management in companies are avoided in the company. This is because the company adopts a free atmosphere where employees can access the top management level, and address their grievances without following pre-established chains of commands.
Trezise (1996) notes that the management of a company or organization should adopt a position that is friendly to employees through listening to grievances and making the aura of operation to be a relaxed one. When employees are well taken care of and treated, they will be highly motivated. Adopting a friendly nature motivates them intrinsically rather than when motivated by rewards or monetary values as this wither with time (Nienaber, 2010). The coca cola company, therefore, combines its methods of appraising employees and rewarding them so as to achieve great motivation levels.
Conclusion
The HR dept in the company has many roles to play in the company. This is through the levels of indulgence highlighted by Dr. Chapman. While the role is diversified, the organizational design of the company ensures that all the subbranches and departments are involved in the process of business development. This helps achieve a level ground operation for all the elements of the company. Therefore, the company success not only depends on the HR function, but mutual interaction among all facets of the company.
References
Coca-cola separates its European business into two divisions. (2000, Jan 21). Wall Street Journal, pp. 1-B8. http://search.proquest.com/docview/398882161?accountid=45049
Holleran, J. (1999). Strength through sense: 1999 company of the year: Coca-cola enterprises inc. Beverage Industry, 90(1), 16-18. http://search.proquest.com/docview/196490163?accountid=45049
Nienaber, H. (2010). Conceptualization of management and leadership. Management Decision, 48(5), 661-675. Doi: 10.1108/00251741011043867
Regassa, H., & Corradino, L. (2011). Determining the value of the Coca Cola Company - a case analysis. Cullowhee, United States, Cullowhee: The Dream Catchers Group, LLC. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/912512977?accountid=45049
Trezise, E. K. (1996). Review article: An introduction to business ethics for human resource management teaching and research. Personnel Review, 25(6), 85-89. http://search.proquest.com/docview/214809907?accountid=45049
Ward, A. (2004). High reputation survives turmoil CASE STUDY COCA-COLA. Financial Times, pp. 5-5. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/249494556?accountid=45049
Webb, C. (2006). Avoiding ageism and promoting diversity at coca-cola. Strategic HR Review, 5(5), 8-9. http://search.proquest.com/docview/217177768?accountid=45049
Appendices
