Introduction
Coca Cola has made significant steps in ensuring that it continues to be a world leader in production and marketing of non-alcoholic beverages. With over 120 years in the beverage industry, the company is far much ahead of several of its competitors who continue to engage in aggressive strategies in efforts to establish themselves internationally. However, competition from brands such as Pepsi necessitates efforts by Coca-Cola to engage in strategy formulation and implementation as well as strategic controls to ensure it maintains its position as leading the beverage company globally. Appropriate strategy implementation and controls are imperative in ensuring Coca Cola achieves its growth and stability objectives. This report, therefore, establishes the critical ways in which Coca Cola could outdo competitors and continue serving the global market in ways that ensure customer loyalty is enhanced as well as new customers are attracted by the Coca Cola brands daily.
Strategy Implementation at Coca Cola
Coca Cola has made significant steps in identifying the key areas in which strategic implementations can be achieved. The company’s main focus is to maximize its long term cash flow through reduction in the cost of operations as well as relying on its experience to create economies of scale that are key to eliminating competition from rival companies. To fully implement the strategy and ensure it is a success, major focus needs to be placed on ways in which efficiencies in production and supply chain can be achieved. Practicing high levels of efficiency is key to minimizing wastages in production and distribution channels used to deliver products to the target customers. The other major strategic concern for Coca Cola is on the need to take care of its internal staff by proving a positive atmosphere to work in. This implies changing the organizational culture must be multi-culturally acceptable by making sure it appreciates the need for diversity as well as gender appreciation.
The ability to accommodate cultural diversity is key to understanding the global community in which Coca Cola operates in as well as ensuring a culture based on team work is achieved. Employees need to be trained on the value of diversity as a major factor that enhances team work in the organization. Coca Cola focuses on the need to improve the system knowledge among workers. Workers need to be aware of how the system functions to be able to come up with ideas on how the system could be improved to fulfill the needs of the current market. There is also need to ensure customers and employees are passionate ambassadors of the Coca Cola products and are, therefore, able to influence a significant majority to try out the utility offered by the products. This implies offering customers high quality products that keep them satisfied and offering employees motivational incentives that keep them motivated.
Coca Cola also needs to make significant efforts to understand diversity among its consumers. This implies understanding the cultural beliefs that affect consumption patterns among consumers. Coca Cola also needs to focus on increasing the value of its portfolio. Strategies are underway to ensure creativity and innovativeness is enhanced among employees to be able to bring innovations to the market in real time. This is because customers are always willing to try out new products that offer them unique satisfaction which keeps them loyal to Coca Cola’s products.
With rapid growth in technology and the need to keep up with the pace, it is vital for strategy implementation measures that accommodate acquisition of modern production equipment as well as exploiting new and better distribution channels to improve flexibility with which consumers’ access products. Technological advancements are key to satisfying the needs of customers with the right brands. Involving partners in the strategy implementation process is important since they are able to keep up with the pace with which the business is changing and are able to work together with Coca Cola to achieve long term growth and stability. Coca Cola identifies itself with the need to take care of the environment by involving the community through corporate social responsibilities and ensuring corporate goals are focused on the need for healthy living for both its employees and customers.
Strategy Controls Important to enhance Coca Cola Global Position
There is need to monitor the progress of the strategies implemented to ensure corrective actions are taken earlier so that future losses are avoided. The major focus is on market analysis since it is the main driver of profits for Coca Cola.
Feedback from customers
With the need to maximize long term cash flows by creating loyal customers, assessing customers’ feedback is important. Customers’ feedback could be obtained through carrying out online surveys that give customers opportunity to present their feelings regarding the products offered. Modern online communication tools make it easier to conduct market surveys due to the fact that customers leave comments on the company’s webpage. Customers also have the chance to interact with Coca Cola on twitter where their comments, questions and suggestions are responded to immediately. This then implies that through the interactions with customers and the feedback provided by them, it is easier for Coca Cola to demine the success of the strategies implemented.
Statistics from the target market sales.
Profits depend on the ability of the target market to embrace more of Coca Cola’s products. The feasibility of the target markets could be done using market surveys that provide a precise estimate of the likelihood for the company to achieve a significant amount of revenues from the segment. A slow response implies lower adoption rate by the segment hence the need to reconsider the marketing strategies and even withdraw from the market if necessary. However, in case the market shows prospects of long term success, there is need for aggressive strategies to be used since the segment can be dominated by rival brands. This implies using aggressive promotion strategies that in turn create awareness of the presence of Coca Cola’s products in the market. However, as a leading beverage company worldwide, it is likely that less time will be taken before a significant share is achieved.
Budgeting as strategic control tool.
Several of the strategies implemented require significant amount of resources, both financial and physical. Strategies such increasing business portfolio through innovation create the need to conduct a cost benefit analysis to consider viability of the strategy in the long run. However, since the need for increasing the value of portfolio coincides with strategies for low cost manufacturing, it is possible for Coca Cola to achieve higher revenues in the long run. An increase in net margins as a result of successful implementation of the strategies, therefore, provides a reason for further investment in innovations that are meant to make Coca Cola a global leader for more years to come.
Assessing productivity at work place
The ability to determine successful implementation of cultural diversity within the workplace can be assessed by analyzing productivity trends. In case of reduction in productivity, there is likelihood that diversity is not working among employees and could even be damaging interpersonal relationships and communication among employees. However, since Coca Cola continues to train employees on the need to appreciate diversity, it is likely that the workforce will work together in improving productivity and creating a positive work environment for everyone.
Conclusion
The success of any implemented strategies is determined by the ability to rely on strategic controls that in turn monitor effectiveness of strategic steps taken. This implies that there is need to ensure the controls designed encompass all the critical areas identified as key to promoting long term growth and stability of an organization. Risk managers need to be involved in identifying the potential shortfalls from the strategies that are implemented and suggest ways in which the risks involved can be reduced to acceptable levels.
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