Executive Summary
The aim of this report is to cover Coca-Cola’s mission, vision, objectives and values in detail. Critical assessment of its reports and information posted on the website with regard to shareholders as well as other stakeholder groups demonstrates that Coca-Cola strives to solve scandals that have occurred years ago. The firm cares greatly for the working environment that it creates. What concerns formulation of vision and mission, it is clear that Coca-Cola needs more differentiation and precision. What is more, based on its commitment to integrity, Coca-Cola should explicitly state on the main page for shareholders what its sustainability goals are. Lastly, more focus is required when it comes to charitable global initiatives. These recommendations will allow Coca-Cola to prosper even further and position itself as a caring and nurturing organization that it strives to become.
Introduction
Mission Statement and Its Analysis
In its sustainability report, The Coca-Cola Company lists its main objectives that will help it attain its greater mission. They include commitment to female empowerment, water stewardship, inspiration for the well-being of marginalized communities, sustainable packaging, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, equality and dignity of working rights, support for agricultural communities, and maintenance of sustainable supply of natural ingredients (The Coca-Cola Company, 2015). The company is also committed to diligence in corporate governance and timely as well as transparent reporting of earnings, which means that it aims to deliver information about its operations to its stakeholders continually. As reported in the income statements of the firm, Coca-Cola relies on the success of its devoted workforce. It aims to establish relationships with customers by offering a large quantity of options that would satisfy their needs and vibrant lifestyles (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016a, p. 1). An integral part of the successful mission execution for Coca-Cola is effective performance of its workforce (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016a, p. 1). More generally, Coca-Cola’s mission can be summarized in three points: refreshing the world with its products, inspiring happiness and optimism by making the world a better place through its impact, and creating value by making a difference (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016b).
Vision and Its Analysis
The main objective of the mission statement is communicating to the stakeholders where the business wants to be in five to ten years (Charantimath, 2006, p. 107). It is essentially the direction that the firm challenges itself to follow over a substantial period of time. Vision is supposed to be updated on the basis of the company’s achievements over the past years. It also has to be concise and realistic (Charantimath, 2006, p. 107).
Based on the annual statements of The Coca-Cola Company, its vision is to use its assets, including capital, brands, distribution chain, popularity, talented workforce and devotion of managers as well as associates, to improve its competitiveness against rivals in the industry and simultaneously create value for shareholders (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016a). Above all, Coca-Cola strives to defend the rights of its employees not only as human beings, but also as employees who work for a world class corporation (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016c). This statement means that in the years to come, The Coca-Cola Company aims to become a sustainable employer who motivates its suppliers to promote legal and responsible workplace policies. What is more, in the process of maximizing shareholders’ value, the firm aims to stay loyal to its environmental and social responsibilities (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016b). Lastly, over the course of next several years, the firms strives to be innovative and productive in order to stay on top of technological developments all over the world.
Values and Their Analysis
Among the 2020 sustainability commitments, Coca-Cola grants special attention to leadership that will guide the industry (The Coca-Cola Company, 2015, p. 6). Moreover, much emphasis is laid on collaborative power, as the firm is establishing more partnerships with various initiatives in its endeavor to make the world a better place. When it comes to the code of conduct, integrity and honesty are prioritized (The Coca-Cola Company, 2015, p. 33; p. 54) because an innovative and sustainable workplace does not have any place for fraud. Coca-Cola emphasizes these values through all of its communication tools, because a modern customer will give preference to the company that is honest about its commitments and activities. It is also important for Coca-Cola to educate its stakeholders about its water use, especially due to the past scandals in India (Mathiason, 2006).
Among other values of Coca-Cola, it is necessary to mention that for its employees to be committed, they must be passionate about what they do. Thus, passion “for making a lasting, positive difference in people’s lives” both in hearts and minds of employees is a part of culture (The Coca-Cola Company, 2015, p. 3). Because Coca-Cola’s workers are protected on the basis of rights and egalitarianism, they are diverse, both culturally as well as professionally. In such a way, much of Coca-Cola’s innovation may come from the grassroots, because they are not afraid to share ideas in an inclusive culture. What is more, front-line employees are the ones who confront clients on the daily basis, and thus they must have the most suitable and innovative solutions for all possible problems. Lastly, Coca-Cola takes great pride in the value of its brands (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016b). Its products are known and popular all over the world, and it means that it takes on an immense responsibility of satisfying the most diverse consumers.
Alignment of Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals with Stakeholders’ Interests
What is more, other stakeholder groups are taken into account during the design of mission, vision, values and daily goals of the organization. Employees form a prominent part of stakeholders of Coca-Cola. They are promised equal and fair working conditions as well as rights. Next, suppliers are granted with a responsibility to promote such just environments in their daily operations as well. When it comes to the stakeholders that Coca-Cola can choose for itself, namely suppliers, it selects those that do business according to particular values. It is important to not only uphold certain standards, but to also abstain from those companies who do not appreciate them.
Among other stakeholders, poor communities as well as the general public are addressed by Coca-Cola. By making a pledge to report honestly and timely, the firm cares not only for the government as its stakeholder, but also for all people interested in its activities. As a matter of fact, The Coca-Cola Company reports much more about its impacts and operations than it is bound to do by the law.
Recommended Changes
In its reports, the company claims to be considerate of other stakeholders while maximizing shareholders’ value. However, the same information is not repeated in the section for shareowners. It should be visible and clear for shareholders, because then they would not ever be in a position to require the company to make more profits at the expense of environment or workers.
What is more, The Coca-Cola Company’s website’s section about mission, vision and values has many lists and has a really broad focus. As a big international corporation, Coca Cola strives to participate in multiple charities, donations and sustainability programs. However, it is advisable for the company to focus on a narrower concept and stream more funds in one direction at a time. In such a way, the results would be more noticeable and such scandals as the one about water scarcity due to Coca-Cola’s activity in India would not arise.
While the mission of the company is very broad, it is also somewhat vague. Refreshing the world, inspiring happiness and making a difference are some of the most ambitious and unclear goals that an organization can undertake. As Hammonds (2007) conjectures, a strategy has to be about making choices. He states that a company has to make a trade off and position itself as a different entity instead of trying to “get big fast” (Hammonds, 2007). It would be sensible for Coca-Cola to design a mission statement that is more precise and related to the future vision. What is more, the vision of the organization is also focused on an undefined period of time, so it would be more practical to use its sustainability goals for 2020 as a guide for the vision.
Conclusion
All in all, it is obvious that Coca-Cola has become one of the most renowned corporations in the world due to its quality and brands. Its activities are based not only on maximizing income, but also on making the world a better place by minimizing negative impacts of its production. However, several recommendations can be made in order for The Coca-Cola Company to become an even better corporate citizen. In particular, it should make effort to report its values to shareowners more explicitly and focus its sustainable efforts on specific global needs instead of trying to cover all of them simultaneously.
References
Charantimath, P. M. (2006). Total quality management. New Delhi: Pearson Education.
Hammonds, K. (2007). Michael Porter's big ideas. Fast Company, 44. Retrieved on August 27, 2014, from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/44/porter.html
Mathianson, N. (2006, March 19). Coke ‘drinks India dry’. The Guardian. Retrieved on March 30, 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/money/2006/mar/19/business.india1
The Coca-Cola Company. (2015). 2014/2014 Sustainability Report. Retrieved on March 30, 2016, from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/content/dam/journey/us/en/private/fileassets/pdf/2015/09/2014-2015-sustainability-report.pdf
The Coca-Cola Company. (2016a). Annual Report Pursuant To Section 13 or 15(D) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Retrieved on March 30, 2016, from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/content/dam/journey/us/en/private/fileassets/pdf/investors/2015-annual-report-on-form-10-k.pdf
The Coca-Cola Company. (2016b). Mission, vision and values. Retrieved on March 30, 2016, from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/mission-vision-values/
The Coca-Cola Company. (2016c). Our company – Workplace overview. Retrieved on March 30, 2016, from http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/workplace-overview/
