Taking the 4th place at recently published Forbes’ rating of the most valuable brands in the world, the Coca-Cola Company is considered the leading soft drink company among many other its competitors. Consumption of soft drinks is constantly increasing due to both the increasing purchasing power of the population and the active marketing policy of the major players in the market. The beverage is sold in more than 200 countries. Coca-Cola trademark is known by 99% of the total population of the globe due to the strategy of geographical expansion of the market.
Coca-Cola Company’s vision is used as the outline for its Roadmap and directs each element of business by characterizing what it requires achieving with the intention of further accomplishment of longstanding, excellence growth (The Coca-Cola Company, 2014):
- People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be.
- Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people’s desires and needs.
- Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value.
- Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities.
- Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities.
- Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.
In order to inspire people to believe in its vision Coca-Cola’s managers launch different campaigns. Employees of Coca-Cola are actively involved in numerous volunteer projects organized by the company, and many of its colleagues, for example, donate blood regularly, using the opportunity to provide vital assistance to people who need it. The purpose of helping those in need to measure the forces and capabilities of employees is maintained. The company in collaboration with its partners provides the organizational capacity of those who are willing to donate blood. Of course, a positive response to this initiative by employees only strengthened the decision to continue the program and run it in different regions, where Coca-Cola operates.
Also, launched in the summer Coca-Cola campaign of Share a Coke provided a US company sales growth in the US by 2.5%. The number of sold bottles and cans of Coca-Cola labels, on which the company put popular names like words “Family”, “Friends” or “best friend at all times”, the first time in the last 11 years, began to grow. To this end, 250 most popular names for teenagers were selected. In this case, bottles and jars with the most popular names – Chris, Jess and Alex – were released more often. In addition, the company has sold more than 1 million cans of Coca-Cola with the names through vending machines, where people can order a bottle of any particular name of 100 thousand possible. Through the company’s website virtual bottle of soda with any name can be ordered. With this service about 6 million bottles were ordered. In the summer months via Instagram more than 500 thousand photos tagged #shareacoke were posted.
Coca-Cola coordinates a special program, in which a semi-annual regional managers should spend three days at the planning meetings with senior executives of the company and study in detail the activities of the company, namely discussing what turns out well, what is satisfactory, and what is not so good, various strategies are considered for next year and the next three years. A few weeks after the meeting regional managers fly to Atlanta, Georgia, where the Main Directorate of Coca-Cola is located. There, they must submit their strategic plans aimed at one and three years and operational budgets. Again the managers are in the atmosphere, which does not allow them to relax, as there are numerous discussions, testing, and plans (The Coca-Cola Company, 2014).
Concerning superordinate goals, it is worth to state the following:
- Penetration of new, including foreign, markets, including the expansion of not only the export of goods, but exports of capital, when abroad enterprises, factories are established that produce goods locally, in the former importing countries, bypassing restrictive trade barriers and using advantages of cheap labor and local raw materials;
- Policy of bargain prices of intermediaries – if the last set mark no more than 15%, then they get the products at discounted prices, and this in turn affects the final price of Coca-Cola products;
- Technology development. Today, Coca-Cola more than ever cares about establishing relationships with their customers and strives to provide them with a wider range of goods and services. It contributes to the development of a new consumer culture, where man is able to meet their own needs 24 hours a day;
- Creation of option program, i.e. the equity capital of the company employees. Options allow simultaneously solving the problem of employees’ participation in the ownership and profits. The main objective of the stock option plan is to align remuneration with the efficiency of operation, so that employees profited, when their companies thrive and suffered losses, when companies go astray from the right course.
- Work on the concept of viral advertising. It is necessary to lay a solid foundation, including a business setting, goals and objectives of the company, working on expanding the brand and cooperation with internal and external creative teams and customers.
Coca-Cola’s vision and superordinate goals should always fit company’s internal components, like staff, skills, structure, strategy, style and systems. Defined vision and goals are aimed at the development of the organization. Practice of successful modern businesses testifies: in order system to survive and succeed system factors should be focused. If the market is “dipped”, if the budget is “bursting at the seams”, if the client and the organization leaves fell from the prestigious ranking, “tighten the screws” can be a matter of urgency, to reorganize with shuffling and make staff cuts, invest in advertising and PR, finally put cross on own manager career But we can recall that all these problems are from people – company’s employees. And that staff (all ranks and positions), the company owes its problems, but also for their salvation and prosperity, it also owes them! All employees according to their position have certain responsibilities, implementing effective human resources management (Fleetwood and Hesketh, 2009). Also the system of Coca-Cola promotes and supports their employees’ participation in programs to protect the environment.
In order to improve organizational performance of Coca-Cola Company it is recommended to concentrate on the use of the highest quality possible to install commercial equipment to attract new customers and thereby destroy the distribution channels of competing firms – manufacturers. The company should use more innovations at regular basis, provide value-added products, keep prices lower to market requirements for high-quality drinks, maintain the uniqueness of product as long as possible, negotiate with suppliers about high-quality equipment and try to benchmark.
References
Fleetwood, S. and Hesketh, A. (2009). Understanding the Performance of Human Resources, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
The Coca-Cola Company (2014). Company reports, Retrieved from <http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/company-reports>
The Coca-Cola Company (2014). Mission, Vision & Values, Retrieved from <http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/mission-vision-values>
