Coca -Cola Company Analysis Marketer and Manufacturer

Question: Describe about the Coca -Cola Company Analysis for Marketer and Manufacturer. Answer: Introduction Coca-Cola dates its history to the late 1800s (Fernando 2009). Its founder, John Pemberton, is said to have mixed carbonated water with caramel- colored syrup coming up with a drink that was of different taste and flavour from the one taken by the people. A retailer, marketer and manufacturer of non-alcoholic beverages, the Coca-Cola Company is the worlds market leader. Headquartered in Atlanta and with more than 500 brands, operating in more than 200 countries world over, it operates a stable franchised distribution system in which Coca- Cola Company produces syrup concentrate selling it to various bottlers. The company boasts of hundreds of brands as well as thousands of products in over 200 countries over the world. Due to the cultural tastes of some products, they are only sold locally while other products are region- bound. Overview of Problem Solving and Decision Making Process Cross, Miller and Cross (2009) argue that the process of making decisions in the company is centralized with the use of the classical model. The top level managers take time in making the decisions keeping in mind all the possible alternatives prior to coming up with a rationally economic solution. In this process, no employees are consulted especially in the event of a programmed decision making. Upon receiving orders from the general managers, the line managers in the middle level management are charged with only ordinary routine decisions. The top management makes decisions related to: trade discounts, advertisements, distribution, price reductions, and package positioning. For instance, in the recruitment of the new employees, top management also gives approval to the vacancies while the human capital department personnel conduct interviews and tests. Overview of Coca-Cola Company Profile Coca-Cola Company, a multinational organization founded in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia as a beverage industry began its international merchandise in 1895 after selling their coke product in bottles (Tuleja 2008). This strategy was successful and the bottled coke was recognised as a highly consumed brand worldwide. The primary objective of the company is to be the global leader in the manufacturer, retailer and marketer of beverages in accelerating the sustainable growth. The objective is achieved through the company targeting different areas globally with different products aimed at gaining brand name and popularity. All the bottling partners have a close working relation with the customers through grocery stores, street vendors, convenience stores, and movie theatres. According to In Idowu (2009), the company carries out regular reviews and evaluation of its business plans and performance so as to improve business earning and ensure increased market competition. Business models are re- aligned with decisions in order to match the objectives with the strategies in achieving them. Problems or issues of the Coca-Cola Company Since its inception, Sander and Bobo (2011) postulate that Coca-Cola Company faces a lot of challenges in terms of its brand new strategies being developed by other beverage producing industries that threaten Coca-Cola existence. The main competitor for the company is the PepsiCo or Pepsi Cola Company whose portfolio of services and products are extensive as Cokes. Both the two beverage companies offer products which are almost similar in their flavour, price and ingredients. However, Coca-Cola Company caters for the needs of the thirsty drinkers through offering distinct products. Financially, Coca-Cola has often lagged behind PepsiCo with a decrease in both revenue and net income over the past years. For instance, its revenue between 2012 and 2014 decreased to $45.9 billion from $48 billion marking a 4 percent decline in the last three years. On the other hand, PepsiCo registered an increase in the revenue to about $66.6 billion from $65.4 billion, a 1.8 percent increment during 20 12-2014 period. Nevertheless, the company has seen an increasing cash flow as well as total assets despite PepsiCo leading in terms of revenue and profits. Objectives behind the selection of particular Coca-Cola company problems Coca-Cola Company as a successful global company still faces public perception problems (Sander and Bobo 2011) Some of the products do not taste good as well as gaining the popularity as its red flag brand. The public perception is that some of these products can more likely to lead to certain diseases such as diabetes especially when consumed in large quantities. Such attitude of changing health- consciousness of the market remains a serious effect on its visibility in the business dominance. Problem solving process in Coca-Cola Company Coca-Cola employs a consultative management style to problem solving and decision making (Anderson, Billings-Harris 2010). The approach motivates the employees who are encouraged to set their goals in line with the aims of the organization which regular reviews through performance appraisals. The advantage is that it increases the efficiency of the employees, motivating and training them to be productive. As a worlds premier beverage industry spanning more than 118 years, the Coca-Cola Company focuses on strategic workforce programs that helps to embrace workers cultures, ideas, similarities and differences. Diversity advisory council is one of such mechanisms consisting of employee representatives from all functions, level and business units. The council is charged with the responsibility to develop recommendations which inform the senior management on the companys efforts and objectives. Coca-Cola Company embraces employee forums where they support each other on matters of personal and professional growth so as to enhance a collective ability. Team work is encouraged as a way through which employees voice their grievances in Coca-Cola Company as well as being accountable on matters such as quality, utilization and yield. Approaches used by Coca-Cola Company According to Miller and Jentz (2008), every business is composed of its culture which is dependent on the organizational management style as well as structure. Some of these cultures available for use by any organization are role culture, task culture, power culture and person culture. Coca- Cola Company adopts a role culture in which all the employees have a defined role to carry out. The employee roles are split into different functions which take a hierarchical order. For instance, Coca- Cola divides these functions into different sections such as accounts, production and marketing with hierarchical order of offices. Such offices are manned by production managers, technicians, supervisors, operatives among others which work by rationality and logic. Therefore, in Coca-Cola, approach to problem solving and decision making uses position as the chief power source while rules and procedures form main source of influence. Values with the Coca-Cola Company serve as a compass in decision making and problem solving for its actions, forming the main description of its global business behaviour (Anderson, Billings-Harris 2010). Among the values are: leadership, collaboration, integrity, accountability, diversity, quality and passion. The aforementioned values are incorporated in the Coca-Cola Company through the focus on the market and the needs of the customers and the franchise partners, possessing a global view, listening, observing and learning the market, and being insatiably curious. Tools used by the Coca-Cola Company Employee engagement forms the main tool used by Coca-Cola Company (Anderson, Billings-Harris 2010). Such engagement consists of five points: realization that hard stuff delivery is not enough, acknowledging to the workforce their strengths and weaknesses in an open way, engaging every employee in the work, involving all the employees concerning the management style, and identifying different employee talents. Solution Taken by the Coca-Cola Company Miller and Cross (2013) state that Coca-Cola Company has been hard at its work utilizing the ample war chest in building the presence in the ever rapid growing category of beverages. In order to curb the problem of competition especially from its core competitor, PepsiCo, it has owned 16 percent of the Keurig Green Mountain. At the same time, a fresh Keurig Kold device is being developed which is projected towards debuting the fall in its revenue and profits as a result of the competition. Keurig, which is based used for pod- based drinks when hot, is intended to feature Cokes branded products as being strong in the market. In addition, the company recently finalised the purchase of the 17 percent stae of the Moster Beverage. This deal will help the company in the access to the energy drink segment. All these transactions are anticipated to take effect in bolstering the top as well as bottom lines with an immediate effect. Alongside, this is aimed at targeting the younger customer ba se. In order to capitalise on the fact that there has been an increase in the number of the customer base, Coca-Cola Company intends to capitalise on this shift. For instance, in India and China, Coke has continued to face water shortages due to the surging demand in the bottled water goods. Any alternative Solutions Coca-Cola Company has embraced a public relations approach in dealing with the competition issues world over (Amerland 2013). The most viable solution has been through open communication especially with the main constituents such as the media, public, trade channels, employees, suppliers, state and national government. The company has engaged into an open as well as honest communication in resolving some of the emerging competition problems with the view of ensuring that they are well resolved and identified. Amerland (2013) adds that through the well laid down communication channels, the consumers are able to make informed choices of the products. This is also effective in achieving an efficient promotion because communication finds its roots to the persons behavioural aspects which have a direct link with the culture. Coca-Cola Company has factored in the fact that poor public relations and the communication with the customers make them to lack the pre-requisite knowledge about the products. Impact of success and growth after using the company selected model Clarkson (2008) argues that firms that are said to have a higher competitive advantage over the rest have an access to special resources and use them in an efficient way. In turn, this results in a higher revenue, production growth and profits. Coca-Cola Company has utilized Michael Porters competitive forces model in dealing with the five competitive forces in the market. Through the Porters model, Coca-Cola Company has divided its competitors in categories such as traditional competitors, new market entrants, substitute services and products, customers, and suppliers. Through the use of the model, Coca-Cola Company has employed four generic strategies in managing the competition by the help of the information technology and systems. These strategies are: Low cost leadership- the company utilizes this strategy so as to achieve lowest prices and operational costs. For instance, an efficient customer response system has been incorporated in the supply chain management system so as to directly link with the customers behaviour. This has helped the company in the distribution and production as well as supply chains thus lowering the inventory and the costs of distribution. SWOT Analysis of the tools used by the Company As a five forces analysis, Porters model as used by Coca-Cola Company can be analysed using the SWOT analysis (Isdell and Beasley 2012). This can be used in the analysis of the company on the basis of the companys strengths and the weakness with relative to the opportunities and the threats. Through the use of the model, the company makes important strategic decisions in terms of the competitive factors. As a de facto framework especially in the analysis of an industrys competition factors, Porters five forces model has been used by Coca-Cola Company in measuring its competitiveness in the market. The analysis is as follows: threat to the entry of the new entrants- for the beverage industry, entry barriers of the potential competitors is very relatively low because no consumer switching cost occurs as well as zero capital requirements. As a result, many new brands are hitting the markets which are similar in prices and tastes with those produced by the company especially with referen ce to PepsiCo, the main competitor (Isdell and Beasley 2012). The Coca-Cola Company utilizes this strategy because it has been in the business for a very long period of time hence can be able to command a higher competitive purchasing power from the customers who are not willing to try a new brand. Through the threat of the substitute products competitive force, Coca-Cola Company does not have a brand that is unique in its flavour making it to be prone to the use of the other substitute products by the customers. For instance, through a blind taste test, it is argued that many people cannot easily delineate between the Pepsi and Coca-Cola (Fernando 2010). Through the bargaining power of the buyers force, Coca-Cola Company enjoys a lower power due to the fact that there is no pressure to the customers owing to the buyer brand royalty. On the basis of the rivalry from the existing firms, currently, PepsiCo is the main competitor with a wide range of the products that operate under its brand. The two beverage industries are predominant in the carbonated beverages through the outdoor activities and events. Coca-Cola Company also faces competition challenges from other brands such as Dr. Pepper due to their unique flavours. Coca-Cola Company faces a low pressure in terms of the bargaining power of the suppliers because it is the largest supplier of the carbonated water (Isdell and Beasley 2012). Analysis and Comparison of company Model with other two Models The other two models that can be used in the analysis of the competitive advantage of Coca-Cola Company are the four Ps Model and the market oriented strategic planning model. The Four Ps Model stands for product, price, promotion and place. According to Isdell and Beasle (2012), a product can be an intangible service or a tangible good which can be used in fulfilling a need. In this model, Coca-Cola Company can use this model due to its varied products in the market making it possible for the company to successful market them. According to the price, Coca-Cola Company enjoys good pricing decisions that help in impacting on the profit margins, marketing strategy, and supply and demand. Similarly, the company places and positions the products differently on the basis of the varied price points while at the same time the price elasticity is considered. Fernando(2010) states that promotion is also used by Coca-Cola Company in determining the various marketing agencies and regions so as to disseminate the relevant information to the customers. This is also used in the differentiation of the products through the use of such events as advertising, social media, public relations, email and video marketing and more. All the aforementioned platforms are supported by the use of a well positioned brand aimed to maximize the return on the investment. Coca-Cola Company makes use of the Place strategy because through it various regions around the globe, different products are place in different areas considering factors such as time and price. On the other hand, the market oriented strategic planning model can also be used by the Coca-Cola Company. This is especially in the development and maintenance of the viable fit that can enable the company in achieving the set objectives, skills and resources to address the changing market opportunities . Findings from the comparison results Making the customers to be the top priority makes a company to enjoy a higher competitive edge (Miller, Cross and Jentz 2013). This is because the customers are able to put into place too effort and time in the engineering of the products and development, thus making them to be less equipped in building the solutions based on their demands. The knowledge of the customers preference and tastes helps the company to develop the products accordance to the specifications and better market them persuasively. As a result, there is an increase in the sales level and the customer base. Recommendations A marketing orientation is essential in helping Coca-Cola Company to make advanced planning on the development of the products (Hill and Jones 2010). The business has to be responsive to the perpetual changes of the customer and this can only be possible through the use of strong technology infrastructures and the clearly defined communication channels. The aforementioned marketing structures will enable Coca-Cola Company to allow for the efficient times for the response from the customers. In addition, the production process has to cater for a flex in the new products that the customers want. Introduction of strategy Roy (2009) cites that product differentiation strategy is used by Coca-Cola Company in enabling the new products or changing the convenience of the customer in using their products. In this regard, the company has used mass customization through offer of customer tailored products by the use of the same production resources through mass production which meet the varied specifications and needs of the customers. Cokes global divisions except the North American holding fall under Coca Cola International. The organizations international entities operate similar to the other eighties structure except in instances of key strategic decision where the international divisions are responsible for making their own independent decisions. The organization employs three management styles which are laissez-faire, autocratic and democratic management concept to oversee these international divisions and this implies that the corporate executives provide little guidance on how regional branches are managed unless the decision may affect its goals worldwide (Hill Jones, 2010). Cokes North London branch has entrenched the culture of laissez-faire implying that the management have given a free will on employees decision meaning that workers work independently as long as they meet Key Business Indicators (KBIs). The directors assume a relaxed role when coordinating the organizations internal operation and the executive hold a vision to refresh all the workers and to have passion for job responsibilities. The organization also has a corporate advisory council in place comprising of representatives group of employees from all levels and business divisions of the company. The council nurtures recommendations for senior management on advancing the organizations efforts towards attaining its diversity objectives. In North America the company often holds employees forum where the workers mingle with colleagues with similar interests and backgrounds and it is through these forums that employees support each others personal and professional growth for the sake of improving on each others personal and career growth with the sole focus on giving meaningful contribution to the company. The company has a general manager who sits at the top of the regional hierarchy and in turn reports to the country head. These general managers have other managerial subordinates and they act on certain cases depending with the situation at the micro level. Managerial style adopted by the executives follow incentive based system for actualizing peak performance from the salesperson, and through the concept, monetary and non-monetary incentives are issues to the salesperson to motivate them meet or exceed their sales expectations. Some of the monetary incentives may include pay hikes, bonuses and commissions while non-monetary incentives may include discounted holiday packages and vouchers for vacations. Strategies adopted to illustrate your suggestion Coca-Cola Company has also focused on the market niche as the best way of curbing the needs of the customers. This is implemented through finely tunes sales as well as marketing techniques. Through this model, the company has ensured a strengthened supplier and customer intimacy. The suppliers, for instance, have been allowed an opportunity to decide how and when they can be able to ship their products allowing them a more lead time in the production of the goods. Such strong linkages have been able to help the Coca-Cola Company in increasing their switching costs as well as remaining royal to the company. Implementation of the recommendation model against organisation problem The market oriented strategic planning model can be used by Coca-Cola Company in shaping the business products in order to help in yielding the profits and the growths (Michaux, Cadiat and Probert 2015). In line with this model, Coca-Cola Company has been able to assess each of the varied business activity through factoring in the rate of the markets growth, companys position as well as its fit in the market. The company has also been able to use this model in developing a strategy to achieve in the long run objectives, setting strategic plans and managing the investment portfolio (Mu?ller 2011). Coca-Cola Company in this model use has been enhanced in the tactical marketing plan including the advertising, merchandising, pricing, product variants and distribution channels. Conclusion From the foregoing discussion, Coca-Cola Company has a good understanding of the needs of the customers and this makes it easier for the top leadership in making decisions and solving the emerging problems. As such, the company has a good ability in marketing effectively because the research department helps in conveying the messages with clarity on their products, their use and marketing strategies. References Fernando, A.C 2009, Business Ethics: An Indian Perspective. Prentice Hall. Cross, F. B., Miller, R. L. R., Cross, F. 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