Coca-Cola Company: Long-term Strategies for Growth

The Coca Cola Company has been in operations for many years. Over the years, the success of the company has been based on a number of factors which have been a result of various managerial efforts together with the input of the employees. In order to ensure growth of the company for a period of the next ten years, the company has to ensure that a number of factors have been put in place. Some of the major factors which this study intends to focus on include the management role in the future success of the company, the role of the customers and that of the general body of employees in ensuring growth and development. Further, the study will give recommendations, based on the research that will be able to help the company to improve on its performance and increase its level of success over the next ten years.

Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1 Motivation

The Coca-Cola Company is a multinational beverage firm that provides a range of products which are a non-alcoholic beverage in nature (Grant, 2016, p.74). The company operates from its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The main products of the company include soft drinks, healthy beverages, green tea, the holiday can among others. Currently, the firm is listening in the New York Securities exchange and is one of the best performing beverage companies worldwide. The success of the company can be traced to the early years of its formation (Wheelen and Hunger, 2011, p.84). After becoming a publicly traded company in the 1920s, the firm has had a steady and efficient strategic management plan which has seen it succeed over the decades.

As a market leader in the beverage industry, the company needs major strategic leadership styles, innovation and the application of technology to stay on the path of success continually. Currently, the firm has put in place several strategies which it hopes will help it to continuously provide customer satisfaction, quality enhancement and ethical practices within the next ten years of its operations (Horngren, 2009, p.65). The role of setting up such long-term strategic decisions has always been the role of the Board of directors of the company, which is currently headed by Herbert Allen. The strategies for success over the next ten years are dependent on several important factors which the company has put in place. The in the past, the company has continuously relied on its stable workforce, ethical standards, efficiency in production, robust financial management systems, high product quality and diversity in its products as an important strategy for success (Kapferer, 2012, p.88). This study will, therefore, focus on the specific policies that are being applied by Coca-Cola company to promote its success over a period of the next coming four years.

1.2 Research Questions

1.2.1 General question

What strategies is Coca-Cola putting in place to promote success within the next ten years?

1.2.2 Specific Questions

i. How is the management involved in setting up the strategies for growth within the organization?

ii. How have the past strategies been applied in promoting the growth of the organization?

iii. What strategic decisions are used by the organization in implementing long-term growth?

First, the study will focus on the specific strategies that the Coca-Cola Company seeks to put in place to ensure efficient and standardized operation within the next ten years (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2012, p.104). On the specific side, the study will seek to find out how the company management is making strides in ensuring that there is a lot of success in implementing the long-term strategies for success. The researcher will find out the plans that the management is using, including the leadership styles that are applicable in enhancing the long-term growth for the firm. The research will also analyse the past successes of Coca-Cola and apply them in the firm’s strategic decisions that the organization is taking to steer its growth into the future. The study will also be focused on the management styles that the leadership the company employ in ensuring an efficient management system for the posterity of the company.

1.1 Plan of the Research

The research will be undertaken through nine distinct stages. The introduction phase will involve the selection of the project title and organize the various aspects at this stage. The next step of the planning would include coming up with the research proposal outline. Next, relevant information that pertains to the study area will be collected. The relevant data will be collected from past studies and other journals. The stage will also involve the collection of data from the field, especially from Coca-Cola company staff (Besanko, Dranove, Shanley & Schaefer, 2009, p.77). After the above stage, I will carry out an analysis of the data and finally come up with the relevant recommendations based on the findings of the study. Finally, the researcher will sit back to compile the report based on the data gathered. The announcement will be made by following specific formats.

The timetable for Research Project

Term/Week

Work to be done

Deadlines

1/2

Research topic

10th April

1/3

Draft of introduction Chapter 1

15th April

1/5

Draft of taxonomy

27th April

1/6

Submission of taxonomy to TURNITIN

8th May midnight

1/7

Draft of Chapter 2

13th May

1/8

Draft of Chapters 3 and 4

20th May

1/9

Questionnaire and Interview guide

27th May

1/10

Submission of draft Report (Chapters 1-4, References and Appendices A and B)

1st June midnight

2/2

Survey and interviews

24th July

2/3

Chapter 5 first draft

1st July

2/4

Chapter 5

8th July

2/5

Chapter 6

11th July

2/6

Submission of report on TURNITIN

18th July

2/8-9

Presentations

1.2 Structure of the Report

The study research will be drawn up and will consist of five significant chapters. Chapter one will introduce the general outlay of the study and provide the overview of what the study will mainly talk about. In section two, the study will explore relevant studies and works that are relevant to strategic success. The study methodology will be discussed in chapter three and will include the questionnaires and interview (Black, Morrison & Gregersen, 2013, p.99). In section four, the analysis of the data collected I chapter three will be undertaken, and a review of the data will be carried out. In chapter four, qualitative and quantitative data will be analysed. In section five, the study will offer recommendations for further research within the specific filed under the investigation. The structure of the report will be shown using visible headlines. The discussions under the chapters will also be subdivided into subheadings.

Chapter 2. Related Works

i. How is the management involved in setting up the strategies for growth within the organization?

ii. How have the past strategies been applied in promoting the growth of the organization?

iii. What strategic decisions are used by the organization in implementing long-term growth?

The chapter talks about the various factors that are meant to make the company to become profitable over the coming 10 years. Additionally, the chapter discusses the involvement of the management in coming up with the various strategic decisions that spur growth within the firm and the applications of the pasts strategies in assisting the organization to grow. Lastly, the chapter discusses the use of strategic decisions by the organization to implement the long-term growth strategies. Since corporate growth and dependent also contributes to the general economic growth of a nation, the government support for a business entity is also another very crucial step in the process of achieving success for a company. It is, however, imperative to say that at the centre of success within a multinational company is the role of the top management team. The leadership of an organization is responsible for the policy formulation on various issues.

There are various leadership styles and characteristics which must be borne by the top management for a successful business achievement and growth within the next ten years in the life of the organization. (Bonini, Koller & Mirvis, 2009). A visionary leader must ensure that there is a constant level of success for the company through quality management and control. Most of the successful companies have always maintained a high standard of output and that is one of the very pillars of success for Coca-Cola Company.

The past strategies within the organization have heavily been used in creating success for the organization. A successful multinational company must also heavily invest in its marketing structure. A successful product rollout is always dependent on a sustainable market outreach program which is imitated by a company. The management should be ready to approve a financial plan for the company that would be able to give the company an exposure (Esty & Winston, 2009). Additionally, the company should be very innovative in rolling out its marketing program since the move would help the firm in overcoming the level of competition in the industry. A good example of a competitive and innovative marketing plan in the use of online marketing tools that have been applied by Coca-Cola to beat its rivals in the beverage industry.

The success of the company must also depend on the various long-term decision-making goals of the organization. Leadership role and management involvement in creating a proper human resource database which is a very critical asset to the success of a firm. The aspect of employee management and success is one of the main determinants of how successful a multinational company is. A firm should always consider having a heavy investment in its employees since they form part of a great output process (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). A company must ensure that the employees are successful by having a proper employee development plan which includes a continuous training and upgrade program. Periodic performance appraisal should also be carried out by all the employees to determine the level of contribution to the success of the organization. The organization should also have a reward scheme that it may use in motivating the employees who show exceptional achievement in the workplace while having a correctional measure for the employees who underperformed.

The success of a multinational company must also depend on the creation of sustainable cultures. Every frim always has a culture and what makes the difference in the extent of success for the firms is the level of sustainably that each kind of culture breeds among the employees and the operations of the company. Having a culture that encourages teamwork, achievement of gals, proper planning and quick and effective means of communication will always make a difference in the level of success that a company may have. Successful companies always aim at developing their cultures over time. Another important aspect of the culture is the move to maintain and hold the culture overtime (Grant, 2016). New employees who come into the organization should always be taken through the company culture and adaptation program to equip them with the skills and ability to cope with the organizational environment.

Freudenberg, Picard Bradley & Serrano, (2009) argue that focus is an important business strategy that has led to the success of most international companies. Firms always seek to build their brand and market awareness programs by laying so much concentration on a single brand. An example of a success story that is based on branding is the case of Coca-Cola. The company has maintained its branding strategy through the beverage drink, Coca-Cola (Hu & Chuang, 2009). Additionally, the firm has focused mostly on its core function of producing soft carbonated drinks through which most customers recognize the company. companies that concentrate on so many products at the same time through diversification programs always find it hard to penetrate the market and compete effectively on all its market products. A diversification program has also always been associated with having compromised product qualities.

Apart from the overall determinants of success within a company, vision is also another very critical part of a company’s success. The vision of firm defines where it intends to go and the achievements it intends to have within a specified long-term period. Most companies always set their vision achievement of goals within an average of ten years (Quirke, 2017). The top management within a firm is always responsible for the setting of vision goals. The implementations of steps aimed at the achievement of the vision are, however, always the function of the operational employees. To achieve the vision of the frim, coordinated efforts between the employees and the management body is always required. Teamwork on the part of the operational employees is always crucial to the achievement of the immediate tasks which are always geared towards achieving the long-term goals of the organization.

Lastly, organizations must set priorities which are aimed at helping them to plan on the most important tasks to achieve first (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). Since every organization always faces financial constraints, it is very important for the management to have a financial plan which is aimed at providing the managers with a program for executing the tasks within the organization. A prioritization schedule will always ensure that the employees are on hand to complete the tasks which may be the most important and pressing within the firm.

The research provides, therefore, an answer to the research questions. Specifically, the study seeks to give the information related to the growth strategies that the Coca Cola Company has put in place to promote its development over the coming 10 years.

The general factors that contribute to the success of a company may also apply to the improvement of the operations of Coca Cola company. the factors include proper management systems, operational structure of the company, efficiency in the financial systems and even the proper strategic plans that have been implemented over the years. Specifically, the factors have contributed to the success of Coca-Cola through well-established implementation plans for the company.

Taxonomy

Research Project: What strategies are making Coca-Cola be successful during the ten next years

QUESTIONS

Question

Objective

What strategies are making Coca-Cola be successful during the ten next years

The major objective of providing an answer to the above question is to carry out an analysis of Coca-Cola Company and analyses the different factors which contribute to its level of industrial and market success.

TAXONOMY

Name

Reference

Evidence Supporting Topic

Evidence Against Topic

Book Brand Leadership

Aaker, D.A. and Joachimsthaler, E., (2012). Istanbul, Simon, and Schuster.

The book gives a focus on the success of building a strong brand is dependent on the movement. Additionally, the building strong brand depends on strong marketing strategies

Critical view point

. In the ever-changing business world, technology plays a very critical role as it promotes the ease of doing business. Discussing the concept would from a comprehensive understanding of the growth patterns that are being practiced by Coca-Cola Company. Another major topic that the ought to be discussed is the role played by the government as a sector for promoting business growth and expansion.

Book: Economics of strategy

Besanko, D., Dranove, D., Shanley, M. and Schaefer, S., (2009). John Wiley & Sons.

The book has laid focus on the financial planning is always an important aspect of making economic decisions. Secondly, the managers must ensure that the long-term strategies of a company are geared towards the achievement of the vision of the firm.

Critical view point

One of the major ideas that are not ideally covered in the books is regarding the application of technology as a major player in the promotion of the future success of a company

Journal: Valuing social responsibility programs.

Bonini, S., Koller, T.M. and Mirvis, P.H., (2009). McKinsey on Finance, 32(Summer), pp.11-18.

The journal has focused on the role of employees in maintaining a company’s social responsibility schedule. In addition, the management’s responsibility in promoting social responsibility for growth is also stressed upon.

Critical view point

The above factor is in contravention of the general belief that proper communication networks are key to promoting a firm’s success. The studies are against one of the core success areas of Coca-Cola which is having attainment of workflow resulting from a proper communication system.

Book:

Creating powerful brands

De Chernatony, L., (2010). New York, Routledge.

The major Systemic changes that are made by companies to promote their brands in the market is the focus of the above study book.

Critical view point

On the level of literature review, some of the points that have been stressed that relate to the expansion and success of Coca-Cola include having a strong ethical background that leads employee behaviour and promotes success. There is a major focus on the difference between organizations that have a strong means of financial control and those that do not lay so much focus on the same.

Article: Green to gold

Esty, D. and Winston, A., (2009). How smart companies use environmental strategy to innovate, create value, and build competitive advantage. New York, John Wiley & Sons.

The article gives a similarity with the topic through a description of how firms enhance promotions of social responsibility as a marketing and sustainability tool for future survival. In addition, there is a relationship with the value creation by firms.

Critical view point

The sources have also explored the importance of branding as a factor for the future success of an organization. Most of the firms always rely on their brand to sell them and increase profitability for the company. The sources have therefore affirmed the position of Coca-Cola in using its strong brand to remain competitive and gain more market dominance within the coming years.

Journal: Public health campaigns to change industry practices that damage health: an analysis of 12 case studies

Freudenberg, N., Picard Bradley, S. and Serrano, M., (2009. Health Education & Behaviour, 36(2), pp.230-249.

The journal majorly focuses on the importance of information sharing within some of the major organizations

Critical view point

In implementing the success of the topic, one of the key focus of the various sources is the importance of managerial drive in enhancing and promoting key organizational success. Close to all the sources have appreciated the key role the managers and general employee body play in setting and implementing organizational goals to enhance and promote the success of the firm.

On the contrary, the book does not agree with the research as there’s is the concept of the role of communication in promoting organization chaos.

Critical viewpoint

There are only a few things within the above literature that may be considered to go against the above research. One of the articles states communication as one of the main causes or organizational discourse. The author explains that communication always leads to information breakdown and is one of the major factors that promote inefficiency and underperformance within firms.

Book: Contemporary strategy analysis Text and cases edition

Grant, R.M., (2016). New York, John Wiley & Sons.

One of the main themes of the book is on how strategic decisions made by companies contribute to the long-term success of the firm. there is also a focus on how critical movement focus on decision making promotes organizational success.

Critical view point

. Most of the literature has appreciated how important such ethics are in promoting and enhancing a sustainable environment and how they are used in streamlining the employee behavior. The literature has also depicted the essence of financial control and planning as a major way of promoting the future success of an organization

Book: Dynamic capabilities: Understanding strategic change in organizations

Helfat, C.E., Finkelstein, S., Mitchell, W., Peteraf, M., Singh, H., Teece, D. and Winter, S.G., (2009). John Wiley & Sons.

One of the main ideas in the book is on how strategic changes within organizations help in the promotion of future success. Additionally, the role of the management in promoting strategic change process. The implementation process of new strategic changes as a way of promoting change is also discussed.

Critical view point

The resources above reveal a pattern that helps to support the facts that are related to the topic. Some of the strategies that are currently being used by Coca-Cola to enhance and promote its success be given by other authors. The various literature supports the issues above may be divided into two sections, the evidence supporting the topic and those that support the literature.

Book: Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach.

Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., (2014). Chicago, Cengage Learning.

There is a focus on the aspects of strategic decision making that leads to a management role in promoting long-term development goals.

Critical view point

To promote a more comprehensive understanding of the various organizational success factors, there should be farther research as the above books and journals fail to provide a comprehensive and better understanding of the different ideas that are currently practiced by Coca-Cola.

Journal: How can different brand strategies lead to retailers’ success? Comparing Manufacturers brand for Coca-cola and Private Brand for Costco

Hu, F.L. and Chuang, C.C., (2009). Journal of Global Business Issues, 3(1), p.129.

The journal focuses on the issues of brand strategy implementation as a means of ensuring business success. Furthermore, there is an emphasis based on enhancing a competitive advantage based on the brand recognition.

Critical view point

The discussions go well with the practice that has been implemented by the management of Coca-Cola which is based on strong internal and external audit programs aimed and promoting an efficient planning and financial control programs.

Chapter 3. Methodology

The chapter provides a brief overview of the approaches that have been used in the study for stating the research design and its relevance to the study, including the focus on the data analysis and interpretation that the study adopted. Further, the section is concerned with the development of a more comprehensive approach to the interpretation of the research data in a way that provides full meaning and understanding to the users of the research.

The study adopts two major research approaches in the quest to collect data from the field. One of the major approaches that the researcher adopted was the use of questionnaires which was aimed at gathering primary data, especially from the respondents. To find out the specific strategies that are used by Coca-Cola to become successful over the coming ten years, the questionnaire needed to focus on the management of the company by directing answers that were relevant in the achievement of the company goals (Besanko, Dranove, Shanley & Schaefer, 2009, p.75). Other factors that the study needed to focus on were the leadership goals of the company, the establishment of the company mission, vision and even values and even the firm’s growth patterns.

The study survey was directed towards the management and employees of Coca-Cola as they provided very adequate information on the various strategies and even implementation models that the company uses to spur growth (Aaker & Joachimsthaler, 2012, p.76). The questionnaire will be specifically constructed in a way that it will specifically meet the requirements of the researcher by specifically answering focused questions related to the sustainability, growth and even the development partners undertaken by Coca-Cola over the next 10 years.

The adopted sampling methods were specifically selected to be two, including the snowball sampling technique and the convenience sampling methods. The adoption and completion of both qualitative and quantitative study were specifically adapted to be applied to the employees of the company. One other major problem that was faced by the researcher related to the rate of gender imbalance while conducting research. The employees of Coca-Cola, especially those within the top managerial position, and who are the focus of the researcher are predominantly men. Women do not occupy so many of such positions. The above statement provided a gap in the interview process as the research had to become gender biased in gathering the correct and adequate information.

In defining and implementing the quantitative approach, the study adopted the use of empirical models, mainly because of the nature of the data that was gathered. However, since the collection of the data was majorly based on the observations and the interviews, the process was mainly prone to a lot of incidences of multicollinearity (Hu & Chuang, 2009). The researcher, however, had to have a level of variance since all the data that was gathered at the primary level could not wholly be relied upon. Some of the data had to be subjected to the margin of error as it is difficult to believe that all the information that the respondents gave was accurate and informed.

To enhance the reliability of the data, the research seeks to use data that has been gathered through an interview process. The researcher will, therefore, carry out an interview using the interview guide that is given as part of this research study.

Chapter 4. Sampling framework

The above chapter was mainly concerned with the process of coming up with the necessary sampling techniques which are a range of approaches that are used in getting information from the respondents. The section is concerned with stating the samples that the study will choose to have, the kind of groups and population and their relevance to the process of establishing facts on the study

The research study sample consisted of 30 respondents, majorly drawn from the top management of the company. The researcher selected to carry out the research by majorly focusing to interview the employees of the company who work within the company in Algeria. On the other hand, the interviews were carried out with the researcher though live Facebook interview owing to the simplicity and fewer costs to incur while using the above method of interview. Specifically, the research also focused on interviewing the process of interviewing a top manager at Compagnie which also gave an opportunity for the research study to be fully appreciated and authenticated.

The choice to undertake the research study with Coca-Cola in Algeria was based on several factors that were considered. First, the region has always been predicted to provide a homogeneity in the process of data collection, gathering and even analysis (Black, Morrison & Gregersen, 2013, p.100). For the research study, homogeneity of the nature of business of the company, especially in Algeria was also very useful as it was important in providing. In conducting the interview, the researcher’s main concerns were related to the main procedure of ensuring that there is adequacy in the information (Hu & Chuang, 2009). The researcher achieved the above objective by having specifically strong questions whose focus was to draw out the necessary information from the respondents

Specifically, the study needs to undertake an interview process that will support the study. In ensuring the research results are effective, the study must adopt specific interview questions. some of the areas that the interview process must touch on include the growth prospects of the company. the interview has t be directed to the management and the general employee body of the company. in addition, the interview must seek the opinion of the company staff regarding the steps that have been put in place in order to promote success and development over the coming years.

Chapter 5. Results

Introduction

The above chapter looks at the various results that were obtained from both the primary and secondary sources. Within the chapter, the researcher gives meaning to the study by carrying out a critical analysis on the data. The analysis is specifically geared towards the interpretation of both data to provide meaningful research results of the study.

The research results revealed several statistical findings which were in support if answering the research questions. both primary and secondary data that were gathered were analysed and a proper interpretation done in line with the required results. The analysis of this research takes different avenues. The first part of this analysis focuses on the results of the secondary data while the second part focuses on the results of the primary data.

Analysis of the results for the secondary data

One of the major means through which the past growth of the company has been witnessed in the past is through the growth in the dividends that the shareholders of the company are paid every year. The success and growth of the shareholders earnings has been attributed to the continued better performance of the company. if the trend is anything to consider, then it could mean that the company could increasingly remain on the growth pattern over the coming ten years. With the high level of investor confides, the company is still likely to increase its expansionary policy based on the increase in the level of capital injection from more shareholders who opt to join the company.

The table below gives an analysis of the earnings that the Coca Cola company has made between 2006 and 2010. The data seeks to provide proof of the growth trends of the company and give a projection of the expected growth within the future.

Table 1: Sales, and Earnings (Source: The coca Cola Company, NYSE)

Years

Revenue ‘millions’

2006

24,088

2007

28,857

2008

31,944

2009

30,990

2010

35,119

In the project, Table 1 has been given to represent the revenue that the company is in a position to earn over a period of five years. The figures give the exact amounts of money in revenue that the company was able to obtain. In addition, the graphical analysis gives the representation of the trend that is as a result of the revenue flow within the company. The trend shows a considerable increase in the revenue that the company has obtained from the year 2006 to the year 2010.

From the table and the graphical analysis, it could be deduced that the revenue increase can be attributed to various factors that have always promoted growth within the company. One of those factors is the high level of employe