Cap V - Final

Coca Cola is today’s leading company in the world of beverage making and soft drinks. This has come about due to the much work put into the company’s mission. This is therefore an insight into the company’s internal environment, which brings out the foundation of the company’s end- product and the reasons for the firm to take the steps it does. Also included in the brief discussion is a SWOT analysis of the coming, showing that the company is evidently ahead of other similar-product companies but still has quit a lot to do in order to maintain its position if not move higher. A balance scoreboard ins then orally created at the discussion end, denoting the ten vital steps that have to be included in the process.

Internal Environment

Being a world leader in the beverage industry, the Coca Cola Company greatly gained mileage when it comes to it particular products. They have set the pace in product production, service delivery, global networking and product distribution to the market. In order for all this to be possible in Coca Cola and any other company in business, proper strategy is mandatory. The company has been seen to put much effort it its strategic planning, where it goes as far as hiring the best there are in the market to oversee this process. Alongside any strategic plan are its other critical component such as conducting of SWOT analysis, evaluation of the organization’s internal environment and the eventual creation of a balance strategic scoreboard. This paper therefore seeks to look into each of the above stated areas, intensively gaining insight on each of the sub-facets.

As a world-class organization, Coca-Cola declares its purpose as a company therefore serving as the standard against actions and decisions. This standpoint leads to its foundational principles of refreshing the world, inspiring moments of optimism and happiness, capped with creation of value and making a difference. In addition, its mission has also been made in order to work in tandem with its vision (Bell, 2004). This vision serves as the framework for guiding all the other aspects of the organization, where it is presented as the 6Ps. These include:

1. People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be.

2. Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs.

3. Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value.

4. Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities.

5. Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities.

6. Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.

Culturally, the company has always been a firm believer in simplicity, with a deep entrenchment in maintenance of the various backgrounds from which the eventual product, persons and ideas stem. Coca Cola takes into account the cultural settings of its various consumers, therefore ensuring that much of their end-results do not disappoint. Unison at the place of work is paramount and all have to put their efforts together so as to propel the company to greater heights. Looking at the company’s strategy clarification, the brunt of the findings can be traced back to the managers who call the shots. Most of the managerial positions in Coca Cola are occupied by qualified professionals who have the capacity to undertake the given tasks as per the requirements; or persons with sufficient qualifications. The company has therefore been found to have a good understanding of the business environment in which they work, hence take the most appropriate steps that lead to benefit of both the parties-producers and consumers.

Based on the evaluation of the company’s mission, vision, values, cultural assessment and strategy clarification, it can be correctly inferred that it is heading towards the right path. The company greatly values its consumers, uses the best to provide the best and is ready to adjust to ant future changes if need be. This has worked for the company positively by looking at it current status.

SWOT Analysis

In comprehensively conducting the SWOT analysis, the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats will have to be sought, with additional explanations on factors and explain why specific strengths complement specific opportunities, and selected weaknesses are amplified by external threats. The first strength is that the company has created a global brand, recognized and acknowledged by all. An Interbrand survey showed that it was the most valued company, hitting a high of $ 77, 839(Bell, 2004). It also hold the largest shares in the beverage market-approximately 40% and has relatively strong and undisputed marketing and advertising skills; where it digs deep into their pockets to account for a single advertisement. Customer loyalty is another vital strength that Coca Cola attributes its prowess to. Its higher bargaining power than suppliers also serves as another strength which makes them able to receive services from the suppliers at their price of choice. The company’s new focus on Corporate Social Responsibilities have played a part in setting the company, where it continuously seeks to move to more environment-friendly programs.

One significant weakness that brings much detriment to the Coca Cola Company is its focus on carbonated drinks, where it still maintains its initial drinks such as Coke, Sprite, Fanta and many other drinks of carbonated nature. Such drinks have only proved successful in the growing economies, but depict uninspiring outcomes in the developed world. The external factor that mainly leads to this threat is the dynamic nature of the society, which is currently moving to healthier drinks that prevent obesity. The company is also not as diversified as other companies in similar positions(Weinstein, 2004). The company is currently at a disadvantaged point, as it has not properly ventured into the other options available in the market, therefore promoting its competitors while it still concentrates on its soft drinks solely. The company has also had to deal with high rates of debt, owing to the billions of dollars that it acquitted over the years, pilling up higher due to increased rates(Bell, 2004). Negative publicity has also contributed to the company’s weaknesses, where it has unfortunately had to deal with various allegations of different kinds. Currently, Coca Cola has earned revenue that can possibly double those others in the same industry. This failure of brands in the market has therefore created a weakness for the company, where some of its brands fail to succeed as others in the market. While its coke product has sold well, Dasani water has not brought them much revenue in comparison. It has not been extremely successful in its introduction of new drinks into the market. The external reason for this has been attributed to the customers’ difficulty in easily embracing new products.

In opportunities however, the company is optimistic in its water brand as there are high chances of the consumption of its bottled water will soon increase in the near future. This is expected to happen in both the U.S and global market alike. The newly launched campaigns against obesity and shift to healthier drinks create a new opportunity for the company, where they can now properly venture into the field (Bell, 2004). Coca Cola is provided with a chance to introduce new products in expansion of its diversity, where it can try out the food and beverage arena. Emerging markets have relatively high beverage consumption rates, hence acting as alternative drinks to the widely appreciated soft drinks such as coke. This means that Coca Cola could maintain as well as increase it shares in beverage markets. With the acquisition of other companies, Coca Cola stands a better chance of withstanding the test of time. This is because the near future poses a threat of much difficulty in penetrating new markets and marinating its current growth levels.

Change in the current consumer tastes in the market pose a terrible threat to the already established company. There is a notable decrease in the global rate of consuming carbonated drinks, hence the shift to healthier drinks. Coca Cola therefore has a real threat to deal with, thus their need to introduce new brands and products. In relation to its weakness of negative publicity, water scarcity has been noted as another threat for the company, where it has to deal with the little and scanty water available when it requires water in bulk. The strong position dollars has currently taken is problematic to the company. This is because much of its businesses are run in nations outside U.S, hence any increase in the currency leads to an equal general decline of the company’s revenue. The political scene is another external environmental factor that has negatively impacted the company in some instances, such as in the case of various country legislations requiring that any harmful components in the made drinks have to be clearly indicated. This may lead to negative perception by the public, therefore not preferred by consumers(Weinstein, 2004). Competition from PepsiCo-which is the second best company in the industry, has been a great threat to Coca Cola’s successful reign. The competing company is endlessly working to overtake, and this made Coca Cola to stay in its heels. Lastly, the company’s reliance in strongly carbonated drinks is making lose consumers, who are now seen to opt for alternative drinks that are less saturated.

Balance Scoreboard

The company’s mission is on track, with clearly outlined guidelines that seek to steer the company towards the right direction that can enable it to best serve the clientele. Additionally, Coca Cola has a strongly and deeply entrenched cultural background that not requires them to work for the bets, but to do this together as well. The company can best serve the needs of the consumers by first working on their available opportunities and mitigating as many weaknesses as possible (Weinstein, 2004). With the company’s theme of providing healthier drinks to all by introducing new brands, it can use its mission statement of refreshing the world as the endeavor’s foundation. In order to accomplish all these, the company as set out a timeline, within which all the set themes, goals and ideas should have materialized. Regular evaluation of the ongoing performance will be conducted, where the minimum quality requirements must be met before proceeding.

Delegation should be done, where workers will have groups in which responsibilities will be given, and expectations set. To put the entire process into perspective, it will be rolled out in accordance with the company’s standardized system. This will then be sub-divided into smaller units-to mean integration into the various global stations of the business. Finally, the created scoreboard will be evaluated, after which all necessary adjustments will be made.

References

Bell, L., (2004).The Story of Coca Cola.Mankato: Smart Apple Media