Coca Cola

https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-strategy-of-coca-cola/

Marketing strategy of Coca cola – Coca

cola marketing strategy
September 8, 2018 By Hitesh Bhasin

Coca Cola is world’s leading soft drink maker and operates in more than 200 countries
around the world. It sells a variety of sparkling and still beverages. It generates 60% of its
revenue and about 80% of its operating profit from outside the United States. It has
strong brand recognition across the globe. According to business insider, approximately
94% of the world population is aware of the red & white logo of Coca Cola.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Coca-Cola-Company

The Coca-Cola Company-2019

The Coca-Cola Company, American corporation founded in 1892 and today engaged
primarily in the manufacture and sale of syrup and concentrate for Coca-Cola, a sweetened
carbonated beverage that is a cultural institution in the United States and a global symbol of
American tastes. The company also produces and sells other soft drinks and citrus
beverages. With more than 2,800 products available in more than 200 countries, Coca-Cola
is the largest beverage manufacturer and distributor in the world and one of the largest
corporations in the United States. Headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia.

https://www.worldofcoca-cola.com/about-us/coca-cola-beverages-products/

Coca-Cola Beverages and Products

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers

with more than 500 sparkling and still brands and nearly 3,900 beverage choices. Led by Coca-Cola, one

of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, our company’s portfolio features 21 billion-dollar

brands, 19 of which are available in reduced-, low- or no-calorie options. These brands include Diet Coke,

Coca-Cola Zero, Fanta, Sprite, Dasani, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Del Valle, Georgia

and Gold Peak. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, we are the No. 1 provider of
both sparkling and still beverages. More than 1.9 billion servings of our beverages are enjoyed by

consumers in more than 200 countries each day.

Did you know? Coca-Cola sells soup in a can! Bistrone is a nourishing meal on the go, available

in two flavors in Japan.

Visitors to World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta have the opportunity to sample over 100 Coca-Cola beverages

from around the world in the ever-popular Taste It! beverage lounge. Guests can also try their hand at

“inventing” new beverages by mixing flavor combinations using the Coca-Cola Freestyle® fountain

dispenser. The touch-screen machine has the capacity to dispense over 100 regular and low-calorie

beverage brands in multiple taste combinations. Take a virtual tour of Taste It! now!
https://notesmatic.com/competitors-of-coca-cola-company/

COMPETITORS OF COCA COLA COMPANY

October 10, 2018 by Abhijeet Pratap

Who are the competitors of Coca Cola company?

Coca Cola is one of the leading soda beverages company of the world with a very large
product portfolio made up of more than 500 sparkling and still brands. The brightest stars in
its portfolio are the 21 Billion dollar brands, each of which generates 1 billion USD or more
in revenue. Apart from soda beverages in various flavours, the brand also sells energy
drinks, bottled water, juices and low calorie soda drinks. Coca Colas is sold in more than 200
countries and is also known for great marketing capabilities apart from high level of
popularity.
1. psi – The biggest and closest competitor of Coca Cola; its arch rival Pepsico was
formed after the merger of Pepsi and Frito lay in 1965. The brand has seen growth in
organic revenue in 2017. It has 20 billion dollar brands in its product portfolio. US it
its largest market where it is engaged in intense competition with Coca Cola. Its Net
revenue in 2017 was 63.5 Billion Dollars and Gross Profit 28.8 Billion dollars. The two
brands compete across several categories including sod beverages, health and
energy drinks as well as bottled water and juices. Infact Pepsi is the toughest
competitor of Coca Cola and their rivalry has come to be termed as Cola wars.
2. Red Bull – Red Bull despite its limited product portfolio is a major competitor for the
energy drink products of Coca Cola. It is a famous brand that sells across 171
countries and is now focusing on core markets of western Europe and USA for
farther growth. In 2017, the brand sold more than 6.3 Billion cans and its turnover
reached 6.282 Billion Euros. Red Bull saw its sales booming in 2017 in five major
markets including Turkey, India, Netherlands, Northern Europe and United Kingdom.
This has led to better financial figures including operating profit and revenues for
 Red Bull in 2017. Red Bull is the toughest competitor for the energy drinks by Coca
Cola.
3. Dr Pepper Snapple – Pepper Snapple has a portfolio of more than 50 refreshing
brands. These brands include carbonated soft drinks, juices, teas, mixers, waters and
other beverages. The brand is a major competitor for Coca Cola in the US market. Its
2017 revenue was 6.4 billion dollars of which 90% was earned from the US
market. Dr Pepper Snapple has made a series of strategic acquisitions over the last
three decades to grow its business and customer base.
Task 1a

https://www.commonwealthendo.com/files/2017/02/Creating-Your-Core-Values.pdf

CREATING YOUR CORE VALUES

M. Casey Cockerham

The Core Values of an organization are those values we hold which form the foundation on which we
conduct ourselves and perform our work. We have an entire universe of values, but some of them are so
primary, so important to us that we make them our priority. In an ever-changing world, Core Values are
constant.

https://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/mission-vision-values

Mission, Vision & Values

By: The Coca-Cola Company

Our Vision
Our vision serves as the framework for our Roadmap and guides every aspect of our business by
describing what we need to accomplish in order to continue achieving sustainable, quality growth.

 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.

https://www.coca-colacompany.com/careers/why-work-at-the-coca-cola-company
 Why Work at The Coca-
Cola Company?
By: The Coca-Cola Company

2018

There's something special about The Coca-Cola Company. There's a sense of pride that comes
from building brands people love and making the most of ourselves as a company and as
individuals.

In one way, you've known us all your life. Perhaps you even think of Coca-Cola® as an old friend.
But old friends can grow in new and exciting ways. Surely you have. And so have we.

We are on a new journey of growth, building on our most formidable assets: our brands,
our financial strength, our global reach, our unrivaled distribution system and the strong
commitment of our management and employees worldwide.

Our journey focuses on leveraging these strengths to become a truly sustainable growth company
and, ultimately, one of the most respected companies in the world.

The Coca-Cola Company is a place where you can make a positive mark on the world. Whether
through our sustainability initiatives, human rights work or the ripple economic impact each person
creates by simply doing their job well, there are endless opportunities to build shareholder value and
make an impactful contribution to many communities.

A career at The Coca-Cola Company is truly a one-of-a-kind experience. It's more than working for
the global beverage leader; it's an opportunity to be a part of something that impacts the world.

Every person has the opportunity to create a long and successful career with The Coca-
Cola Company. With operations in over +200 countries, and full catalog of development programs,
the growth opportunities with this Company are boundless.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-08/20/content_8591019.htm

Coca-Cola exploits workers, students say

By Cui Jia (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-20 08:22
The students' summer jobs were actually part of an undercover project to investigate the working
conditions in Coca-Cola's plants.

* Officials at Coca-Cola in China said the dispute does not involve Coca-Cola.

A university student who got a temporary job at Coca-Cola this summer through an employment agency
is taking the soft-drink bottler to court, after he was beaten by staff members at the agency.

He is alleging that Coca-Cola showed poor management by hiring agencies that exploit workers.
He said he was beaten by staffers at the agency after he demanded pay for his work at Coca-Cola.

Along with three other university students, the 21-year-old student surnamed Liang from Tianjin was
sent to Zhongcui Food Co., Ltd, a Coca-Cola bottling factory based in Hangzhou, after signing a contract
with the Deqingzhiqiang employment agency in July this year.

The students' summer jobs were actually part of an undercover project to investigate the working
conditions in Coca-Cola's plants.

PARTNERS

https://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/suppliers/supplier-and-customer-partnerships

Supplier and Customer Partnerships

2018

Our Suppliers
Our suppliers are business partners who provide our system with materials, including ingredients,
packaging and machinery, as well as goods and services. Our Company's Supplier Guiding
Principles (SGP) communicate our values and expectations, emphasizing the importance of
responsible environmental and workplace policies and practices.

Suppliers' policies and practices must comply, at a minimum, with all applicable laws and
regulations, including those concerning child labor; forced labor; abuse of labor; freedom of
association and collective bargaining; discrimination; wages and benefits; working hours and
overtime; health and safety and environmental practices. New agreements with suppliers require
compliance with our SGP. We have communicated these expectations, trained suppliers and started
a comprehensive auditing process. We have also worked with our bottling partners so that they have
similar principles to target suppliers not covered by our program.

Our Customers
We seek to better understand the impact of the Coca-Cola business along our entire value cycle and
partner with our customers to address areas of concern and add value beyond our beverage products.
Our customers include large international chains of retailers and restaurants and small independent
businesses. We work with them equally to create mutual benefit. Together with our bottling partners,
we serve our customers through account management teams, providing services and support tailored
to their needs.

Our customers are continually looking for ways to reduce costs, improve sales and profits, and
deliver better-quality, more diverse products to consumers. We work to create additional value for
our customers by anticipating their demands and interests and to proactively deliver viable solutions
for their businesses.
1.b

http://flythroughlife.com/values-based-leadership/

VALUES-BASED LEADERSHIP

Values-based leadership describes full spectrum leaders as being the most effective ones. They display all the
attributes of the Seven Levels of Leadership Consciousness. They master:

 Survival consciousness by creating an environment of financial security and physical safety for themselves
and those in their charge.

https://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/safety-health

Safety & Health

By: The Coca-Cola Company | Aug 29, 2018

At The Coca-Cola Company, our long-term success depends on working to ensure the safety of our
workers, visitors to our operations, and the public.
  We believe that a safe and healthy workplace is a fundamental right of every person and also
a business imperative. Our Workplace Rights Policy requires that we take responsibility for
maintaining a productive workplace in every part of our Company by doing what we can to
minimize the risk of accidents, injury and exposure to health hazards for all of our associates
and contractors. In addition, we’re working with our bottling partners to help ensure health
and safety risks are minimized for their employees and contract workers.

 Relationship consciousness through learning to communicate openly, and by creating a culture of caring
and belonging that engenders employee and customer loyalty.

https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/how-coca-cola-integrates-well-being-into-the-workplace

How Coca-Cola Integrates Well-Being Into the Workplace

Jul 27, 2016

Getting Fit with #TeamCoke

Coke’s activity tracker from Virgin Pulse helps employees track their sleep and steps, connecting with
a platform where they can set goals, join fitness challenges and connect with colleagues. “Many
employees have access to this,” notes Florio. “We provide subsidies for activity trackers, like the
Misfit Shine, and create opportunities for employees to compete and become more active. In 2015,
for example, employees from across the company competed in Coke’s global steps challenge, where
business groups and small teams challenged each other to see who could take the most steps.
Together, Coke employees logged a total of 2.7 billion steps across the globe.

 Self-esteem consciousness by measuring and monitoring progress towards the organization’s goals, and
keeping the organization focused on quality and excellence, such that employees feel a sense of pride in the
organization’s performance, and can pursue their professional growth.
 Transformation consciousness by becoming responsible and accountable for their actions, learning to
delegate appropriately, empowering their executives and managers, and encouraging them to pursue their
personal growth.

https://www.coca-colacompany.com/au/news/the-coca-cola-company-announces-senior-leadership-
appointments.html


o
The Coca-Cola Company Announces
Senior Leadership Appointments
2 MIN

05/18/2017

In its ongoing transformation into a growth-oriented total beverage company, The Coca-
Cola Company has announced several new senior leadership appointments in its global
leadership team in Atlanta.

This May saw chief operations officer James Quincey take up the role of president and chief executive
of The Coca-Cola Company.

“We are moving quickly to structure our organisation for faster growth and to ensure we can respond
to the fast-changing needs of our customers, system and associates around the world,” James said.

“Each of the leaders named today is highly capable and understands our clear mandate for change,
and I look forward to partnering with them as we transform our business for the future.

 Internal cohesion consciousness by finding a personal sense of purpose/mission in their lives; creating a
vision of the future that is a source of inspiration for everyone in the organization; and engendering a
climate of trust.
 External cohesion consciousness by actualizing their own sense of purpose through collaboration with
external partners in strategic alliances, and enabling their employees, managers and executives to do the
same.

https://sustainability.georgetown.edu/Coca%20Cola%20Sustainable%20Partnership

COCA-COLA PARTNERSHIP ACCELERATES SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS INITIATIVES

Partnerships and collaboration are an essential part of

Georgetown’s work in addressing critical sustainability
challenges. Whether it is recycling efforts to keep our campus
clean along the banks of the Potomac, or asking our hard-
working staff to participate in energy conservation efforts on
hot summer days, we constantly work together to achieve the
future we envision.
This spirit of collaboration toward a shared sustainability
mission also extends to our business partnerships. Through
intentional efforts to integrate sustainability considerations
into key vendor relationships, Georgetown is accelerating
sustainability outcomes in our campus footprint and
operations. A shining example is our multi-year sustainability
collaboration with the university’s beverage partner, Coca-
Cola.

Georgetown University and Coca-Cola have fostered a

successful partnership around sustainable initiatives since
2008. In recent years, Coca-Cola supported bicycle-friendly
initiatives on campus, including new secure bicycle racks at
Red Square and two new bicycle repair stations. Additionally,
Coca-Cola supported a year-long student-led bicycle rental
pilot program which provided bicycles to ten undergraduates
to use for the year.

 Service consciousness by aligning the needs of the organization with the needs of humanity and the planet
and performing acts of self-less service with humility and compassion that support their employees,
managers, and executives in doing the same.
https://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/diversity/workplace-culture

Workplace Culture
2018

As a global business, our ability to understand, embrace and operate in a multicultural world -- both
in the marketplace and in the workplace -- is critical to our sustainability.

Our diversity workplace strategy includes programs to attract, retain, and develop diverse talent;
provide support systems for groups with diverse backgrounds; and educate all associates so that we
master the skills to achieve sustainable growth. For more information, review our Global Diversity
Strategic Framework (PDF).
We work hard to ensure an inclusive and fair work environment for our associates, all of whom
undergo diversity training on a regular basis. We find ongoing dialogue leads to better understanding
of our colleagues, our suppliers, our customers, our stakeholders, and ultimately, to greater success
in the marketplace.

TASK 2

https://thesisleader.com/essays/coca-cola-strategic-analysis/

Coca-Cola Strategic Analysis

2019

COMPETITORS
A highly saturated market of non-alcoholic beverages is represented by both local or regional emerging
companies and global multi-brand companies. The Coca-Cola Company faces various forms of competition in
virtually all types of products. A traditional rival in the domestic market and the primary established
competitor worldwide is PepsiCo, Inc. A rapidly developing competitor for both companies in the North
America is Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, which has taken a strong position in the substituting segment of
healthier beverages. Other competitors are Nestle, Groupe Danone, Mondele-z International, Inc., Kraft Foods
Group, Inc., Suntory Beverage & Food Limited and the Unilever Group. Besides the global beverage
producers, Coca-Cola competes with regional and local companies as well as retailers with their private label
brands. In some markets and in specific categories, the company enters alliances with its competitors “through
licenses, joint ventures and strategic partnerships” (Coca-Cola 2014 Annual Report, 2015).

POTENTIAL ENTRANTS
There are relatively perceptible barriers of entry to the market, as the Coca-Cola Company and other global
players created unmatched distribution networks and partnerships. Therefore, the power of this force is very
limited. Potential entrants emerge as the new categories and brands offered by existing companies.

SUBSTITUTES
As with the potential entrants, the substitutes also normally emerge from the product portfolios of the existing
beverage manufacturers. This force has a tremendous negative impact on the performance of the Coca-Cola,
given the dramatic changes in the consumer preferences that were witnessed during the previous decade.

SUPPLIERS
During the years of its operation, Coca-Cola built a strong network of suppliers and partners, which represent
its core competitive advantage. As of 2013, the network comprised of around 250 partners, more than 900
plants and more than 24 million retail outlets worldwide; for three years since 2010 the company has invested
more than $50 billion in “new facilities, distribution infrastructure, equipment and retail customer activations”
(The Coca-Cola Company, n.d.). Coca-Cola maintains significant bargaining power over its suppliers due to
the business model implemented in its concentrate operations. The franchise model was subjected to revision
in the North America in 2010, when Coca-Cola acquired its largest bottling partner, The Coca-Cola
Refreshments, to cover 90% of the distribution network and gain greater control over the distribution. The
decision was rolled back in 2014, when the company refranchised most of the former acquisitions.

CONSUMERS
As Coca-Cola’s entire mission relies on its ability to meet the needs and desires of the customers, consumers
are the most powerful force having profound impact on the competitive situation and financial performance.
Despite the fact this Coca-Cola managed to build the strongest beverage brand recognized by millions of
admirers worldwide and is generally able to maintain higher prices, the rapidly evolving consumer preferences
currently pose a major risk to the company’s growth. The factors that contribute to changes in customer
preferences are “health and nutrition considerations, especially the perceived undesirability of artificial
ingredients and obesity concerns; shifting consumer demographics, including aging populations; changes in
consumer tastes and needs; changes in consumer lifestyles” (Coca-Cola 2014 Annual Report, 2015).
https://notesmatic.com/2017/02/coca-cola-five-forces-analysis/

COCA COLA FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

July 29, 2018 by Abhijeet Pratap

Porter’s Five Forces Analysis of Coca Cola

Porter’s five forces model, named after its developer Michael E Porter, is a strategic analysis
tool that helps to analyse some critical forces affecting the level of competition in
an industry. This model has acquired great popularity and fame over time and is used widely
across the business world for evaluating the profitability and attractiveness of various
industries. The five forces that this model evaluates are a part of every industry and every
market. Managers can form strategies based on an analysis of these forces to increase the
profitability of their business. This is a Five Forces analysis of the soda giant Coca Cola. Coca
Cola is the leading brand in beverages sector and has a global presence. Its only major
competitor is Pepsi.
1. Bargaining power of suppliers:
The bargaining power of suppliers of Coca Cola is weak. It is so because the number of
suppliers is high and the switching costs for Coca Cola low. While Coca Cola can easily
switch from one supplier to another, it is not possible for any supplier to switch away from
Coca Cola as easily. That can lead to losses for any of the suppliers. While there are several
suppliers, the size of individual suppliers is small or moderately large. Moreover, forward
integration is a distant possibility for most of its suppliers. Even if there are no substitutes
for raw materials like sugar, the number of suppliers is still high. So, the main factors that
have come to light regarding the bargaining power of suppliers are:
 Large number of suppliers
 Small to moderately large size of individual suppliers.
 Forward integration difficult for the suppliers.
 Switching costs for Coca Cola not so high
 2. Bargaining power of buyers/customers:
The bargaining power of individual customers in case of Coca Cola is low. Individual
customers generally buy small volumes and they are not concentrated in specific markets
either. However, the level of differentiation between Pepsi and Coca cola is low. Mostly they
sell similar flavors. Switching costs are not high for customers and still the two brands enjoy
high brand loyalty. The customers of coca cola are not price sensitive. Backward integration
is not a possibility for the customers whether it is an individual customer or a large retailer.
If a retailer acquires some bargaining power then it is only because it buys in large volumes.
Still, overall the customers’ bargaining power is weak.
3. Threat of new entrants:
In the beverages industry there are several factors that discourage new brands from
entering. Growing a brand overnight is impossible. There are significant investments to be
made. From operations to marketing every part requires a large investment. Some local
brands may start it at smaller scale and still marketing and hiring qualified staff requires
generous investment. The level of customer loyalty in the industry is moderate and for any
brand to build customer loyalty it will take some time. So, while new entrants can compete
with brands like Coca Cola at a smaller or local level, to build a brand as big is a mammoth
task requiring both capital and skilled human resources.
4. Threat of substitutes:
Main substitutes of Coca Cola products are the beverages made by Pepsi, fruit juices, and
other hot and cold beverages. The number of substitutes of Coca Cola products is high.
There are several juices and other kinds of hot and cold beverages in the market. The
switching costs are low for the customers. Apart from it, the quality of the substitute
products is also generally good. So, based on these factors the threat from substitutes is
strong.
5. Competitive Rivalry between the existing players:
There are two major players in the soda industry and they are Coca Cola and Pepsi. There is
intense rivalry between the two major players. There are a few smaller players too but they
do not pose a major competitive threat. The two main players are nearly of the same size
and they have similar products and strategies. The level of differentiation between the two
brands is also low and therefore the price competition is intense. People have already heard
of the Cola wars. So, the level of competitive rivalry between the existing firms is a strong
force.

PROPOSED CHNGE FOR COCA COLA TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE

https://www.marketingweek.com/coca-cola-no-longer-tied-brand-rules/

No more ‘holy grails’: Why Coca-Cola is no longer tied to its old brand rules
Molly Fleming 17 Jan 2019

From the moment you walk into the $35bn turnover business’s headquarters in Atlanta you
can sense that change is happening. A circular marbled hall is surrounded by three arches,
with the Coca-Cola logo emblazoned above each. But the red and white branding of classic
Coke is not the sole focus; instead a logo with multiple drinks takes pride of place and
various brands, including Honest Tea and Sprite, also adorn the walls.

As Marketing Week learned on a recent visit to Atlanta, the company is on a mission to

diversify its portfolio and innovate on its products faster than ever before.

This is all encapsulated in a logo produced in 2017 to introduce Coca-Cola’s corporate

positioning statement, ‘beverages for life’. It illustrates the company’s strategy of following
consumers throughout their lifetime, and the eight drinks assembled together in the graphic
reference the fact that the company currently accounts for an eighth of the world’s beverage
supply and the belief it has the opportunity to cater for more.

The Quincey effect

This change in mindset is largely down to CEO James Quincey. He introduced the total beverage
strategy as he took charge of the 133-year-old business in 2017.

The impact of Quincey is mentioned almost constantly at Coke. A CEO with a new vision is
naturally going to have an effect but Quincey’s influence seems truly embedded.

Employees across different seniorities and working in a range of departments and markets
all speak about the 53-year-old Briton’s mission to change the company from the inside out.
His influence is clear and, whether mentioned in passing or through a direct reference, it
seems every employee is on-message.

He’s made clear what he wants Coca-Cola as a total beverage company to look like. It needs
to be unafraid of failing, faster at getting to market and better at introducing products that
cater better for multiple occasions.

However, Quincey isn’t a pioneer at the forefront of FMCG disruption; he’s a pragmatist
who realises Coca-Cola has to change or be left behind. The world is changing: governments
are cracking down on high levels of sugar in food and drink, and consumer trends are
leaning towards healthier options. The company’s future will not be as glittering as its past if
it doesn’t keep up. Revenue fell nearly $13bn between 2012 and 2017, though in the past five
years the share price has risen from $40 to around $50.

Coca-Cola Classic will still be the biggest jewel we have but we do feel innovation has to
happen with Coke.
Arnab Roy, Coca-Cola

According to Euromonitor International, global volume sales of carbonated soft drinks have
been in decline for the past three years, falling from 164.3 billion litres in 2014 to 162.6
billion litres in 2017.

Yet the total soft drinks category has been in growth, with sales up 9.5% between 2014 and
2017 to 601 billion litres. Sales of coffee, tea and energy drinks are all on the rise too. Coffee
has grown 10.2% to 5.4 billion litres, tea 0.2% to 35 billion litres and energy drinks 14% to
21.2 billion litres.

The trends mean Coca-Cola is losing volume market share. Its share of the global soft drinks
category fell from 18% in 2016 to 17.6% in 2017.

This is, in some ways, down to Coca-Cola’s strategy to focus on value over volume sales,
meaning the company is focused on premium-priced beverage categories rather than
increasing consumption.

Obsessive pursuit of growth

To mitigate the decline in soft drinks, Coca-Cola must also prioritise growth in different
markets, across different occasions and with a wider range of consumers.

This goal is reflected in its corporate structure, with Coca-Cola scrapping the CMO position
in March 2017 and appointing Francisco Crespo as chief growth officer instead.

Coca-Cola’s global vice-president of creative, Rodolfo Echeverria, explains: “We have always
been big but now we are obsessively pursuing growth, not in the sense that we want to be
richer but in the sense that we are looking at those consumers who are not our consumers
right now. We’re asking how can we grow? How can we satisfy more and better consumer
needs?”

READ MORE: How getting rid of the CMO ‘broadened’ Coca-Cola’s marketing approach

If the goal is growth, then innovation is the means. Over the past two years, Coca-Cola has
launched more new flavours and product offerings than ever before. But it is also pushing
for innovation across the business. From launching new brands to updating classic products
and branching out into new markets, the company is expanding beyond sparkling drinks, all
of which is supported by leaner marketing and a digitised business.

Revolutionising the marketing models

“My life 20 years back as a Coca-Cola marketer was much easier. Today it’s much more
complex,” says Javier Meza, who has just returned to Atlanta to take on the newly-created
role of CMO of sparkling beverages after heading up marketing in Asia.
Meza says his biggest challenge in Coke’s new obsession for growth is adjusting the
marketing models. The company now divides brands into three categories – leaders,
challengers and explorers – with the marketing strategy changing depending on the
category the product sits in.

He explains: “[The products under the Coca-Cola master brand have] a leadership position
so the marketing model for that brand is not the same as what we want to do with a brand
like Powerade because in most markets it is a challenger. And in some categories we are not
even a challenger, we are just exploring.”

Coca-Cola has honed how to do marketing as a leader and is gaining confidence as a

challenger, but marketing explorer brands is new territory.

“The way we engage consumers is different, the way we do insight is different as well. For
smaller explorer brands we are taking the new approach of more social listening and less of
the structured research that we do with Coca-Cola; it’s trying to learn faster from the
consumer,” says Meza.

READ MORE: Coca-Cola: We must keep creating brands or online retailers will win

Echeverria agrees and says explorer brands require “a typical West Coast, California
attitude”.

He explains: “Those digital companies are born and die in seven months and then they
recreate themselves. You need to find a marketing model that is more agile and fast, and
that means when you stumble, you stand up [again] immediately.”

New brands failing is not theoretical either. In China, Coca-Cola has recently launched a tea
brand for the eighth time and in the UK it withdrew Coca-Cola Life after disappointing
sales.
This means that Coca-Cola has to change the way it works with agencies. Echeverria says:
“We cannot go through the long process of calling Ogilvy or McCann or the big networks we
usually work with. We are willing to use influencers and co-create with our consumers, and
use models that are not the typical big, fat agency which we may use when we have the time
and budget.”

Last year, Coca-Cola used crowdfunding site Indiegogo to launch its premium Swiss water
brand Valser into the North American market. Not only does it allow for quick – and, most
importantly, cheap – failure but also functions like a marketing tool and creates buzz
around a product, as well as offering valuable learnings.

One example of this shift in thinking is its use of crowdfunding. A tool favoured by asset-
poor startups is starting to be adopted by larger companies to allow for faster innovation.

READ MORE: Molly Fleming: Coca-Cola’s experiment shows crowdfunding can be the fast
track to innovation

George Parker, director of innovation at Coca-Cola, explains: “Working with a company like
Indiegogo allows us to move quicker. Given how rapidly consumer tastes are changing, the
innovation team at Coca-Cola is challenged with taking risks, testing, iterating and cycling
through ideas quickly to see what works. Indiegogo was an opportunity to quickly get Valser
out there and see if there was a demand.”
Acquisitions and brand-building

The focus on startup brands is combined with bigger bets on areas of growth. Quincey has
committed the company to making more acquisitions, with notable purchases including
Costa Coffee in the UK and sports drink BodyArmor in the US .

Quincey told investors not to “read too much into it” and promised the rate of acquisitions
would not be replicated every quarter. But it is clear that buying brands is becoming a more
important tactic as Coca-Cola looks to move faster into new markets.

This focus on brands beyond Coca-Cola has required structural changes too. The drinks
company launched a Global Ventures group in October specifically designed to “help drive
growth and greater speed going forward” for new acquisitions and brands, and to “identify
and nurture the next series of fast-growing opportunities” across markets.

In some categories we are not even a challenger, we are just exploring.

Javier Meza, Coca-Cola

Chief people officer Jennifer Mann heads up the group and in a blog post Quincey wrote:
“Jennifer’s number one job is to get maximum value out of the things we’ve already bought
or invested in. There’s a lot of opportunity to leverage what’s already under way.”

The company is also rebranding older products and investing in its lower-sugar variants,
with some success. With the introduction of the sugar tax in the UK on 1 April 2018, Coca-
Cola invested £10m in a marketing campaign to relaunch Diet Coke.

It worked, and by July 2018 UK Diet Coke sales had overtaken classic Coke, aided by an
instant boost in the week after the overhaul. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola says Coke Zero Sugar
has been the biggest single driver of the company’s overall growth.

All of this brand-building hinges on one big element: choice. Echeverria explains: “We want
to give choice so that consumers who like a Coca-Cola with sugar can fulfil their craving for
sugar. You don’t want sugar or calories? We have zero for half of our portfolio. It’s a choice
and we are not only offering that choice but shaping choice by promoting the zero-calorie
options.”

No more ‘holy grails’

Nothing reveals the change in Coca-Cola’s strategy more than its attitude to its core brand.
The company’s flexibility with the Coca-Cola trademark is previously unheard of, as it
attempts to figure out what the future of the brand looks like.

KOLab is where the majority of the Coca-Cola brand’s innovation happens. In this small,
inconspicuous building tucked away from the rest of Coke’s campus, employees have to sign
NDAs, so top-secret are the goings-on.
Marketing Week was among the first members of the media to be allowed in. The circular
main room would not look out of place in a Bond Film, with screens surrounding a circular
table lit by a single light. In this customer collaboration centre, Coca-Cola uses the latest
technology to gain consumer insights and uses virtual reality to see what innovation will
look like at scale in retailers.

Its focus is on global innovation and there are five more similar R&D centres around the
world, including in Brussels, Shanghai and Mexico City. While the KOLab is in a separate
building from the rest of the Atlanta HQ, it is integrated within the company, unlike at other
brands such as PepsiCo, where innovation centres are housed in separate business hubs.

The impact of the lab can be felt across the business. The launch of Coke Zero took five years
of research, 60 prototypes, 18 global studies, 90 sample testings and various formats.
Compare that to today and the route to market is cut drastically. Coca-Cola Clear with
lemon, which was launched in China in 2017, took just two months from concept to launch.

Change is not easy, as Coke’s history will attest to. In 1985, Coca-Cola changed its formula
but was forced to ditch ‘New Coke’ and go back to its original recipe after just 70 days.
Critics called it the biggest marketing blunder ever and the company still cites it constantly
as an example of how beloved Coke is.

However, Coca-Cola is now tinkering with that formula again.

Arnab Roy, senior global marketing director and brand head of trademark for Coca-Cola,
says: “A lot of the ‘holy grails’ have a ‘why not’ attitude now. Before you could not play with
the Coca-Cola formula. You could add a flavour to it – a Coke vanilla and a Coke orange –
but not change the recipe. Now we are saying start with the consumer: who are you trying to
connect with and therefore how must Coke adapt itself to fit?

“Coca-Cola Classic will still be the biggest jewel we have but we do feel innovation has to
happen with Coke. Over the last two years, with the guidance of our CEO, there is a lot more
flexibility with what Coke can do and what Coke can’t do.”

Looking to the future

To understand the future of Coca-Cola it helps to look to Japan, where the company
launches four products a week.

Sparkling CMO Meza explains: “One of the things the Japan business has done is to
understand very quickly which products have the chance have to be maintained and which
have to be removed. It’s a change of mindset and that’s what James Quincey is pushing us to
do, and I’ve seen more and more of that in Coca-Cola.”

Coca-Cola might appear to have been innovating for years given the steady stream of new
Coke flavours. However, Roy admits these new flavours “don’t really help the brand grow in
a long-term, sustainable way”.
To do that it needs to expand into new drinking occasions. And this is where it is starting to
experiment. A year ago, Japan launched Coke with coffee. It’s a prime example of breaking
the ‘holy grail’ rules because the combination of Coca-Cola and coffee beans fundamentally
changes the core Coke recipe.

Coke with coffee is also different because its sales do not come at the expense of the core
product. Instead, they come from looking at an occasion and a need – people wanting more
caffeine to perk them up during an afternoon slump – thus taking sales from other
categories rather than cannibalising Coca-Cola sales. It launched in Spain in October and
the hope is that by the end of next year it will be in 50% of Coca-Cola’s markets.

Another example is the growing ‘food for specified health uses’ trend in Japan. The trend is
about offering products that aid health and metabolism, so Coca-Cola has launched Coke
plus fibre, which lowers the body’s fat absorption and is targeted at the over-40s.

It’s unlikely to launch more widely any time soon but the point is there is a market for more
functional drinks. Following those trends will see Coca-Cola going boldly where Coke hasn’t
gone before.
There is no doubt the organisation will look very different in 20 years’ time from how it does
now if it continues on its current trajectory.

However, it’s unclear how this will translate to consumers. The Coca-Cola Company will still
be synonymous with carbonated drinks and its namesake product but perhaps more popular
products in other categories will become more important to the business.

Is there a point when the business owns a product bigger than Coca-Cola? Meza isn’t ruling
it out, although he doesn’t see it happening in the next 10 years. What will be key, he
believes, is Coca-Cola keeping up with the pace of change. “The moment the pace of change
outside the company is higher than inside, then you start to lose,” he reflects.

Coca-Cola not a disruptor or a startup or an underdog tapping into a niche. It’s a big
corporation and no amount of innovation hubs or logo updates is going to change that.

However, Coca-Cola is prioritising rapid innovation, launching into new markets and
exploring nascent trends. Quincey’s decision to break old habits and adopt faster processes
might be one born of necessity, but history is littered with companies that failed to do that.
The future of the Coca-Cola brand may not be as exalted as in the past, but the company
that bears its name still has some fizz left in it.

Task 3 a

Innovation and Launching into new markets

CHNGE MODEL

https://culcpreetha.wordpress.com/2017/03/20/leading-and-change/

Leading and Change

ON MARCH 20, 2017 BY CULCPREETHA
https://notesmatic.com/2017/02/applying-kotters-eight-step-change-model-to-business-issues/

APPLYING KOTTER’S EIGHT STEP CHANGE MODEL TO

BUSINESS ISSUES
August 1, 2019 by Abhijeet Pratap

Step 1: Establishing a sense of urgency:

There must be a solid reason to bring change. The first step in Kotter’s model is to establish
a sense of urgency. Change will happen only when everyone wants it. To initiate change,
first you need to create an environment of urgency that will spark discussion and
excitement. You need to have a strong argument to persuade people to participate in the
process. Suppose Sam owns a business that employs 300 people. For the last three months,
he has been losing sales to his competitors. He does some research to find out the reason.
His research shows that the competitors are investing in technology which has enabled
them to provide better services and therefore they are gaining fast against his business.
Now, Sam needs to provide his organisation with a convincing reason that by adopting
modern technology the company and employees are going to be benefited. He must focus
on both the sides. What will the company gain by adopting the change? What will it lose if it
does not? This will build the initial sense of urgency to switch the ignition on. In this way, he
will be able to get his employees interested. If the company continues to lose sales, it will be
bound to lay off people and eventually shut down. However, if it makes the desired
changes, its sales will rise, no one will lose his job and workers’ salaries might also increase.

https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/innovation-lessons-from-coca-cola/

Innovation lessons from Coca Cola

For Guy Wollaert, innovation means 'permission to experiment'

By Professor Cyril Bouquet

An Innovation Must Create New Value

For Wollaert, an innovation doesn’t have to be disruptive or headline-grabbing. It

must simply create new value. “It can be an invention or a piece of technology,”
he says. “It can be a new operating model, a new business model – many, many
different things. But it does not become true innovation unless it creates new
value and it has impact.”

“I started at Coca-Cola making proposals for new capital investments, to build

new factories, distribution centers, warehouses, offices …. I was able to simplify
how we make capital project proposals, which were once like engineering
studies, 250 pages thick. I came back with 25 pages that contained the essence.
It gave management the criteria they needed to make a decision of ‘go’ or ‘no go’
on that investment. So that’s an example of an innovation that saved time and
money, and brought clarity and speed of decision-making.”

Coca-Cola’s Freestyle mobile app is a more recent innovation – and one with
more sex appeal. “There are already more than 20,000 machines in U.S. quick-
service restaurants. Typically, you get four choices at a self-service drink
dispenser: Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Fanta …. Freestyle is a new interactive
platform where consumers, on an iPad-like screen, choose combinations and
can have 120 different combinations – totally personalized, all coming out of the
same spout. It’s revolutionizing the whole quick-service-restaurant beverage
experience.”

Build the guiding team:

This is the second step in Kotter’s change model. You need to find out the change
advocates and change leaders inside the organisation to lead the process and to invite
participation of workers at all levels. In this regard, it is not essential that Sam selects only
from the top or middle level. Sam can select from his frontline employees too who he thinks
have the necessary expertise to convince others. After he has found out a team of such
people from inside the organisation, he must try to gain their commitment. He must ensure
variety in his team as it help access people from all groups and backgrounds in his company
and build acceptance for his idea. By building a powerful coalition of key people, say
‘change leaders’ he will be able to bring momentum to his plan.

The father of invention

In Wollaert’s view, if necessity is the mother of invention, experimentation is the

father.

“First, it’s giving people, associates at all levels, the permission to explore, the
permission to experiment, the permission to challenge the status quo, and the
permission even to fail. That’s how you, inside-in, can change the mindset and
the culture over time – if leadership clearly creates the space for people to
experiment and, yes, to fail. Fail cheap and fast if you have to fail, but fail.”

“Second, innovation is about connecting dots externally, not just internally. I know
what I want. I just don’t have the skills or partners or expertise in my existing
ecosystem, so I’ll go and find them externally.”

“And then there’s a third dimension of how you activate innovation, which is
outside-in. You don’t really know what you want because it may be so far from
your core business … but you know there’s so much happening out there that
you want to plug in and explore and connect (expand your ecosystem) and find
things you can bring back to create new value for the organization.”

Develop a powerful vision:

Next step is to create a powerful vision. A vision is essential for people to understand what
outcome the change process is trying to achieve. So, rather than having so many ideas, it is
good to connect the dots and build a larger vision that motivates everyone in the
organisation. A clear vision proves quite influential to motivate employees and for setting
things in motion. It helps them envision the future and understand what can be achieved
through change. It also sets a positive tone in the favour of the change plan. So, Sam must
focus on his strategy and organisational values to create the organisational vision for
change.

https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/watch-accelerating-our-mission-creating-value-
through-innovation

Coca-Cola Innovation 101: Accelerating Our Mission and Creating Value

By: Unbottled Staff | Aug 11, 2014

At Coca-Cola, we believe innovation is something new that creates value and supports our company’s
ambitious, yet simply worded, mission: To refresh the world, inspire moments of optimism
and happiness, and create value and make a difference. Those innovations, in whatever
form, create economic value, build equity in our brands and shape the reputation of our business.

Our holistic approach is embedded in everything we do, from physical innovations

like PlantBottle and Coca-Cola Freestyle, to marketing engagements such as campaigns
like "Share a Coke" and partnerships with companies like Misfit Wearables, to our social
responsibility efforts like EKOCENTER. Each creates new value for our company and
communities, and supports our mission.

The Coca-Cola Company was built on a new innovation – brand Coca-Cola – which
introduced an entirely new beverage category 128 years ago. Throughout our history, we have
been at the forefront of adopting new technologies, establishing new, creative marketing
approaches and contributing to the success of the communities where we do business.

Communicate for buy-in:

After having gotten his vision right, Sam must communicate his vision to the people. Good
communication is the key to successful change. It dispels confusion, clears any kind of
misgivings and motivates people to participate. Communication must involve all the people
at all the levels. Since it is a major change, there are bound to be some rumours or
misconceptions. Sam has planned automation and other kinds of technological updates in
his organisation. Many people who do not have the technological skills would be worried.
 Communication helps in such a situation. Sam and his change leadership team must talk to
people to understand their individual concerns and how they feel the change will affect
them. They must talk of the vision too often so that the idea sinks in. Communication can
help him gain buy in. Sam and team must address people’s concerns and worries. They
must provide solutions like the training and resources to be provided to help the employees
tackle any new challenges. Communication is the key and missing on this part can lead to
certain failure. Unless people know the meaning of the upcoming change, they understand
its focus and are willing to participate, change will not work. So, leaders and managers must
note that change will not produce results unless it is communicated properly.

Empower action by removing obstacles:

By the time, the above steps are completed, Sam and team must have persuaded people to
participate. There would definitely be resistance, part of which can be addressed through
communication. Some people would not agree until they have seen proven results.
However, Sam must continue. There can be hurdles even after the staff has become ready to
get involved. Now, the leader and the change leadership team must identify the obstacles in
the way of the plan. They must look into the organisational structure and processes to find
any hindrances. Once such barriers have been identified they must act quickly to remove
them. If the need be, they must also hire outside consultants to identify potential barriers.
Any kind of human or structural barrier or issues that can hinder the progress must be
resolved quickly. If people do not have the necessary skills, they must be provided training
and resources to help them proceed. This will build confidence and bring people’s focus on
the gains to be obtained by change.

https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/building-a-growth-culture-at-coke-includes-
empowering-all-employ

Building a Growth Culture at Coke Includes Empowering All Employees to Drive

Company’s Innovation Agenda

By: Jay Moye | May 24, 2019

Coca-Cola North America is giving employees the chance to serve up the next breakthrough
innovation – from new beverage brands, to groundbreaking sustainability programs, to creative
eCommerce solutions – through a crowdsourcing forum called the Grand Challenge.

Launched in 2017, the Grand Challenge invites Coca-Cola North America associates – regardless of
department or job title – to surface ideas that meet unmet needs or solve a known business
challenge. In the first two years, the program has generated more than 300 submissions and helped
create a more entrepreneurial and empowered workforce by encouraging teams to take smart risks,
innovate quickly and embrace an agile, test-and-learn mindset.
Create short-term wins:
Now, things have been set in motion but there is a need to gather more speed. Sam wants
that the benefits are visible to his staff so that they focus on change with double enthusiasm
and motivation. He must divide his long term goals into short term ones. However, there is
also a need to be cautious at this point since moving too fast can cause errors. If the
employees can see short term wins taking place, they will be motivated about the overall
plan. The short term goals are critical so the motivation and focus of the staff can be
sustained. Once some early wins are registered it gets easier to persuade people to follow
the rest of the plan. Any successful efforts must also be properly recognised in the
meanwhile.

https://barbradozier.wordpress.com/2018/04/08/reward-analysis-in-coca-cola-company/

Reward Analysis in Coca-Cola Company

April 8, 2018barbradozier

Total reward policy

Total reward is a concept where an organization makes an effort of motivating and retaining employees to
get maximum result in return. Coca-Cola has a program known as cloud-based technology whereby,
employees are given the freedom to make choices of rewards (Thorpe, 2000). The choice of one may differ
from another. For instance, some employees may consider trips, holidays, and vacations necessary while
others may like allowances and scholarship for their children.

The contribution of total reward in Coca-Cola is fruit bearing. Employees feel motivated, and through
that, the company can utilize their labor to the fullest. A motivated employee will produce more than
expected results which are the reasons why the company is doing well in the market regarding sales due to
the production of high quality (Thorpe, 2000). The organization performance is impacted positively, and
that is why Coca-Cola is currently the best performing beverage company worldwide.

Best practice policy

Another reward principle that is evaluated in the paper is best practice in regards to equitable, fair,
consistent and transparent. Best practice enhances equitability and fair treatment of employees. The
company applies best practice policy through ensuring the undertaken operations are transparent and can
be accounted for. Corporate social responsibility is also practiced by the company (Dreher, 2009). It
intends to give back to the society which enables positive reputation and branding of the company’s name.
Best practice, policy, and transparency compare through fairness and accountability.
Build on the change:
However, short term wins do not signify full success. So, at every step Sam and team must
analyse the results to see how the short term goals are adding to the long term goal. They
must analyse the outcomes to know what things can be improved to make the plan
successful and what things are already running right.

https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/how-coca-cola-s-new-ideas-make-it-to-you

Coca-Cola CTO Explains How Innovation is

Benefitting Beverages…and Consumers
By: Christina Bruce | Sep 20, 2016

Every bold new flavor or clever package starts as an idea. As Coca-Cola North America’s Chief
Technical Officer, Nancy Quan zeroes in on the best of those ideas and figures out how to get them to
market. Here, Quan talks about the latest thinking related to low- or no-calorie drinks, state-of-the-
art bottles, and other innovations shaping Coca-Cola’s future.

What opportunities are you excited about in the marketplace right now?
There is a lot happening that is very interesting. Lots of innovation in the more natural and organic
space, and around differentiated sensory and flavors at lower sugar levels, as well as an incredible
amount of innovation in the packaging space to offer more premium and smaller serving sizes
through an interesting look at how packaging can play a key role in this space.

Part of your role is to focus on the science of sweetness and alternatives to

sugar. How do you approach the challenge of creating low- or no-calorie
options that still taste good?
The most critical for us is to balance taste with reducing calories and reducing sugar. The natural
sweetener journey has been very interesting, because when you’re looking for a natural ingredient, it
comes from nature as is; it’s not something you can change or modify. Sometimes that gives you
challenges in taste -- it may result in unwanted lingering notes, for example -- and other times
challenges in supply, especially if it is not prevalent in large quantities in nature today.

We’ve been on this journey trying to find the best toolbox, and it really is a toolbox, not one magic
bullet. When you mix those ingredients together, it gives you the nicely balanced sweetness profile
and taste you’re looking for. We have different partnerships around the world working with us to
find these next great tasting ingredients.

However, once you find it, it’s only the beginning. There is still a big piece of work to identify the
optimal supply chain, especially as you work with plant ingredients that require time with the
growing cycles. Additionally, the regulatory approval process for new ingredients is something that
also takes time to ensure everything is approved for use in the various countries.
Then, of course, getting the ingredients into products is an art in itself. Finding the right balance and
optimal flavor for the desired consumer taste in a stable beverage can sometimes be challenging,
especially if the consumer is used to a different sensory profile.

Don’t let up/Make change stick:

To make the change stick, it must be made a part of the organisational culture. The
company leaders and managers must focus on this part. They must ensure that the
organisational values support the change. The organisational culture must also rhyme with
the changes being made. Sam and team must focus on establishing a culture that fosters
innovation. They must ensure that technology is linked to the organisational values and that
people adopt these values. Apart from the existing staff, these values must be
communicated to the new hires too. If technological advancements and innovation are
made a part of the culture, then it will create an environment that will sustain the change
Sam and team have brought. Otherwise, the change will generate only temporary results
and in the long term its effects will be lost . So, time to time the leaders must review to see
how well the change has become a part of organisational culture and structure.

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-
samples/toolkits/pages/managingorganizationalchange.aspx

Managing Organizational Change

2019

Leaders should have a solid strategy for dealing with change resistance. Some actions to build
employee change readiness include:

 Developing and cascading strong senior sponsorship for people-focused work. In the
absence of visible sponsorship, leaders should build alliances, meet business needs and
promote wins.
 Developing tools and information for front-line supervisors and managers. Organizations
should involve them early—train them, prepare them and communicate regularly.
 Coaching employees to help them adapt and thrive during change.
 Rewarding desired behaviors and outcomes with both tangible and intangible rewards.
 Relying on insights from both those in the field and subject-matter experts.

https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/opinion-the-golden-triangle-spearheading-change-
the-smart-way

Opinion: The Golden Triangle - Spearheading Change the Smart Way

By: Muhtar Kent | Nov 7, 2012
 The Coca-Cola Company’s Road Map for Change
By building on nearly a century of cooperation, we’re now able to do more good for more people
more quickly than ever before. But in order to effect change, we believe that five key criteria should
be met in order to have an impact:

 Share what you know. This includes your expertise, your know-how — what you do better
than anyone else. Specialized know-how is often far more valuable than money.
 Get going. Pilot, see what works, tweak what doesn’t and scale up from there. Perfection is
the enemy of very good.
 Team up with the right partners. The right partners make all the difference.
 Hold people and partners accountable. Very little progress happens without
accountability.
 Make it sustainable. In Tanzania, we’re sharing our distribution expertise with the
Medical Stores Department, which can use and expand their new system indefinitely.

At Coca-Cola, we’re committed to Golden Triangle partnerships, and we see every day how they’re
improving peoples’ lives and, ultimately, changing the world for the better.

Task 3b

Coca Cola stakeholder Impact Analysis

https://love-pet.net/stakeholder-analysis-of-mendelow-matrix-management-essay-4040/

Stakeholder Analysis Of Mendelow Matrix

Management Essay

 August 27, 2017

 Category : Free Essays

As stewards of the stockholder ‘s investing, managers have a fiducial responsibility to safeguard their investing in the
concern and to work to keep and increase the wealth of the stockholder. This is the traditional or shareholder
position, but a more considerate attack provinces that companies should non hold a limited position ; instead they
should hold an drawn-out position with respect to the whole society. The stakeholder position provinces that that as
an organisation is so powerful, socially, politically and economically, unrestrained and injudicious usage of their
power will finally take to the violation of the rights of other people. The stakeholder theory therefore proposes
corporate answerability, non merely to the stockholders, but to the stakeholders of the company every bit good.
A stakeholder is an entity that can impact, or be affected by the accomplishment of an organisation ‘s aims. But, there
is considerable difference about who should be considered to be a stakeholder, and therefore, have a legitimate
claim on the company and its activities. The manner an organisation trades with stakeholders, and their stakeholder
position ( the legitimacy of stakeholder claims ) depends on the moral, ethical and political point of view of the
organisation and on the degree of influence and power a stakeholder has on the organization.One manner of
analysing the importance of stakeholders to an organisation is through the Mendelow matrix. Mendelow classified
stakeholders on a grid whose axes are the power to influence and the involvement in the organisations activities.
These factors help to place the relationship between a company and its stakeholders and the possible attack of the
organisation to stakeholder concerns. ( Mendelow, 1991 )

Harmonizing to the Mendelow matrix, illustrated in Figure 1, the stakeholders in grid A are those who have low
degrees of involvement in the organisation ‘s operations and merely a limited power to act upon the organisation ‘s
activities. These people, therefore, require merely minimum attempt by the organisation. Grid B, nevertheless, is
populated by persons with a high degree of involvement but a low degree of power over the organisation. These
stakeholders do non hold the ability to act upon an organisation ‘s scheme, but they may buttonhole and act upon the
positions of other, more powerful stakeholders, and, so the organisation has to, at the really least maintain them good
informed.

Alternatively, stakeholders in grid C have a high grade of power to act upon scheme, but merely low degrees of
involvement in organisational activities, hence, these stakeholders must be treated with cautiousness, as they may
develop an involvement in the organisation, therefore doing them of import to organisational scheme and success.
These stakeholders, should, therefore be kept satisfied.

Grid D, on the other manus, represents stakeholders with a high involvement in organisational activities and a high
grade of power to act upon operations. These are, therefore, the key participants, and the organisation ‘s scheme
must be at least acceptable to them. ( Mendelow,1991 )

An organisation could hold really many or really few stakeholders depending on its impact on society. The greater its
impact, the wider the pool of possible stakeholders. In the instance of GlaxoSmithKline, for illustration, which is an
international pharmaceutical company, the stakeholders are broad ranging and diverse.

https://studymoose.com/external-stakeholders-interest-or-claim-in-coca-cola-essay
https://notesmatic.com/2017/02/hr-management-at-coca-cola-performance-management-and-
innovation/
HR MANAGEMENT AT COCA COLA: PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT AND INNOVATION
January 20, 2019 by Abhijeet Pratap

Most global companies have understood the importance of Human Resource management
for acquiring success. Human resource management has become central to excellent
performance. The more skilled and well managed a company’s staff is, the easier it is for the
company to achieve strong performance and productivity. It is why the focus of businesses
has remained on hiring only the best. However, apart from hiring, it is also critical to
manage them in a way such that they can deliver with dedication.

Employee motivation and engagement have become critical to organizational success.

Human resources if managed well can be a source of competitive advantage. Otherwise
despite investing in all the other aspects of business, a company can fail to be successful
and competitive. All the leading global companies have invested in HR management to
help employees deliver excellent performance. Coca Cola is a leading beverage brand
known for excellent human resource management

Creating an environment of learning and development:

There are a few things that are critical to motivating your staff. Apart from good salaries and
recognition, it is essential to motivate them using other means too. The first thing is to
create an environment of trust and respect. Coca Cola has made it a priority that its
employees are treated with respect. The organization provides them with a rewarding work
life and helps them develop. It has created an environment where its employees can excel
and develop better skills. The focus is on performance improvement to help employees
move continuously towards their career goals.

A learning environment is just as essential for employee development and motivation as

good salary. Br providing employees with a learning environment, Coca Cola ensures that
they receive continuous learning and find fast growth in their jobs. It ensures that all the
people who are working for it have the resources that enable them to learn and build their
careers. However, learning is not possible without fun and Coca Cola ensures that its
employees get the necessary fun at work. Coca Cola is a great place to work where people
can achieve their dreams and full potential.

Training and education:

Coca Cola has focused on equipping its associates with knowledge and skills they need to
become achievers. It has showed its commitment by providing its people at all levels with
education and development programs to enable their growth. It established its own Coca
Cola University (CCU) which provides various types of courses through classrooms, e-
learning, and field training that can help its associates with personal and professional
development both. There are several areas or competencies that are included in Coca Cola’s
curriculum. “CCU’s learning portfolio focuses on leadership; marketing; human rights; ethics
and compliance; diversity; sustainability; finance; and other competencies. We offer
thousands of courses to associates through CCU. In 2009, more than 27,000 associates
participated in 1,720 CCU classroom sessions worldwide, and 39,100 associates participated
in e-learning courses”.

Another important step that Coca Cola has taken to encourage its associates is to provide
them with reimbursement to help them pursue higher level education. Associates with
graduate or undergraduate level education are provided various levels of reimbursement to
receive higher education at accredited colleges and institutions. Apart from it, the associates
are allowed to learn from other e-learning courses beyond the CCU. They can also
participate in external training programs and conferences that improve their skills and
abilities. For attracting and retaining he best, Coca Cola has continued to invest in employee
development programs with “ emphasis on employee development plans, internal talent
management, leadership development for managers and employee performance
management.

TASK 4

https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/successful-change-leader/

Select a Region

How to Be a Successful Change Leader

2019

The 3 C’s of Change Leadership

Researchers found that 3 skills provide the necessary connection between the process part of change
and the people part of change. These 3 C’s unite effective change leadership:
 1. Communicate. Unsuccessful leaders tended to focus on the “what” behind the
change. Successful leaders communicated the “what” and the “why.” Leaders who
explained the purpose of the change and connected it to the organization’s values or
explained the benefits created stronger buy-in and urgency for the change.
https://ivypanda.com/essays/coca-cola-business-communication-in-practice/

 Coca-Cola Business Communication

in Practice Report

The Coca-Cola business communication is aimed at developing successful internal and external structure of the
communication system which is based on creating favorable working environment for all employees, free exchange of

new ideas at all levels of management and among workers, as well as focusing their external communication on

maintaining successful business relationships with stakeholders and consumers.

Coca-Cola management team recognized the need to have an effective communication system in different branches,
outlets, and marketing areas. The first structure that facilitates communication is its organizational culture that
ensures that employees maintain respect for each other and can talk freely sharing their ideas.

The company’s orchestrate team works for a single destiny and the belief that every department plays an important
role to play in the attainment of corporate objectives and goals. Coca-Cola organizational culture and behavior follows
that of freelance structure were ideas and opinions flow freely upwards and downwards; irrespective of the rank of
employees, leaders are obliged to listen and consider every employees suggestions when making decisions.

Communication channels
Leaders at Coca-Cola have enacted effective communication channels that allow free flow of message from/to the
management; the channels include internally made mechanisms like telephones extensions, intranets, emailing
systems, notice boards, and meetings. Depending with the message and the intended recipient, it is controlled to
ensure that it only gets to the intended parties.

When communicating across the borders, the company ensures that branch managers get the information at the
most appropriate time and can decode the message to get the intended audience.

2. Collaborate. Bringing people together to plan and execute change is critical. Successful
leaders worked across boundaries, encouraged employees to break out of their silos, and
refused to tolerate unhealthy competition. They also included employees in decision-making
early on, strengthening their commitment to change. Unsuccessful change leaders failed to
engage employees early and often in the change process.
https://www.foodbev.com/news/collaborative-innovation-is-the-key-to-unlocking-success-says-
coca-cola/
Collaborative innovation is the key to unlocking success, says Coca-
Cola
Posted By: Shaun Westonon: October 01, 2014

Around nine in 10 current CEOs and future business leaders believe businesses should have a social purpose,
according to a study from Coca-Cola Enterprises.

Yet, while 86% of current leaders think businesses are already putting this into practice, just a fifth of the younger
generation agrees they are doing so, showing a clear gap between the views of today’s CEOs and the next
generation.

These results are part of a new study published by Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) in partnership with Cranfield’s
Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility and The Financial Times’ FT Remark (FT).

The study – Combining Profit and Purpose – is based on the views of 50 CEOs and almost 150 MBA and MSc
students and recent graduates across Europe, and will be launched in London at the Future for Sustainability
Summit: Enhancing the Value of Business, a joint initiative between CCE and The Financial Times.

The research indicates that current and future leaders agree that a business’ profit and the ability to provide
shareholder value are the best barometers of business success today. However, the groups disagree on how that may
change in the future.

While the overwhelming majority of current CEOs feel that profitability and shareholder value will remain key in
the future (94% and 88%, respectively), the findings suggest future leaders have higher expectations of the role
business should play, claiming that societal and environmental impact (80%), innovation (61%) and development of
future talent (57%) will be more important indicators of business success in the years to come.

The two groups also differ in opinion about the barriers to businesses combining social purpose with profit. Two
thirds of CEOs (66%) view external factors such as government and regulation as the main barrier, while the
majority of future leaders cite internal factors, such as current management attitudes (55%).

“Forward-looking organisations are already focusing on how to balance profit and purpose, and there is clearly a
growing expectation on businesses to do this,” said John F Brock, chairman and CEO of CCE. “Today’s leaders play
an essential role in integrating environmental and social issues into strategic decision making, but future generations
have even higher expectations of business. It’s clear that social and environmental purpose will increase in
importance in the years to come, and that collaborative innovation is the key to unlocking success.”

3. Commit. Successful leaders made sure their own beliefs and behaviors supported change, too.
Change is difficult, but leaders who negotiated it successfully were resilient and persistent, and
willing to step outside their comfort zone. They also devoted more of their own time to the change
effort and focused on the big picture. Unsuccessful leaders failed to adapt to challenges, expressed
negativity, and were impatient with a lack of results.
https://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/leadership

Coca-Cola Leaders
2018
As consumers’ tastes and preferences change, we’re rapidly evolving our business to bring them a
wide range of new and different drinks, while also reducing sugar and adding more nutrition and
benefits wherever we can. As always, we’re firmly committed to creating lasting value for our
associates, bottling partners, customers, shareowners, and the communities we call home.

Led by Chairman and CEO James Quincey, our company’s senior leadership team is investing
in a future that promises to be even more exciting than our past.

Leading the Process

Strategic change doesn’t happen on its own. Effective leaders guide the process from start to finish.
Here are the 3 key competencies that are part of leading the process:

 Initiate. Effective change leaders begin by making the case for the change they seek. This can
include evaluating the business context, understanding the purpose of the change, developing a
clear vision and desired outcome, and identifying a common goal. Unsuccessful leaders say
they didn’t focus on these tasks enough to reach a common understanding of the goal.
 Strategize. Successful leaders developed a strategy and a clear action plan, including priorities,
timelines, tasks, structures, behaviors, and resources. They identified what would change, but
also what would stay the same. Leaders who weren’t successful said they failed to listen
enough to questions and concerns, and failed to define success from the beginning.
 Execute. Translating strategy into execution is one of the most important things leaders can do.
In our study, successful change leaders focused on getting key people into key positions (or
removing them, in some cases). They also broke big projects down into small wins to get early
victories and build momentum. And they developed metrics and monitoring systems to
 measure progress. Unsuccessful change leaders sometimes began micromanaging, got mired in
implementation details, and failed to consider the bigger picture.
Leading People
While formal change processes might be well understood, too many leaders neglect the all-important
human side of change. The most effective leaders devoted considerable effort to engaging everyone
involved in the change effort. They exhibit these 3 crucial qualities of leading people:

 Support. Successful change projects were characterized by leaders removing barriers to

employee success. These include personal barriers such as wounded egos and a sense of loss,
as well as professional barriers such as the time and resources necessary to carry out a change
plan. Leaders of unsuccessful change focused exclusively on results, so employees didn’t get
the support they needed for the change.
 Sway. Effective leaders identified key stakeholders — including board members, C-suite
executives, clients, and others — and communicated their vision of successful change to them.
Unsuccessful leaders told us they were more likely to avoid certain stakeholders rather than try
to influence them.
 Learn. Finally, successful change leaders never assumed they had all the answers. They asked
lots of questions and gathered formal and informal feedback. The input and feedback allowed
them to make continual adjustments during the change. In the case of unsuccessful changes,
leaders didn’t ask as many questions or gather accurate information, which left them without
the knowledge they needed to make appropriate adjustments along the way.

Barriers to change implementation

https://sjleadershipcoach.com/2018/08/28/6-barriers-to-organizational-change-and-how-to-overcome-
them/

AUGUST 28, 2018

6 BARRIERS TO ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE, AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM

BY WENDY RYAN IN CHANGE MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP

Below are six common barriers to effective organizational change, along with strategies and suggestions on
how to manage them.

1) INDIVIDUAL CHANGE RESISTANCE

Most people don’t enjoy change. The status quo tends to be more convenient and comfortable, so our
resistance to a new process, strategy or organizational structure (no matter how logical or promising) is
almost inevitable. Part of our human nature involves us being very sensitive to certain kinds of perceived
threats in our social environment, which by extension includes our workplace. Harvard Business Review
outlines ten reasons why individuals tend to resist change:
 1. Loss of control, especially over processes that have been built up over time.
2. Excess uncertainty, which we seek to avoid at all costs.
3. Surprise changes with little to no room for mental preparation.
4. Changes to everyday work habits and routines.
5. Loss of face, particularly for those who have built their reputation on the status quo.
6. Concerns about competence as it relates to the new environment.
7. More work, especially in the transition period.
8. Ripple effects, as the change begins to affect other departments and even customers.
9. Past resentments that can spring up against the person responsible for or affecting the change.
10. True risks, to both your team’s happiness and livelihood.

Addressing these perceived threats at both an individual, as well as the team and organizational levels, is
key to successful change management.

2) LACK OF COMMUNICA TION

At its core, successful organizational change is really a successful communication exercise. In fact, one
study found that the single biggest reason for organizational failure to successfully implement any kind of
change is “clear and frequent communication.” When combined with your team’s natural resistance for
change outlined above, this barrier makes sense. In fact, every single one of the 10 reasons for individual
change resistance can least be partially mitigated through intentional and proactive communication.

Communication should take center stage in both the planning and implementation phases of change
management. Whenever a project or new direction is planned, communication should begin before its
actual implementation or execution. Set clear expectations, communicate potential timelines, and report
organizational progress to plan at regular intervals. During unplanned or crisis-driven change, keeping
everyone on the same page is just as critical. In a recent article, the Harvard Business Review outlined
additional strategies to communicate effectively during times of intense organizational change.

3) LACK OF STRATEGIC DIRECTION

Communication is key but will be unsuccessful if it lacks direction or a cohesive message. From the moment
you begin to plan or implement any type of organizational change, first clarify your objectives. Think of
your objectives as the roadmap that will guide you to your intended destination. Ideally, your change
management strategy should include the following five components:

1. An overarching goal or intended outcome of the process.

2. Clear, measurable objectives related to the overall outcome.
3. An estimated timeline of achieving your objectives.
4. Regular benchmarks or check-ins to evaluate your progress toward goal.
5. An outline of strategic communication to keep everyone involved on the same page.

With the right strategy, you will improve your chances of getting buy in so staff are more likely to take a
productive vs. disruptive role in the change process.
4) LACK OF CONSISTEN CY

We all experience it, and we can all become frustrated by it. Cognitive dissonance describes what happens
when your ideas, beliefs, or behaviors contradict each other. You see an ad, but the product doesn’t deliver
on its promises. You experience one of your role models commit an unethical ac t. You hear great things
about organizational change, but all you can see is the increased workload it will bring you for the next six
months.

During organizational change or transition, some cognitive dissonance is inevitable. Your

team will experience an initial increase in their workload and painfully discover many ways in which the
new way of doing things (such as a new business software platform) is actually more time consuming or
initially cumbersome than the old one. If the gap between the perceived benefits of the change and the real
work it will take to accomplish change is too long or too great, progress stalls and problems can arise.
Observing positive benefits that were promised actually materialize helps to generate buy -in on and
maintain energy for change on behalf of your employees. That’s why planning so you can achieve a few
early “wins” and then reinforce them frequently through communication, is so important to a successful
change process.

Encourage your implementation team to speak out. Left alone, contradictions between hoped for benefits
and lived reality will fester and cause resentment, which in turn will undermine the change. Then, align your
communication with expectations to make sure that people experience as much consistency betwe en their
expectations and actual outcomes as possible.

5) CULTURAL BARRIERS

As soon as a project involves or affects multiple people from diverse groups, cultural barriers can emerge.
For example, if your organization is geographically dispersed, it is li kely that people working in different
regions will disagree not only on the impact of the change itself, but also regarding the “right” way to go
about implementing it. The often-cited 6-D Model of National Cultures by Gert Hofstede offers some
insight into ways in which people in from various cultures may differ in how they perceive the world and
approach their work. Various sub-cultures within your organization can have similar effects on whether or
not your change management process will be successful.

Overcoming cultural barriers to change management requires an in -depth understanding of who all the
stakeholders in a change process are and what they care most about. Frequent communication, proportional
representation within your implementation team, and upward feedback channels are key to managing change
in a way that integrates instead of alienating diverse groups of stakeholders within your organization.

6) LACK OF (PERCEIVE D) LEADERSHIP BUY -IN

The old cliché that states, “change starts at the top but happens at the bottom” still rings true. Few
organizational changes are successful without strong support and sponsorship from people at the highest
levels of the organization. Here, perception is key. You might have the necessary buy-in from the CEO, but
that matters little if front line employees don’t actually know about it. Wherever possible, involve top
leadership in high visibility activities that range from all staff kickoff meetings to regular small group
feedback sessions. The more active and visible your organizational leaders are throughout the change
process, the better. Ideally, everyone in management should be involved in the change and actively
sponsoring it.

https://change.walkme.com/5-barriers-to-change-management-and-how-to-easily-overcome-them/

5 Barriers to Change Management and

How to Easily Overcome Them
POSTED BY CHRISTOPHER SMITH ON OCTOBER 22, 2015

Why Change is Always Necessary

The management always wants to implement change because they have the belief that the
change in question will bring significant impact to the organization as a whole.

Perhaps the main objective for introducing organizational change and its implementation is
that the change will improve and maintain the production environment of the organization on
a daily basis.

While change is necessary, usually for the good of the organization and its staff, it will
always be subject to some form of resistance. Change is usually traumatic, completely
unknown and saying goodbye to the former organizational process can be somewhat
difficult for embrace by the employees in the organization.

Resistance to change is never a barrier to change management. In fact, it is important to

understand that the barriers that make it difficult to implement change are usually the
reasons behind the resistance to change.

That change is a necessary part of life means businesses must embrace it without excuse.
The top management always have the idea that a certain change need to be implemented
to enable the organization to accomplish set strategic goals.
But no matter how necessary the change is, it will be difficult for an organization to
implement the planned strategic change successfully if barriers to change do exists. In this
case, it is necessary to break all the barriers for successful planning and implementation of
the change.

What are the Barriers to Change

Management?
Conducting a baseline assessment is an ideal process that will help any organization to
identify potential and actual barriers to change. Barriers will always crate a gap in
recommended and current practices, eventually having a negative effect on the daily
production process of the organization.

To prevent this from happening, it would be appropriate to pinpoint on the major barriers to
change as well as knowing how stay clear of them. Once you know how to solve these
barriers, it should be easy to plan and implement change. The most common barriers to
change implementation are often the following.

1. Lack of Employee Involvement

This is perhaps the most common barrier to change management. Employees always have
the fear of change, and unless they are involved in the change process, it is highly likely
that even the most loyal member of your employees will resist the change.

The biggest mistake some organizations make is failure to involve employees in the change
process. This spikes fear of the unknown, lack of desire to embrace a new culture and
eventually a complete barrier to the change.

Your efforts to introduce change can only succeed when you get employees involved in the
change process as much as possible. Getting the employees involved means listening to
their opinion, accounting for their output and assuring them that the change is for the good
of all in the organization including them.
Providing relevant, sufficient resources to drive them towards change will be a necessary
thing to do, so that they are comfortable and ready to adjust to the new development within
the organization.

2. Lack of Effective Communication Strategy

Some organizations have no effective communication strategy. In fact, some top leaders
always assume that once they announce the change, people will adjust and be ready to get
started with the new development. This is the silliest way to introduce change, hence
forceful resistance to the change.

CEOs should stop making announcement and introduce strategies. Employees do not need
to know about the change only. They need to know how the change will affect them as well
as how they will adapt to the change.

3. A Bad Culture Shift Planning

Sometimes the planning team totally has no idea that the change will affect people. Of
course, the team at this state will only concentrate on planning administrative structure,
work area responsibilities, job responsibilities as well as work reporting structure.

More often than not, the planning team always fails to make decisions based on feelings
and intuitions. This really overlooks how people feel, reason and work hence barrier to
change.

The only way to break this barrier is for the planning team to understand that the
organization must not overlook the feelings of the employees.

The organization has to do whatever it takes to prevent deep resentments, which usually
occur due to disrespect of taboos and traditions at the workplace. Therefore, when focusing
on critical thinking and objective analysis, it is important to understand that taking the
feelings of the employees into account is quite a great way to overcome the barrier that
usually hinder organizational changes.

Easily prevent change management frustration by using WalkMe’s

onscreen guidance.
4. Unknown Current State
Change is always difficult for organizations that lack the idea of their current state. Trying to
introduce and implement change without conducting an assessment and understanding the
current blueprint of the organization is a common habit by many entities.

Such entities actually do not realize that the failure to analyze the current organization’s
blueprint will cause a barrier to the change they hope to introduce and implement.

The only way to get around this is to analyze and fully understand the current blueprint of
the organization before attempting to introduce or suggest any change. Once you go
through the blueprint and understand it clearly, it becomes easier to plan and transition to a
future state.

5. Organization Complexity
There comes a time when organizations begin to develop complex processes, making the
process of planning and implementing change a bit more complex. The complexities include
complex processes, products and systems, all which contribute to change barriers because
they are often quite difficult for the members of the organization to understand.

It is necessary to break this barrier by introducing a keen and skillful approach to tackle
organizational fast growth as well as complexity. An organization can break this barrier by
employing diligent, quality and highly effective project and change management approach.
It is wise, however, never to tackle a change that is going to be too complex for your
organization.

https://ivypanda.com/essays/change-management-at-coca-cola-corporation/

Change Management at Coca-Cola Corporation Report

Coca-Cola is the world’s leading carbonated drinks manufacturers; the company’s management has
withstood hard economic times like the World War II and the Asian Financial Crisis. To remain
competitive, the company’s management keeps changing its strategies, policies, and products to meet
customers’ expectations and enhance efficiency.

When adopting new strategies and policies, the company engages the services of its change
management team. Change management is a structured approach which aims at translating/shifting an
organization, functional teams, or individuals from current/past state to a desired future state.

The process of change starts by systematic diagnosis of the situation to transform and gauging the
capability to change; the process involves all stakeholders at different levels (Newman 12-78). This
paper examines the various changes that have occurred at Coca-Cola Corporation; it will further discuss
the change management approach that the company has undertaken.

The firm status before taking a decision of change

The status of Coca-Cola before a change varies with the condition of the market then; the main trigger of change at
Coca-Cola has been the forces of the market and legislations that have likely affected the business. The business
environment is challenged by competitors like Pepsi and other international carbonated beverages companies.

Trigger event that had forced this firm to feel the need for change
After the invention made by John Pemberton, Coca-Cola has been on the forefront coming up with products that fit
the market effectively and beat its rivals. In 1961, the company was facing fiancé competition from a brand by Pepsi
called 7 Up and decided to develop a product that specifically addressed the competition; they came up with Sprite.

With the product performing well in the competitive environment, the company in 1974 rebranded the brand to Sugar
Free Sprite” in 1974, then was renamed to “Diet Sprite” in 1983, the rebranding was in the effort of creating more
customer satisfaction and creating the impression that the product is superior than the original one.

In 2008, the company introduced a different taste of Sprite and named it as Sprite Green, the product was sweetened
with Truvia in the effort of improving customer satisfaction.

The new changes and brand improvements that have been made at Sprite is an indication of how the company uses
change to develop and improve quality of its products. the diagram below shows a packaging for Sprite:

In the year 1985, Coca-Cola was facing fiancé and aggressive competition from its rival Pepsi; the then management
decided to reformulate its popular carbonated drink to suit their consumers. The decision that was arrived at is
making of a sweeter soda which was named as new Coke.

Surprisingly even after the invention, the products was a market failure and the company had no option than revert
back to its original product. With the revert to the older version, the management was determined to change and
make the product look superior than the original product, they named the product as Coca-Cola Classic although it
was the same product they had packaged earlier (Sadler and James 56-123).

The move of 1985, by the company to change and invent another products to fight its competition rhythms with the
need for change; change is enacted to improve an organization’s competitiveness and improve its internal process.

The failure of the company’s change was an eye opener to the management on the quality and loyalty that its
customers had with the products.

In a manner likely to boost consumers’ satisfaction, the management rebranded the consumer preferred products to
Coca-Cola Classic, the rebranding was aimed at creating an impression that the product was superior to the other
one. This was a psychological approach to customers through a change process.

In the year 2005, the United States was concerned about their population health situation; there was much advocacy
on the kind of foods and drinks the people were eating.

Coca-Cola management realized the campaigns and the effects they had in the carbonated drinks markets and
invented the Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero brands. The diagram below shows a diet coke parked in canes and also
Coca-Cola Zero brands:

The brands were manufactured in a more special manner to enhance their quality and reduce any risk on human
health and fitness. The move to Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero is seen as a responsive approach to changes
affecting the industry; it came at the time that campaigners of good health and fitness were advocating for avoiding
taking such carbonated products.

The attempt can be seen as a strategic management approach where the company sort to respond to changes in the
market and devised products that were responding to the needs of its customers (Coca-Cola Official Website).

Main purpose of change

Change within Coca-Cola is triggered by either internal processes, regulatory sources, or the dimensions of the
market. Generally the main reason why organizations need to change is to create better systems and procedures of
its internal and external environment.

Change is aimed at improving current position of an organization to another better situation with the need or aim of
taking advantage of opportunities offered by the market and mitigating any risks and threats as a result.

At Coca-Cola the following are the main purposes that change that has occurred has been done for:

 Change in technology being utilized; under the method, the company aims at adopting a technology level
that is most efficient within the industry. When efficiency is maintained, then management is able to manage
processes for quality, affordability, and cost management.
 Change in tastes and expectation of consumers, consumers are the backbone of an organization; to attain,
maintain, and develop customer loyalty, the company keeps changing its products tastes.
 Changes to face competition; the carbonated soft drinks industry is highly competitive, to ensure that Coca-
Cola remain competitive, the management has to keep coming up with formulae’s, and strategies to address
the competition
 Changes in supply chain and distribution chains; when the world changes in the methods and systems to
provide goods across different areas, the management has to align with the new methods for better
approach.

Changes of legislation by the government and modifications in the economy whether locally or internationally; Coca
Cola operates in more than 200 countries, with such a base the management has the role of responding to changes
in both local and international markets (Kalmar 45).
Change implementation process
The success of change program is dependent on how well it has been implemented; implementation starts with the
change planning and enactment of methods that will facilitate fast adjustment of stakeholders likely to be affected by
the change.

Personnel attitude towards change determines the degree at which the change process will be effective; the following
process is followed when implementing change at Coca- Cola:

 Planning change

Coca-Cola’s leaders who are mostly the change agents recognize the need for change, they analysis the prevailing
condition in the industry to get the areas that need to be improved.

The need for a change is triggered by the need to move from current state to another better state; internal and
external audit are conducted to ensure that current position in market is recognized. For example when faced with
fiancé competition, the management analysis the situation to see the best method it can adopt to fight back the
competition.

 Pilot study and management sensitisation

After current states that need to be changed has been recognized; the change agents discusses their findings and
recommendations with the top management. The exercise is important since it improves the management
understanding of the change.

The nature of the change to be adopted by Coca-Cola determines the kind of pilot study they will undertake. For
example when the company has settled to develop new product, it tests them in the market to get the response of the
people. It is through the response that it works and controls the change.

When changing risk areas should be established to ensure that mitigation measures have been established; some
risks associated with change include staff resistance, and poor decisions by the change agents.

 Staff sensitization and involvement

The success of change process is determined by the degree at which human resources operating in an organization
will adopt. From planning stage, the management should involve their subordinates and consider their inputs in the
process. Initially employees are likely to have a number of questions regarding the change and how will be affected
by the change.

Change agents should be well versed with the expected change results and the effects it is likely to have on
employees; explanations sort by employees should be offered effectively and timely. In case some employees have
some recommendations to the change, their views should not be locked out but should be included in the change
process as long as they will not contradict the objectives targeted by the change.

When adopting change, Coca-Cola management understands that it’s a tension period thus they keep affirming to
their employees that they are part and parcel of the change process and the process should not be implemented on
them rather they should be fully involved in the change process.

Consolidating change
The last stage of change implementation is consolidation of the change; this stage is only done when all things are
set to go and attitude of employees towards the perceived change is positive. In the event there are some issues that
can be handled before implementation, Coca-Cola management addresses them in good time.

Before switching the old strategy of doing things, the new strategy and the old one should be run concurrently to test
the new strategy. During testing, employees interact with both system and appreciate the differences and superiority
of the new system.
Change management involves the numerous and continuous processes that management will be engaging in to
ensure that the implemented change has been maintained and offer room for future changes. The method involves
analysis situations occasionally and ensuring any differences on expectations have been addressed accordingly
(Hiatt and Creasey 45-78).

The obstacles that firm might encounter and how it had overcome them
When undertaking a change, there are numerous challenges and obstacles that organizations face; at Coca-Cola the
main challenges are staff resistance, diverse market, and organizational culture. When adopting internal process
changes, the human resources of the company sometime repel or take some time before they adopt the change fully.

Personnel resistance to change is brought about by the power of inertia; this is the tendency that people have to stick
to their usual way of operation and feel not willing to change their system of doing things.

Coca-Cola operates in more than 200 countries; all these countries have customers with different needs,
expectations, and attitude towards the company’s products. When a change has been implemented, it is likely not to
go well with all stakeholders and customers it will affect.

International customers are likely to repel a certain change that domestic customers have accepted. When such
occurrences take place, then the company is challenged on the way forward as every change need to be supported
by reliable market base for it to be economical.

Although Coca-Cola has an organizational culture that supports change, there are some instances that the culture
affects it negatively. Where people are working together, there are always some opinion leaders whom in the event
they are not okay with the decisions of change, they are likely to influence the entire team to repel change.

The best strategy to overcome change resistance at Coca-Cola is adopting and adhering to effective change
management strategy. When adopting change, the management engages the service of consultants, market
researchers, and other professionals related to the area of change.

By so doing both internal and external resistances/challenges to change are addressed effectively before the change
has been fully implemented. So far the method has been successful and when failed the management was quick to
act and change the process (Hayes 23-45).

The ultimate outcome of changes made at Coca-Cola

The changes that have been implemented at Coca-Cola Corporation have made the company maintain
competitiveness in the industry.

The company has been successful for over 125 years despite hard economic times like the world war 1 , the World
War 2, the Great Depression and recent Global Financial crisis. The success has been attained because of effective
changes enacted by the management.

According to the company’s website, the company has about 500 brands that are served in over 200 countries; every
day the company serves about 1.6 billion servings.

The improved product quality has created an impressive business for the company to qualify to be part of DJIA,
theRussell 1000 Index, S&P 500 Index, and the Russell 1000 Growth Stock Index. To its investors and shareholders,
the company has been able for pay dividends in the last 49 years consequently (Coca-Cola Official Website).