COCA COLA CASE STUDY. INTRODUCTION A global perspective is a matter of survival for businesses.

Strategic management is the process of specifying an organization's objectives, developing policies and plans to achieve these objectives, and allocating resources so as to implement the plans. The Coca-Cola Company (Coca-Cola) is a leading manufacturer, distributor and marketer of Nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, in the world. The company owns or licenses more than 400 brands, including diet and light beverages, waters, juice and juice drinks, teas, coffees, and energy and sports drinks. The company operates in more than 200 countries. Coca-Cola Enterprises is the world's largest marketer, producer and distributor of Coca- Cola products. It operates in 46 U.S. states and Canada, and is the exclusive Coca-Cola bottler for all of Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco and the Netherlands. Coca-Cola is the non alcoholic bottled beverages.

SWOT Analysis
Internal Strengths -Popularity -well known -branding obvious and easily recognized -A lot of finance -customer loyalty -International Trade Weaknesses -Word of mouth -lack of popularity of many Coca Colas brands -Most unknown and rarely seen -result of low profile or nonexistent advertising -health issues Opportunities -many successful brands to pursue -advertise its less popular products -buy out competition. -More Brand recognition

External

Threats -changing healthconsciousness attitude -legal issues -Health ministers -competition (Pepsi)

Strengths- Coca Cola is an extremely recognizable company. Popularity is one of its superior strengths that is virtually incomparable. Coca Cola is known very well worldwide. It's branding is obvious and easily recognized. Things like, logos and promos shown on tshirts, hats, and collectible memorabilia. Without a doubt, no beverage company compares to Coca Cola's social popularity status. Some people buy coke, not only because of its taste, but because it is widely accepted and they feel like they are part of something so big and unifying. At the other end of the spectrum, certain individuals choose not to drink coke, based solely on rebelling from the world's idea that coke is something of such great power. Overwhelming is the best word to describe Coca Cola's popularity. It is scary to think that its popularity has been constantly growing over the years and the possibility that there is still room to grow. If you speak the words Coca Cola, it would definitely be recognized all around the world. Money is another thing that is a strength of the company. Coca Cola deals with massive amounts of money all year. Like all businesses, they have had their ups and downs financially, but they have done well in this compartment

and will continue to do well and improve. The money they are earning is substantially better than most beverage companies, and with that money, they put back into their own company so that they can improve. Another strength that is very important to Coca Cola is customer loyalty. The 80/20 rule comes into effect in this situation. Eighty percent of their profit comes from 20% of their loyal customers. Many people/families are extremely loyal to Coca Cola. It would not be rare to constantly find bottles and cases of a product such as coke in a house. It seems that some people would drink coke religiously like some people would drink water and milk. This is an improbable feat. Customers will continually purchase these products, and will probably do so for a very long time. If two parents were avid Coca Cola drinkers, this will be passed down do their children as they grow loyal to the company. With Coca Colas ability to sell their product all over the world, customers will continue to buy what they know and what they likeCoca Cola products.

Weaknesses- Coca Cola is a very successful company, with limited weaknesses. However they do have a variety of weaknesses that need to be addressed if they

want to rise to the next level. Word of mouth is probably a strength and weakness of every company. While many people have good things to say, there are many individuals who are against Coca Cola as a company, and the products in which they produce. Word of mouth unfortunately is something that is very hard to control. While people will have their opinions, you have to try to sway their negative views. If bad comments and views are put out to people who have yet to try Coca Cola products, then that could produce a lost customer which shows why word of mouth is a weakness. Another aspect that could be viewed as a weakness is the lack of popularity of many of Coca Colas drinks. Many drinks that they produce are extremely popular such as Coke and Sprite but this company has approximately 400 different drink types. Most are unknown and rarely seen for available purchase. These drinks do not probably taste bad, but are rather a result of low profile or non existent advertising. This is a weakness that needs to be looked at when analyzing their company. Another weakness that has been greatly publicized is the health issues that surround some of their products. It is known that a popular product like coke is not very beneficial to your body and your health. With todays constant shift to

health products, some products could possibly loose customers. This new focus on weight and health could be a problem for the product that are labeled detrimental to you health.

Opportunities- Coca Cola has a few opportunities in its business. It has many successful brands that it should continue to exploit and pursue. Coca Cola also has the opportunity to advertise its less popular products. With a large income it has the available money to put some of these other beverages on the market. This could be very beneficial to the company if they could start selling these other products to the same extent that they do with their main products. Another opportunity that we have seen being put to use before is the ability for Coca Cola to buy out their competition. This opportunity rarely presents itself in the world of business. However, with Coca Colas power and success, such a task is not impossible. Coca Cola has bought out a countless number of drink brands. An easy way to turn their profit into your profit is too buy out their company. Even though this may cost a vast amount of money initially, in the long run, if all goes to plan, it results in a large profit. Also, the company will no longer need to worry

about this product being part of the competition. Brand recognition is the significant factor affecting Cokes competitive position. Coca Cola is known well throughout 90% of the world population today. Now Coca Cola wants to get there brand name known even better and possibly get closer and closer to 100%. It is an opportunity that most companies will ever dream of, and would be a supreme accomplishment. Coca Cola has an opportunity to continue to widen the gap between them and their competitors.

Threats- Despite the fact that Coca Cola dominates its market, it still has to deal with many threats. Even though Coca Cola and Pepsi control nearly 40% of the entire beverage market, the changing healthconsciousness attitude of the market could have a serious effect on Coca Cola. This definitely needs to be viewed as a dominant threat. In todays world, people are constantly trying to change their eating and drinking habits. This could directly affect the sale of Coca Colas products. Another possible issue is the legal side of things. There are always issues with a company of such supreme wealth and popularity. Somebody is always trying to find fault with the best and take them down.

Coca Cola has to be careful with lawsuits. Health minister could also be looked at as a threat. Again, some people may try to exploit the unhealthy side of Coca Colas products and could threaten the status and success of sales. Other threats are of course the competition. Coca Colas main competition being Pepsi, sells a very similar drink. Coca Cola needs to be careful that Pepsi does not grow to be a more successful drink. Other product such as juices, coffee, and milk are threats. These other beverage options could take precedent in some peoples minds over Coca Colas beverages and this could threaten the potential success it presents again. REVIEW QUESTIONS:1. Apply Henri Fayols five rules of management to the Coca-Cola Case. Ans: Fayols 5 rules of management: 1. Foresightto complete a plan of action for the future The Coca-Cola Company has no doubt placed an important emphasis on population differentials. Various flavors of Coke have been

introduced to satisfy the taste of people in various geographical locations. In the United States for example, if people in California buy more diet Coke than classic Coke, naturally, the Coca Cola manufacturing plant will produce more of the popularly purchased variance. It is obvious that detailed market research has been done in order to plan for these changes. 2. Organizationto provide and mobilize resources to implement the plan Concern for the environment in conjunction with the appeal for accessibility and convenience is definitely one of Coca Colas strengths. Without complete cooperation with their bottling partners, the distribution of the product would be impossible. By owning a share of the distribution system, the company is able to understand the land on which they operate. 3. Commandto lead, select, and evaluate workers to get the best work toward the plan Dafts newly proposed leaner 10-person executive management team is each selected with an exclusive purpose, displayed in their job title. The senior vice president and chief marketing officer for example, would be in charge of marketing the product(s) of focus,

and hired for that specific task. Those who are managed and work under him would ideally, have the same focus. 4. Coordinationto fit diverse efforts together, and ensure information is shared and problems solved Through the leaner executive management team proposed and implemented by Daft, the gap between workers and managers is decreased, making communication better and more efficient. With a tightly knit company, the accessibility of information and the convenience of communication would definitely tackle problems during the early stages and solve them. 5. Controlto make sure things happen according to plan and to take necessary corrective action By owning a share of the distribution system, Coca-Cola is able to make modifications to their system for a more efficient and cost effective way of doing business. For example, if Indonesia has easier access to glass recycling rather than plastic recycling, Coca-Cola will make changes to their container sourcing in order to fit the needs of that geographical location. It cannot be assumed that the United States way of distribution can be applied to the rest of the world, because plastic

resources may not be easily accessible.

2. Consider the following quote from Coca-Colas statement on diversity: We embrace our commitment to diversity in all its forms at The Coca-Cola Company as a core value. Diversityof race, gender, sexual orientation, ideas, ways of living, cultures and business practicesprovides the creativity and innovation essential to our economic well-being. Equally important is a highly motivated, health and productive workforce that achieves business success through superior execution and superb customer satisfaction. Relate this quote to the case and to the behavioral approaches to management.

Ans:-The business practice of Coca-Cola in trying to integrate into various countries and interest in broadening their intrinsic knowledge of that geographical area demonstrates their willingness to embrace diversity. In the bottling distribution services

alone, it is Coca-Colas concern to adapt to the local environment in which they operate. Their product is made to be inclusive, covering over 200 countries, which undoubtedly embraces all race, gender and sexual orientation, etc. The newly improvised and leaner executive management team is customized to fit the companys needs in order to achieve the customer satisfaction strived for.

3. How does Coca-Cola score on the eight attributes of performance excellence?

Ans:- Eight attributes of performance excellence: 1. Bias toward actionmaking decisions and making sure things get done Judging from the information given by the case, the twenty-four division and operations presidents actively implement the six strategic priorities of the company. If these operations presidents carry out the priorities, the decisions made and plans should be successfully executed.

2. Closeness to the customersknowing their needs and valuing customer satisfaction Coca-Cola has shown the flexibility to try new ways to develop their brand through new flavors and variations. With careful planning and market research, they have been able to work through their employees and reach out to customers in order to gain feedback and in turn, ensure customer satisfaction. 3. Autonomy and entrepreneurshipsupporting innovation, change, and risk taking The various flavors of Coke that the company has released to the public demonstrates risk taking. Instances like New Coke was not so well received, while diet Coke and diet lemon Coke have. Experimentation and risk taking are ways to expand the company and promote more publicity. 4. Productivity through peoplevaluing human resources as keys to quality and performance Each employee hired by the company is used for their forte/strengths. We can see through the managerial positions that each person is hired for that specific position because they specialize in that area. And

because of this, quality and performance can be better managed, and these people can also target problematic areas or areas that need to be improved by providing suggestions. 5. Hands-on and value-drivenhaving clear sense of organizational purpose Coca-Cola, a company that has been around for many years already, is past the stage of having to start from scratch and structuring it from ground zero. Through the years, what it has been working toward is refining and making improvements to its present state. The current CEO, Douglas Daft, has mapped out a managerial structure in hopes of making the company run smoothly in an attempts to bring its sales up once again, and restoring the legacy of growth established by Goizueta. 6. Sticking to the knittingfocusing resources and attention on what the organization does best. The company is famous for its carbonated beverages in the Coke family, and focuses only on that. Not only does it do well at preserving the quality of its product, its vertical integration of producing the product, bottling the product, and marketing the product to be

sold worldwide is definitely its forte. There is no doubt that this company does not lose its focus. With the flexibility to adapt to various countries and geographical locations, it molds its distribution down to the science of bottling, and marketing its product through various languages (taken from research done on my own). 7. Simple form and lean staffminimizing management levels and staff personnel When Daft axed 6,000 employees in Atlanta, Coca-Cola was on its way to a leaner, more entrepreneurial organization. As the corporation has grown, it is important to focus leadership on a few managers, who then have their own set of employees to manage under them. Here, we can see the pyramid structure in progress. In this manner though, employees are able to voice their concerns to the manager above them, who is not far from the executive positions. Employees who work on the foundation of the pyramid structure may be able to have better insight on customer satisfaction, limitations and difficulties in distribution, etc. Since communication is key, I think this decision will help Coca-Cola become an even stronger and stable company.

8. Simultaneous loose-tight propertiesallowing flexibility while staying in control The introduction of new and well-received flavors such as Diet Coke, Vanilla Coke, Diet Coke with Lemon, and the not-so-popular New Coke definitely demonstrate the companys willingness to expand their horizon while maintaining the quality on their original product. I see the decisions made by Coca-Cola as a meeting of the old and new. The willingness to come up with new ideas and explore whether or not they are well received by the young generation is demonstrative of the latest fad. What makes this company successful is also because it makes the strong attempt to preserve the American nostalgia through Classic Coke, an all time favorite of the old generation as well as the new. As a result, Coca-Cola Company definitely allows flexibility as well as stays in control.

4. Do you think Douglas Daft will be successful in regaining the growth and value experienced under Roberto Goizueta? Ans:- I do believe that Douglas Daft is paving the road necessary to regain growth. He made modifications to

the company and has done everything in his control to revive the companys success. However, he cannot control economic factors, or human behavior. For the most part, the playing cards are in his hand, but there is only so much he can do.

Summary & Conclusion:Being in such a tense competition (just like the brand Coca- Cola), Coca-Cola should not take the direct and tough attack upon it. There is no good to either side. The best way is to keep a peaceful relationship with it and always compare with others; we should find their disadvantages and show our advantages on this aspect. Then by and by, the people would think ours is betted Of course the most important rule is to improve ourselves to meet the consumers. An organizations strategic thinking is governed by the situation prevalent in its external environment. The external environment comprises of the strategic moves adopted by the organizations competitors. The organization has to carefully study these moves and accordingly devise strategies to gain competitive advantage.