Capstone Project Assignment: The Coca Cola Company

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Institution
Abstract
The Coca Cola Company is one of the biggest franchises the world over. A multibillion company having its presence in virtually every part of the globe, Coca-Cola’s story can be described as that of success. The success story has not been without fair share of challenges some of which have dealt a big blow to the operations of the company. This discussion has taken keen focus on the vision, mission and the impact thereof on primary stakeholders on its overall success have also been explored. The paper has also come up with the SWOT analysis in order to determine among other things the strengths and weaknesses of the organization.
Brief History
Coca Cola is a company with global operations and whose primary core is manufacture of beverages. Having been started a couple of decades back, Coca Cola still remains the company to look out for in the world of beverage manufacture. This is despite the emergence and entrance of other companies into the market. Coca Cola has remained on top of the market with its product being sold in close to half of the countries of the world.
Vision and Mission Statement
The mission of the company is threefold which are: keeping the world refreshed both mind and body through their products, inspiring optimism to their users of their products and creation of difference and value in every part of the world where their presence is felt (Koontz, 2016).
The vision of the company can be summarized as follows:
Maximizing profits so as to ensure that shareholders get a return on their investments,
Creating a good workplace culture that will keep all employees inspired.
Satisfying the needs and desires of all customers regardless of how divergent they may be.
Creation of a network of partners that will sustain growth and development of the organization.
Remain responsible as a global citizen so that the difference she makes is felt.
Enhance efficiency and remain on top in terms of service provision.
The vision and mission of Coca-Cola as described above all gravitate towards ensuring that primary stakeholders of the company are satisfied. Among the primary stakeholders of the company include the customers, suppliers, shareholders, members of the board and the publics.
The Five Market Forces
Competition is one of the forces in the market that determine the direction the organization takes in the market. Although Coca-Cola has established a niche for herself in the market, she cannot ignore the presence of companies such as Pepsi. Therefore, it must ensure that it says ahead of her competitors. There are two aspects that Coca-Cola must carefully consider. One is that there are already existing competitors in the market. Coca-Cola is not the only manufacturer of beverages and musts step out to ensure that they remain unique. The second aspect of consideration is the new entrants into the beverage industry. Consumers get excited with new products are they are eager to try put. If they happen to like the new beverages introduced in the market, the sales of the Coca-Cola are likely to drop considerably. The ability to always satisfy the demands of the market is crucial for Coca-Cola. For example, part of the reason why Pepsi continues to struggles in the market is the inability to meet the demands of the customers. With an expansive market ability to supply is key. In the event that Coca-Cola’s products are missing from the shelves, there is a likelihood that customers will look for alternatives from competitor companies. Coca-Cola must therefore have constant production to ensure steady supply of products whenever needed.
The ability that consumers in the market to have to spend money is also a crucial factor of consideration. Dependent on other multiple factors, there are certain power where the power to spend is either high or medium. This power is also influenced by other factors including seasons and the general activities in the economy.
Alternative products also known as substitutes also affect the performance of products in the market. Very similar to entrance of new products, there is a likelihood of paradigm shift as people try to sample and may finally completely abandon the latter and go for the former. It is necessary that when coming up with a strategic management plan, measures are put in place to cushion Coca-Cola against threats brought about new substitute products.
SWOT ANALYSIS
The strengths of Coca-Cola are mainly seen in the fact that the multinational has managed to maintain its unique formula which makes the various drinks. Although other entrants in the market have attempted to come up with similar drinks, Coca-colas drinks in terms of taste and quality remain top notch.
The weaknesses of the organization mainly are from inability to balance in their business structure and giving back to the society. In various occasions, Coca-Cola has been accused of using up a lot of water in their industrial operations while not fully compensating the residents of the areas where they have set base (Jeffs, 2014).
Coca-Cola has managed to make good of opportunities including expanding to virtually every part of the globe. Contracting local distributors has ensured that the products can penetrate even in the most remote areas. Further, the company has created more opportunities by ensuring that the prices of their products remain affordable. Unveiling of new brands has also seen better opportunities for the organization.
Threats mainly include tags of wars with new entrants and especially Pepsi which has seen the company somewhat derailed from their core mandate. Further, new entrants provide more options for the consumer which could mean a reduction in the demand for Coca-Cola products
Deals with other Companies and Cultural Groups
Coca Cola Company has continued to have its presence felt in many countries of the world. More than half of the countries in the world have felt the presence of the products of the company. The company has managed to set base in almost every country where it has its operations. One way that the company has encouraged cultural integration is by employing people from various cultural backgrounds (Harrison, 2012). For example, when the company sets base in any country, they recruit the locals of that country to work in that station. Almost every culture of ethnic group is well represented in Coca Cola.
As a way of enhancing and promoting diversity, the company has come up with a strategy. This strategy is made of programs all of which are geared towards maintenance of cultural diversity within the company. These programs ensure that diverse talent is attracted, retained...