Free The International Operations Of The Coca-Cola Company Term Paper Sample

Organizational structure

The Coca-Cola international organizational structure is currently divided into operating six segments: Eurasia and Africa; Europe; Latin America; North America; Asia Pacific, and Bottling Investments (The Coca-Cola, 2014b). Under its 2020 Vision, global bottling partners align toward common goals and priorities, which is to double sales in the next 10 years. It involves a system that ensures global reach while keeping a local focus.
The CCI, charged to accelerate decision-making, execute, and scale across market divisions, initially manages three groups: Europe, Asia Pacific, and Eurasia & Africa (Journey, 2013) (Journey, 2013). However, the Latin America Group [Group resident: Brian Smith] was transferred in 2014 to CCI, consolidating the TCCC global operations into three groups: CCI, Coca-Cola North America (CCNA) and Bottling Investments Group (BIG).
The CCNA [Group president: J.A.M. Douglas] handles franchising, consumer marketing, and foodservice operations in the North American market, after the transfer of Coca-Cola Refreshments (CCR) to the Bottling Investments Group (BIG) in 2014 (The Coca-Cola, 2014a).
The BIG [President: Irial Finan] owns partial and full interests in bottling companies around the world. Under it is also CCR [President: Paul Mullican], recently transferred from CCNA, which manages the North America bottling operations, the product supply chain, and the Minute Maid and Odwalla juice brands (The Coca-Cola, 2014b).

Leadership styles

The global leadership style at TCCC scholars term as ‘inclusive leadership’ (Turley, 2015). It is about leading with a global perspective, which involves screening all decisions and actions through a global mesh. A decision to be made in the US market must anticipate its impact in the India market. Conversely, innovations in the Polish market should first consider ramifications in the North America market. Corporate learning, too, must be globally relevant. According to Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent, leadership internationally is about “critical thinking” as well as “cross-cultural understanding.” TCCC leaders, whether assigned globally or at home, should work comfortably in Mumbai or in Montreal. A TCCC leader must be capable of effectively navigate the business amidst an increasingly changing world and marketplace, where macro global forces require quick shifts in thinking, behavior, and in world view.
In an interview with Business Insider, Ken also ‘preferably’ described his leadership philosophy as that of constructively discontent (Bhasin, 2012). It is a philosophy of perceiving everything as ‘not enough’ (e.g. not fast enough; not innovative enough, etc.) and working every day to accomplish higher and higher personal goals for the company. Essentially, it is a quintessential “entrepreneurial mentality,” according to Kent. He wants the employees to think like owners. Since owners think of company time as cash, he wants the employees to think of their time as cash. He wants the employees to feel a personal need to chase pennies “down the hallway.” If the Company and its employees do not see cash in everything they do on company’s time, Kent explained, “all sort of things go wrong.” For him, it is easy to overspend cash through the misuse of time, both as an individual and as a company.
Kent clarified that it is about respecting cash; cash that the Company earns or will earn with the time employees put in their respective job functions. Each second that the employees utilize productively for the Company, TCCC makes cash to pay the employees and other organizational expenditures. Thus, each second that the employees waste in terms of productivity through inefficient use of their work hours, the Company is losing cash. To highlight this philosophy, the Company by policy does not allow the employees to use their cellphones while at work because it will cost the Company cash from the employee’s misuse of company time. However, during Ken’s leadership, employees may use their cellphones for personal reasons during working hours if employees pay $15 a month. To inculcate these leadership philosophies to its future leaders, the Company spends US$14 million annually to support its LD initiatives (O’Connell, 2015).

Management systems

The management system of TCCC is functionally complex and highly manager-defined, consisting of top executives in multi-tasking assignments, as well as intensive partnering strategies, considering that all of its bottling partners are mostly independent business (not controlled or owned by TCCC) except for the Business Investment Group, which is a wholly owned TCCC subsidiary.
For instance, Global Chief Customer Officer J.A.M. Douglas, even after his appointment as Group President of the CCNA, continues to functions so, managing the North America Brands, Foodservice, Brand Commercial, Retail Sales, Research & Development, Venturing and Emerging Brands, Strategy, Franchise Leadership and Transformation, and the Canadian franchise operations (TCCC, 2015a). Moreover, Paul Mulligan, currently president of CCR, also handles Commercial for BIG and continues to serve as Regional Director overseeing the Japan and Latina America BIG interests. As CCR president, he also manages CCR Canada, Product Supply Chain and Services, Bottler Commercial, Customer Care, and Regional Sales.
On top of that, TCCC managers must operate the Coca-Cola system through multiple local channels. TCCC continues to be the manufacturer of concentrates, beverage bases, and syrups. However, the bottling companies own the brands in their franchise areas and are responsible for their consumer branding and marketing initiatives. They also manufacture, package, and distribute the market-ready branded products. Furthermore, the bottling partners directly handle relationship with customers, which include various forms of retailers and local distributors.

Teamwork

TCCC teamwork is governed by its corporate value ‘One Team.’ The Company recognizes the central role of the employees as a team in enriching corporate vision, stepping up innovation, and serving the customers with passion every day (TCCC, 2015b).
This value holds that every employee is important because it takes all of the TCCC employees, working together, to consistently bring to every one of its billions of customers great products they trust and depend. People work in teams with people of different cultural backgrounds in a common objective to add value to the Company and to make a difference in the market. Good business results from good teamwork.
For the ‘One Team’ value to work, each employee is expected to cooperate with and assist fellow employees whenever such need arise during the daily course of working in the Company. The company expects that all employees treat one another with respect, courtesy, and consideration in order to create a climate of trust, loyalty, commitment, honesty, and mutual respect. Good teamwork creates good business. The Company recognizes that its overall success and growth results from the commitment and integrity of its diverse team of highly valued members.

References

Benjamin, K. (2013, June 11). European event: Coca-Cola celebrates teamwork. Conference
& Incentive Travel.com. Available at: http://www.citmagazine.com/article/1181938/european-event-coca-cola-celebrates-teamwork
Bhasin, K. (2012, May 10). Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent explains why everything’s all
about cash. Business Insider.com. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-ceo-muhtar-kents-leadership-philosophy-2012-5
Journey Staff. (2013, September 6). Coca-Cola International President discusses global
business, growth prospects. Coca-Cola Company.com. Available at: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/coca-cola-international-president-discusses-global-business-growth-prospects.
O’Connell, P. (2015). What the best are doing: Twenty best companies for leadership.
Bloomberg.com. Available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/ss/10/02/0216_best_places_for_leadership/9.htm
The Coca-Cola Company. (2014b, December 12). The Coca-Cola Company announces Coca-
Cola Americas management and organizational changes [Press Release]. Press Center.
The Coca-Cola Company. (2014a). 2014 Annual Report. Atlanta, Georgia: The Coca-Cola
Company; pp.160.
The Coca-Cola Company. (2015a). Our company: The Coca-Cola system. Coca-Cola
Company.com. Available at: www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/the-coca-cola-system. 19 Apr. 2015.
The Coca-Cola Company. (2015b). Careers: Why work at The Coca-Cola Company. Coca-
Cola Company.com. Available at: www.coca-colacompany/careers/why-work-at-the-coca-cola-company. 19 Apr. 2015.
Turley, J. (2015). Inclusive leadership: For Coca-Cola, it’s the real thing. EY.com. Available
at: http://www.ey.com/GL/en/Issues/Business-environment/Leading-across-borders--inclusive-thinking-in-an-interconnected-world---Inclusive-leadership--for-Coca-Cola--its-the-real-thing. 19 Apr. 2015.