Culture, Ethics, and Politics in Coca Cola Company - Case Study Example

Introduction Culture for sometime now formed the core of most if not all organizations. It has been commonly defined as the way things are done in the company. But this definition over simplifies the concept and misses powerful underlying concepts. The culture of an organization paints a picture of who or what that organization is. “Culture refers to the shared assumptions, beliefs, values and norms, actions as well as artifacts and language patterns.” It is knowledge that is acquired through time by company workers that in turn form the modus operandi or way of life in the organization. An organization on creation becomes a world on its own and “its culture becomes the foundation on which the organization will exist in the world” (Trompenaars, F. 2005). It is worthy to note that every organization has its unique culture which was in most cases are not consciously created but unconsciously through the values of top management or founders or the core people who build and or direct that organization. Why is organizational culture important? “Organizational culture is the key to organizational excellence… and the function of leadership is the creation and management of culture” Schein E (N.K) A key role of culture is to first of all differentiate its organization from others as well as providing a sense of belonging for its workers. The coca cola company Like every other company that strives towards excellence the coca cola company has some basic elements that make for its uniqueness. It is the most consumed soft drink in present times. The Coca-Cola Company which was established in 1886; operates in more than 200 countries and markets more than 2,800 beverage products. (Coca Cola 1, 2008). It is one of the fastest growing companies in present days. This is thanks to some basic cultural elements that have been handed down through generations and adhered to by the various generations for excellence and productivity. Culture of the coca cola company. There are several aspects that make up the culture of the coca cola company. These put together gives what we see today as a successful multinational. To better explain and examine the cultural makeup of the company, we will look at some components of culture like: symbols, myths, stories, heroes, norms, values, rituals etc. 1-Symbols in coca cola An understanding of the reactions, interpretations, and actions of organization members is impossible without careful attention to organizational symbols. (Rafaeli & Kluger, 1998).Coca-Cola has its symbols: The contour shaped bottle: the now famous Coca-Cola bottle began appearing on store shelves in 1916. Called the Coca-Cola "contour" bottle, this unique package remains an instantly recognizable symbol that distinguishes the worlds best known soft drink from all other products. There is also the font, colors used on the logo that make the brand unique as well as the ribbon underneath the script that stand as symbols as well. 2-Values and beliefs in the coca cola company. Maxwell in his article on strategic leadership and decision making says in the chapter on strategic vision that, “values and beliefs underlie organizational culture and are a critical part of guiding philosophy, therefore very important to the company. The coca cola company values and beliefs also outline who they are, what they seek to achieve, and how they want to achieve it. They are guided by the following shared values that they live by as a company and as individuals: Leadership, Passion, Integrity, Accountability, Collaboration, Innovation and Quality (coca Cola 2, 2008).There is equally this belief in the coca cola company that work is more than a place you go to everyday. It is a place of exploration, creativity, professional growth and interpersonal relationships. It involves being inspired and motivated to achieve extraordinary things (Coca cola 3, 2008). 3-Stories in the coca cola company Coca cola has its stories such as not actually creating but certainly standardizing the image of Father Christmas in the red and white uniform we all recognize. Father Christmas has a long and rich history, but up until 1931 he had been portrayed most often in black and white, or green and white. It was in that year, 1931, that Coca-Cola created an image of Father Christmas in red and white, for a Christmas advertising campaign. The campaign was designed to encourage sales of Coke during the cold winter months (up until then Coke had mainly been a summer drink).(building brands.com) The Coca-Cola Company also made Coke available to soldiers during the Second World War by setting up mobile bottling plants and thereby introduced the world to Coca-Cola. . These and more of the legends and lore that surround Coca-Cola are document in what they call "Coke Lore." (Coca cola 4, 2008). 4-Heroes of the coca cola company The company according to bottle bank website in an article titled; the magic of coca cola, has its heroes, in particular the head of the company for 50 years until the 1980s, Robert W. Woodruff, a man of great modesty who did not like to be photographed, and made many large donations of his wealth anonymously. He ensured that everyone involved in the business of Coca-Cola could profit from their association, from the employees to the bottlers to the retailers of the product. One of the other outstanding Coca-Cola personalities was Roberto C. Goizueta who was chief executive of Coca-Cola from 1981 to his death in October 1997. (Coca cola 5, 2008) 5-Myths and rumors about the coca cola company The company like every other growing and succeeding company has several myths and rumors that have been spread worldwide. For example that coca cola was originally green, soft drinks can be used by farmers as pesticides, coca cola contributes to diabetes, coke was originally sold as a hangover cure etc these and several others have been compiled on the coca cola website to help provide clarifications to these rumors. In most cases they were lies. This culture however has several factors that affect its functioning. We will examine the role of communication, politics and ethics in the coca cola culture. The role of communication in the coca cola culture. Each organization speaks its own language and exhibits a unique personality. Because an organizations product manuals, public relations pronouncements, and correspondence all contribute to the corporate voice, writers in an organization need to be aware of their role in establishing corporate culture as well as their obligation to adjust the tone of their writing to the culture as it exists (NK Aiex,1988) The coca cola company is a marketing company dedicated to the promotion and sale of its trademark as such communication is not part of the business it is the business itself. Internally coca cola gives much attention to communication between its associates. There are systems put in place like the INTRANET or SPARK CITY at the KO where associates share and exchange ideas on a daily basis. Externally coca cola uses several communication strategies to keep the public informed and aware of its products and services. The most important is public relations especially with governments of countries where the Coca cola Company is found. They also use TV and Cinema campaigns, press advertising, banners, sports sponsorship, cause-related marketing, online promotion, sales promotion as well as joint ventures to promote and communicate with the market. Symbols are also used as a means of communication at the organizational level. To illustrate, the design of the logo Coca-Cola in multiple languages around the world maintains an identical physical appearance. This remains true although the script used in different languages is different. The Coca-Cola symbol is a method of consistent organizational-level communication to customers around the world. (Rafaeli A & Worline M, 1999). Communication plays a very important role in the Coca cola culture and so much emphasis is placed on it. The role of politics in the coca cola culture. Sharma, S in “workplace politics and its affect of organizational culture” says, Politics will always be a part of organizations so long as people are involved. Work place politics is not new as such because anyone who has ever had any job, anywhere, knows that the dynamics among those who are part of the work environment play an important part in how a business is run. At the coca cola company policies have been well organized to make the workplace as comfortable as possible. For example hiring policies in the company are externalized. Every hiring goes through three different stages, from the department concerned to the HR and finally to an external consultant. They all assess the shortlisted candidates based on criteria set by the company. However top management puts in place favorable criteria to provide equal opportunities for all. It is worthy to note however that the coca cola company is a great potential investor where ever it is established; as such relations with governments via the appropriate intermediary are entertained solely for the purpose of development. The company is not involved in any political activity. Workplace politics is of prime importance as well in the coca cola culture because it is based on transparency, equal opportunities and merit. The role of ethics in the coca cola culture "The preponderance of everyday problems that plague all organizations are either problems that are patently ethical or moral in nature or they are problems in which deeply embedded ethical issues can be identified" (Redding, 1996, p. 18). At The Coca-Cola Company, they aim to lead by example and to learn from experience. They set high standards for people at all levels and strive to consistently meet them. The core of the ethics and compliance program at The Coca-Cola Company is the Code of Business Conduct. The Code guides business conduct, requiring honesty and integrity in all matters. All associates and directors are required to read and understand the Code and follow its precepts in the workplace and larger community. The Code is administered by the Ethics & Compliance Committee. This cross-functional senior management team oversees all ethics and compliance programs and determines Code violations and discipline. In 2008, they revised the Code to further improve its effectiveness. Associates under once every two months online training programs on specific ethical topics. They can equally ask questions on Code and other ethics and compliance issues, or report potential violations, through EthicsLine, a global Web and telephone information and reporting service. Telephone calls are toll-free, and EthicsLine is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with translators available. (Coca cola 7, 2008). Ethics in the coca cola culture also plays an important role as it sets the stage with basic principles that govern the workplace. In conclusion, the coca cola company is certainly one of the multinationals that has made a name that can be traced to its culture. In other words the culture sets the baseline for operation in the company. Most if not all of the company’s operations revolve around this culture that has proven to be very successful and applicable to every environment, context and situation. The various groups despite the diverse cultures function with this same culture and that is where the magic is, being powerful globally and staying strong as a local partner. Reflection: The coca cola company is one with a long-term vision laid out in its manifesto for growth, which gives a plan of action that covers a long period of time. It will be very difficult to talk of changing the culture because it covers the future as well. Rather the challenge is at the level of the local partners. They need to download the global policies and apply them at the local levels based on the challenges presented by each environment. It is certain that in the coming years changes will occur in the coca cola company but some changes will certainly have more impact than others or better still positive impact while some will not. Still all of this depends on leadership. There are several opportunities to seize, so many competitive threats to avoid and the constant awareness that any relevant trend may shift dramatically at anytime. That is why leadership at coca cola must begin to research for indicators of the trends that will have impact in the coming years and begin to adapt the business to these trends. The challenge of Coca Cola is to remain relevant at every given point in time. Over one hundred years old and it is still considered and consumed by the young generation. The coca cola culture is one that has proven successful through the many years of existence. Workers seem to be very happy and content working for the company. In as much as it is succeeding, change is inevitable. As time advances new products and services crop up and the demands change or increase. Leadership must be reflecting on the possible changes that will crop up for example cost pressure, reducing cost, labor scarcity or increase in labor demands. This will permit them adjust the culture of the organization to suit the demand of the time. Every human desires to grow and reach the highest peak possible. Coca cola already has a culture that promotes growth. The company should as well increasingly attract people through learning and development, corporate culture, and operational excellence. Increased attention to this aspect in the years to come will give the organization more advantage over others. This is the task of top management who while assessing impact must also give room for innovations still within its framework to avoid future conflicts. I will conclude be saying the coca cola company still has a lot it can achieve with the present culture in place. It has proven very effective though most often it is not consciously planned or put in place by leadership. Change of any sort though inevitable may not be envisaged in the near future. REFERENCES: Anat R & Monica W, February 25, 1999 “Symbols in Organizational culture” retrieved in May from http://iew3.technion.ac.il/Home/Users/anatr/symbol.html Coca Cola 1. 2008. Coca Cola website – Leadership. The leadership behind Coca Cola. Retrieved on April 29 2008 from http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/leadership.html Coca Cola 2. 2008. Coca Cola website – Diversity. Retrieved on Apr 29 2008 from http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/workplace_culture.htm Coca Cola 3. 2008. Retrieved on Apr 29 2008, from http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/ng.asp?id=27986-coca-cola-makes Coca Cola 4. 2008. Retrieved on Apr 29 2008, from http://www.cokecce.co.uk/cce/news_art.jsp?aid=487 & http://www.buildingbrands.com/lightrelief/10_coca_cola_and_father_christmas.php Coca Cola 5. 2008. Retrieved in May 2008, from http://www.bottlebank.com/t3.htm Coca Cola 6. 2008. Retrieved in May 2008, from http://www.colamyths.com& http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/myths_and_rumours/ Coca Cola 7. 2008. Retrieved in May 2008, from http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/governance_ethics.html Nola Kortner A, 1988 “Communicating within Organizational Cultures”. Retrieved in April from http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-929/cultures.htm Read More