Enhancement of Learning and Development Strategies - Essay Example

Enhancement of learning and development strategies among employees at the Coca Cola Company al affiliation Enhancement of learning and development strategies among employees at the Coca Cola Company 1.0 Introduction In the contemporary business world, economic competitiveness is very rife, a phenomenon that calls for more strategic business objectives for companies. Accordingly, many companies today, according to Jackson, Schuler, & Werner (2011, pp.272), are investing in human capital as a way of gaining competitive advantage over their rivals. Human capital refers to a summation of all the competencies, innovativeness, knowledge, and experiences of the employees within an organization (ibid). One of the ways of improving employee efficiency is by ensuring that the company offers learning and development (L&D) opportunities for its employees. Accordingly, this report aims to discuss how the Coca Cola Company applies L&D strategies in the resolution of efficiency problems among its employees. 2.0 Identifying an organization on which to conduct a case study After considering several organization types such as hierarchical organizations, market organizations, and family organizations, provided by Tharp (2002 pp.2-3), our group decided to settle on market organizations. Hierarchical organizations are bureaucratic and somewhat rigid, since they only set base in stable environments. Market organizations on the other hand are driven by competition and have strong emphasis on productivity. As for family organizations, operations are very personalized and employees share norms and values. From the three, we chose to do a case study on a market organization that has a global presence, and whose products can be consumed by people of all ages. In addition, the type of organization needed for the case study had to be a well established company, whose history has been characterized by success. Accordingly, Coca Cola became the best option, considering that its employees need to be trained on how to handle a global consumer market, made up of people of diverse cultures and ages. Each group member was assigned a topic to research on and to later present the findings to the rest of the group. Ashley was charged with the responsibility of finding out the background information concerning the Coca Cola Company. Tweed was responsible for identifying the various challenges that the Coca Cola Company has faced and analyzing how the Coca Cola Company has featured L&D strategies in solving human resource management issues. Bijay had the responsibility of suggesting recommendations for the use of other L&D strategies at Coca Cola, in addition to compiling the group report. 3.0 The Coca Cola Company background Coca Cola Company is a global beverage manufacturing company whose headquarters are in Atlanta Georgia. According to Bellis (2012), Coca Cola, the beverage, was invented by John Pemberton, a pharmacist in 1886, while the name and trademark were suggested by his partner, frank Robinson, a bookkeeper. Pemberton later sold the recipe to Asa Chandler, a businessman from Atlanta, who made Coca Cola an international brand. Under Chandler’s leadership, the Coca Cola Company was established in Georgia (Bellis, 2012). Although it has changed ownership over the years, the Coca Cola Company has maintained its position as the leading soft drink manufacturer in the world. 4.0 Challenges facing the Coca Cola Company Being a global leader in beverage manufacture, the Coca Cola Company has had to deal with its fairs share of challenges and problems. For example, Coca Cola there have been issues of contaminated products, competition, allegations of racial discrimination, trouble with bottlers, and human resource management issues stemming from incompetent and untrustworthy employees (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2009 pp. 311-315). Of these problems, our group chose to focus on the issue of human resource management and examine how Coca Cola has applied L&D strategies to manage its human resource component. We easily agreed on this topic because everyone was of the idea that such a multinational company as Coca Cola cannot afford to ignore their workforce, the latter who form the backbone of the company. 4.1.0 Human resource challenges facing the Coca Cola Company In the human resource department, according to Morgan (2011), Coca Cola has had issues that have to an extent slowed down business operations. 4.1.1 Lack of clarity of the company’s vision Most employees working within the company are not sure about the vision of the company, thus putting the future of Coca Cola at stake. Being a multinational company employing millions of people around the world, it becomes quite a challenge to ensure that each employee gets to understand the company vision. This translates to Coca Cola having employees who do not know where the company is headed thus becoming capable of jeopardizing the future of the company. According to Harrison (2005, pp. 292) employees need to be in the clearest terms, made aware of the goals of the company they working for as soon as they join the company. 4.1.2 Communication breakdown At the Coca Cola Company, there have been challenges relating to insufficient communication among employees, which leads to a lot of complexity and ambiguity. According to Jackson, Schuler, & Werner (2011, pp. 78) proper communication is one of the most essential aspects within a company. Improper communication can lead to operational problems as well as misunderstandings among workers. 4.1.3 Unmotivated employees According to the motivation theory of learning, people are more likely to achieve good results if they are motivated to work (Leonard, 2002 pp. 96). This means that an unmotivated individual tends to do work in a haphazard manner. The employees at Coca Cola have been observed to be complacent, distracted and sometimes lacking in motivation. This often leads to poor service delivery, poor performance, and non-attainment of organizational objectives. 4.1.4 Poor leadership Good leadership according to Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell (2009 pp. 160) is critical for the smooth running and success of any company. Leaders within a company should ensure that they set good examples for their subordinates, not only by being productive, but by also having good people skills. At Coca Cola, however, it was also noted that leaders at the company did not mingle as much with their subordinates, thus creating tension between the two categories of employees. 4.2.0 The use of L&D strategies at the Coca Cola Company to respond to these challenges The Coca Cola Company has come up with a number of L&D strategies in response to the above stated challenges. 4.2.1 Talent identification and retention One of the most effective ways of acquiring an influential workforce is by ensuring that an organization has the necessary mechanisms for attracting and retaining talent (Noe, 2002 pp. 123-124). Coca Cola has a three year “University Talent Program” that offers training in sales, marketing, supply chain, and customer management to participants (Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Summary, 2012). Coca Cola also fosters talent by allowing employees to pursue new opportunities and make career moves, leading to more experienced personnel for the company. This is where the information processing theory of learning comes into play, since the trainees are expected to be able to use the knowledge gained in training to solve new challenges (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2010 pp. 35). 4.2.2 Career planning systems Coca Cola seems to have borrowed heavily from the goal setting theory of learning and development which holds that a person is more likely to put in more effort into their work, if they are working towards set goals (Noe, 2002 pp. 129-130). At Coca Cola, there is a career planning system that allows managers and employees to discuss the career interests, strengths, and development area of each employee. An “Individual Performance Objectives” (IPOs) program allows employees to set annual goals outlining the specific measures that the employee will put into place in order to achieve organizational objectives. This has helped employees at Coca Cola to gain more clarity on the vision of the company. 4.2.3 On-the-job training On-the-job training, according to Harrison (2005, pp. 112), takes up almost 70 per cent of the total learning process in organizations. It involves learning how to applying specific skills to specific conditions, as they arise within the workplace and the industry as a whole. By using on-the-job training strategies, employees learn to differentiate which actions bring about negative from those that lead to positive results. Accordingly, Coca Cola awards the employees who have brought about more positive outcomes for the company. This motivates others to learn the skills required to attain good results. 4.2.4 Effective communication tools According to Jackson, Schuler & Warner (2011, pp.271) new technologies have played a big role in enhancing productivity within organizations. In keeping up with innovations in technology, companies should ensure that their employees have access to up-to-date learning material and programs. Accordingly, Coca Cola has an online HR tool that can be accessed by its associates any time of day, throughout the week. HeRe! online can be accessed via the intranet or internet by Coca Cola associates who can find information concerning company policies and norms of conduct (Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Summary, 2012). 4.2.5 Leadership development programs Effective leadership is the pillar of every successful business and as such, organizations are required to ensure that they have the right leadership (Noe, 2002 pp. 9). At the Coca Cola Company, managers are taught how to develop individually, as well as how to handle their colleagues and subordinates. In the latter case, managers are taught people management skills and in some special cases, the mangers learn how to develop women leaders (Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Summary, 2012). 5.0 Recommended strategies After assessing the human resource challenges facing the Coca Cola Company and the L&D strategies taken by the company to solve the issues, our group come up with a number of recommendations for Coca Cola. 5.1.0 Nurturing personal growth Sometimes, employees may attend training programs simply because the company requires them to, and not out of their own will. Accordingly, employees need to be induced into L&D activities, by making them see the benefits of such programs. For example, Coca Cola should ensure that after an employee has completed a number of training programs, the employee becomes eligible for promotion or salary rise. This, according to the reinforcement theory, will motivate employees to learn more, in anticipation of a reward (Leonard, 2002 pp. 152). This will go a long way in dealing with the issue of unmotivated employees at Coca Cola. Similarly, the company should ensure that each employee has a development plan, from which they can design their career paths. As Harrison (2005, pp.7) writes, the primary aim of organizational learning and development is to enhance the achievement of business goals and development of individual potential. 5.1.1 Cultivating positive attitudes among employees A person’s attitude towards work determines whether or not the person will put in their best effort in doing their work (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2010 pp. 695). As we have noted, employees at Coca Cola are sometimes withdrawn from their work, meaning that they do not give the best results. Therefore, such employees should be taken through training intended to make them like their job. At the end of such training, employees should be given opportunities to demonstrate their renewed enthusiasm towards their job. 5.1.2 Motivational leadership Although Coca Cola has put in place L&D strategies to train leaders on people skills, these leaders also need to be trained on how to become role models for the subordinates. According to the social learning theory, people learn by observing the behavior of others and examining the consequences of that behavior (Leonard, 2002 pp. 44). Accordingly, people tend to imitate “role models” whom they consider knowledgeable and whose behavior has been proven to result in rewards. The availability of mentors acts as a pathway to self-efficacy by the employees who are motivated to learn by observing how their mentors have benefited from learning. 6.0 Challenges of working as a group While working on the case study, we had a problem deciding which issues to include in the report and which ones to leave out. For example, there were quite a number of human resource challenges and it was difficult to settle on the four that have been discussed above. Mostly, we had to go by a majority vote. Another challenge stemmed from the meeting schedules since each group member had individual activities to attend to. Sometimes, we were forced to postpone meetings because some members were held up somewhere. However, we have learnt from these challenges and decided that in future group assignments, we will have lengthy discussions which will involve weighing the pros and cons of each topic, before deciding on which topics to cover. In addition, we shall have a strict timetable for meetings, which every group member shall adhere to, failure to which they will be expelled from the group. 7.0 Conclusion As discussed, the Coca Cola Company has had the challenge of managing its human resource component to meet organizational objectives. With issues such as communication breakdown, isolated leaders, unmotivated employees, and lack of clarity in company vision, Coca Cola has had to use L&D strategies to solve these issues. By investing in talent, on-the-job training, leadership programs, communication tools, and career development strategies, Coca Cola has been able to tackle most of these challenges. However, if the company could invest more in motivating and rewarding their employees’ personal growth, then very few cases of human resource challenges would be reported. Evidently, L&D strategies are very critical in solving whatever challenges that might face any type of organization. References Bellis, M. 2012. The History of Coca Cola. Available at http://investors.about.com. [Accessed December 27, 2012]. Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Summary 2011/12. Training and Development. Available at www.cokeresponsibility.co.uk. [Accessed December 27, 2012]. Ferrell, O., Fraedrich, J., Ferrell, L. 2009. Business Ethics 2009: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Mason: Cengage Learning. Harrison, M. 2005. Learning and Development 4/E. London: CIPD Publishing. Jackson, S., Schuler, R., & Werner, S. 2011. Managing Human Resources. Mason: Cengage Learning. Kail, R., & Cavanaugh, J. 2010. Human Development: A Life-Span View. Mason: Cengage Learning. Leonard, D. 2002. Learning Theories: A-Z. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. Morgan, K. 2011. Coca Cola- Inspiring Employee Engagement during Times of Change. Available at www.hrmtoday.com. [Accessed December 27, 2012]. Noe, R. 2002. Employee Training and Development. London: McGraw Hill. Tharp, B. 2002. Four Organizational Culture Types. Available At www.haworth.com. [Accessed December 27, 2012]. Read More