Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness - Assignment Example

strategic management and strategic competitiveness Introduction Based on the stiff competition that is experienced in the local and international markets, many companies have adopted various strategies in order to remain competitive. In the contemporary business world, technology has been used as a major aspect by firms to improve their operations. Strategic management entails the formulation as well as implementation of key objectives that are adopted by managers on behalf of the shareholders. During this process, effective assessment of external and internal environments must be done. On the other hand, strategic competitiveness refers to the results that are achieved after a firm effectively formulates and implements appropriate strategies that are not easily copied by the competitors either because they are unique or there are costly to imitate. This paper seeks to discuss some of the major strategies that Coca-Cola Company, the leading soft drink company has adopted making it to effectively participate in the global market. One of the major strategies that make Coca-Cola to be a competitive company locally and in the international markets is the increased sales as the result of its expansion in many countries. Since the company was established in 1886, it has grown from a small firm based in Atlanta to the most valuable brand in the world. Coca-Cola Company brands are distributed in over 200 countries. Being the world largest brand, Coca-Cola has continued to enjoy impressive expansion globally. However, the company has very strong roots in Atlanta where it originated. The production of brands that depict comfort and leisure, aspects that are related to the American culture, the company produces brands that meet the needs of American people. In order to ensure that its products are effectively distributed in the international market, Coca-Cola Company has employed the services of various bottlers in various countries. The table below indicates some of the notable bottlers in the various Coca-Cola market segments. Market segment Bottling partners Africa Coca-Cola Sabco Coca-Cola Hellenic Company Peninsula Beverage Company European Union Cobega Coca-Cola Enterprises Casbega Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke North America Coca-Cola enterprises Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated Swire Beverages Coca-Cola Bottling Company United Latin America Grupo Continental, S.A Coca-Cola Polar Embotelladoras ARCA, S.A.B. de C.V Coca-Cola Embonor Eurasia Coca-Cola Içecek Central Bottling Company Coca-Cola Hellenic Company Pacific Coca-Cola Amatil Coca-Cola Bottling Indonesia Haad Thip Public Company Hokuriku Coca-Cola Bottling Co Haad Thip Public Company Limited Okinawa Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Apart from effective entry of the global market, Coca-Cola Company has appropriately used technology in all its operations. For example, the company constantly rebrands its products. In 2009, the company introduced greener bottles. These are bottlers that use less petroleum thus having less carbon impact. Likewise, the introduction of freestyle dispensers, that allow consumers to create their own beverage by combining more than 100 brands, is a clear indication of the extent to which the company values technology (Timothy and Richard, 1987). Coca-Cola also emulates social networking as well as online advertisement as a way of creating strong consumers awareness. Large companies employ industrial model as a strategy of remaining significant in a market that is highly segmented. Industrial organization model entails the use of advertising information, transaction as well as production costs to peg the products. Notable merits of the industrial organization model is that the competition pool is kept at low level, entry to barriers are created and a company is assisted to go a point higher to the next competitors. In its effort to retain a major market share in the soft drink industry, Coca-Cola Company can use the industrial organization model by identifying the boundaries that exist between other firms and the industry. In this way, it will notice the impact of the competitors in the market thus coming up with effective strategies to face them in the local and in the international markets. Resource based model on the other hand indicates that firms competitive advantage lies on the tangible and intangible resources that a company owns (Wernerfelt, 1984). Coca-Cola Company can also use resource-based model to earn above average returns. To create a value creating strategy that is effective in addressing stiff competition, the company should first identify its major resources and evaluate whether they are valuable, rare, in-mitable or non-substitute. The company should then protect the resources that fulfil these evaluations thus attaining an improved organizational performance. Coca-Cola Company vision statement is a major roadmap that guides the company in its operations. The vision describes what the company needs to accomplish in order to achieve a sustainable growth. Notable vision covers six key aspects as discussed below. People: Coca-Cola Company aims at making the work place conducive and inspirational to the people Portfolio: The Company aims at bringing quality brands that meet the needs and desires of the consumers globally. Partners: Coca-Cola aims at establishing strong network with its customers, suppliers in order to create mutual relationship. Planet: The company aims at being a responsible citizen who creates sustainable communities Profit: The company aims at maximizing long-term profit to the shareholders while emulating the culture of corporate social responsibility Productivity: Coca-Cola Company aims at becoming highly effective and a fast moving firm that meet the global demand. The mission of the Coca-Cola Company declares the purpose of the company and it serves as the measure that the company uses to weigh its decision as well as actions. Notably, the mission covers three aspects. First, to refresh the world. Secondly, to inspire moment of happiness and optimism and thirdly to create value and make a difference globally. Coca-Cola success in the market significantly depends on the company’s culture of engaging and working with all stakeholders including non-governmental organizations, academia, governments, suppliers and customers among others. The company works with national governments in providing fitness programmes, protecting of watersheds as well as promoting recycling. The government also provides certificate of corporations for the different bottlers. The company customers on their part are offered training programs on how to grow their businesses and not only about the company products. On their part, the customers provide feedback to the company that is used as a measure of the company performance. Investors are engaged in investment assessments where socially responsible investment (SRI) community aspects are covered (Gronroos, 1994). Through their efforts and good performance, the employees assist the company in marketing their brands in various markets. Additionally, employees embark on providing information to the potential consumers and the public on the various company products through promotions. Similarly, suppliers are important stakeholders based on their responsibility to supply Coca-Cola with quality services and goods that have passed the quality test. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it is clear that strategic management and strategic competitiveness are important aspect in any company that should not be overlooked. Being an international company, Coca-Cola has effectively adopted strategies that have made the company to emerge as the market leader despite the stiff competition in the industry. Apart from the effect of vision and mission in creating value for the company, the stakeholders including employees, customers, governments, suppliers and investors among others play a vital role in the company. Thus, for any company that aims at becoming competitive, it must engage all its stakeholders in its operations. References Gronroos, C. (1994). From marketing mix to relationship marketing: towards a paradigm shift in marketing , Management Decision, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp 4–32. Timothy, B and Richard, S. (1987). The Empirical Renaissance in Industrial Economics: An Overview. Journal of Industrial Economics, 35(4), pp 35-47. Wernerfelt, B. (1984). The Resource-Based View of the Firm. Strategic Management Journal; 5, (2), pp. 171–180. Read More