Strategic Management Process - Research Paper Example

?Running head: Strategic Management Process Strategic Management Process Insert Insert Insert 24 November Strategic Management Process Synopsis The Coca Cola Company’s vision statement defines a set of plans that the company adopts to continue thriving in the long term by keeping up with world trends, although it does not specify the ultimate goal beyond continuing to thrive. According to McNamara (2009), strategic management process should define the ultimate goal of the organization and the policies and sets of plans that organizations decide to adopt to achieve that ultimate goal. The strategic management process of the Coca Cola Company clearly outlines that understanding trends and forces would provide the organization with a roadmap to winning with partner bottlers in the long term. Considering the fact that strategic management process ensures that all stakeholders to the strategic plan of a company are in agreement as to why the company exists, what the company does, where the company should go, and how the company should get there. The strategic management process of the coca cola company has placed emphasis on how the company would attain its goal and to some extent has ignored particular descriptions of this goals. The process has not placed emphasis on clear descriptions of why the company exists and what the company does. Introduction The Coca cola Company’s strategic management process clearly defines the organization’s long-term strategy of incorporating the means of doing business in line with the world dynamics. It puts into consideration the fact that the world is changing, and thus the need for the company as a whole to adapt to the world changes. The company’s strategic process admits that, for it to continue thriving in the long run, it must understand the world trends and make the necessary preparations to adopt these trends when the time comes. However, the company’s strategic management process does not clearly illustrate the ultimate goal of the company with regards to keeping up with the world trends and forces that shape the business environment. The Mission Statement The coca cola company’s mission statement clearly states its actual purpose of existence through the description of what its products seeks to do. The company seeks to refresh its clients and inspire moments of optimism and happiness. The company also seeks to create value and make a difference in the world among its clients. This mission statement states the actual purpose of the coca cola company although it does not clearly outline plans and actions that the firm is going to adopt to refresh, inspire moments of optimism and happiness, create value, and make a difference. The mission statement gives the reason for the firm’s existence. The mission statement of the coca cola company does not give insight as to what kind of products and services the firm is delivering. The mission statement clearly indicates the priorities it has set forth for achieving its goals and the kind of public image it wants to create (McNamara, 2009). The mission statement sets up the long-term direction of the coca cola company and reflects the goals of its shareholders, customers, suppliers, and employees to some extent. Employee’s and shareholders ultimate goal to create value in the society and make a difference in the society is clearly reflected in the mission statement. More so, customer’s short-term goal of being refreshed, getting inspired with moments of optimism and happiness is also clearly reflected in the mission statement of the coca cola company. The mission statement stands the test of time irrespective of the extent to which the world would change in coming years. The coca cola company mission statement is appropriately worded to make an impact at a glance with regards to the general purpose of the organization. However, the mission statement of the coca cola company is not representative of the work it is going to do, but it is a representative of the fundamental nature of the organization and the values it hopes to create in its customers. According to Radtke (1998), a good and comprehensive mission statement must define three things: the purpose, the business, and the values of the organization. The mission statement is “inspirational, achievable, and completely graspable” (Welch & Welch, 2008), as it seeks to inspire moments of optimism and happiness. The mission statement for Coca Cola Company is also close to reality goals and words the actual reason for the establishment of the organization. The statement can stand the taste of time and therefore incorporates the need for a mission statement to provide room for adjustments and incorporates the changing needs and environments. The mission statement should not be fixed and rigid (Hammonds, 2001). The mission statement reveals the needs of the customers and their satisfaction through refreshing and inspiring moments of optimism and happiness. It does not focus on the product but on the benefit of major stakeholders, particularly its customers (My Strategic Plan, 2010). The Vision Statement The Coca Cola Company’s vision statement is an inspirational statement, which motivate the employees of the organization as to what they need to do to contribute towards achieving continued sustainable and quality growth. The statement outlines the future image that the coca cola company is seeking to achieve (Heathfield, 2009). The statement shows the levels of success that the organization hopes to acquire and reflects the dreams that the company wants to achieve. The statement goes further to indicate how the company hopes to be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities. It aims at maximizing long-term returns for shareowners while being mindful of its overall responsibilities. The vision statement integrates the company’s core competencies in leadership, accountability, integrity, diversity, and passion in its operations. However, the vision statement does not inform the major stakeholders of what other customer needs in particular it hopes to cater for in the future as it only outlines how it will focus on the market (My Strategic Plan, 2010). The company generally seeks to bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs. The customers are not informed on what particular products to expect from the company in the future. The vision statement is motivational for all stakeholders of the company as it outlines inspiration values of the portfolio, partners, profits, and productivity. The vision statement instills a sense of belonging among its customers, shareholders, employees and the community in general. The statement generally has an emotional impact on the company’s stakeholders that would enable them perform better thus enabling the company to achieve the company’s vision. The vision statement contains properties of brevity, clarity, abstract and challenging through statements of work smart and act like an owner. The value aspects are future focused and match the organization’s success measures of attaining quality beverage brands that satisfy people’s needs and desires (Kirkpatrick, 2008). The vision statement clearly outlines meaning needs among all stakeholders of the company, and guides them towards integrating it into their performance and should create a mental image of the company’s position in the coming years. The vision statement does not include phrases about numeric success of the Coca Cola Company but rather uses motivational language meant to evoke the desired outcome among its stakeholders (Dwyer, 2010). Statements such as maximization of long-term returns to shareowners while being mindful of its overall responsibilities is the kind of motivational statement that evokes desired outcome with regards to financial aspects. The vision statements are generally meant to inspire its stakeholders with respect to what the company has to offer to them in the future. Value Statements Value statements of the Coca Cola Company seek to identify the ethics under which the organization plans to conduct business. The value statements act as a compass to activities of all members of the organization through which the organizational behavior is measured. The company’s mission and vision statements are based on the organization's core values, which include leadership, accountability, integrity, diversity, and quality. Conclusion The goal and objective of continued achievement of sustainable and quality growth of the Coca Cola Company should be broken down into small and specific achievable units. The company’s vision should further be subdivided into smaller units that are easier to achieve in the short run, as they are generally realistic. Through value statements, goals are quantifiable and measurable as they are of importance with respect to their attainability. The company’s goals include deadlines such as vision 2030, which outlines that the company must be at per with the world’s trends and forces that shape the business environment by that period. References Dwyer, K. (2010). The Components of a Good Vision Statement, Change Factory. Retrieved from http://www.changefactory.com.au/articles/business-strategy/the-components-of-a-good-vision-statement/. Hammonds, K. (2001). Michael Porter’s Big Ideas. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/44/porter.html. Kirkpatrick, S. (2008). How to Build a Better Vision Statement. Academic Leadership: the Online Journal, 8(4). Retrieved from http://www.academicleadership.org/article/how-to-build-a-better-vision-statement. McNamara, C. (2009). Developing Your Strategic Plan. Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/freenonprofittraining/strategic-planning.htm Mission Statements, (2010), My Strategic Plan. Retrieved from http://mystrategicplan.com/resources/mission-statements/. Radtke, J.M. (1998). How to Write a Mission Statement. Retrieved from http://www.tgci.com/magazine/How%20to%20Write%20a%20Mission%20Statement.pdf. Welch, J. & Welch, S. (2008). State Your Business: Too Many Mission Statements are Loaded With Fathead Jargon, Play it Straight. Business Week, 4066 (80). Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_02/b4066080139784.htm?chan=search. Read More