Business of Coca-Cola in the States - Research Paper Example

Research about Coca Cola in the s Introduction This study investigates the operations of Coca Cola with regard to their business worldwide. Specifically, it will seek to look at the way the firm manages its employees, its attitude to international operations and the sustainability goals of the firm. The study will look for information from the firm’s website and other relevant and professional websites. It will also seek to look for information in places such as commercial newspapers and magazines with the intention of analyzing how different people have regarded the firm in the past. My employment plan is to work in a firm that has mastered international business in order to use my experience there to understand international business. I also seek to works with a firm that has respect for its employees and that provides channels for career growth. In a modern world, sustainability is extremely crucial and all firms need to be not only sensitive to sustainability issues but also have a solid plan to manage sustainability. As I seek for a firm in which to work, I hope to work with a firm that has a well developed sustainability plan. Methodology To get the most credible information, the study will begin by surfing the company’s website with the intention of looking for the way the firm looks at the various issues that have been indicated above. The study will seek to look at the company’s website and thus look at the various pieces of information provided by the firm. This will be with regarded to the following issues; HR Management This will provide an insight of the way in which Coca Cola looks at its human resource and whether it provides for growth channels for its employees’ careers. This will enable me to understand whether the firm will give me the kind of career growth that I am looking for. International Business and Globalization This information will reveal how the firm looks at globalization and how this is important in the success of the company at the world and the local level. Sustainability Goals and Achievements This will provide valuable information about the sustainability plan and goals of the firm with an intension to look at the way the firm looks at globalization. Step II Once this information is gotten from the website, it will then be reinforced or criticized with information from other professional websites to look at the validity and objectivity of this information. This will also provide valuable information about the firm with regard to how it looks at the issues at hand. Step III Step three will be to look at how various scholars have regarded the firms, especially from a critical point of view. This will aid in getting a better picture of the firm’s operations and also from a historic point of view. Findings of the Research The study provided the following information with regard to the operations of Coca Cola. Organizational Structure Coca Cola is one of the most globalized firms in the world. Unlike most companies that claim to be globalized despite the fact that they have not yet reached every corner of the habited planet, Coca Cola operates in all parts of the globe, even the remotest and least developed. This has been possible partially due to the fact that the firm’s products are relevant to all people, regardless of their location or economic class. The fact that Coca Cola has a global presence and is present in every village, city and town in the world has an impact on its operations and its organizational structure. The firm is managed by a CEO who oversees the operations of the firm. Each region has its own director. There are five main regions, that is, North America, Latin America, Europe, Eurasia and Africa and Pacific. Each of these regions has its own director. Below the chief executive there is a chief of operations who oversee all these regions. Each country has its own director who oversees operations at the country level. Twining (2000) has identified Coca Cola as one of the few firms to achieve localized globalization. This has an exceptionally fundamental impact on the way the firm is able to meet the local needs of its consumers. Sustainability According to information from the Coca Cola website, it is apparent that the firm is extremely serious with regard to the sustainability of the firm’s operations. Specifically, the Coca Cola’s sustainability revolves around two main issues. These include the following; The healthiness of their products From the Coca Cola’s website, it is apparent that Coca Cola is extremely sensitive to the issue how healthy their products are. The information achieved from the Coca Cola website indicates that the firm has a strong concern about how their products affect the health of their consumers. Coca Cola produces soft drinks that have the potential to increase the fat in a human body due to their high levels of sugar. Coca Cola has tried to solve this problem by making sure that they have manufactured the right product for each person. Diet coke is especially a good Coca Cola soft drink that is suitable for people who are risk of obesity or who suffer from diseases such as diabetes. Coca Cola has also managed to design over three hundred products thus giving the right product for each individual tastes and concerns (Bella, 2009). Over the years, the firm claims to have reduced the sugar content of their products by a large margin without affecting the tastes of the products. Although Coca Cola’s website seems to postulate that its products are healthy, they have been criticized by many people, and have been challenged with law suits due to claim that their products are too sugary and too unhealthy to the users. This is a crucial issue especially considering that America is dealing a problem of obesity, with over five percent of the populations being obese. In terms of marketing, Coca Cola works with its partners such as McDonalds to ensure that the quality and the image of the brand is maintained at all times (Liu, 2012). The packaging of the product With regard to environmental sustainability, the firm has taken serious measures. Coca Cola has continuously sought to reduce the amount of packaging that is not decomposable and not reusable and has tried to increase the amount decomposable or reusable packaging. With regard to environmental sustainability, the firms has created its sustainability around three fundamental tenets, which include packaging that suits the requirements of the consumer, packaging that will reduce landfills and using packaging that is either recyclable or renewable (Coca Cola, 2013). Discussion The study identified a number of factors, both positive and negative with regard Coca Cola. On the positive side, Coca Cola has one of the best organizational structures and this has enabled it to achieve the best globalization strategy. On the other hand, the firm still faces issues with regard to how healthy their products are, especially with regard to sugar contents in their products. With regard to my future career, the information that I found from the study was enough to reinforce my desire to work with the firm. The firm has the best structure and I believe that this will be helpful for me to grow my professional development as well as understand the mechanics of international business. Although the firm has the challenge about the healthiness of their products, I do not believe this is a serious issue as to warrant me to dissociate myself from the firm. The firm has done its best to produce the best and healthiest products. I am confident that even if there are any people whose health has been affected by the Coca Cola products, a good percent of them is because of abusing the product rather than because the products are harmful. Limitations of the study While this study went to all possible lengths within the circumstances to get as much information as possible concerning Coca Cola, it had a number of limitations. The first limitation was the fact that the study depended too much on secondary data. The study was not able to utilize primary data such as from interviews or surveys. This may affect the authenticity of the information that was collected. The study also did not benefit from empirical data that would be necessary for analysis. Recommendation for future studies Given the shortcomings that affected this study, future studies will need to focus on getting more primary data in order to understand the situation better. This will make it easier to have an informed conclusion. This primacy data may be in the form of interviews and surveys to find out facts about the firm. Future studies should also seek to use numeric data in order to be able to have empirical analysis and come up with better conclusions. Conclusion The firm is one of the most successful businesses and its success has been attributed to almost one and a half centuries of experience. The firm has been able to succeed in business and in globalization and has managed to deliver its products to all corners of the world. It also provided exceptionally good career development opportunities that can be useful to me. Reference List: Bella, L. (2009) How Globalization Works. New York City, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group. Coca Cola. (2013) Sustainable Pachkaging. Retrieved April 02, 2013, from Coca Cola: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/sustainabilityreport/world/sustainable-packaging.html#section-managing-packaging-to-manage-risk Liu, C. (2012) Multinationals, Globalisation and Indigenous Firms in China. London: Routledge. Twining, W (2000). Globalisation and Legal Theory. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. Read More