Strategic Management of Cadbury Schweppes - Essay Example

Cadbury Schweppe's responsible role comes from the systems it has in place along with the company's pledge to live by its values. Through these steps, the company strives to promote a brand people love.

Business Objectives:
The idea of promoting a brand that people love is fuelled by the idea that the more people love the brand, the more likely it is for Cadbury Schweppes to retain its position and do even better. To promote a brand that people love, the company listens to what people want. The company also learns from its past experiences with products that people easily take to. Through this simple process, Cadbury Schweppes has managed to successfully launch many products in the global market, as they know what people want.

Business Strategy:
Acting responsibly is one aspect that Cadbury Schweppes continues to emphasize. This aspect has permitted the company to place great value on its shareowners. This has allowed the company to put further thought into its CSR strategy which has Five Pillars. These include:

• marketing, food, and consumer trends;
• ethical sourcing and procurement;
• environment, health, and safety;
• human rights and employment standards; and
• community investment.

Cadbury Schweppes continues to renew its commitments towards responsible growth of its business. Renewed commitments allow the company to be prepared for its future CSR journey, which is termed as the company's ‘Goals and Commitments on Sustainability.’ Cadbury Schweppes has goals set for each of its Five Pillars for CSR strategy that is in sync with its approach to sustainability.


The Problem Cadbury Faces Currently:
Until recently, Cadbury Schweppes had little problem with its reputation. However, in June 2006, questions were raised regarding the ethical standards and social responsibility that the company preached for so long. According to the health department, Cadbury Schweppes has circulated stock that was contaminated. This was discovered because of a few cases of food poisoning that were traced back to Cadbury Schweppes. It was discovered that there was a leaking waste pipe that dripped some contaminants into Cadbury Schweppes’ chocolate fudge. This is one of the ingredients used in many Cadbury products. After the investigation, it was determined that Cadbury Schweppes stood to lose £20 m because they had to recall the stock that was affected by the contamination. Aside from the financial loss, there is also a risk of the company losing the trust of many customers.

A Strategy to Counter Cadbury’s Contamination Issue:
Given that there are other top companies in the market today that have suffered breakdowns in ethical procedures, Cadbury Schweppes can recover from its position. It must be remembered that there are two things that Cadbury Schweppes stands to lose with its contamination issue; £20 m in circulated stock, and the trust of its customers. By already delaying recalling this circulated stock Cadbury has done itself damage. The strategy that Cadbury needs to adopt is: saving the company from long-term damage.

Strategy Implementation:
To save itself from long-term damage, Cadbury Schweppes needs to do what’s essential for retaining customers. This includes doing what its customers would want, and it would include mending its breakdown. Therefore, Cadbury Schweppes needs to restate what it had promised and practiced for many years. It needs to regain customer trust in the company. Alongside this, Cadbury Schweppes needs to assure all its customers that all contaminated stock will be withdrawn from the market and that no such contamination will ever occur again. Additionally, Cadbury Schweppes needs to assure customers that its production process will be free from any risks of contamination.

Evaluation to Determine the Success of Strategy Implementation:
It is important to determine how successful Cadbury Schweppes will be with implementing a strategy to recover from the contamination issue it faces. Cadbury Schweppes will need to survey different areas to determine the success of its strategy. The extent to which Cadbury Schweppes’s strategy will be effective can be determined through the sales and customer comments that retailers can reveal. This type of survey and tracking may need to be implemented over a significant period to determine the pace of recovery. In addition to the approach mentioned here, customers can be approached to retrieve their views on the contamination issue and Cadbury Schweppes’ recovery.


Conclusion:
There is little doubt about the amount of work that needs to be done for Cadbury Schweppes to recover from its contamination issue. It has to recall all its stock that is contaminated and sacrifice around £20 m. This is a move that would win customers back. Additionally, customers need to be assured of the renewed approach that Cadbury Schweppes pledges for responsible production in the future. These steps along with feedback from the market in the form of a survey would complete the process of Cadbury Schweppes recovering from its current position.