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Internship Evaluation, Review, and Moving Forward to First Position in the Organization
Introduction to the Organization
The Coca-Cola Company is a multinational beverage producer operating in about 200 countries around the world. It has been in operation since 1886 and currently, it manufactures, retails, and markets non-alcoholic drinks all over the world (Coca Cola, 2017). The company was founded by John Stith Pemberton who pioneered the Coca-Cola drink. However, in 1889, Asa Candler purchased the drink’s production formula and brand. Apart from the Coca-Cola drink, the company currently sells more than 500 brands of other products (Coca Cola, 2017). Being a global company whose chief product is consumed and recognized around the world, Coca-Cola Company organizes itself and its leadership structures in a manner which reflects this fact. It has separate international division structure since its international team of employees work independently of the company’s global headquarters. Its global operations have been divided into five continental divisions, and each division has its president. It has five continental divisions comprising the Eurasia & Africa Group, Pacific Group, Europe Group, North America Group, and Latin America Group. Each one of the divisions has a vice president who oversees sub-divisions depending on countries or regions.
Figure 1: Coca Cola organizational structure. Retrieved from http://cokemnc.blogspot.com/p/organizational-structure.html
Current Organizational Situation
Coca-Cola has witnessed fluctuating sales revenue in recent years. In 2018, the company made sales worth $31.86 billion, while in 2017, its sales earnings were $35.41 billion (Statista, 2019). In 2016 and 2015, it made sales worth 41.86 and $44.29 billion respectively. In 2014 and 2013, it reported $46 billion and 46.85 respectively (Statista, 2019). Coca-Cola is one of the leading employers in the world. By 2016, the company had a team of 123,000 employees around the globe (Moye, 2016). The company has its headquarters in Atlanta and has more than 900 bottling and manufacturing facilities around the world (Moye, 2016). Due to its private and multinational nature, Coca-Cola has country headquarters in over 200 countries across the globe, each overseeing operations in the respective states. Its country branches have witnessed employee strife at different times due to various employment issues. For instance, its employees in Alabama went on strike on August 10, 2018, seeking for a pay rise and health insurance (Connor, 2018). In September 2018, the company’s workers at the company’s Bluefield went on strike after the company relieved itself from the burden of providing its workers’ health insurance (Garland, 2018). In August 217, its employees in Richmond, Coquitlamn, and Chilliwack also went on strike.
Since its inception in 1886, Coca-Cola has witnessed continuous growth resulting in its expansion from Atlanta into becoming a global beverage giant. It has grown through acquisitions and mergers over the past years, acquired rivals trading in vitamin water, coconut water, and tea. In 1960, the firm acquired Minute Maid, a company dealing in frozen concentrate drinks and ready-to-drink juices while in 2015, it acquired part of Monster Beverages Corporation by purchasing 16.7% of the company’s shares for about $2.15 billion (Buehler, 2018). Apart from the equity stake, both companies entered into a strategic partnership touching on business transfers and increasing global supply. Also, Coca-Cola acquired other businesses including FUZE Beverages, Bottlers Investment Group, and Glaceau in 2007, a business producing Vitamin Water (Buehler, 2018). In August 2018, it acquired Moxie, a New England-based soda company owned by Kirin, which operated within the English region (Stern, 2018). Still, in 2018, Coca-Cola acquired Costa Limited from Whitbread PLC, a Europe-based coffee business operating in over 30 countries (Coca-Cola, 2019). This acquisition offered Coca-Cola a substantial footmark in the global coffee business. Through the acquisition of respected brands, the firm has acquired the capacity to respond effectively to changes in consumer tastes toward healthier options and moving away from sugary soft drinks and producing sports and energy drinks (Buehler, 2018). Moreover, by purchasing brands, Coca-Cola has substantially grown its revenue footing. Coca-Cola also owns several bottlers around the globe.
Organization’s SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Coca Cola’s global presence guarantees employees exposure to different working conditions. An employee can interact with the company’s employees from different nationalities and cultures, thereby gaining competence in working in multicultural working environments. Due to its globally known name, customers have displayed strong loyalty on the multinational. Working in such a company is challenging considering employees are required to maintain customer loyalty. However, this challenge is good for career and professional growth as it instills in one the effective strategies of customer service. The company employs creative and effective marketing strategies that have kept its sales high over the years. Some months ago, the firm put people’s names on its products, a strategy which enabled it to witness an upsurge in sales as many individuals, especially the youth bought the products with their names in them, took photos with them and posted them in social media platforms. As such, an internship or employment in Coca Cola Company allows one to gain knowledge about customer service and operational strategies.
Weaknesses
Coca-Cola has hot reasonably diversified its products to safeguard itself from the fluctuating sales revenues. Its main competitor, Pepsi, offers Lays chips and numerous foods, apart from beverages, which guarantees its employees the security of wages and benefits even in times of low sales. People around the world have become conscious about obesity and diabetes, which arise from carbonated drinks. As such, since Coca Cola is the main producer of carbonated drinks worldwide, there is a risk that its sales may drop in future, rendering many employees jobless due to the lack of market for its products.
Opportunities
Coca Cola can develop new products and diversify their current offerings. Due to its brand identify, global customer base, and global branches, the company can create different products for customers with different traits and from different regions. Addressing the needs of the different types of clients around the world offers a critical experience that builds one’s capability to manage large organizations and customer base. The company operates in countries with different climatic conditions, and this allows the company to provide a variety of products to its customers with different needs around the world. As such, employees have an opportunity to be creative in addressing the needs of different customers. Coca Cola has a broad variety of products to market. It has the financial capability to do research, and determine and address customer needs. Therefore, the workers have the opportunity to become creative in broadening the company’s product variety. Also, it can employ and get the room for new workers due to its vast market
Threats
Coca Cola has numerous direct and indirect competitors that include Starbucks, Pepsi, Café coffee day, and Costa coffee among others. As a result, its leadership and employees must be creative in supporting the organization to overcome the competition. This scenario allows the company’s members to collaborate in responding to the competition. Also, the scarcity of water in different parts of the world presents a major challenge to Coca Cola since its raw material is water. Accordingly, the firm should develop strategies for meeting its water needs and develop alternative products that can enable it to avoid water shortage menace. The global operations of the company are experiencing challenges due to differences in law, taxation regimes, development, economic state, and minimum wage. Working in Coca Cola might not be appropriate for interns and new employees since there is a minimal possibility of one interacting with the company’s leadership to gain management skills.
Internship Goals, Objectives, Setup, and Deliverables
The goal of this internship is to enable the intern to undergo training and experiential learning for the development of business, management, and leadership skills. The intern will gain business operations and management strategies because of being assigned roles which require the use of critical thinking and effort for their completion. The intern will be supervised in his or her execution of the assigned roles and will receive guidance and seek advice from the individuals supervising him or her. Therefore, the internship is a critical opportunity for the intern to learn more about business operations and different roles. The internship is an opportunity for the intern to perfecting interpersonal skills. The intern is expected to interact with different individuals in the course of undertaking the assigned roles, including the organization’s leadership when receiving instructions and seeking guidance. Also, interns should interact with other workers as well as customers at different times and should listen to them and help them meet their needs. As a result, they will learn how to interact well with others in the business and build a network of contacts from the organization’s leadership, employees, and customers. The networks are critical in securing employment, markets for products and services, professional associations, and guidance in personal and professional paths. They also expose the interns to people from different nations and cultures thereby improving their competence in multicultural environments.
Recommendations
Coca Cola is a global employer with thousands of employees around the world. The large size of the organization may limit the intern’s chance of accessing the top executives due to their huge tasks. As such, the company should create avenues that make it easier for interns and new employees to access those in leadership as this is critical in responding to their needs. By accessing the top leadership, they can learn about leadership and management of business operations.
Conclusion
Coca Cola has been in operation since 1886 and has survived numerous challenges to date. The company, having been established in Atlanta, has grown through acquisitions and diversification and this has seen it expand to over 200 countries. It has headquarters in all countries it operates in, this its operations are run independently in each of the states. Its large size offers an excellent opportunity for students to undertake an internship and offers good employment opportunities for personal and professional growth. Coca Cola’s global operations give a good opportunity for interns and new employees to gain knowledge on the management of multicultural work environments, the management of multinational corporations, and creating networks.
References
Buehler, N. (2018). 5 companies owned by Coca-Cola. Investopedia. Updated Oct 12, 2018. Accessed on April 16, 2019 at https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/011216/top-5-companies-owned-coca-cola-ko.asp
Coca Cola (2017). Our company: Coca-Cola leaders. Accessed on April 16, 2019 at https://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/leadership
Coca-Cola (2019). The Coca-Cola company completes acquisition of Costa from Whitbread PLC. Posted on Jan 3, 2019. Accessed on April 16, 2019 at https://www.coca-colacompany.com/press-center/press-releases/the-coca-cola-company-completes-acquisition-of-costa
Connor, S. (2018). Coca-Cola workers in Alabama on strike for better wages, health insurance. World Socialist Web Site. Posted on August 13, 2018. Accessed on April 16, 2019 at https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/08/13/ccma-a13.html
Garland, (2018). Coca-Cola bottling company workers in Bluefield authorize a strike. Charleston Gazette-Mail, posted on Sep 30, 2018. Accessed on April 16, 2019 at https://www.wvgazettemail.com/business/coca-cola-bottling-company-workers-in-bluefield-authorize-a-strike/article_f1d5f8c0-19e9-5d84-b456-e4ffe4bf50a4.html
Moye, J. (2016). Photos: Explore cutting-edge Coca-Cola offices around the world. Accessed on April 16, 2019 at https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/12-cutting-edge-coca-cola-offices-around-the-world
Statista (2019). Global revenue and financial results of the Coca-Cola Company from 2009 to 2018 (in million U.S. dollars). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/264423/revenue-and-financial-results-of-coca-cola/
Stern, G. (2018). What’s driving Coca-Cola’s recent acquisitions? Forbes. Posted on Sep 4, 2018. Accessed on April 16, 2019 at https://www.forbes.com/sites/garystern/2018/09/04/whats-driving-coca-colas-recent-acquisitions/#544a35f202a8
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