Running head: EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP AND STRATEGIG MANAGEMENT 1

The role of executive leadership on strategic Management

Name

Institution
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Introduction

The Coca-Cola Company is a global retailer, manufacturer and marketer of non-alcoholic

beverages. The entity is a leader in the beverage industry with over 500 brands in more than 200

countries. Since its inception in the year 1889 the company has grown to establish itself as a

market leader. The company has its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia and five functional centers.

In this study, the researcher analyses Coca-Cola to determine the role of executive leadership

in the strategic management process. The researcher will interview Ahmet C. Bozer, president of

the Coca-Cola Company’s Eurasia and Africa Group

Our mission

“Our Roadmap starts with of our mission, which is enduring. It declares our purpose as a

company and serves as a standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions.

a. To refresh the world.

b. To inspire moments of optimism and happiness.

c. To create value and make difference” (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016).

Vision

“Our vision serves as the framework for our Roadmap and guides every aspect of our

business by describing what we need to accomplish in order to continue achieving sustainable

quality growth.

 People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be.

 Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and

satisfy people desires and needs.

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 Partners: Nurture a wining network of consumers and suppliers, together we create

mutual, enduring value.

 Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support

sustainable communities.

 Profit: Maximize long term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall

responsibilities.

 Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast moving organization.” (The Coca-Cola

Company, 2016 ).

The role executive management strategic management process

The key to organizational performance is achieving strategic business objectives,

preparing the entity for sustainable growth and ensuring a competitive advantage over the

rival firms (Varbanova, 2015). Organizations are often faced with the challenge of

identifying the leadership roles that are necessary for organizational performance. The

success of strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation must be supported by the

continued support of committed leadership. The organization's leadership must craft a

pathway that allows it to build momentum for the future (Varbanova, 2015)

External forces influencing decisions

Changes in the external environment expose the business to several uncertainties and

turbulence. Many companies have failed as a result of their inability to accurately identify the

threats in the environment and make adjustments so as to cope with such threats(Saleem,

2010). Today's organizations are facing several threats including global competition. The

factors in the environment usually impose major constraints on the nature of activities and
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choices that managers make for the organization. The industry, government, sociocultural,

economic conditions, raw materials, market, technology, human resources and financial

resources are some of the elements in the external environment that affect the operations of

any entity.

Industry factors include competitors, industry size and competitiveness and the related

industries. Factors related to the raw materials are suppliers and manufacturers. Human

resources factors such as the labor market, education levels, employment agencies, rival

company employees and the rival companies’ employees affect the actions of strategic

managers in an organization. Interest rates on loans from banks, savings and loans, stock

markets and private investors are some of the financial conditions of an entity’s external

environment. Factors such as recession, unemployment rate, inflation rate, investment rate,

economic growth and development form part of the economic aspect of the environment.

Production techniques, information technology and e-commerce are the technological

factors. Laws and regulations relating to the city or state, the court system, tax legislation and

political processes are some of the government factors influencing strategic management.

Sociocultural factors include age, values, beliefs, education, religion, and work ethic

(Saleem, 2010).

Response to external forces

The conditions prevailing in the external environment have a significant effect on the

actions to be taken by the enterprises management. For example, raw materials suppliers

available to a firm and its competitors present the companies’ top management with a

decision to make on where to get the cheapest raw materials so as to have a competitive
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advantage regarding cost (Porter, 2012). The entity can, therefore, resort to recycling of raw

materials so as to get a price competitive raw material. Coca-Cola, for example, has to make

the choice between the usual steel can suppliers or the competitive recycled aluminum cans

produced by the Reynolds Aluminum Company

Similarly, the changes in the market patterns can inform the nature of products that the

company provides. Coca-Cola had to come up with coke zero to keep up with the recent shift

in attention from just feeding to healthy eating (The Coca-Cola Company, 2009).

Companies have to strategize in line with the technological changes that occur the world

over. There is a need to recognize the rapid expansion of internet as a place for doing market

(Saleem, 2010). The internet and other advances in the information technology have changed

the business world and made business operations easy. The economic conditions, on the

other hand, affect both long-term and short-term decisions. During low inflation companies

charge low prices.to make profits without having to raise the prices companies need to

produce simple products at a high level of technological efficiency (Porter, 2012).

Also, the industry factors such as the nature and size of competition affect long-term

marketing decisions by the entity (Saleem, 2010). For instance, in New York where the

demand for Pepsi-Cola is higher than the Coca-Cola Classic, the Coca-Cola marketing agents

are under pressure to visit more stores so as to push for better share of shelf, better

placement, better displays and more promotions

Competitive advantage

The company enjoys a significant proportion of the global market as a result of the

competitive advantage that it enjoys (Porter, 2012). The position can be attributed to the
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secret recipe for their drinks which makes them taste better than most of the other cola

drinks. The company also has a unique ability to adapt and continue developing new

products and re-creating the already existing ones in line with the changing customer needs.

Coca-Cola enjoys a comprehensive system for the distribution of its products. Such a good

distribution network makes the products available in very remote areas where other

companies producing competing goods would not consider reaching (The Coca-Cola

Company, 2016). Large profit margins are realized by the corporation as a result of low

costs of production. The unique production techniques employed ensures that the unit cost of

production is only a fraction of the price per unit resulting in profits hence a competitive

advantage.

Involvement in the development of strategies

Although Coca-Cola maintains its global brand strategy where the company believes that

the market exists as a single community that deserves standardized commodity and

treatment, the company has delegated most of the decision-making to the management in the

individual markets. The company’s present and late CEOs both believe that to succeed the

company must think globally while at the same time make its operations cohesive with the

local area (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016).

The business units involved with Coca-Cola have the freedom to make individual choices

regarding their operations. The entities do not have to consult with the headquarters on issues

like when to launch a product. However, they share a common strategic framework

In developing the strategic framework, a functional unit with the finance, marketing and

strategy capabilities work as part of the global team which develops a strategic plan for each
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market. The plans are shared with the markets and the markets are expected to enrich the

program and add more value to them by adapting them to the particular needs of the market

(The Coca-Cola Company, 2016).

Communication of vision and strategy

Coca-Cola as a company operates a franchise system. The success relies heavily on the

effectiveness with which it communicates with its bottlers and how effective the resultant

relationship is. It is hard for the company to establish the best local and global combination

that best suits the enterprise. The right decisions regarding the local markets have to be made

at the right time and speed. Such decisions are based on the global strategic plan that is

communicated to the locals by the headquarters through the regional office (operational

groups) (The Coca-Cola Company, 2009)

Building internal capabilities

The company takes several steps to build internal capabilities and create a competitive

advantage over its competitors. First, in the recruitment stage, the company seeks to establish

a pool of workers with critical experiences and functional competencies (The Coca-Cola

Company, 2016). Such employees are asked if they represent the values of the company

(Porter, 2012). This process allows the company to have capable and motivated employees

Maintaining effective relationships with its relationships is an essential ingredient for the

success of the enterprise. The partners may be private or public, multinational or within one

country or several bottlers in one country/ irrespective of the arrangement the company

ensures a good relationship with its bottlers. With each unit, Coca-Cola has a shared vision

and a road map that portrays a vision for the business (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016).
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Also by investing heavily in the consumer marketing teams the company tries to establish

a competitive advantage (The Coca-Cola Company, 2009). The company seeks by all means

to understand the psyche of the local consumer so as to develop a marketing strategy with

which the locals relate. This enables the company to increase its market share

Organization performance evaluation

The performances of employees of Coca-Cola are evaluated annually about the goals of

the organization. The performance is compared to the goals and objectives set at the

beginning of the period. The process of appraisal begins with (The Coca-Cola Company,

2009)

1. Defining the job: the company through its leadership ensures that there is an

agreement in place with each employee regarding their duties and required standard

2. Appraisal of the performance: the step involves comparing the actual performance to

the earlier agreed standards

3. Feedback: this stage involves communicating the outcome of the evaluation with the

employees and exploring avenues for further progress or development required. The

process of appraisal could result in identification of training needs, rewards and

restructuring
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References

The Coca-Cola Company: (2016). Mission, Vision & Values. Retrieved March 28th, 2016 from:

http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/mission-vision-values.

The Coca-Cola Company: (April, 2009). Code of Conduct: Acting with Integrity Around the

Globe. Retrieved on 28th March, 2016 from http://assets.coca-

colacompany.com/45/59/f85d53a84ec597f74c754003450c/COBC_English.pdf

The Coca-Cola Company: (2016). The Coca-Cola System. Retrieved 28th March, 2016 from

http://www.coca-colacompany.com/our-company/the-coca-cola-system

Porter, M. (2012). Competitive advantage.

Saleem, S. (2010). Business environment. Delhi: Pearson.

Varbanova, L. (2015). Strategic management in the arts.

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Appendix

Questionnaire

Interview Questionnaire

Name of Organization:The Coca-Cola Company

Name of Leader/Interviewee:Ahmet C. Bozer

Date of Interview: 22nd march 2016

Delivery Method of Interview: Phone interview

Predefined Interview Questions:

Part 1: Introduction (If you cannot find this information ahead of time, you will need to ask

during the interview):

What is the name of your organization?

The Coca-Cola Company

What are your organization’s primary products and/or services?

Non-alcoholic beverages and water

Please provide a brief description of your organization’s current mission/purpose and its vision

for the future.

Does your organization have a stated strategy that it shares with stakeholders? If so, what is that

strategy?
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What are your responsibilities, and what is your title?

Part 2: Crafting Strategy

Are there forces outside your organization that put pressure on how your business is run? Briefly

describe them.

How has your organization changed its strategy in response to outside forces?

How does the company manage to “think globally and act locally”?

How do your biggest rivals compete to try to gain an advantage with customers in your markets?

How do you manage the variations in cultures and politics in the different markets?

What do you believe is your organization’s competitive advantage over rivals?

How do you make yourself “locally relevant” in your countries of operation?

Describe how your organization involves the leadership team in developing strategies during

challenging economic times.

How does the entity maintain global responsibility for sales, finance, and marketing despite

having its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia?

Describe how your organization involves other employees in developing strategies.

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Part 3: Executing Strategy

How does your organization communicate its vision and strategy to employees?

How do you adapt to their different styles and capabilities of your partners?

Briefly describe how your organization builds internal capabilities.

Describe how you organization determines and communicates objectives.

Describe how you and your organization evaluate performance towards stated objectives.