MASEMENT ISSUES rm a SwoT analysis on a local business you know well. What, if a

Question

MASEMENT ISSUES rm a SwoT analysis on a local business you know well. What, if any, compe advantage does this organization have? tion differ for nd (d) global 2. How might the process of strategy formulation, implementation, and evalua arge businesses, (b) small businesses, (c) not-for-profit organizations, a businesses? concet of competitive advantage is as important for not-for-profit organizations as its profit organizations. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Explain, us for r for- ng examples to make your case. Should ethical considerations be included in analyses of an organization's internal and externy environments? Why or why not? 4. 5. How could the Internet be helpful to managers as they follow the steps in the strategic 6. Find examples of five different organizational mission statements. Using the mission nt process? statements, describe what types of corporate-level and business-level strategies each organization might use to fulfill its mission statement. Explain your rationale for choosing each strategy

Explanation / Answer

Q1. Perform a SWOT Analysis on a local business you know well. What if any competitive advantage does the organisation have?

Ans -

The Coca-Cola Company: A Short SWOT Analyses

The Coca-Cola Company appears set to plod along during its 2015 campaign. In that vein, a stronger U.S. dollar has hindered overall profitability. Recent volumes indicate the top line will probably remain largely muted, especially in developed markets, as health-conscious consumers continue to shy away from beverages containing elevated levels of sugar or artificial sweeteners. Thus, Coca-Cola has taken steps to address these concerns. In an effort to right the ship, the beverage maker has ramped up its marketing, advertising, and promotional activities. Although these actions ought to positively impact results, it may take some time for recent measures to take root.

Investors evaluating a position in Coca-Cola will notice that the equity has mostly been stuck in neutral over the last couple of years, displaying support around the $37.00 mark and hitting resistance around $44.00. Despite lacking explosive growth potential for the foreseeable future, this issue maintains many solid qualities. These shares offer accounts worthwhile risk-adjusted return. Indeed, the stock boasts a dividend yield above the present Value Line median. In addition, conservative investors should note KO garners our Highest rank (1) for Safety, which is primarily owed to the company’s strong Financial Strength rating (A++).

Therefore, these factors leave us asking a couple of questions. First, will the company be able to overcome current top- and bottom-line obstacles? And, is this issue a good pick for the long term? We will address these issues by performing an easy-to-follow SWOT analysis of the company, evaluating its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

The Business

The Coca-Cola Company, founded in Georgia in 1892 and incorporated in 1919, is the world's largest beverage company. It owns/licenses and markets more than 500 nonalcoholic beverage brands, primarily sparkling beverages but also a variety of still beverages such as waters, enhanced waters, juices and juice drinks, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, and energy and sports drinks. In addition, the business owns and markets four of the world's top five nonalcoholic sparkling beverage brands: Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fantaand Sprite. Finished beverage products bearing the company’s trademarks, sold in the United States since 1886, are now sold in more than 200 countries.

Coca-Cola makes its branded beverage products available to consumers throughout the world via a network of company-owned or -controlled bottling and distribution operations as well as independent bottling partners, distributors, wholesalers and retailers — the world's largest beverage distribution system. Beverages bearing trademarks owned by or licensed to KO account for 1.9 billion of the approximately 57 billion servings of all beverages consumed worldwide every day.

Strengths

Brand Awareness: The Coca-Cola Company is one of the most widely recognized brands across the globe. Its signature logo, classic red & white colors, and world-famous jingle resonate with consumers of all ages. There are two key players in this sector of the beverage business, one being Coca-Cola, while the other remains PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP). That said, Coca-Cola maintains its position in the top post as the clear-cut winner. Although both businesses constantly jockey for increased market share, Coca-Cola has the edge here. The beverage producer also garners a core following customers, as many consumers that deem themselves fans of its products tend not to shift toward other brands. Going forward, the company’s vast financial resources ought to fuel its sizable marketing efforts and increased product innovation, which should propel market-share gains over the long haul.

Robust Distribution Network: Coca-Cola makes its products available to individuals in more than 200 countries through the world’s largest distribution network. Its ability to utilize company-owned/-controlled distributors, as well as independent bottlers, wholesalers, and retailers has no parallel. This system enables KO to closely manage costs, rapidly introduce new items into the marketplace, and saturate various geographic locations. Moreover, its meaningful network allows for an enhanced level of quality control and safety for its goods. The stable distribution platform has been a boon for expansion in recent years, as the company has sought to reach new customers in remote locations. These diverse operations have aided market presence, volumes, deliveries, and product introductions during a crucial span.

Weaknesses

Water Management: Water is a main ingredient in substantially all of the company’s products. It is vital to the production of the agricultural ingredients on which the business relies and is needed in KO’s core manufacturing processes. Also, this resource is critical to the prosperity of the communities Coca-Cola serves. Water is a limited resource in many parts of the world, facing unprecedented challenges from overexploitation, as well as rising demand for food and other consumer and industrial products whose manufacturing processes require water. These events increase the risk of pollution, poor management, and effects stemming from climate change. As the demand for water continues to climb around the world, and water becomes scarcer, the overall quality of available water sources may very well deteriorate markedly, leaving the Coca-Cola system to incur higher costs or face capacity constraints that could adversely affect its profitability or net operating revenues in the long run.

Foreign Currency Fluctuation: The company earns revenues, pays expenses, owns assets, and incurs liabilities in countries using currencies other than the U.S. dollar, including the euro, the Japanese yen, the Brazilian real, and the Mexican peso. In 2014, it used 70 functional currencies in addition to the U.S. dollar and derived $26.2 billion of net operating revenues from operations outside the United States. Because its consolidated financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, Coca-Cola must translate revenues, income and expenses, as well as assets and liabilities, into U.S. dollars at exchange rates in effect during or at the end of each reporting period. Therefore, increases or decreases in the value of the U.S. dollar against other major currencies affect its net operating revenues, operating income, and the value of balance sheet items denominated in foreign currencies. In addition, unexpected and dramatic devaluations of currencies in developing or emerging markets could negatively affect the value of the beverage provider’s earnings from, and of the assets located in, those markets. Weaknesses in some currencies might be offset by strengths in others over time due to the geographic diversity of the company’s operations. Moreover, KO also employs derivative financial instruments to further reduce its net exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. However, it cannot fully hedge the impact from fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, particularly the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against major currencies or the currencies of large developing countries.

Opportunities

Diversification: The company has been hard at work utilizing its ample war chest to build a presence in rapidly-growing beverage categories. Currently, it owns 16% of Keurig Green Mountain and is developing a fresh Keurig Kold device that is set to debut this fall. Keurig, famous for pod-based, hot drinks intends to feature Coke-branded products for its upcoming platform. In addition, Coca-Cola recently finalized its purchase of a 17% stake in Monster Beverage. The deal provides the company with access to a popular energy drink growth segment. All told, we anticipate these transactions will bolster the top and bottom lines immediately. These joint ventures also deliver Coca-Cola with established inroads to a younger customer base. Looking ahead, KO will probably aim to forge increased relationships with coffee, energy, and health drink businesses.

Extended Reach: The population continues to increase at a steady clip. In order to capitalize on this fact and consumers’ shift toward healthier living Coca-Cola has focused on bolstering a variety of its business lines. Areas such as India and China have ramped up demand for the company’s latest juice and coffee offerings. Too, developing countries face hefty clean water shortages, which ought to result in surging demand for the company’s bottled water goods. These business segments have increased at double-digit rates in the past year, highlighting an elevated need for beverages other than Coca-Cola’s traditional drinks. We believe Coca-Cola remains dedicated to differentiating its portfolio and delivering emerging markets with various beverage staples over the long term.

Threats

Nutritious Selections: It’s been no secret that soft drink providers have suffered some of late. A cultural shift toward natural and organic products has led many to opt for nutritional waters, smoothies, and various healthy beverage options. Thus, core soda offerings that include high amounts of sugar, or diet items with artificial sweeteners, have fallen out of favor with buyers. What’s more, this trend does not seem likely to abate, as consumers continue to boost their knowledge of proper dietary requirements and exercise programs. Further, many health professionals have called for the elimination of foods and beverages containing lofty amounts of sugar, since these products place individuals at an elevated risk of becoming obese, developing diabetes, and suffering from heart disease. Also, a negative perception of these beverages has surged due to federal regulators’ desire to place excess taxes on sodas and sugary soft drinks.

Indirect Competition: Although companies such as Starbucks (SBUX) and Dunkin’ Brands Group (DNKN) do not compete directly with Coca-Cola, these businesses do place a dent in the company’s market share. The chains offer customers healthier alternatives, unique choices, and customer loyalty rewards that are not easily matched by Coca-Cola. In addition, smaller franchises and retail chains provide patrons with private-label substitutes for traditional Coke products, which allows these businesses to deliver beverages at a lower price. Industry data suggest potential customers will continue to be pulled away from basic drink selections in favor of customizable options that carry a greater nutritional benefit.

Conclusion

While the number of challenges facing Coca-Cola are abundant, this company does possess a good deal of promise for the future. Its overall size, leverage, and financial resources have it well positioned to take advantage of worthwhile acquisition targets. Too, the company’s brand appeal and cult-like following insure that it will probably remain a top-tier beverage provider going forward. Coca-Cola’s vast distribution network should enable better volumes ahead and success in burgeoning markets. All told, conservative investors wanting a reliable source of income and a bit of capital gains exposure might want to give The Coca-Cola Company a glance.

Competitive advantage of COCA COLA company -

oca Cola is the largest beverage company of the world, and it provides consumers with more than five hundred different brands. Coca Cola is the most valuable company of the world and it includes as products Fanta, Coca Cola Zero, Powerade, and Minute Maid. At the moment the company focuses on the having sustainable community protecting environment and having good economical development.

Company is also called an organization and it is consist of structure, policies, corporate culture which all can become dysfunction in extremely changing business environment. Manager can make changes in structure and policies which are difficult to change but the company's culture is extremely hard to change. Yet adapting to the culture is often a key to successful implementation of company's new strategies (Kotler & Keller, 2009).

Coca Cola is a carbonated drink which is used by many worldwide. The Coca Cola is Coke and it was invented in nineteenth century by John Pemberton. The marketing strategy of Coca Cola has made it dominant soft drink of the world. The Coca Cola is the most popular, best selling soft drink in history and best known product of the world. Today you can find Coca Cola in any part of the world.

Competitive advantage

Competitive advantage, an advantage over the competitor which is gained by offering consumer the greater value, by either lower price or by providing more benefit that justify higher price(Kotler & Armstrong, 2008).

Competitive advantage is an ability of a company to perform in one or more ways that the competitors cannot or will not match. A company must have a sustainable competitive advantage because it benefits the company in longer runs. Competitive advantage gives customer advantage for example if Coca Cola deliver its product better than any other competitors then customers will choose Coca Cola over other companies.

Competitor's advantage over Coca Cola

There are certain risk involve in long term profitability of Coca Cola company for instant people are becoming health conscience and want to decrease the amount of calories, so it will effect Coca Cola in some way. There is also competition in various products of Coca Cola with other companies such as water and sports drinks. Coca Cola is addressing the risk in developed countries by introducing Coca Cola zero product. Today Coca Cola sale in USA and Europe are sustain but in twenty years the Coca Cola growth will be in emerging markets.

It is important fact that Coca Cola products have been stable through the economic cycle for instant the price of Coca Cola didn't change when recession hit the economy.

Coca Cola's advantage over competitors

Coca Cola is the number one selling drink and it has been doing it for many decades. Coca Cola spend lot of money in research and development so it has survived on large economic scale. Coca Cola has brand equity which means it is the favorable brand. Coca Cola has competitive advantage on other company to enter its market barrier to entry, for instant there are many companies which product similar product as Coca Cola. Coca Cola didn't file its patent whereas IBM did but both companies are successful. Coca Cola has competitive advantage so it is making it get bigger and bigger in terms of sales and market share. Coca Cola reputation has also competitive advantage and it is also pursuing environmental friendly product. Coca Cola many products are recyclable and Coca Cola is also going for the green effect.

Q 2- How might the process of stratagy formulation implementation and evaluation differ from large business, small business not-for-profit organisation and global business

Strategy formulation implementation and evaluation in small business -

Small businesses, unlike corporations that have many locations-have little to no room for mistakes and have to be far stricter with resources, manpower and reputation.

I'll split this up into three parts, mirroring your question.

1. Strategy Formulation:
Because small businesses are always in danger of being run out of business by larger ones, strategy should be on focusing their efforts to produce a better quality product or service, rather than attempting to grow too rapidly. A strategic principle is to never fight on the terms of your opponent. If I wanted to compete with Wal-Mart in my area, I would not attempt to make a store like theirs, that offered a wide variety of products for lower prices. Instead, I would focus on producing higher quality goods or services that Wal-Mart hasn't been able to do because of their large size (a large corporation has weaknesses as well, after all).

2. Implementation:
I will use Wal-Mart as my example of a competitor here, too. Wal-Mart has the edge in resources but not in flexibility. In order to change a policy, it has to go all the way up to the district or home office, which could take time, and is further in jeopardy if there is a political tendency or competition among higher ups that could stifle progress.

3. Evaluation:
Because there is little room for error and failure, evaluation of results as well as employees needs to be far more strict. Lean, adaptable but also determined effort is the only way to overcome large, rigid and bureaucratic tenancies of larger businesses, especially corporations.

Stragegy formulation implementation and evaluation in not-for-profit organisations -

A strategic plan is used by any organization -- for-profit or nonprofit -- to establish goals as well as to review operations. Some organizations do them yearly, while others do them every 3-5 years. These goals are one of the first major differences in for-profit and nonprofit organizations' strategic plans. The goal of a for-profit company is to return dividends to shareholders or profit to owners over time. The goal of a nonprofit is to further its mission, which includes making enough money to continue to operate.

Similar Planning Tools

There are many approaches an organization might use to jumpstart its planning process. When it comes to strategic planning, for-profit and nonprofit organizations benefit from the same tools. For example, both types of organization might use a SWOT analysis to determine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and establish goals and objectives for the organization. There are many other planning tools, but both for-profits and nonprofits choose a step by step process that helps them analyze corporate operations and establish long and short-term goals and objectives.

Strategic planning in for-profit organisations -

Strategic planning in for-profit companies is focused on how to successfully compete against other companies seeking the same customers. Success is measured in revenue growth and increased profitability, which demonstrates that the company was able to provide an acceptable return on investment for its shareholders. Nonprofit organizations also want to increase their cash flow, but their overall goal is to increase the number of people they serve.

Q3

Ans - Concept of competitive advantage for profit & not - for - profit organisation -

Most small businesses operate as for-profit organizations, hoping to make money for their owners by selling products and services. When an organization utilizes its skills and resources to make a profit that exceeds the industry average, that business has an edge over its competitors. Generating and maintaining a competitive advantage is therefore an important goal for business as it stabilizes your market position and offers you several distinct advantages.

Two Basic Types

Business guru Michael Porter suggests that there are two basic types of competitive advantage -- cost advantage and differentiation advantage. A cost advantage exists when the company is able to deliver the same services or products as its rivals but at a lower cost, whereas a differentiation advantage exists when the company delivers benefits that exceed those of the competitors' products. For example, a house painting company might offer a free decorating consultation to its customers. This differentiates the company from other house painters who do not offer that service, or which offer it for a fee to customers. In essence, cost advantage and differentiation advantage enables a business to create value for their customers and to maintain a high profit margin.

Positional Advantage

Competitive advantage can also be thought of as a positional advantage. Positional advantage describes a company's position in relation to the broader industry. If the company has tactical superiority to its competitors, it has a positional advantage. It might create this positional advantage by offering its products at a lower price point or by creating products of a superior quality.

Resource-Based Advantage

An organization can also use its available resources -- time, money, ideas and personnel -- to maximize its competitive advantage. In order to develop a resource-based advantage, the business might have and use resources that are superior to those of its rivals. For example, a company might have a patent or trademark on a well known or widely used product, or it might have superior brand equity. This is the value of having a popular brand name -- think of Hoover as being associated with vacuuming or BandAid being associated with all bandages.

Harnessing Capabilities

Closely related to the idea of resource-based advantage is the notion that organizations can harness their human resources and capabilities to utilize the material or physical resources effectively. One such capability is quick production time, which leads to the ability to bring products to the market faster than competitors. Ideally these capabilities are part of the routine of the employees and form an integral part of the organizational culture. Together, the company's resources and capabilities form its "distinctive competencies." Competencies allow for more innovation, higher quality and better customer satisfaction, all of which directly contribute to the competitive advantage.

4.

Ans

Organizational ethics is the ethics of an organization, and it is how an organization responds to an internal or external stimulus. Organizational ethics is interdependent with the organizational culture. Although, it is akin to both organizational behavior (OB) and industrial and organizational psychology as well as business ethics on the micro and macro levels, organizational ethics is neither OB or I/O psychology, nor is it solely business ethics (which includes corporate governance and corporate ethics). Organizational ethics express the values of an organization to its employees and/or other entities irrespective of governmental and/or regulatory laws.

Ethics are the principles and values used by an individual to govern his or her actions and decisions.An organization forms when individuals with varied interests and different backgrounds unite on a common platform and work together towards predefined goals and objectives. A code of ethics within an organization is a set of principles that is used to guide the organization in its decisions, programs, and policies.An ethical organizational culture consists of leaders and employees adhering to a code of ethics.

There are at least four elements that aim to create an ethical culture and behavior of employees within an organization. These elements are:
1) a written code of ethics and standards (ethical code)
2) ethics training for executives, managers, and employees
3) the availability of ethical situational advice (i.e. advice lines or offices)
4) confidential reporting systems[5]

Organizations are constantly striving for a better ethical atmosphere within the business climate and culture. Businesses must create an ethical business climate in order to develop an ethical organization. Otherwise saying, companies must focus on the ethics of employees in order to create an ethical business. Employees must know the difference between what is acceptable and unacceptable in the workplace. These standards are found within the written code of ethics or may be referred to as the employee handbook. These standards are a written form of employee conduct and performance expectations.

Employee handbooks also commonly include rules concerning expectations and consequences that follow misconduct. Handbooks normally will clearly state the rules, guidelines, and standards of an organization as well as possible rules, regulations, and laws that they are bound by. Many company handbooks will include laws regarding sexual harassment, alcohol abuse, and drug/substance abuse.
For more information regarding situational ethical principles, refer to "Situational Ethics."

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Organizational Rewards

The intrinsic and extrinsic rewards of an ethical organization are bound to an organization's culture and ethics. Based upon the reliability and support structure of each of the four areas needed for ethical behavior, the organizational ethics will be evident throughout the organization. The organization including the employees, managers, suppliers, customers, and other entities, will receive intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Actions of employees can range from whistle blowing (intrinsic) to the extraordinary actions of hourly employee purchasing all the recently produced peanut butter (as produced by his employer), that has no resale value due to mislabeled jars. This employee was aware that his employer (extrinsic) would reimburse him in full for purchasing the mislabeled peanut butter.

5.

Ans -

Information Technology and Strategy

Some managers did not give more attention about the benefits of information systems on the business strategy process. Such luck of attention is related to a number of factors. First, there appears to be some gaps as how information technology could be used in their Strategic management process.

Second, there was a great misunderstanding on the usefulness of the information technology on business strategy. But nowadays, most of the business entities understood the benefits of the information technology systems as an enabler of their strategic management system process.

Besides, there is more awareness where and when to implement it and use information technology in the process of crafting different strategies that lead them to the road of stakeholders satisfaction.

Some of the application areas like transaction processing systems and decision support systems (DSS) have been used as the main information system so as to enhance business performances.

In addition to the above advantages large computer network that shares different information with reliable and easy internet systems has been used by the organization for the purpose of communication, distribution of information, to offer goods and services online to customer, to interact with other business organization either for business transaction or information exchanges etc.

Such internet usage leads to live in a global village in which computers and peoples are linked within companies, countries, and continents resulting easy communications in reducing the time and geographical barriers.

In this regard Mr. Kodama, (2002) asserts the importance of Information Technology in this competitive business world as crucial for business sector to consider and emphasis on the significance and role of information and communication technology for setting up competitive businesses, managing global corporations, adding business value, and providing valued products and/or services to their potential markets.

The main points on the above statement intended to address the capability of information technology to transform corporate data into meaningful and actionable information that helps the strategic management process of a business.

Gerald V.(1999) , also confirm that, information technology systems enable workers to process more items, and allowing the firm to expand without increasing labor costs beyond the ability of reducing errors in the data which leads to improved decision making. The stated findings also indicate the importance of information technology in business strategy.

Consistent with the above justification, in the developed country, almost all transaction has been undergoing electronically through internet infrastructure called electronic commerce (e-commerce). Such transaction decreases the intermediaries between the business and the end users. It reduces costs like labor, document preparation, telephoning, and mail preparation etc. and IT become part of the daily life activity.

On the other hand, in developing country there are some gaps in using Information technology in their business strategy as well as day to day activity as compared to the developed country. Therefore more efforts are expected in the future to get competitive advantages from application of information technology.

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