Planning as One of the Vital Parts of an Organizations Management - Essay Example

For this research, my chosen process is planning. Planning is one of the vital parts of an organization’s management. It is very simple, but it provides direction to some thing so that organizational planning gives direction to the organization. Planning is of many kinds in organizations for example corporate planning, marketing planning strategic planning etc. There are many phases to this process (Harrington and Voehl, 2011). While looking at basic typical Phases in Planning, mission, objectives, situation analysis, strategy formulation, implementation and control are important. A company mission is its reason for being. It is usually expressed in the form of a statement so to convey it to employees and it is also used to transfer the purpose of company to the customer (Pinedo, 2009). Objectives are the goals which organization wanted to achieve e.g. development targets. Setting objectives is a difficult task as they should be achievable and must be able to measured to maintain the progress and corrective actions will be taken if there any problems in achieving them (Pinedo, 2009). To monitor and stay update about the changes in the external and internal environment situation analysis is very important there are many methods to do situation analysis but the most common is SWOT analysis after applying it management of organization came to know the strength weakness and as well as the opportunities and threats to the organization. PESTEL analysis is also used to do macro-environmental analysis (Pinedo, 2009). After knowing the mission and objective and situation analysis, different strategies are formulated to achieve the given target. Different strategies are applied at different level to handle the different tasks and objectives. But the main strategy called corporate strategy always remains same (Pinedo, 2009). Strategies follow different policies in different departments of organization to achieve the desired targets. Required resources are also identified at this stage (Bryson, 2011). Control is the last phase of planning which is used to measure the results of the strategies and policies implemented to achieve the desired targets if results are not accordingly adjustment is needed in the system or process (Bryson, 2011). As an example, I have chosen Coca Cola. The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia. The Coca-Cola formula and brand was bought in 1889 by Asa Candler who incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in 1892. Besides its namesake Coca-Cola beverage, Coca-Cola currently offers more than 500 brands in over 200 countries or territories and serves over 1.7 billion servings each day (Coca Cola, 2011). The company operates a franchised distribution system dating from 1889 where The Coca-Cola Company only produces syrup concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold an exclusive territory. The Coca-Cola Company owns its anchor bottler in North America, Coca-Cola Refreshments (Coca Cola, 2011). In 1886, Coca-Cola® brought refreshment to patrons of a small Atlanta pharmacy. Now well into its second century, the Companys goal is to provide magic every time someone drinks one of its more than 500 brands. Coca-Cola has fans from Boston to Budapest to Bahrain, drinking brands such as Ambasa, Vegitabeta and Frescolita. In the remotest comers of the globe, you can still find Coca-Cola (Bryson, 2011). From the early beginnings when just nine drinks a day were served, Coca-Cola has grown to the world’s most ubiquitous brand, with more than 1.7 billion beverage servings sold each day. When people choose to reach for one of The Coca-Cola Company brands, the Company wants that choice to be exciting and satisfying, every single time (Bryson, 2011). Coca Cola has done a great job in planning ahead. This has been the key to their success. Their product planning, marketing planning, HR planning, product launches, promotions and organizational set up planning, everything is done carefully and thus provides a good platform for the success of decisions this huge organization takes (Draft, 2010). As it is not possible to discuss all of these aspects in this paper, I will discuss a few things to highlight planning as a successful aspect of Coca Cola. Their planning starts from their mission statement. “Our Roadmap starts with our mission, which is enduring. It declares our purpose as a company and serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions.” To refresh the world... To inspire moments of optimism and happiness... To create value and make a difference (Coca Cola, 2011). Coca Cola’s 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 (Coca Cola, 2011). As per their planning, this is how they react to various aspects: 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 peoples desires and needs. Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers 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. (Coca Cola, 2011) Objectives are strategic goals to achieve long-term targets but at coca-cola company set these only for three years. These strategic goals are decide by the top management and reviewed annually to make them a line according to the changing environment. The objectives are given below: To provide the quality products to the valuable customers. To select and retain the professional people for the organization. To project an outstanding corporate image. To satisfy the customer through extra ordinary service and an excellent service along with the complete tactical and operational support (Harrington and Voehl, 2011). Strength analysis of Coca cola shows that their successful planning has led them to great success. Strengths World wide brand image Coca-Cola is one of the leading brands and has a very strong brand portfolio. Strong brand value helps the customer to remember and this allow Coca-Cola to enter into new markets. Strong Infrastructure Coco-Cola operate on large scale and its operations hold up by strong infrastructure world wide. Coca-cola operates 32 beverages and syrup manufacturing plants located world wide. Growth development in three regions In 2006 Coca-cola company recorded growth in double digits in three regions Latin America, South Asia and Pacific Rim (Bryson, 2011). Weakness Controversies Company get involved in many controversies relate to human right violation and ethical issues. Customer loyalty Customer loyalty towards other brands like PEPSI creates problem. Customer Concentration In US Wal-Mart accounts up to 10% of coca-cola business in United States (Harrington and Voehl, 2011) Opportunities Growing demand Penetration in huge market like china Acquisition of Small Players (Bryson, 2011). Threats Rivals (PEPSI) Price growth Health drinks (fresh juices) (Harrington and Voehl, 2011). Coca-cola Company being one of the largest operates in many countries and strategies to achieve objectives are made taking into account the micro and macro environment situation and strategies very from region to region. Some important marketing strategies are listed below In Under the Crown Scheme they promote there band by offering very handy gifts like cash prizes, TV sets etc (Pinedo, 2009). Event specific promotion is something Coca Cola adopts as a marketing tactic. Coca-cola company enter into a country after full research about the culture of that country so they change there strategies according to the culture of the country and offer schemes like discount offers on special events like Eid (Pinedo, 2009). Coca-Cola tied up with food chains like McDonald, KFC etc. where they serve the whole range of Coca-Cola to the customers (Pinedo, 2009). The strategies which are implemented to achieve objectives are measurable and if not produce satisfactory results than the changes in strategies and tactics introduce by top of that region or country to get the desired results as in North America (Pinedo, 2009). Coca-Cola by having strong infrastructure and brand image operates in 200 countries. But still there are many opportunities waiting for it huge markets like china .Coca-Cola Company through its perfect planning and strategies reach at that point but due to rapidly changing economical, environmental and social factors company need to continuously revaluate there strategies to meet there goals. References Bryson, J. (2011) Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit organizations. 4th Edition. Jossey-Bass. Coca Cola (2011) Official Website retrieved from www.coca-cola.com on December 1, 2011. Draft, R. L. (2010) Management. 10th Edition. South Western College Publication. Harrington, J. and Voehl, F. (2011) The Organizational Master Plan Handbook: A Catalyst for performance, Planning and results. Productivity Press. Pinedo, M. (2009) Planning and Scheduling in Manufacturing and Services. 2nd Edition. Springer. Read More