"Bringing refreshment to a thirsty world

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT COHESION CASE:THE COCA-COLA COMPANYSource: Excerpted from Pearce, J.A. and Robinson, R.B. (1994)."Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control". Irwing.Adapted by Diego Medina. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria UniversityI. COMPANY MISSION AT THE COCA-COLA COMPANYAt the heart of Coca-Cola, especially in its first 100 years, there has been a commitment tointense marketing and to the preservation of its patented formulas and processes to make its s p e c i a l s y r u p . T h e i n t e n s e s e c re c y t h at al w a y s h a s s u r r o u n d e d C o k e ' s f o rm u la h a s l o n g fostered an organizational obsession with secrecy pertaining to other information about Cokeand its operations.I n t h e e a rl y 1 9 9 0 s , Ro b e r t o Go iz u e t a sh a r e d t h e f o ll o w i n g mi s s i o n s t a t e m e n t in a b o o k l e t entitled 'Coca-Cola, a Business System toward 2000: Our Mission in the 1990s'."Bringing refreshment to a thirsty world is a unique OPPORTUNITY for our Company... andfor all of our Coca-Cola associates... to create shareholder value. Ours is the only productionand distribution system capable of realizing that opportunity on a global scale. And we arecommitted to realizing.With Coca-Cola as the enterprise, ours is a worldwide system of superior brands and servicesthrough which we, our franchises, and other business partners deliver satisfaction and valueto customers and consumers. By doing so, we enhance brand equity on a global basis. As aresult, we increase shareholder wealth over time.O u r G O A L f o r t h e 1 9 9 0 s s o u n d s d e c e p t i ve l y s i mp le : It ' s t o e x p an d o u r g lo b al b u si n e s s system, reaching increasing numbers of consumers who will enjoy our brands and productsmore and more often.To succeed we will make effective use of our fundamental RESOURCES: brands, systems, capital, and, most important, people. Because these resources are already available, one mightassume we need only to draw on them for achieving our goal. Nothing could be more wrong.The CHALLENGE of the 1990s will be not only to use these resources but to expand them...to adapt them... to reconfigure them in constantly changing ways in order to bring about anever renewed relationship

between the Coca-Cola system and the consumers of the world .to make the best even better. About brands Increasing globalisation of the communication industry means we can moreeffectively expose our advertising and other imag e-building programs through a worldwide b r a n d f ra m e w o r k . T h i s p l a ce s a p r e mi u m o n ma i n t a in in g o u r t r a d it i o n a l e x ce l l e n c e a s a premier brand advertiser. Yet we must remember that it is our franchisee network around theworld, which will distribute and locall y market our brands. To appropriately leverage these brands, we must recognize that our franchisees and we are fundamentally in the business of servicing our customers and meeting the needs, real o perceived, or our customers. PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT The world's favorite drink. The world's most valuable brand. The most recognizable word across the world after OK. Coca-Cola has a truly remarkable heritage. From a humble beginning in 1886, it is now the flagship brand of the largest manufacturer, marketer and distributor of nonalcoholic beverages in the world. In India, Coca-Cola was the leading soft-drink till 1977 when govt. policies necessitated its departure. Coca-Cola made its return to the country in 1993 and made significant investments to ensure that the beverage is available to more' and morepeople, even in the remote and inaccessible parts of the nation.