Coca Cola: Job Portfolio

Brief Background of the Organization 

Coca Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage companies not only in terms of its distribution network but also in terms of its brand portfolio dealing with approximately 500 sparkling and still brands (Pendergrast, 2013). Coca Cola, which was founded on January 29, 1892, has grown towards becoming one of the most profitable brands today operating in almost all countries in the world. The company specifically deals with the manufacturing of carbonated non-alcoholic drinks to consumers in different parts of the world. According to Simon (2016), Coca Cola’s company portfolio boasts of more than 16 billion-dollar brands, each of which has been able to build the company as one of the fortune 500 companies. Regarding its revenue base, Coca Cola’s annual revenue increased to a little more than $31 billion in 2018; thus, suggesting that indeed the brand is growing towards becoming one of the most diverse brands in the world. 

Coca Cola Company has been able to position itself in the consumer market as one of the brands that can retain customer loyalty while because it maximizes on brand loyalty. Taking into account that the company operates in more than 200 countries, the main factor that would define its success is its ability to produce differentiated products that match the expected consumer experience (Weisert, 2001). Additionally, the company has also been able to grow significantly by its strategic focus on acquisitions of smaller companies. That means that it focuses much of its attention towards acquiring some of the smaller brands that would build on its competition within different consumer markets. The ultimate result is that this has paved the way for its significant growth within the different consumer environments. 

Mission 

While reflecting on Coca Cola as a worldwide brand, it is clear that it has a purpose of "refreshing the world,inspiring moments of optimism and happiness through our brands and actions, and creating value and making a difference” (Regassa&Corradino, 2011). That serves as a critical driver for the company's approach towards redefining its position in terms of overall capacity to deliver products that match consumer demands and expectations. The mission also serves as one of the key factors that push the company towards maximizing on its efforts towards creating a diverse range of products. 

Vision 

The company’s vision is structured in six different dimensions that it seeks to enhance as part of its operations in different parts of the world. These six dimensions are people, portfolio, partners, planet, profit, and productivity (Ciafone, 2018). Each of the six dimensions plays a critical role in defining the success that the company has experienced throughout the years of its operation as a leading brand. 

Staff Planning Strategies 

The global success that Coca Cola has experienced has been attributed to its ability to adopt practical marketing approaches that would help build on consumer awareness. Currently, the company seeks to venture into the Asian market as a way of building on a global market presence. Although the company operates in some of the Asian countries, its penetration levels have been significantly low. Thus, this has created the need for top-level management to reconsider its efforts towards restructuring the management team within the Asian front as a way of defining the possibilities of success. One of the fundamental changes that the company intends to undertake is creating the position of Marketing Director. 

Coca Cola faces stiff competition from some of the other well-established brands including Pepsi and Dr. Pepper Snapple, who have gained ground within the Asian market. The significant lack of effectiveness in the marketing strategies adopted by Coca Cola has been attributed to the challenges that the company is currently facing. That has created the need for having to create a more strategic approach that would involve having to evaluate how the company would maximize its capacities to engage in effective marketing of its products. Coca Cola Company understands the value that the marketing director will play towards ensuring that the company can engage in effective advertising of its products within the Asian market. Ultimately, this has created the need for having to ensure that the company would consider restructuring the leadership in a bid to creating the new position. 

The Asian market is considered as one of the largest consumer markets in the world with a population of more than 4 billion people. As a brand, Coca Cola understands the value of the Asian market in terms of its capacity to maximize on delivery of specific profit goals. Consequently, this serves as a critical driver that pushes the top-level management in the company towards creating a somewhat practical leadership framework that would ensure that the company is actually in a position to penetrate the market. One of the critical approaches that the company intends to undertake is having to create a proactive marketing department that would be led by the marketing director to cover the entire Asian region. 

Job Analysis 

Job analysis refers to the overall process in which one can gather and analyze information and content, as well as, the human resource requirements associated with a specific job or position (Heneman,Judge,&Kammeyer-Mueller, 2015). In other words, the job analysis reflects more on trying to understand the roles and responsibilities associated with a given position. In this case, the decision to undertake a job analysis is driven by the need for having to reflect on the expectations in working as a marketing director. Additionally, the job analysis will seek to evaluate the key roles that the marketing director would be expected to undertake in a bid to maximizing on the roles in a proactive manner. The information gathered will help in ensuring that the job analysis process remains effective while ensuring that the persons selected for the specific positions are in a much more viable position through which to deliver on best possible outcomes. 

The process of collecting information concerning the position of a marketing director revolves around having to evaluate the position focusing on educational and professional qualifications, as well as, examining the relationship that the director will have with other positions. The information will be of great value towards ensuring that the person selected to work as the marketing director is not only qualified for the position but also understands how to manage operations in such positions. Additionally, this would also seek to ensure that the individual selected for the position has a history of positive performance in working in a similar position, especially when dealing with fast-moving goods. That would be of great value for Coca Cola Company, as it would mean that the company would be in a position allowing it to maximize the overall expectations in terms of enhanced service delivery provisions. 

Job Brief 

Coca Cola seeks to hire a marketing director that would help towards creating strategic marketing campaigns that would allow the company to achieve greater levels of success within the Asian market. The marketing director that the company seeks to hire is a person that lives and breathes marketing. In other words, this is an individual that has a high level of understanding of what it means to conduct effective marketing. Additionally, the person must also be flexible and versatile in a way that would enhance the overall capacity for the company to be in a position to grow its marketing sales channels. As a new entrant into the Asian market, Coca Cola is likely to encounter a wide array of challenges that may hamper its capacity to deliver on set out goals. The marketing director will have a crucial mandate towards ensuring that the company can position itself in a manner that is effective in a bid to closing the gaps concerning its sales channels. 

Educational and Professional Qualifications 

The following are some of the critical requirements that the marketing director would be expected to meet before he or she is selected for the position. 

• Must have a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing or any other related field of study 
• Must have worked in a similar workplace environment for a period not less than five years 
• Must be a qualified chartered marketer (licensed to work within Asia) 
• Must have strong analytical and project management skills 
• Must have a confident and dynamic personality 
• Must be very creating in his or her professional outlook 

Duties of the Marketing Director 

The following are some of the responsibilities that the marketing director will be expected to undertake as part of his or her position. 

• Management of all marketing activities for Coca Cola within the Asian region including creating ad campaigns for brands introduced in the market 
• Development of the marketing strategies that the company would adopt as part of its engagement within the Asian market 
• Co-ordination of all marketing activities including all sales activities that the company would need to undertake in the region 
• Planning and implementation of all marketing campaigns that are directed towards the consumers within the Asian market 
• Overseeing the marketing department’s budget execution based on the different activities listed as part of the company’s budget lines
• Analyzing and making recommendations on strategic partner relationships that would help boost the company strategic position in the region 

Recruitment Plan 

Recruitment is one of the critical aspects of human resources that defines success in ensuring that a company can attract the best possible candidates or applicants to fill a specific position (Buller& McEvoy, 2016). The adoption of an effective recruitment plan is essential, as it helps towards highlighting the strategic aspects that a company or organization may take in working towards building its capacity to engage in active recruitment. In the case, the recruitment plan that Coca Cola will be expected to undertake will reflect on several key strategies that would be of great value towards ensuring that the company attracts and hires the best talent. 

The first strategy that Coca Cola company would need to consider as part of its recruitment plan is being flexible in its recruitment. Flexibility will reflect more on ensuring that the packages that the company is offering match the expected talents that the company seeks to attract as part of its recruitment process (Phillips& Gully, 2015). One of the critical aspects that the company would need to consider is that it seeks to recruit a person, who is expected to work in a management position. Consequently, their remuneration and perks would need to reflect on the type of workplace position that the company would have set out for itself. That would mean that it would be much easier to ensure that the company can attract an individual with a vast level of experience having worked in a company that is similar to Coca Cola. 

The second strategy that the company would undertake as part of its approach towards recruitment of the marketing director would be the intensive use of social media. While embarking on recruitment, the use of social media is essential towards passing along as much information about the position being advertised as possible (Mahmood, 2015). The data would be of great value towards ensuring that the company builds on its capacity towards delivering the best possible results in terms of its performance standards. In this case, the use of social media will help the human resource team from Coca Cola to engage with the users as a way of enhancing the overall capacity to deliver on the best possible outcomes. Generally, this would mean that the company would be able to build on its ability to improve on its performance in a manner that represents the set strategic goals. 

Lastly, Coca Cola would be expected to set up an employee referral program that would allow employees to refer individuals that they believe fits the requirements, as have been highlighted as part of the job analysis. Employee referral programs are essential towards making current employees happy considering that it gives them an opportunity of having to bring on board a person that they consider as being qualified for the position (Petty,Manroop,& Linton, 2015). Using this strategy, the company would find itself in a much more viable position through which to attract the best quality of candidates matching the requirements for the position of a marketing director. However, it is essential to take note of the fact that each of the candidates that will be shortlisted will go through the same selection process regardless of whether an employee of the company has referred them. 

Selection Process 

While considering that the recruitment process that Coca Cola would undertake is external, it will seek to use a single selection process in a bid to shortlisting candidates, conducting interviews, and hiring of the best candidate. The following is an analysis of the steps that will be involved in the selection process. 

Step 1: In the first step of selection, the top-level management at Coca Cola would embark on setting up a selection committee, which will have a crucial mandate towards engaging in the recruitment process. The committee will be headed by the director of human resource in the company as a way of ensuring that indeed the persons selected are most qualified. 

Step 2: The second step would involve having to advertise the vacancy while seeking to implement the recruitment strategies, as have been highlighted in the previous section. In this step, the committee will use different mediums in a bid to advertising the vacancy with the aim being towards ensuring that as many people get to know of the position. The committee will also be involved in sending out of memos to the employees, which would ask them to refer any person that they believe would fit the requirements as have been highlighted. 

Step 3: In the third step, the committee would embark on reviewing the applications that have been sent in a bid to identifying potential candidates that would match the expectations from the company. The committee members will be expected to go through the applications one by one in a bid to compare them to the requirements that have been given. After reviewing the claims, the committee will be able to develop a list of persons that have been shortlisted depending on their qualifications in meeting the expectations provided in the job analysis. 

Step 4: The fourth step would involve inviting each of the shortlisted candidates for an oral interview with the individual members of the committee. The members will have a pivotal role to play in asking as many questions as possible while ensuring to give points depending on the way the candidates answer the questions. The committee will also be involved in the vetting of the candidates in a bid to ensuring that indeed the information that they have given is accurate. 

Step 5: After the interviews have been conducted, the committee members will tally the points to determine the candidate that would be most preferred by the individual members of the committee. The candidate will then be contacted after which he or she will be expected to sign an employment contract that would stipulate the different expectations for the candidate. 

Decision-Making Process and Orientation Plan 

The decision-making process will be determined by two main factors. Firstly, the candidates will be evaluated based on their knowledge of the Asian market considering that the company seeks to hire a manager that would work within this region. Consequently, this means that the individual selected for the position would need to have a vast knowledge of the trends within the Asian consumer market. Secondly, the decision on the most preferred candidate will be made based on the strategies that the candidate seeks to implement after he or she has been selected for the position. It would be essential to evaluate how a candidate seeks to ensure that he or she moves in the same strategic direction as the company, as this would serve towards minimizing risks of failure. 

In terms of orientation, the candidate will be expected to embark on a three months training program within the company as a way of ensuring that he or she understands what is expected of him or her in terms of performance and functionality. The training program would involve having to ensure that the employee travels to different regions from where to learn how the marketing directors in these regions are working towards implementing the strategies that would be most fitting to meet set out goals. The chosen candidate will then be introduced to his or her new workplace environment from where he or she would be expected to undertake the necessary roles and responsibilities. 

References 

Buller, P. F., & McEvoy, G. M. (2016). A model for implementing a sustainability strategy through HRM practices.  Business and Society Review ,  121 (4), 465-495. 

Ciafone, A. (2018). Selling Local Modernization through the Global Corporation: Coca-Cola Bottling in Colombia, 1927-1944.  Historia y Sociedad , (34), 41-75. 

Heneman, H. G., III, Judge, T.A., &Kammeyer-Mueller, J. (2015). Staffing organizations , 8 th ed. Middleton, Wisconsin: McGraw-Hill Education. 

Mahmood, M. (2015). Strategy, structure, and HRM policy orientation: Employee recruitment and selection practices in multinational subsidiaries.  Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources ,  53 (3), 331-350. 

Pendergrast, M. (2013).  For god, country, and Coca-Cola . Basic Books. 

Petty, R. J., Manroop, L., & Linton, S. (2015). Integration of Micro-Blogs into the Human Resource Management (HRM) Areas of Recruitment and Selection. In  Maximizing Commerce and Marketing Strategies through Micro-Blogging  (pp. 226-250). IGI Global. 

Phillips, J. M., & Gully, S. M. (2015). Multilevel and strategic recruiting: Where have we been, where can we go from here?.  Journal of Management ,  41 (5), 1416-1445. 

Regassa, H., & Corradino, L. (2011). Determining the Value of the Coca Cola Company-a Case Analysis.  Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies ,  17 (8), 79. 

Simon, B. (2016). Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism.  Agricultural History , 90 (1), 158. 

Weisert, D. (2001). Coca-Cola in China: Quenching the Thirst of a Billion.  China Business Review ,  28 (4), 52-55. 

Appendix A 

Job Description 

22/05/2019 

Company – Division 

Coca Cola Company – Marketing 

Job Area 

Marketing 

Job Overview 

The Marketing Director role will be based in the company’s offices in Shanghai, China. Its principal goal will be to try and improve marketing strategies to match the needs of the Asian market. The Marketing Director will be required to lead and guide a team of marketing experts in the Marketing department. They will be required to focus on issues such as market research, analyzing the target market, brand positioning in the Asian market comparedto other brands, competitive analysis and marketing strategies that will be effective for the market such as advertising techniques. The departmentwill be required to ally with other departments such as the human resource, finance, and supply chain to formulate the most effective ways that will enable them to achieve their goal of gaining prominence in the Asian market. Additional information based on roles and responsibilities of the director and other members of the team will be included below. Coca Cola as a company has gained much success in most parts of the world but has not achieved the expected results in the Asian market which comprises more than half of the world’s population. Introduction of the Marketing Director role aims at having someone who has unquestionable experience in this market and can help in creatingstrategicmarketing campaigns that will allow the company to gain more success in this market. The role serves as a source of expertise on challenges that the company might face in the Asian market and how to work around these barriers. The Marketing Director will be expected to utilize the diverse expertise of his team in order to ensure that he achieves the following: 

Oversee management of all marketing activities in the Asian region including being involvedin the creation of ads for all new brands introduced in the market. 

Developing marketing strategies that the company can adopt in its engagement with the Asian market. 

Marketing activities such as sales activities that the company would be required to undertakein the region. 

Plan and implement all marketing campaigns directed to Asian consumers. 

Assess strategic partner relationships that can help boost the strategic position of the many in the region. 

Oversee the marketing department’s budget execution based on the different activities listed as part of the company’s budget lines. 

Minimum Qualifications 

Must have worked in a similar workplace environment for a period not less than five 

Years. 

Preferred Qualifications 

Must have strong analytical and project management skills. 

Must have a confident and dynamic personality. 

Must be very creative in his or her professional outlook. 

Must be a qualified chartered marketer (licensed to work within Asia). 

Education Requirements 

Required: Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing or any other related field of study. 

Appendix B 

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) 

Section A: Employee data 

Name, Date, Job title, time in current position, department etc. 

Section B: Organization Chart 

Supervisor name, job title, number of employees supervised etc. 

Section C: Budget and Impact of Position 

Section D: Position Information 

Position Summary 

Section E: Essential Positions Function 

Section F: Knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics. 

Section G: Education and Experience 

Licenses/Certifications 

Section H: Software/Technology/Equipment 

Appendix C 

Operational and Situational questions 

Describe a previous market you worked in and the issues you faced while trying to push the company towards achieving its goals? What strategies did you implement to reach these goals? 

Tell us about a time when you went beyond your way for work to ensure that the company was achieving its success? How was the experience challenging in the experiences that you had to sacrifice in your life? 

Provide an example of a time where you implemented a successful marketing strategy from inception to its conclusion? 

What kind of characters and employees would you like to have in the employees who will be under your supervision? 

What was your largest responsibility in the previous position that you occupied? 

What kind of techniques would you use to measure the quality of your work? What steps would you put in place to ensure that you and your team provide their best efforts for the company? 

What would you describe as the most challenging barrier that carbonated drinks companies face in the market, particularly the Asian market? 

Which kind of skills have you acquired over time that will help you in helping the company excel in the current target market? 

How do you define the Coca Cola company culture as per your understanding? What would you do to ensure that the company culture is maintained and upheld? 

What kind of marketing strategies do you prefer to use? How have these strategies achieved success in the past positions that you have worked in? 

How do you view social media as a way to advertise a brand? Would you use it or cross it off due to the challenges in bringing in new customers? What kind of products would you market through mobile marketing campaigns? 

What kind of marketing advertisements do you think would fit the Coca Cola company brand? How do you think they would bring about the success of the company? 

Whichcompanies do you regard as the highest competitors in the Asian market? Why? 

Provide an example of a previous marketing advertisement that you have previously worked on. What were the challenges, how did you overcome them and what results did you achieve?