University Case Study: Coca-Cola's Organizational Change Management

This case study report examines the challenges faced by Coca-Cola, including intense market competition and evolving consumer preferences. It analyzes the company's need for change management strategies to regain competitiveness. The report identifies problems and opportunities, such as the lack of product innovation and the need to address health-conscious consumers. It then justifies the adoption of change interventions, particularly the introduction of healthier beverage options, and recommends utilizing the Force Field Analysis and ADKAR model to facilitate change. The report also addresses potential barriers to implementation, such as employee resistance and resource constraints, proposing solutions to mitigate these issues and ensure successful change management. The analysis highlights the importance of innovation, stakeholder involvement, and the implementation of effective strategies to improve Coca-Cola's market position and competitiveness.

Running head: CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Change Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Executive Summary
The report has thrown light on analysing the different kinds of challenges which have been
faced by Coca-Cola in the past few years which includes the huge level of competition in the
market along with change in the tastes and preferences of the customers in the market. Due to
the same, there has been introduction of change management strategies that can be
incorporated by them as to improve the overall scenario and gain competitiveness in the
market. With the introduction of Force Field Analysis and the ADKAR model, there can be
improvement in the process of change and it helped Coca-Cola in gaining competitiveness in
the market as well.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Overview of Coca-Cola Company.........................................................................................3
Analysis of Problem Factors Behind Organizational Change Management..............................3
In Depth Analysis of Problems and Opportunities Relevant to Change Strategy......................5
Justification of Change Strategy to Address Problems and Opportunities Identified................6
Analysis of Change Intervention Adopted to Address Challenges............................................8
Analysis of Ethical Issues and Ways to Address.......................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
The report throws light on analyzing the different kinds of issues or the challenges
faced by Coca-Cola from external environment. As the external change agent, proper
examination of the change strategy is required to be analyzed which will be plating a major
role in improving the overall scenario and make the company more competitive in nature.
There can be different challenges along with opportunities in implementing the change
management in the company which is required to be addressed appropriately and improve the
scenario accordingly.
Overview of Coca-Cola Company
Coca-Cola is one of the carbonated soft drink company which was manufactured by
the Coca-Cola Company. The company was incorporated in the year 1886 and it is
headquartered at United States of America (Coca-Cola.com 2019). It is the American
multinational company, manufacturer along with retailer of the non-alcoholic beverage
concentrates along with syrups. The areas served by the company is worldwide and the
revenue of the company has increased to US$8.70 billion till the year 2018. Moreover, the
number of employees working in the company is 62600 till the year 2018 and it falls under
the beverage industry as well.
Analysis of Problem Factors Behind Organizational Change Management
In the present scenario, it has been noticed that Coca-Cola has faced severe external
environment challenges which is affecting the overall competitive aspect of the company in
comparison to the other competitors such as Pepsi. The non-alcoholic beverage industry is
becoming highly competitive in nature and Coke has to compete with other international
companies and due to the same, the capability to maintain the sales of share along with

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getting profit in the entire global market can be limited due to competition (Worley and
Mohrman 2014).
Furthermore, the change in the non-alcoholic beverage has been changing constantly
wherein the main reason is the changing lifestyles of the different individuals in the market,
the emerging views of the nutrition as well as health along with changing needs as well as
preferences of the customers. Moreover, it has been noticed that the beverage industry is
hugely affected by the different intermediaries in the European and the USA markets and if
Coca-Cola is not being able to change with the changing business-related environment and it
will be affecting the sales and profit of the shares (Cameron and Green 2015). Cocoa-Cola
Company has been able to introduce a number of fruit juice brands along with waters which
could have been the winners of the organization, however there is no such introduction of the
innovative aspects which can be incorporated by them to become competitive in the market
(Verhulst and Lambrechts 2015).
From the analysis of the issues, it can be identified that there is lack of innovation in
the different products which are being sold by Coca-Cola and it is affecting their brand
image. Due to the lack of innovative factors, there is no such growth of Coca-Cola in other
sectors other than the carbonated drinks. Moreover, the level of competition in the market is
high due to which the company has not been able to grow in many areas and it has been
performing in an extremely low manner in the company as well.
From the analysis of the challenges, it can be identified that these are two major
external environmental challenges which are faced by Coca-Cola and in such scenario, proper
change management is the key element which should be incorporated by the company in
order to improve their position in the market and become competitive in nature as well. In the
respective scenario, the company Coca-Cola needs to adopt the change management strategy

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such as increasing efficiency of marketing as well as inventory along with the productiveness
of the workforce through the implementing the change management programmes for
managing the standards in the competitive business environment along with sustaining in the
entire world market. Coca-Cola needs to introduce the healthy fruit drinks that will be sugar
free as well as lowering the content of the sugar in the non-alcoholic drinks as it will be
sustaining their competitive position in the market.
In Depth Analysis of Problems and Opportunities Relevant to Change Strategy
In the incorporating of the change in the Coca-Cola Company, there can be different
kinds of opportunities which will be faced by organization as a whole. Firstly, after
introduction of the healthy sugar free health drinks by Coca-Cola, the company can be able to
improve their position in the market as their sales will increase. In the current scenario, the
different customers are becoming health conscious and they prefer to consume tasty yet
healthy drinks which will be beneficial in satisfying their needs and their health benefits will
be maintained as well. Furthermore, Coca-Cola can be able to target the new target segments
such as children as previously the non-alcoholic beverages are not fit for the children which
has been manufactured by them. However, through inclusion and introduction of healthier
beverage options, it will be able to target new segments and it will increase the sales of the
company in a positive manner (Swanson and Creed 2015).
On the contrary, there are different kinds of challenges which can be faced by the
company in managing the change in a positive manner. Firstly, the main challenge will be the
resistance to change among the employees as they may not be able to accept the change
positively due to which it can affect the overall efficiency of the change in a negative manner.
When the organization will be restructuring, there will be inclusion of a new set of employees
who have proper knowledge on the marketing front as to make the new products more

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competitive. In such scenario, there can be fear among the existing employees as they may
feel it as a threat and due to the same, there can be resistance to the planned change (Stark
2015).
Moreover, there can be extra workload for employees who are working in the
organization that can affect the motivation among employees. While implementing the
change, the employees will be usually implemented activities in the process of change and it
increases workload and it affects their morale and due to the same, it can lead to huge
resistance to change among the employees in a negative manner. Lastly, while implementing
the change of introducing new sugar free drinks, there can be problem related to limited
resources which will be affecting the growth of the company negatively and it can impact
their change process inaccurately as well (Parker et al. 2013).
There can be proper inclusion of motivational aspects which could be incorporated by
the company as it will be helpful for the company for grow in an intensive manner and it will
be successful for the introduction of new juice brands which are sugar free and it will be liked
by all age-group. Moreover, the new customer segment such as the children below the age of
6 years can consume the juice as it will be beneficial for the health and it will enhance their
overall effectiveness and efficiency as well.
With the analysis of the two change management models, Coca-Cola can utilize the
same in order to improve the process of change management appropriately. With the
implementation of the change management models, it can be ensured that involvement of the
stakeholders play a major role in improving the process and gain competitive advantage in
the market in an appropriate manner.

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Justification of Change Strategy to Address Problems and Opportunities Identified
From the analysis of the opportunities and problems which can be faced by the
company Coca-Cola in implementing the change, it can be identified that there is inclusion of
stakeholders which will be helpful for implementing process of change in a positive manner.
Firstly, with the implementation of Force field analysis, it is the technique which has been
developed by Kurt Lewin which will be helpful in scrutinizing the forces which are causing
the opposition to change (Burnes and Cooke 2013). By incorporating the Force Field
Analysis, Coca-Cola Company can be able to induct the different people who are in
requirement of appropriate training which will be helpful for improving the overall
effectiveness (Hornstein 2015).
While incorporating the Force Field Analysis in Coca-Cola, there can be
incorporation of the different kinds of pressures for as well as against the decision or the
change which will be incorporated in the company. With the same, there can be inclusion of
program related to training as well as development which will enhance the overall
effectiveness of the company and gain competitive advantage in the competitive business
environment as well (Hord and Hall 2014).
Through the introduction of appropriate training, it will be helping the employees to
identify the need for change and train themselves accordingly which will increase the
productivity of the company positively. On the other hand, there can be introduction of
ADKAR theory which includes Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability along with
Reinforcement. Through the incorporation of ADKAR model, the firm Coca-Cola creates
proper awareness regarding the need for change, generation of desire in employees to help in
process of transition, provides knowledge to individuals who will be helpful in process of
change as well as developing ability in individuals to go through change and provide them

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with continuous kind of reinforcement to withstand the change appropriately (Matos Marques
Simoes and Esposito 2014).
With the implementation of ADKAR Model, Coca-Cola can generate the proper
awareness regarding the stiff competition which can be faced by them and with
implementation of the change management model, there can be incorporation of the proper
and effective introduction of the new health drinks which are sugar free as it will be
enhancing the overall appropriateness of the firm in a positive manner (Kuipers et al. 2014).
With the introduction of ADKAR model, there can be introduction of the different kinds of
focus on ensuring that the process of change occurs in an efficient manner. In case of Coca-
Cola, the support from new and existing employees is the key aspect which should be
followed by them as it will be enhancing the overall effectiveness of the company and the
product appropriately (Bareil 2013).
Analysis of Change Intervention Adopted to Address Challenges
The main change intervention which will be adopted by Coca-Cola will be relating to
the introduction of health drinks such as which are sugar free along with lessening the sugar
content in the non-alcoholic drinks which will be beneficial for the success of the company in
a positive manner (Doppelt 2017). Through the introduction of such healthy drinks in the
market can be adopted to address the problems and opportunities which have been identified
as the same will be helpful in making Coca-Cola more competitive in nature and the
company will be gaining competitive advantage in the market as well (Hord and Hall 2013).
Furthermore, in order to make the change intervention successful, Coca-Cola Company can
create productive along with eventful kind of negotiations with the employee representatives.
The effective communication is the other aspect which should be followed by Coca-
Cola in managing proper process of planning that will be enhancing the growth of the

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company in a positive manner and the challenges can be solved appropriately as well. In
addition, the change management helps in providing the different techniques which will be
anticipating the challenges along with responding to the same effectively as well (Frankland
et al. 2013). After the implementation of change management process in Coca-Cola, there can
be creation of increased customer service which will be offered to them as through
introduction of the healthy drinks with less sugar free contents, there can be inclusion of the
happy customers and the possibility of unsuccessful change will be reduced as well.
Analysis of Ethical Issues and Ways to Address
After the implementation of the respective change of introduction of the healthy
drinks with less sugar content, it can be identified that there is existence of various ethical
challenges which can be faced by Coca-Cola and it can affect the entire brand image of
organization in a negative manner. it can be seen that there can be situation in which the
change intervention of introducing the healthy fruit drinks can be done by Coca-Cola through
just labelling the product with the tagline “NO SUGAR CONTENT”.
However, it can be identified that there is presence of sugar in the juices or the health
drinks, therefore from the same, it can be analyzed that it is unethical practice which has been
undertaken by Coca-Cola and it can be affecting the strong base of customers negatively as
well (Ashkenas 2013). Due to the same unethical practices of Coca-Cola, it is affecting
overall reputation of the company in comparison to the other competitors present in the
market such as Pepsi and other international companies and the growth will be restricted as
well (Hayes 2018).
From the analysis of the ethical issues of Coca-Cola, it can be identified that there can
be different kinds of recommendations which can be provided to Coca-Cola to improve the
scenario and gain competitive advantage in the market as well. Firstly, there can be proper set

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up of committee in the company who will be the trained employees or workers in the
company who will be able to understand the different unethical practices which will be
affecting the effectiveness of the respective organization negatively (Goetsch and Davis
2014). The proper training and development related activities are required to be incorporated
by Coca-Cola to improve the position and attract more customers in the market through
proper and ethical way of introducing the healthy fruit drink with less sugar free content
(Hamraz, Caldwell and Clarkson 2013).
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above change management aspect which can be followed by
Coca-Cola, it can be inferred that change management is the process of shifting the
individuals from current to the future position which will be appropriate for making the
company more effective in commencing the business operations. The communication is the
first and foremost element which will be beneficial in successful type of change management
and making the different employees analyze the reasons for understanding that the change is
inevitable.
The management of the company should be able to accept a optimistic type of attitude
towards the change that the different employees can follow lead and introduce the change that
will be helping the company to become more efficient and competitive in performing the
operations in a successful manner. Coca-Cola is one of the organizations which has rich
legacy of embracing the change rather than resisting it and they should interpret in the
different future endeavors which will be helpful for them to become successful in their
operations as well.
Change management is the procedure in which the different corporations should
undergo and it is the essential process which is enabling organizations to analyze the different

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decisions that can be advantageous for the organization. The pushing of the other drink
brands can be helpful for Coca-Cola in gaining positive and effective brand reputation that
will be enhancing their focus and it will be helpful for them in becoming more competitive in
nature in comparison to the other competitors such as Pepsi and other local brands which are
available in the market.