Coca-Cola Enterprise: International Human Resource Management Report

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the international human resource management (IHRM) practices of the Coca-Cola Enterprise, a multinational corporation based in the USA. The paper examines key IHRM functions, focusing on recruitment and selection procedures, as well as training and development programs. It explores how these functions are implemented globally, with a specific emphasis on the company's operations in China. The report highlights the differences between human resource practices in the USA and China, considering cultural influences and their impact on employee management. It also outlines the Coca-Cola Company's specific approaches to recruitment, selection, and training, including the use of various recruitment sources, selection processes, and training programs like the Coca-Cola University. The report concludes with a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of these practices, offering recommendations for optimizing the effectiveness of the enterprise's IHRM strategies, particularly within the Chinese market.

RUNNIMG HEAD: INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT OF THE COCA-COLA ENTERPRISE
International human resource management of the Coca-Cola Enterprises
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Executive summary:
The Coca-Cola enterprise is the USA based International Enterprise. This global enterprise is
the creator, trader, and retailer of non-alcoholic liquor. This paper aims to interpret the
international human resource functions of Coca-Cola Enterprises. Recruitment, selection
procedure, and training process as a part of the global human resource function will be
analysed. This paper will help the multinational enterprise to perform better in the host
country, which is China. There are a few recommendations, which will help the human
resources functions of this enterprise to be effective

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Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................3
International human resource function:.....................................................................................3
Human resources function:........................................................................................................4
The human resource functions of the Coca-Cola company:......................................................5
Recommendation:......................................................................................................................9
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................10
References:...............................................................................................................................11

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Introduction:
Coca-Cola is a Multinational enterprise from America. This enterprise is a
manufacturer and retailer of non-alcoholic soft drinks. Coca-Cola enterprise wants to expand
its business in China. This article will analyse the international human resources functions of
the Coca-Cola enterprise. This paper will focus on two human resources functions, which are
global employment and selection procedure, and training and improvement. There are some
recommendations in the end to improve the adequate human resources practices
Pharmacist John Pemberton from Georgia invented the original Coca-Cola in 1886
(coca-cola.com, 2019). At that time, it was sold as a medicinal beverage. The headquarters of
the company is in Atlanta, Georgia. For over 100 years, this Company has held its dominant
position in the world of non-alcoholic drinks. Regularly, the product from the Coca-Cola
Company, consumed by the customers at the rate of 1.8 billion per year. Except Cuba and
North Korea, the Coca-Cola Company sell their product in every country in this world. The
brand name of the Coca-Cola Company is recognised on a worldwide scale. Today this
company has more than 400 separate brands under its authority. According to the list by
Fortune, the Coca-Cola Company is the 15th most admired company of 2019. According to
the report of Brand Finance, in the year 2019, this company holds 17th rank among the top
100 brands from the USA (coca-cola.com. 2019).
International human resource function:
Global human resources management manages the human resource activities at a
worldwide level. With the increasing importance of globalisation, international human
resource management has an essential role in fulfilling the organisation’s goal. Foreign
human resource function will assist this global enterprise in moving its operation into other

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countries and expertly guiding its staff to accomplish the smooth operation of the company
(Cascio, 2015). There are seven primary international human resource functions, which are
human resource advancement, key management, employment and selection, risk
management, policy building, staff and labour connections, total bonus. In this paper, two
international human resource management functions will be discussed, which are recruitment
and selection procedure, and human resource development (Fatehi & Choi, 2019).
Human resources function:
The culture of human resource function in the USA is highly individualistic,
friendly, performance-oriented, and ethnocentric. In the USA the recruitment and selection
system neither strongly carrier-based nor position based. The selection method and selection
criteria in the USA are extensive interviews, which focused on experiences (Tarique et al.,
2015). To provide training and development in the USA, the company keeps according to the
needs of employees and requirements of the specific post. The society of America helps
American companies for training and development procedures. In America, the training
expenditure allocated per employee is $724. On average employees in America, undertake 1
to 3 days of training per year (Zamcu, 2014).
Human resource management practices in China are going to be described in this part.
Chinese culture creates an impact on human resource practices in this country. Respect for
age and authority is essential for this country. In China, the maintenance of harmonious
human relationships influences human resource functions (Yuan, 2013). The training and
development procedure as a part of human resource management appreciates most joint
ventures in China and recognises the significance of training. This country spends a certain
number of resources on training. In this country, overseas training provides knowledge and

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helps to develop strategies and policies to retain the best employees for this country (Liang,
Xie & Cui, 2014).
The human resource operation practised in China has a massive difference with the
human resource functions exercised in the USA. Performance appraisals are the tool, which is
used to evaluate the accomplishment of an employee or group. In the USA, to encourage
individual performance, performance appraisals are used commonly. However, in China,
implying performance appraisals is difficult because of the inherent Chinese organisation
structure. In recent times, global enterprises emphasise the positive impact of training and
development skills. The amount of money spent on training and development purposes in the
USA is higher than in China. For example, in the USA, the training expenditure for an
employee is close to $724. In China, training expenditure for an employee is close to $359
(Smale, Björkman & Sumelius, 2013). Training duration time in the USA is lengthier than in
China. When selecting new employees, the process followed by the USA and China is
similar. There are significant distinctions between China and the USA regarding
compensation practices. The compensation policy followed by the USA is known as the
balance sheet approach, which delivers various incentives. The compensation practices in
China are different from the USA. Between the USA and China, the cross-cultural diversity
contrasts drastically (Jackson, 2014). Due to the cross-cultural differences to perform better
the human resource practices should be modified (Zhu et al., 2013).
The human resource functions of The Coca-Cola Company:
The recruitment process, followed by the Coca-Cola enterprise, consists of the
advert in newspaper company websites, institutions, and social media. Recruitment sources
are used to help the Coca-Cola Company to find and attract capable employees. The primary
recruitment sources are employment agencies, summer internships, media advertisement, e-

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recruitment, college recruiting, special events recruiting. There are two methods to complete
the recruitment process. The first one is internal hiring another is an external recruit. Internal
recruiting is the procedure, which invites eligible applicants from the employees of this
company. The recruitment policy followed by the company has some pros and cons. Through
the internal recruitment policy, the HR team get a chance to a better assessment of the
candidates and motivate the employees and develop a high-performance work system in the
company. The internal recruitment policy is less time consuming, cheaper. Internal
recruitment policy has some disadvantages, which are it creates a vacancy in the company,
stifles diversity, inadequate supply of eligible candidates. The external recruitment method is
a recruiting procedure, which invites qualified applicants for any positions from outside the
company. External recruitment policy followed by this organisation has some advantages,
which are increased diversity, short training period, and facilitates the growth of the
company, and available eligible candidates. External recruitment policy has some
disadvantages, which are expensive recruitment procedure, time-consuming process,
availability of less reliable data from the candidates, restrain upward movement of the
personal employee. The Coca-Cola Company generally does not favour external recruitment.
This enterprise focuses on internal recruitment (Thoo & Kaliannan 2013). This enterprise
keeps a talent bank for fulfilling the needs internal hiring. In case of immediate recruitments,
the Coca-Cola Company does external hiring. This enterprise forecasts its future desires and
in advance collects the data of applicants. The company collects resumes from every region
to fulfil their talent bank HR management team of this enterprise visit colleges and
universities. This company wants to maintain the high quality and standards for recruitment.
The e-recruiting procedure is a vital recruitment source of this company (Shenkar, Luo &
Chi, 2014). This enterprise creates attractive advertisements, which are in accordance with
the specific job description and specification. The media department of this company

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publishes recruitment ads for this company. The selection process has a few steps, which are
the competition of requisition, a preliminary round of interview, employment evaluation,
background investigation, and qualifying selection. After the provisional selection of
candidates, the HR department conducts medical exams and drug testing before finally
making firm hiring decisions. The selection process will depend heavily on the position. It
means that one method of selection will not fit in with another specific job position of the
enterprise. There is an HR department for selection in the Coca-Cola Company (Baah &
Bohaker, 2015). However, this department involved only friends; there are any significant
hiring. The business authorities recruit most leaders, labours and intermediate-level
management aspirants. This company follows the localised approach, for all the selections to
be made. The Country Manager is accountable for all things of the process. There is a formal
selection procedure according to global standards. This company gets data both through
physical and online applications. There are various ways in which one might apply for a job
at this enterprise. A separate department has been set up to deal only with the matters
regarding job application modes (Welch & Björkman, 2015). The name of the department is
the Data Bank Department, which is supervised by the human resource department of the
Coca-Cola firm. This company has not yet adopted methods such as polygraph, graphology,
Bib, and other advanced sources. The key focus of this company is on the background
inquiry. (Noe et al., 2015).
The second human resource function is training and progress. The main objective of
coaching provided by The Coca-Cola Company is to support the organisation to accomplish
its purpose by adding value to its essential resources, which is its staff (Mirvis et al., 2016).
Coca-Cola Company provides four types of instructions, which are targeted to improve
certain faculties of the candidates; skill, leadership, functionality, and technicality. The skill
training of the Coca-Cola Company includes presentation, public speaking, and selling. To

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improve creative thinking skill and communication skill of the employees, the Coca-Cola
Company developed soft skills training program. Skill training programs increase employee
productivity and enhance job satisfaction for the Coca-Cola Company. Through the
leadership strategy, this company try to create a new leader from the employee. To improve
the professional skill of the newly recruited employees, the firm provides technical training.
This company arranges several local training programs to fulfil specific regional needs. From
the leadership orientation provided by The Coca-Cola Company, future leaders who are kin
to perform well in their respective fields of business will surely be benefitted (Lamba &
Choudhary, 2013). Functional training is also a part of the on-job drill. This drill includes a
diploma or degree in the respective field of expertise. The Coca-Cola Company has
developed a Coca-Cola University, which is a global and virtual university, providing all
capacity developing activities across the organisation. Coca-Cola University arranges
outstanding practice research and delivers instructional and consultation services to the
employees. Training and development have some advantages, which are enhancing job
knowledge of the employees, morale of the workplace, positive attitudes. This training and
improvement procedure helps to develop a better corporate image. There are some
disadvantages to this HR practice. Training and development are expensive, narrow
experience, and time-consuming. After the training, staffs try to get a better job. Instead of
these advantages and disadvantages, the Coca-Cola Company has to provide training and
development to the employees to get a positive outcome from them (Stone & Stone, 2013).
The Coca-Cola enterprise is interested in recruiting college students. Talented college
students are recruited from universities through the talent poll system of this company. The
Coca-Cola Enterprise has promoted this system in China. To hire from the host country, the
firm has launched this system in China. This system implements career development
opportunities for newly graduated students. Coca-Cola Global is measuring the possibilities

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of “shifting the focus to china” to support more global talent from the host country. The
Chinese subsidiary of the Coca-Cola enterprise has the maximum number of Chinese
employees. The management authorities of Coca-Cola Global are interested in maintaining
the ratio between international employees and local employees. The flow of talent and cross-
border transactions will be managed through this approach.
Recommendation:
This enterprise has to target rural areas of China to expand its business successfully.
From these rural areas, the Coca-Cola enterprise can enhance its profit. Decentralised
empower this multinational enterprise should create local teams. The local empower team not
only help this enterprise to strengthen its business but also help this organisation to create
databank. This databank will be beneficial for this global enterprise to understand Chinese
taste and culture. The Coca-Cola Company has to innovate continuously to maintain the
ability to be up to date with the taste of Chinese. The product quality of this company should
be at its best. This global enterprise has to modify its strategy and policy to handle the
problem in the host country, which is China. Being cost innovative and value-focused help
this enterprise to enhance its business in China. To run its business successfully, this
enterprise has to increase the number of local partners. The sales and distribution procedure
of this company will be beneficial for this company. To achieve the business goal, the
company has to understand the consumer of China. Marketing is vital for any company to
expand its business in other countries. To communicate with most of the citizens of China,
the Coca-Cola enterprise has to find new channels to develop its marketing strategy. A
country like China, with a lively market, demands patience, expertise and adaptability. In
exchange, however, the firm can make unimaginable success in the host country.

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Conclusion:
Therefore, in conclusion, it can be said that for the benefit of the company recruitment
and selection procedure is essential, and training and development is beneficial not only for
the company but also for the individual employees. International human resource
management practices should be performed effectively in China. In doing so, the Coca-Cola
Company has to modify its global human resource practices because China has a different
kind of culture. The training and development technique is modified with the objectives of
the organisation and perspective of this Company. By delivering the training and
development program, this firm helps every employee to give a better performance. Training
and development techniques of the company will help employees working in China to be
consistent with local cultural norms.

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