The Coca-Cola Company is a manufacturing company focusing on beverages. As an organization, it should be very careful when it comes to environmental factors, which can affect domestic and global markets. The Coca-Cola Company’s marketing decision mechanism is influenced by environmental factors, which may have a favorable or adverse effect on their domestic and global operations.
For an organization’s marketing plan to have a positive impact, the company should have enough knowledge and information about how these factors can influence their operations domestically, regionally, and globally. The Coca-Cola Company has successfully demonstrated domestic and global market operations. This ensured that it is among the best beverage companies worldwide (Saleem, 2010).
This is a significant factor that impacts on the company’s marketing decisions. The term economic interdependence suggests that economies of various organizations are closely intertwined. In this case, if one organization collapses, it will affect the others. This was a requirement set by the WTO during its establishment.
This was meant to assist the member nations to control and scrutinize all the imported products and ensure that they comply with their domestic manufacturing standards. This suggests that no country should be accorded preferential treatment, which could enhance global trade. This gives various possibilities and opportunities to the Coca-Cola Company to grow globally (Saleem, 2010).
The Coca-Cola Company offers different packaging and flavoring according to its customer’s preferences. It provides different sizes, which target different customers. Demographics refer to the study of population. Demographic factors include death rates, education level, income level, and marital status.
When a company can comprehend the society’s demographics, it will be able to produce the required quantity and regulate its prices. The Coca-Cola Company is capable of dealing with all these. The infrastructure is all about transportation, and elaborate transportation mechanisms have enabled the Coca-Cola Company to transport its products to different countries (Saleem, 2010).
The culture of this company is best exemplified in its seven core values. Some of the notable values are leadership and accountability. In addition, there are diversity, a firm belief in personal and corporate integrity, and teamwork among the others. The Coca-Cola Company’s fundamental promise is to refresh individual’s mind, spirit, and finally body. This organization keeps its promise.
Changes in social cultural trends lead to changes in demand, as well as a change in the willingness and availability of labor. Culture comprises ethics, age, gender, customs, religion, and beliefs. All these bring a positive or a negative impact on the business decision making process in marketing.
The Coca-Cola Company is not an exception; it is also faced with the impacts of these cultural factors. The world is characterized by different people with different beliefs. It becomes a challenge when trying to satisfy them and getting to know their culture (Saleem, 2010).
Social responsibility is the obligation of a business towards the interests and welfare of the society which surrounds it. Being socially responsible makes the business build strong customer relationships. When customer relationships are enhanced, customers will buy the organization’s products, thus improving the profits.
Being socially responsible entails the businesses involvement in charity donations, construction of roads, and installation of security lights. Social responsibility is ethical. The social responsibility feature of the Coca-Cola Company has enabled it to earn profits and expand its business all over the world.
What are legal obligations? An obligation means doing what is guaranteed by a promise, contract, or law. Therefore, a legal obligation is what a business is to perform, which is prescribed by law. The Coca-Cola Company’s obligation is to manufacture beverages. This gives it the advantage to sell its products all over the world (Saleem, 2010).
Political factors include government stability, trade policy, government economic policy, political stability, and diplomatic events in other countries. These political factors are unpredictable and change regularly. These factors are virtually impossible for the management to control.
The Coca-Cola Company is governed by these factors, which sometimes, through their changes, promote the company or cause losses. These factors are inevitable when they occur; only the government can regulate them. The Coca-Cola Company is prohibited from making political statements by US law (Fischer, 2007).
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was legislated to prohibit US individuals and firms from paying foreign officials bribes for them to make any business transaction. This act also outlines the set guidelines for accounting transparency. This has positively influenced the Coca-Cola Company’s marketing practices. It protects them from corruption (Fischer, 2007).
Business legislation assists in the following areas within a business environment, namely consumer protection, competition policy, and safety, health and environmental laws. The local, national, and international legislations ensure fairness in trade, employee treatment, and offer protection to consumers, creditors, and investors, as well as ensure healthy competition among the competing companies.
Business legislations have helped the Coca-Cola Company deal with its employees, competitors, and investors. This has contributed to the growth and sustenance of this company for more than 100 years (Fischer, 2007).
Technological factors encompass a variety of aspects, such as environmental and ecological determinants. Technological changes have an impact on quality and cost.
Technological changes bring about competition, which may lead to losing customers unless the business embraces the change in technology. The Coca-Cola Company encounters these technological challenges. However, it has set strategies that have enabled it to exist for all these years (Fischer, 2007).
References
Fischer, M. (2007).The impact of personal and environmental factors on entrepreneurship. München: GRIN Verlag.
Saleem, S. (2010). Business environment. New Delhi: Pearson.