Introduction
This report is based on Coca Cola Corporation and it responds to how the company can manage staff performance effectively. The corporation is a manufacturing multinational enterprise that deals with soft drink and it has approximately 700,000 employees working for the different subsidiaries across the world. I chose to base this report on Coca Cola because the firm is among the world’s most successful multinational enterprises despite having a diversified workforce that operates across different cultures. The report will include three parts, viz. the various ways through which the corporation manages its employees, a critique, and what the company can do to improve performance. The main objective of this report is to evaluate how an organisation can manage staff performance effectively.
The first part addresses the management of performance, which entails the evaluation of the extent to which employees meet goals, objectives, and targets of the corporation within set timelines. The main objective of this part is to show how the management can manage the employees’ performance effectively by striking a balance between the company’s objectives and those of the employees through development, adequate planning, monitoring, and rewarding programs.
The second part will include an evaluation of feedback that entails obtaining results from employees following a prior message or report from the management. The third part will incorporate the conclusion and recommendation section. The main objective of this part is to present a summary of the report and give ways through which the Coca Cola’s management teams can implement to improve their current performance management strategies.
Managing performance within Coca Cola
According to Torrington, Hall, Taylor, and Atkinson (2014), effective management of the employees’ performance incorporates the procedure of establishing a shared comprehension of the organisation’s objectives and targets amongst the workers. In addition, the management should focus on aligning the company’s objectives with the measures, skills, and competencies of employees (Torrington et al. 2014). In such a case, the management advocates learning, development, and improvement for employees to achieve goals of the entire organisation. This aspect leads to the creation of a high performing workforce. For the Coca Cola Corporation, the management has implemented most measures that include training employees and implementing a culture of sharing to ensure that employees focus on achieving the set objectives of the corporation (The Coca Cola Company 2015).
Planning and monitoring
With reference to Boxhall and Purcell (2011), planning entails a significant role of the management and it incorporates setting of expectations in relation to performance. In such a case, the management concentrates on setting goals that bind individual employees and groups to a set of organisational objectives (Boxhall & Purcell 2011). In directing employees to achieving objectives of the company, they understand what needs to be done, how, and when it should be done.
Kramar and Syed (2012) contend that effective monitoring maintains consistency in measuring the employees’ performance coupled with evaluating feedback from workers following an evaluation. From the above statement, it is evident that planning and monitoring keep employees alert, thus motivating them to work towards achieving objectives of the organisation. Furthermore, with the reviews during monitoring, employees work against odds and push members of their groups to ensure that they are on the safe side with the management.
Foot and Hook (2011) posit that setting objectives and targets of an organisation entails a significant part of planning. Employees in an organisation cannot perform without guiding principles that govern their work (Foot & Hook 2011). Mone and London (2014) further contend that a company’s objectives should be short and clear, measurable, achievable, and time-bound. Through the objectives, the management holds employees accountable for their duties and responsibilities. Furthermore, objectives with the four elements mentioned above motivate employees to actualise the company’s plans rather than keeping them as paper work (Mone & London 2014). In other words, well-planned work motivates employees as they have a sense of direction.
In the case of Coca Cola, each of the subsidiaries has objectives that govern employees in their work. However, the company focuses mostly on encouraging performance through diversity, creativity, and innovativeness. First, objectives and targets are constant, but they call for the flexibility of the schedule and activities of employees for them to achieve standards set by the management. In the case of Coca Cola, the company can change its objectives to accommodate creative or innovative activities of employees as long as they are beneficial to the company or they contribute to the generation of profits (The Coca Cola Company 2015).
According to Patrick (2013), the management should facilitate monitoring through constant checks in a bid to ensure that employees are doing the right things. For the Coca Cola, monitoring occurs through supervisors who report to the heads of departments. Reports follow a chain of commands all the way from supervisors to the regional managers who further compile reports from different regions and submit information as a single document to the corporation’s executives (The Coca Cola Company 2015).
According to Williams and Adam-Smith (2010), during progressive reviews, managers compare performance of employees against their individual objectives and those of an organisation. Through progressive reviews, the management establishes extents to which employees are fulfilling the objectives of the organisation (Williams & Adam-Smith 2010). Such a trend entails adhering to the nature of objectives, since they must be achieved within the given time limit. Slow development characterised by the failure to achieve certain targets within their time could be attributed to unclear objectives or lack of sufficient resources to facilitate the implementation of the goals. At this point, managers can identify impeding factors and implement measures to correct the situation either through providing additional resources or clarifications to counter unacceptable performance (Torrington et al. 2014)
Developing
Narasimhan (2004) argues that organisations are made of people with different perceptions and needs in relation to an individual’s cultural-orientation and way of life. Although employees have personal goals and objectives, the management should work toward reconciling the two in a bid to ensure that employees align their goals and objectives to that of the organisation (Narasimhan 2004). In such a case, reconciling individual goals to those of the organisation entails meeting developmental needs of employees. With reference to Huffmire and Holmes (2006), managers should expand the employees’ capacity to perform through training and implementation of improved procedures and methods of doing work.
According to Storey (2007), the successful introduction and implementation of change within an organisation depends on the attitude and perceptions of employees in relation to the change. Such argument requires the management to study behaviour patterns of employees prior to implementing changes to establish what suits and what does not fit the employees’ attitudes. In such a case, there is a need to involve employees in the process of change to reduce the chances of opposition (Cuch 2013).
Legge (2005) argues that a company’s high rate of employee turnover depicts the lack of proper opportunities for development. As employees strive to grow an organisation, they also consider their individual development (Legge 2005).
In most cases, organisations without prospects for personal development push employees to seeking opportunities for development elsewhere. In evaluating performance, opportunities for development highlight the level of skills among employees. Narasimhan (2005) holds that in a bid to steer both individual and organisational development, managers should expose their employees to training, thus equipping them with better skills. Apart from the identification of developmental needs, providing sufficient opportunities for the development helps employees to appreciate change, as they are equipped with knowledge and skills to handle new changes (Mondy & Mondy 2014).
Coca Cola provides exemplary opportunities for development to employees. Throughout the year, employees from different departments are exposed to training and exchange programs across the world. In most instances, the corporation encourages its employees to enrol for studies under the sponsorship of the organisation (The Coca Cola Company 2015). However, sponsorship depends on the employees’ level of performance, creativity, and innovativeness. Such a culture denies new employees an opportunity to expand their skills and knowledge during their first years in the organisation.
Rating and Rewarding
Torrington et al. (2014) advocate the significance of summarising the performance of employees from time to time. Periodical summary of performance helps in the comparison of performance among employees within a given period (Torrington et al. 2014). Rating can happen through performance appraisals for which performance is graded against a system set by the management. According to Storey (2007), rewarding entails the recognition and appreciation of the efforts of outstanding performers and their contributions to the success of the organisation. In such a case, the management applies the concept of behaviour controlled by consequences as positive behaviour is rewarded whereas negative behaviour is punished (Compton 2005).
From this analysis, it is evident that effective managers recognise outstanding performance of employees prior to soliciting nominations for formal awards. However, rewards can be either monetary or non-monetary, but both motivate employees to continue with outstanding performance (Compton 2005).
The Coca Cola’s system of appraisal entails reviewing performance of employees twice per financial year. The management compares individual and group performance against the objectives of the company. Rating occurs via assigning percentages to the projects implemented by individuals and groups. The groups or individuals with the highest percentage of the average emerge winners as their projects carry the highest success rate. In appreciating good performance, the company has a compensation system based on performance. Outstanding performers are rewarded with monetary presents and they are treated with a vacation package fully paid by the corporation. However, the problem with such method of reviewing performance is that employees may rush and omit some of the vital processes for them to achieve their objectives within the time limits
Evaluating feedback
During the evaluation of performance, managers identify some of the areas that require rectification (Cuch 2013). Managers produce a report of areas requiring corrections coupled with discussing the contents of the report with the concerned parties. However, it is the responsibility of the employees to implement recommendations of the report and provide feedback to the management. Managers evaluate the employees’ feedback and scrutinise whether or not the worker has implemented whatever is documented in the latter report (Mone & London 2014). For Coca Cola, the evaluation of feedback takes a long time due to bureaucracies imposed by the lengthy structure of governance. The management can apply open communication to eliminate bureaucracies coupled with avoiding delays especially n obtaining feedback.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The management of performance of employees covers the majority of the practices and roles of management within an organisation. However, through evaluation of performance, the management can identify what employees need in a bid to achieve objectives of the company. In most cases, effective management of performance entails four crucial steps, viz. planning and periodical reviewing of objectives (monitoring), creating opportunities for development, rating, and rewarding outstanding performers and evaluating feedback. From the analysis of the Coca Cola Corporation, the company has implemented an effective system of managing performance amongst employees.
However, the company should make some rectifications in a bid to improve efficiency of this system. First, the company should eliminate bureaucratic procedures to ensure that reports from individual employees reach regional managers and the company’s executives immediately. Furthermore, the company should scrutinise the employees’ targets in comparison with the objectives of the organisation in a bid to ensure that workers do not skip some goals as they rush to complete their projects within the given time. Additionally, the company should prioritise training of new employees as opposed to providing opportunities based on an individual’s performance, creativity, or innovativeness.
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