Even though the Coca-Cola company is already involved in global cross-cultural management and demonstrates great results and engagement, it is necessary to make sure that its leaders are aware of the best practices to avoid or solve conflicts. Therefore, a special program to train the leaders to build trust and handle issues and conflicts should be developed and implemented for the benefit of the organization. This paper will present annotated bibliography on some sources that will be used to develop a conflict resolution leadership program.
Berglund, H. (2017). Civil society and political protest in India—The case of Coca-Cola in Kerala. India Review, 16(3), 324-343. Web.
First, to determine the essential details that should be included in the program, it is necessary to reveal the peculiarity of the company and the conflicts it faces. An article by Berglund (2017) studies one of the Coca-Cola conflicts in India, in which activists and local employees of the company pushed for a factory closure due to environmental impacts. Therefore, the lessons from this article can be used in shaping a leadership program for conflict resolution.
Moreover, the article also has details on the work of the Coca-Cola Company in India and its strategies for operating and resolving conflicts. For example, Berglund (2017) tells the story of Cola Cola’s relationship with the Indian government and the marketplace, as well as the working conditions of employees. All these features can be considered in an overview of the company and to understand its regional and global conflicts.
Gbadamosi, O., Ghanbari Baghestan, A., & Al-Mabrouk, K. (2014). Gender, age and nationality: Assessing their impact on conflict resolution styles. The Journal of Management Development, 33(3), 245–257. Web.
An article by Gbadamosi et al. (2014) studies the differences of leaders in conflict resolution depending on gender, age, and nationality. Coca-Cola is a global company with thousands of employees; hence, the preparation of leaders requires considering their cultural and personal characteristics influencing their approaches to conflict resolution. Thus, this article demonstrates which aspects should be considered to formulate a leadership program.
The authors in their study compared the styles of conflict resolution and concluded that they differ depending on age and gender. For example, older people are more likely to use conflict avoidance, while younger people are more likely to use a competitive style (Gbadamosi et al., 2014). Simultaneously, the nationality of the participants did not have a significant effect. These findings and theories will be used to create leadership programs in the different countries where Coca-Cola operates.
Tafvelin, S., Nielsen, K., Abildgaard, J. S., Richter, A., von Thiele Schwarz, U., & Hasson, H. (2019). Leader-team perceptual distance affects outcomes of leadership training: Examining safety leadership and follower safety self-efficacy. Safety Science, 120, 25–31. Web.
Tafvelin et al. (2019) study the effect of distance between team leaders and employees on the effectiveness of leadership learning. In other words, the authors investigate how leaders’ perceptions of power by team members can positively or negatively affect team relationships after a manager is trained. Since the primary goal of the program is to provide training for Coca-Cola leaders, this issue is critical to review.
The authors argue that the same perceptions of managers and their subordinates to the functions of the leader and the amount of power can favorably influence teamwork. Moreover, a study by Tafvelin et al. (2019) finds that managers who overestimated themselves had lower learning outcomes. This fact and the theory of motivation and leadership presented by the authors will be used to define the elements of the educational programs.
Tafvelin, S., & Stenling, A. (2021). A self-determination theory perspective on transfer of leadership training: The role of leader motivation. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 28(1), 60–75. Web.
An important aspect influencing the effectiveness of training leaders is their motivation. Tafvelin and Stenling (2021) examine how such motivations as autonomous and controlled affect long and short-term transfers affecting employees’ skills. Since conflict resolution skills are needed by leaders and staff of Coca-Cola company to avoid problems in the management of employees, this aspect has a significant impact on the formation of a leadership program.
The findings of the authors and the self-determination theory that they applied in the study will be used to define the program for Coca-Cola leaders. For example, Tafvelin and Stenling (2021) found that both types of motivation are beneficial for short-term transfers, while autonomous motivation is more beneficial for long-term results. Thus, the program will be developed taking into account these findings and will be, probably, aimed at autonomous motivation.