Communication Plan – Coca-Cola
Strategy: The Company should focus on manufacturing healthy drinks, bottled in reusable eco-friendly packages, and advertising in both developed and developing countries. Do you need help with your assignment ? Get in touch with us at eminencepapers.com.
Which Strategies Do You Plan to Utilize and Why?
Formal communication is where information flows through defined channels. The information follows a hierarchy that the organization has in place. Often, communication goes from the top level of management to the bottom level of employees. The formal channels to be used are the company’s intranet, website, and memorandum. These will be used in informing the staff as they only need to access the said information (Widhiastuti, 2012).
Informal communication is where there is no pre-defined channel for information to be disseminated. Information flows freely and in diverse directions. This makes the flow of information to be rapid and fast. The informal channels to be used are the company’s social media sites and general media. These channels will be used because they have a wider audience reach (Widhiastuti, 2012).
How the Communication Plan Addresses What You Are Hoping to Achieve With Your Strategic Goal
The company’s intranet will be used to communicate the proposed changes to the different departments involved. The CRM will be notified of the new changes regarding the introduction of healthy brands. The marketing department will be notified of their requirement to come up with marketing strategies for the new health drinks. The CSR department will be requested to liaise with the marketing team to help the brand penetrate the target markets in both developed and developing countries. The factory workforce will be notified of the upcoming training on how to manufacture the drinks and how to package them using the new reusable bottles. The finance department will also be formally notified of their requirement to finance the new changes.
The company website will be used to inform shareholders of the new upcoming changes and the benefits that will be accrued from the said changes. The shareholders will also have the option to download a PDF document from the website detailing the specifics of the new change and the impact that such a change will have on the triple bottom line.
An internal memorandum will be circulated to the various department heads requesting that they collaborate in making the change happen. The department heads will also be informed of the frequency of meetings and communication they will have throughout the course of the change implementation.
Social media sites will aim at creating consumer awareness. The marketing department will begin with teaser adverts to raise a curiosity in the consumer as regards the upcoming product. The consumers will be given vital information, specifically emphasizing the health and environmental friendliness aspects of the new healthy drinks. Creating a ‘good anxiety’ over the product release will ensure some degree of market penetration the moment the product enters the market.
The general media, including TV, Newspapers, Billboards, Radio, and celebrity endorsements, will be used toward the end of the project and closer to the launching date. Coca-Cola is renowned for its memorable product advertisements. The company will use its unsurpassed skills in advertisements to make a memorable impact on consumers.
Leadership or managerial skills in implementing the plan
Clear and consistent communication: As mentioned in the Action plan, frequent and consistent communication and feedback will be needed. As a leader, the same message needs to be communicated to the staff in clarity and frequently. The staff should be allowed to ask questions and give any kind of feedback that will progress the change implementation (Johansson, Miller, & Hamrin, 2014).
Motivator: A leader should motivate employees to work harder and to be team players in achieving the set goal. In this case, the goal is the successful implementation of the change. Additionally, because employees are often resistant to change, a leader can squelch this resistance by being a motivator. Motivation will be verbal as well as in the form of rewards given to deserving employees for their input in making the change a success (Johansson, Miller, & Hamrin, 2014).
Shared decision-making: The project manager will involve all persons in the decision-making process at every stage. Because every staff has experience in their area of work, their insights will be welcomed and implemented where applicable in the decision-making process (Johansson, Miller, & Hamrin, 2014).
References
Johansson, C., Miller, V. D., & Hamrin, S. (2014). Conceptualizing communicative leadership. Corporate Communications: An International Journal.
Widhiastuti, H. (2012). The effectiveness of communications in hierarchical organizational structure. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 2(3), 185.
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Question
Using your completed action plan, create a 500-750 word communication plan for disseminating your action plan to all of the stakeholders. Which strategies do you plan to utilize and why? Your plan should demonstrate how you plan to use formal and informal communication channels to implement the plan.
In addition, explain how the communication plan addresses what you are hoping to achieve with your strategic goal. What leadership or managerial skills will you draw upon in implementing this plan?