Posted: May 23rd, 2015

Conflicts and communication

The coca cola company is the corporation in the project proposal discussion. Coca Cola Company is a multinational beverage that manufactures soft drinks. It is one of the leading corporations in the beverage industry. The company’s shares are traded at the New York stock exchange. The company was founded in 1892 and it is popularly known for its famous brand “Coca Cola”. The company has over than five hundred brands and present in more than two hundred countries. It products are distributed through its franchise distribution system. Its main competitor is the Pepsi Company. The company has two groups that are independent of one another. These are the corporate and the bottling investments.

Decision making at the local level through the subdivision places the organization to respond to demand changes in the market. I am currently working with the corporation under the new management of Neville Isdel, who took over the corporation was going through internal conflicts. One of the wrangles was to meet the demands of employees, as well as striking a balance of to keep the cost in check (Schermerhorn, et al, 2009). The organization imposed greater health benefits on workers making them on strike in 2005. The main aim of the organization is to continue earning operations while keeping costs at the bare minimum. The organization at hand sees employees as cost objects, and thus is on a mission to reduce costs (Robert et al, 2005).

The major problem of my interest is the great power of the corporate board making overall decision for the organization.

Problem statement

The company’s organization’s structure is hierarchical with the corporate being the top decision maker. This results in conflicts of the two independent groups, since the bottling investments feel undermined. Additionally, the conflict exists further in that the decision making organ institutes policies that do not augur well with the bottling investment. It is for this reason that I wish to research on the organizational structure and management behaviors associated with it. The centralized nature of the organization makes communication difficult.

Solutions to these problems could include the following.

• Finding a negotiator to arbitrate a deep rooted problem
• Having leaders with great communication skills
• Organizational restructuring
• Listen to people and employees
• Conducting a research on the history of the organization

The management arises as the two departments see each other as rivals, and this always results in communication problems. The organization can look for a negotiator, who is an external party to table the issues affecting the firm. The negotiator will help the two groups come together in a harmonious way. This will increase coordination between and among the various divisions (French, 2011). The organization can conduct a research concerning the past of the organization to identify trends and challenges that the organization has ever had. This is because the past is likely to recur. The research findings can aid the organization to conduct an organization restructuring. This can help break the autonomy of the corporate group in decision making, and is likely to promote cohesion between the two rival groups.

Additionally, the leaders who take office should be people who are good communicators (Monroe, et al). Good communicators listen to other people’s needs, and they will help maintain a good rapport with the organization. This will make the organization work towards it desired goal.