Technology Integration
Technology IntegrationIntroduction
Technology is an inherent component in modern day organizations. Companies use technology to enhance innovativeness, minimize operational costs and boost the standards of job satisfaction among employees. Additionally, modern day corporate establishments use technology to streamline their frameworks for marketing. It is fundamentally essential for organizations to develop comprehensive models that help in assessing the effectiveness of technological frameworks. Such evaluations are pertinent in that they indicate whether a company is benefiting from a given technological system.
In the event that a given technology undermines the performance of an organization, adequate strategies for improvement should be developed. Whereas some technological frameworks are effective, they might not align to the internal systems of an organization. It is thus vital to ascertain that a technological platform conforms to the operational framework of an organization. Modern day organizations seek to enhance the implementation of technological systems by training employees. The proficiency of employees in a given technological platform serves as an excellent element for successful implementation.
The Coca-Cola Company is among the most recognizable names in the globe. The company has a tremendous history of offering high quality soft drinks at affordable prices. Although there are numerous factors that have led to the success of Coca-Cola, its technological framework has been an outstanding pillar. The company implements technology within its production, management and public relations framework. Despite this effectiveness, the company does not have an effective framework for assessing the integration of technology. Such a framework is extremely beneficial towards ensuring that the company implements the relevant technological standards. The evaluative framework will also help the company in identifying the technological platforms that align with the company needs. This paper comprises of an evaluation of the technology systems in Coca-Cola Company. This also involves an assessment of the best practices for integrating technology in the industry.
The Coca-Cola Company- Overview
Coca-Cola is a huge multinational organization whose headquarters are in Atlanta. With more than 140,000 employees, this company is a massive contributor to the global economy. The organization has thousands of establishments across different parts of the globe. During the 2011 fiscal period, the company’s total revenues were more than $46 million (Beasley, 2011). Although the company mainly specializes in beverages, it has also introduced other product lines in order to enhance diversity.Despite the global network of the Coca-Cola Company, the United States market accounts for more than 40% of the annual sales. China, Mexico and Brazil serve as other significant markets for the company within the global scene. Over the years, management has been an integral element for the success of the Coca-Cola Company.
Since its establishment, the company has been heralded by many due to its exemplary leadership frameworks. However, technology is gradually taking its place as one of Coca-Cola’s most essential pillars (Beasley, 2011). The current technological framework for the Coca-Cola Company facilitates for innovativeness as well as operational efficiency. It is thus essential to establish a problem and purpose statement about the evaluation of technology integration in the organization.
Problem Statement
Although the Coca-Cola Company has an exemplary system for technology, it lacks a comprehensive framework for evaluation. Such an evaluation mechanism is vital in terms of streamlining the implementation of different technological platforms within an organization. The evaluation platforms will also help in identifying the most effective technological systems according to the operational frameworks of the Coca-Cola Company.
TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION IN THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
The integration of technology in the Coca-Cola Company is evident from numerous platforms. This includes advertising strategies, inventory systems, supply chain management, and human resource among others. This serves as a yardstick for other firms in the beverage sector as well as other industries. Following is an evaluation of the implementation of technology within the systems of the Coca-Cola Company.
Innovativeness
It is fundamentally essential to note that the Coca-Cola Company has one of the most effective frameworks innovativeness. This is evident through the company’s innovative products and standards of service. For instance, the company has introduced the freestyle service which comprises of beverage purchases from digital machines. The company is also highly innovative in terms of its product development. For instance, the Coca-Cola Company has more than a hundred beverage flavors. This has been instrumental towards attracting new clients as well as enhancing consumer loyalty (Stair & Reynolds, 2009). The innovative mechanisms of the Coca-Cola Company are also evident through the company’s environmental programs. In order to promote sustainable development and environmental safety, the Coca-Cola Company has developed innovative packaging for its beverages. Without technological innovativeness, it would have been difficult for the Coca-Cola Company to attain these standards of environmental sustainability. In the modern corporate world, companies have to be innovative in order to remain competitive. In line with this perspective, the Coca-Cola Company has not been an exception.
Inventory Management
Apart from innovativeness, another significant attribute pertaining to the integration of technology within the organizational framework of the Coca-Cola Company is inventory management. The company has some of the most effective inventory systems. This is quite tremendous considering that the Coca-Cola Company has more than 140, 000 employees. In addition to the employees, the company deals with a lot of data. Such data includes sales records, purchasing, acquisitions, equipment and clientele among others. Through modern technological systems, the company has attained efficiency within the inventory management framework (White & Bruton, 2010). Accessing any information about the company is possible through the exemplary digital systems. Keeping intact records about all employees is extremely pertinent towards attaining operational efficiency in any company. For instance, developing effective work schedules depends on the quality of the inventory management system. Additionally, streamlining the human resource framework is dependent on the quality of the inventory management framework. Through technology, the Coca-Cola Company has streamlined the efficiency of all inventory systems.
Online Advertising
Online advertising serves as another platform which depicts the integration of technology in the Coca-Cola Company. In order to communicate with its target market, the Coca-Cola Company requires an effective marketing platform. In previous decades, the company used conventional advertising platforms such as television commercials. However, the approaches towards advertising have tremendously changed in the 21st Century (Hill & Jones, 2012). For instance, the internet has become one of the most essential platforms for promoting products and enhancing the popularity of brands. In line with this development, the Coca-Cola Company has taken full advantage of modern technology.
Every year, the organization spends millions of dollars on online advertising campaigns. Most of these advertisements are evident on popular websites. Billions of people visit different websites every day. This presents the opportunity of an excellent audience for any promotional campaign. Although the Coca-Cola Company still uses conventional promotional strategies, online adverts show how the organization has embraced modern technology. Through online adverts, the Coca-Cola Company has also managed to enhance the popularity of its brand (Stair & Reynolds, 2011). In essence, this has been a significant contributor towards the popularity of Coca-Cola’s products around the globe.
Social Media
In addition to online advertising, the integration of technology within the operational framework of Coca-Cola is evident through social media. Social networking websites are exquisite platforms for streamlining the public relations framework of any organization. Social networking has become increasingly popular. Consequently, organizations such as the Coca-Cola Company use social networks to connect with consumers. These interactions are extremely helpful in terms of maintaining close ties with the public.
It is also vital to highlight that the Coca-Cola Company obtains useful feedback from customers using social media. Such feedback is helpful in enhancing the company’s framework of innovativeness and brand development (Beasley, 2012). By evaluating the feedback, the organization can also determine the different preferences of different consumers. Social networking platforms are also helpful in providing the Coca-Cola Company with a competitive advantage over the main rivals. All these perspectives exemplify how the Coca-Cola Company has integrated technology using social media.
EVALUATION MODEL FOR TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION IN THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
In order to assess the quality and effectiveness of technological systems at the Coca-Cola Company, it is essential to develop an evaluation model. Such an evaluation model must be all-inclusive in order to examine the efficiency of all technological components. In line with this framework, the evaluation model for technology integration at the Coca-Cola Company will assess all technological components. Following is a breakdown of a comprehensive evaluation model for technology integration at the Coca-Cola Company.
Technology Platform
Standards of Performance
IT Components
Strategic Information Systems
Facilitates for corporate alliances and partnerships
Facilitates for transformational change
Enhances the organization’s global networks
Enhances competitiveness
High levels of integration
Wide area networks
Strategic management software
Secure information systems
Management Information Systems
Promotes teamwork and employee relationships
Facilitates for the transfer of information within the workforce
Streamlines the organization’s framework for decision making
Promotes innovativeness among employees
Business software
Local area networks
User driven hardware
Data Processing
Promotion of efficiency within operational systems
Enhances the productivity of employees
Effective hardware and software
High speed internet connectivity
Project management software
Database management systems
From the evaluation model, three major platforms of assessment are evident. The first technology platform pertains to the strategic information systems. This platform is crucial towards enhancing the company’s public relations framework while also promoting transformational change in the organization. The second platform is data processing and it seeks to evaluate the capacity of the technology systems to enhance the productivity of employees. The third aspect is the management information systems platform. The evaluation of this perspective helps in ascertaining whether the organization’s technological systems enhance its decision making framework (Stair & Reynolds, 2009).
In addition to the standards of performance, the evaluation model also highlights the specific IT components of consideration in each platform. It is vital to highlight that each platform requires effective hardware and software. These are inherent components of an effective technology framework in any organization.Depending on the results of the evaluation model, it will be possible to diagnose whether the Coca-Cola Company meets the relevant standards of technology integration (Burgelman, 2008). In essence, this diagnostic framework will be helpful in establishing an effective technology blueprint for the organization. Such a blueprint considers the organization’s needs, its capacity and the efficiency of the current technology framework. The evaluation model is thus an excellent tool for streamlining technological efficiency at the Coca-Cola Company.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BEST PRACTICES
The successful integration of technology in the beverage industry is dependent on numerous factors. Firstly, it is fundamentally essential for organizations to devote adequate resources for technology integration. Modern technological platforms require a lot of resources especially from a financial perspective. Technology integration should thus be an integral component of the budgetary framework of any organization in this industry (Dodgson, 2008).
Apart from resource allocation, another pertinent attribute of consideration for technology integration is the professional attributes of employees. The employees should have sufficient technical skills for dealing with the different aspects of modern technology. For instance, the workforce should be proficient in database management systems. This helps in enhancing the capacity of an organization to implement management information systems effectively. It is also crucial for organizations to ascertain the security status of technological platforms. Despite the excellent advancements made in information technology, security is a major issue. This mostly applies to database management systems. These technological platforms are prone to malicious attacks by unauthorized users or irresponsible employees. This justifies the significance of ascertaining the security framework of a technological system prior to implementation.
Using data encryption, it would be easy for organizations to maintain the relevant standards of security within the technological framework. Apart from data encryption, software authentication would also go a long way towards enhancing the security of an organization’s technological systems (Betz, 2011). The extensive use of internet tools is also a significant approach towards maintaining best practices within an organization’s framework for technology integration. This is because the internet facilitates for cost efficiency as well as well as technological integration within an organization.
Conclusion
The paper provides an assessment of technology integration at the Coca-Cola Company. Modern day organizations seek to enhance the implementation of technological systems by training employees. The proficiency of employees in a given technological platform serves as an excellent element for successful implementation. The Coca-Cola Company is among the most recognizable names in the globe. The company has a tremendous history of offering high quality soft drinks at affordable prices. Although there are numerous factors that have led to the success of Coca-Cola, its technological framework has been an outstanding pillar.
The innovative mechanisms of the Coca-Cola Company are also evident through the company’s environmental programs. In order to promote sustainable development and environmental safety, the Coca-Cola Company has developed innovative packaging for its beverages. Without technological innovativeness, it would have been difficult for the Coca-Cola Company to attain these standards of environmental sustainability. Social networking has become increasing popular. Consequently, organizations such as the Coca-Cola Company use social media to engage with customers. These interactions are extremely helpful in terms of maintaining close ties with the public. Modern technological platforms require a lot of resources especially from a financial perspective. Technology integration should thus be an integral component of the budgetary framework of any organization in this industry.
References
Beasley, D. (2012). Inside Coca-Cola. St. Martin’s Press
Betz, F. (2011). Managing technological innovation: Competitive advantage from change. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons
Burgelman, R. A. (2008). Strategic management of technology and innovation. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Dodgson, M. & Gann, D. M. (2008). The management of technological innovation: Strategy and practice. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press
Hill, C. W. & Jones, G. R. (2012). Strategic management theory: An integrated approach. Mason, OH: South-Western
Stair, R. M. & Reynolds, G. (2009). Principles of information systems: A managerial approach. Mason, OH: South-Western
Stair, R. M. & Reynolds, G. (2011). Fundamentals of information systems. Mason, OH: South-Western
White, M. A. & Bruton, G. D. (2010). The management of technology and innovation: A strategic approach. Mason, OH: South-Western
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