Case: The Classic Cast of Coke Classic: Fizzled Decision Making

Using the analytical model of decision making I think the process unfolded to decide to change Coca-Cola’s formula by first maybe thinking about a way to perhaps make more money in the future. So they might of diagnosed the problem by comparing their current performance to future expected performance as determined by plans and forecasts. So that was the first step. Second, they generated alternative solutions to the problem. They maybe came up with several alternatives. Third they evaluated the alternatives. It seems like Coca-Cola’s CEO, Roberto Goizueta, thought that changing Coca-Cola’s formula to a “sweeter, new Coke” could possibly be more popular than the original perhaps. Fourth, it seems like that’s the choice that they made, to replace the original Coca-Cola with a “sweeter, new Coke”. Fifth they implemented the decision by conducting market research, taste tests, and polls for over four years. Sixth they evaluated the decision, but obviously the conclusion was a negative one, because there were tons of complaints and protest groups formed, which further resulted in a class action lawsuit that planned to bring back the beloved original formula, Coca-Cola.
Coca-Cola spent some four million dollars on market research for over four and a half years to reduce the uncertainty that surrounded its decision to change the formula. The decision could not be made readily, obviously. So with that being said they used two-hundred thousand people to participate in taste tests. They also did a poll of consumers, ad agency officials, and outside consultants, who further agreed that the new Coke would be a hit.
Yes, I do think that culture had an impact on this decision. When people think of Coca-Cola they think of the red and white logo and the coke bottle shape, which is the legendary icon. So therefore culture had an impact, because as the reading says Coca-Cola was a “highly successful 99-year-old formula”, so therefore the CEO probably was thinking that because Coca-Cola was so successful he could do anything, and it really wouldn’t make a difference. He probably thought that because it was around for basically almost ten decades that it wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Yes, I think that groupthink can be blamed for the “New Coke” decision. According to page 103 of, Management: Leading and Collaborating in the Competitive World, groupthink occurs when people choose not to disagree or raise objections because they don’t want to break up a positive team spirit . I highly doubt that everybody thought exactly the same thing about the “New Formula”, or that there was a unanimous decision. With that being said, groupthink could be to blame because some of the team members who were involved with the decision that weren’t so keen about it maybe didn’t want to speak up about it or bring a negative team spirit to the table. Maybe deep down inside they thought it wasn’t a good idea, or maybe they though as the saying goes “Don’t mess with success”. If they had spoke on it, maybe they would have come up with a better decision and maybe things wouldn’t haven’t turned out like they ultimately did in the end.