Reference no: EM132958621

As much as possible, Coca Cola tries to staff its operations with local personnel. To quote one senior executive "we strive to have limited numbers of international people in the field because generally the local people are better equipped to do business at their home locations".

However Expats are needed in the system for two main reasons, one is to fill a need for a specific set of skills that might not exists at a particular location. For example, when Coca Cola started its operations in Eastern Europe, it had to bring in an expat from Chicago, who was a polish descent, to fill the position of finance manager. The second reason for using expatriates is to improve the employees own skill base. Coca Cola believes that because it is global company, senior managers should have had international exposure. Coca Cola also tries to build a cadre of internationally minded executives from which the future senior managers of Coca Cola would be drawn.

Question 1: What is Coca Cola's staffing policy for managerial positions, Ethnocentric, Polycentric or Geocentric? Does this policy make sense? Support your stand.

Question 2: What is the strategic role of the HRM function at Coca Cola? How does HRM help Coca Cola to become a more successful international business?