How can a large global company like Coca-Cola manage its human resources efficiently? The example of the US divisions

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[...] Disadvantages - Promotion through word of mouth on the basis of subjective criteria - Some qualified employees may be ignored - Internal promotion using referencing can be based on personal preferences of the manager - Employees appear in unequal position for getting a chance to be promoted - There is inadequate training of the managers in the area of career development Advantages - Manager knows better who is qualified because of the direct supervision and can pick up the candidate who will best fill the new position - Multiple interviews ensure that the right person is promoted to the right position - Career advancement is based on the performance evaluation and facts, not emotions - Targeted selection provides career advancement to the position to which the individuals could be promoted according to the standard policies only in a couple of years Recommendation According to the advantages/disadvantages stated above, I could recommend the HR department to get more involved in the career development in order to set some logical and objectives rules for career evolution. [...]

[...] Disadvantages - The final numerical amounts are left up to the manager within his/her discretion - The system allows significant wages disparities for employees who are within the same job grader - The wide discretion of the current compensation system creates discriminatory compensation decisions which are standing unchecked - Job grade is subject to manipulation Advantages - The system has written guidelines which provide clear objectives to employees - Employees at lower job grade can be well rewarded if they achieve satisfying jobs, maybe more than some employees who work at a higher level - Managers have flexibility in making merit increase decision - Employee can petition Human Resource to have the job grade evaluated and adjusted Recommendation The job grade should be adjusted based on the job itself, not individuals. [...]

[...] This means that two employees performing the same job can receive different wages. In 1997, for example, for the grade t10, employees' wages ranged from $43,000 to $80,000, creating a difference of $37,000. Moreover, the job grades can overlap. For example a manager standing at the midpoint of the grade 12 can earn much more than the director standing at the beginning of the grade 13. Thus, some questions are coming. Why the person who has more complex responsibilities and standing in the job grade receives less money? [...]

[...] Compensation Coca-Cola Company determines the compensation of its employees (salaries, rises, stock options, awards and bonuses) based on a variety of factors. Those factors include employee's pay grade, the employee's position within the salary range of the particular grade, and, as discussed above, the score obtained on the annual performance evaluation. Under this system, supervisors and managers are given ranges and targets which correspond to these factors. Grading system The current Coca-Cola's compensation system is effective since 1996. It has broad and overlapping salary ranges allowing big payment disparities. [...]

[...] The performance of every employee is annually evaluated and, as already discussed in this paper, gets some increase in payment or promotion if the evaluation is positive. Coca-Cola has a planned promotion. It means that every employee is aware about the possibility of career evolution that he can make or expect at the beginning of the year. It is an interesting notion as HRM usually focuses on new or temporary employees and does not have much influence on career development. It rather depends on the supervisors of each department. However, there are some problems with such system of internal referencing in the process of career development. [...]