Case Case Study : Coca Cola Essay

The Coca Cola Company is an American beverage corporation, manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, which is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

1. Consider Coca-Cola’s advertising throughout its history. Identify as many commonalities as possible for its various ads and campaigns. (For a list of Coca-Cola slogans over the years, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Colaslogans.)

Coca-Cola, as the leading brand in the world, has the highest position in soft drink industry. Its outstanding product “Coke” has been won the heart of everyone. However, in this case, we realize that they had a failed attempt at introducing the new product called New Coke in 1985.

Exchange rate gains or losses are brought to account in determining the net profit or loss in the period in which they arise, as are exchange gains or losses relating to cross currency swap transactions on monetary items. Exchange differences relating to hedges of specific transactions in respect of the cost of inventories or other assets, to the extent that they occur before the date of receipt, are deferred and included in the measurement of the transaction. Exchange differences relating to other hedge transactions are brought to account in determining the net profit or loss in the period in which they arise. Foreign controlled entities are considered self-sustaining. Assets and liabilities are translated by applying the rate ruling at balance date and revenue and expense items are translated at the average rate calculated for the period. Exchange rate differences are taken to the foreign currency translation reserve.

Chiquita Brands International seems to have an autocratic leadership style locally but laissez-faire at headquarter level. In the 1960s, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN) was founded and this cause guerrilla warfare. The FARC was against “the United States influences in Colombia, neoimperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and paramilitary/government violence” (Schotter & Teagarden, 2010). They was aware of problems involving “farm workers labored long hours in dangerous conditions, agrochemical runoff contaminated water, and tropical forests were cleared for expansion” (Schotter & Teagarden, 2010). Furthermore, the drug cartels were within the country and providing illegal drug trades; which is when the United States backed the War on Drugs. Somewhere between late 1980’s and beginning of 1990’s, Chiquita paid “taxes” to the illegal drug trade while hoping to keep employees safe. No changes were made until 1992 when Dave McLaughlin, Managing Director and

The multinational company that I have chosen is Coca Cola Company since it is a very popular brand and has been serving its customers for more then 10 decades and even after so many years its popularity seems to be increasing day by day which itself speaks about the company's remarkable performance. The Coca Cola Company is an American multinational corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of the nonalcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups (Wright, 1999). It came into existence in 1886 and was invented in Columbus, Georgia by John Stith Pemberton. The current statistics of the company shows that it is currently operating in over 200 countries offering its customers over 500 brands with each day serving of more then 1.7 billion (Charles W. L. Hill, Essentials of Strategic Management, 2012). .Further more the Coca Cola Company is alone responsible for the 78% of the total gallon sales of all the beverages sold worldwide. The company is listed in New York Sock Exchange and is very popular in most of the countries especially United States of America, which alone consumes 47% of the total gallons, sold worldwide (Zurkuhlen & Meeker, 1987). The company headquarter is located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America and its current chief executive and chairman is Muhtar Kent (Charles W. L. Hill, Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach, 2012).

This case describes the complexity of PepsiCo's competitive position in the Mexican soft-drink market during the late 1990's. Between 1993 and 1996 PepsiCo and Coca-Cola waged a classic cola war in Latin America. The goal for both companies was to gain market share and by the end of 1996, Coca-Cola had clearly won the Latin America cola war. In 1993 PepsiCo enjoyed a 42% market share in Venezuela thanks to the success of its bottling partner, the Cisneros Group but by the end of 1996, PepsiCo held less than 1% of the Venezuelan cola market. Following PepsiCo's anchor bottler in Mexico, Gemex, the case details the strategies employed by PepsiCo's senior management beginning in 1993 to expand its

big market share, such as Pepsi Cola, Mt.Dew, and so on. I like to drink Coke

Coca-Cola was invented by John Pemberton the Coca-Cola Company began in 1886. With more than 1.9 billion consumers a day, in more than 200 countries, Coca-Cola is dedicated to being the world’s largest beverage company by maintaining and gaining customers. Customer preference is a core value to coke. Coke has dedicated itself to meet the thirst needs of every customer. They engage with their customers at home, restaurants, sporting events. Almost everywhere customers go, they can find a coke product. They build their top line growth and capital efficiency through investment in FIFA World Cup, “Open Happiness” global campaign, and have many worldwide partners, increasing their business nearly 5% every year by creating a diverse customer base.

Coca Cola had been accused of unethical practices in some of its locations overseas, in particular its Colombian location. Coca Cola had seen initial success, but had no idea what was about to hit them. The country had a past of violent uprisings, as the government has been relatively unstable in the past few generations. As such, there is a heightened political nature of many of the citizens there, who often fight hard for workers rights. The company was accused of showing "complicity in the murders of union leaders in Colombia" (Lane, 2012, 37-1). In Urabรก, a particularly violent and politically active city in Colombia, Isidro Gil, a major union leader, was reportedly apprehended and murdered on location at one of the company's bottling plants in Colombia. Union leaders had been bringing allegations of Coca Cola breaking the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act. Many of these efforts were in the midst of a major anti-globalization trend that was occurring in Colombia.

The Coca-Cola Company is a strong multinational company with a well-established trademark that has done well since 1886. The company has improved its marketing strategies to satisfy customers in a better way. Since its establishment, it has effectively differentiated itself by being considered as the largest manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of non-alcoholic syrups

Over 3500 products are available in more than 200 countries (The Coca Cola Company, 2013).

1. What is PepsiCo’s corporate strategy? Briefly identify the business strategies that PepsiCo is using in each of its consumer business segments in 2008.

“A Coke is a Coke, and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same, and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it."(Andy Warhol, 1975) Regardless of its corporate reputation, the organizational performance and its social responsibility of Coca-Cola makes it loved around the world. Ever since its creation in 1886 Coca-Cola has been a household brand known globally for generations of families. I have to mention, of all the cases researched this is my least favorite not only because of my childhood love for the product because the ethical issues in one way or another always manage to resolve themselves not before further tainting the reputation Coke worked so hard to obtain. Most times, whether an organization is innocent of an unethical act, it becomes secondary to the suspicion of the original act. Almost as if the court of public opinion has the power to ruin the reputation of an organization based on an unfounded accusation. In spite of my loyalty after having ready the case, I do believe Coca-Cola to be flawed. The contamination scare in Belgium is a great example of a public relations nightmare. The slightest hint of impurity should have pushed Coca Cola into crisis management mode but they were slow to react, citing it a minor issue (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, (2011). It was not until local officials

Long before now has branding been considered as one of the peripheral aspects of business. Manufacturers, investors and other key players focused on the product without paying much attention to the consumer. But as the business landscape got tougher, marketing became not just an integral part of business but one of the fundamental principles of success.