Name of student Essay Example for Free

Name of student Essay The siblings Rosa and Enrique cannot be strictly called emigrants or refugees because of the rather peculiar nature of their emigration. They are emigrants because they wish to have a better life far away from their village where they were peasant farmers. They possibly may be called refugees because they had to leave their village to spare their lives. For the sake of proper designation by the authorities, they could be called refugees as they are more that than just emigrants. . Their journey to the north was fraught with difficulties at every turn. At first they met with a coyote Jaime, who appeared to be kind to them and actually took them across the border only to try to rob them when he thought their guard was down. They were apprehended by the border authorities and were sent back to Tijuana where they failed to convince authorities that they were Mexicans. On getting to Tijuana, they had no source of income and Rosa had to resort to stealing in order to feed herself. Eventually they met the coyote who was able to take them to the US, they had to sell their mothers chain which probably was the last thing they had to remind them of her and symbolically they parted with the last thing that linked them with their village. To get to the US, they had to go through a sewer pipe that was rat infested in almost total darkness for hours on end that was a horrible experience. It was not all bad anyway, not long after they left their village they tried to stow inside a truck, and the friendly driver asked them to join him in front on the drive to Oaxaca. Besides, he gave them a crash course for being Mexicans or at least coming of as ones. That proved to be a very valuable lesson later on. They met one person who helped them to rent out an apartment when they got to California, and the same person presented Enrique a job offer in Chicago. At the same time, Rosa met a nice lady Nacha who helped her by giving advice and the basic notions about the life in the US as an undocumented immigrant. In order not to have great problems they began taking English classes and proved to be good students, they were hard orking and did not expect that anything could happen to them. This movie evokes sympathetic feelings to undocumented emigrants, having been given a behind the scenes look into their stories. Granted that all of them might not have such dramatic stories in their lives, it is worth noting that in spite of the legality or otherwise of their status under it all, they are just regular people with hopes dreams and aspirations who just purs ue a better life or who are actually running away from a real imminent threat to their lives. And this situation they find themselves in puts them in a very vulnerable state where they can be exploited and victimized by people who have real or imagined issues with their stay in the US. Watching this movie has softened my opinion of immigrants. They may not have the correct documentation, but they deserve a chance to improve their lives.

Nissans Need for Leadership and Change

Nissans Need for Leadership and Change Case Summary The case point of departure is Nissans troubled financial position and loss of credentials in 1999. As a Japanese company Nissan had built impressive manufacturing platform for its 43 car models. However due to poor business decisions in the past the company profitability suffered, hence the need for a new leadership. Carlos Ghosn stepped in at 1999 promising to turn the company around in two years. The case describes the challenges that he dealt with in restructuring the company, building trust trough transparency in operations and promoting new type of leadership styles at Nissan. There are internal and external factors that affected the Nissan performance prior to Carlos Ghosn arrival as COO. The internal factors refer to the current management style that focused on short-term performance and technology development and neglected the customer satisfaction and service. The management showed ignorance to designer trends and customer preferences, which had weaken the Nissan brand image. The external factors refer to the devaluation of the yen in relation to the US$. The economic conditions were not in a favor for Nissan as the government support to the industry seemed to evaporate. The rating agencies: Moody and Standard Poor threaten to lower the Nissan investment rating from investment grade to junk if Nissan did not acquire support from another car company. The exam requirement is about evaluating the Carlos Ghosn approach in turning Nissan around in relation to the following aspects: 4 Question 1 Resistance to change Was resistance inevitable? What were the underlying causes of the resistance? With Carlos Ghosn becoming the new COO the managers and the employees probably had mixed fillings about what his intentions were in relation to their job security. Known as the Le Cost Killer Ghosn did not hesitate to challenge the current organizational culture and internal processes. The core of the resistance at Nissan was the COO Brazilian ethnicity with Lebanese heritage and cultural differences of approaching the problems. It is well known that the Japanese management culture is masculine with large power distance and obedience to the higher ups (Hofstede). Ghosn had shown a proactive management style at Renault by improving cost-efficiencies and due to the good management record previously, he was headhunted and become a COO of Nissan. It is logical to assume that the new COO should be someone who knows the local culture and customs, but in this case Ghosn was probably aware of the fact that despite of his shortage of knowledge about it, he had an advantage to have worked on four continents and overcome cultural differences. Previously in 1991 Nissan had been successful by producing good quality cars, but the company distanced itself from the customers needs of stylish, innovative cars. The company stall and later the disruptive management style which was short-term market share oriented, instead of long-term profitability oriented, contributed to the Nissan need of strategic change. The keiretsu investments in suppliers equity and real-estate had created a false security net. The keiretsu tradition is wide spread in Japan and in that sense Nissans managers believed that the investments equal to loyalty and cooperation within the suppliers family. It could be assumed that despite the higher purchasing costs the Nissan managers did not terminate the unprofitable relationships due to vertically-integrated long-term interdependencies. The managers involved in the negotiations and decision making probably had been afraid of losing their jobs and status quo if the plant closes down and discontinue the supplie rs relationship. In order to overcome the challenges Ghosn implemented the Nissan Revival Plan. In the plan he set strategic targets to be reached by 2001. His plan was to reduce cost by closing down unprofitable plants, terminating keiretsu agreements, developing new cars and improving the Nissan image. One of the reasons why Ghosn was careful about the Japanese culture was the agreement that Hanawa made with Renault before the strategic alliance took place. The agreement stated clearly that the new COO has to stay sensitive and in respect to the Japanese culture. Without the cross-functional teams the resistance of implementing the change would have been too strong for Ghosn to execute its plan. The CFTs were members of key business operations and with their sub-teams they reported back to the supervisors. Ghosn put and emphasis on accountability and responsibility by eliminating positions that did not have direct influence on the company performance. The resistance was inevitable due to Ghosn mana gement style, however in the process of restructuring he managed to convince the managers that the new strategic approach of decentralization will benefit Nissan, respectively the employees on the long run. Question 2 Organizational culture In your opinion how did different parts of the Nissan organization feel about Ghosn and why? Was Ghosn successful in enlisting their support? The paradigm of the delayed decision-making process and the informal meetings in order to achieve consensus as well as aligning the decision making process must have caused tensions with the Ghosn arrival. However when he assembled the CFTs, he restructured the organization by flattening the decision making process. Within the organizational restructuring Ghosn implemented the matrix structure, which required change in the leadership styles within Nissan, as well as change in the working process. Five factories were closed and 21,000 jobs within management, manufacturing and dealer net were reduced in the process. As a gaijin Ghosn had to prove to the media, the investors and the stakeholders that his NRP requires the Nissan employees full cooperation and trust. The performance based incentive 6 system in terms of cash and stock options was unknown in the Japanese culture before. Also the seniority reward system had been removed and replaced with KPI (key performance indicators). This caused insecurity within the workers and lack of cooperation, especially among the older managers who probably had expected their rightful rewards. There must have been strong resistance within the different parts of the organization due to Ghosn carrot and the stick way to put things in perspective. By dissolving unprofitable production and demanding responsibility from the managers he showed determination and also concern about the Nissan organizational culture. In the process he enlisted the organizational parts on his side by letting the managers to be involved in the restructuring as well. Ghosn successfully executed the NRP as the case describes, Nissan had the best financial performance in history. He also managed to reduce the purchasing costs by 20%, the supplier base and the keiretsu influence. Question 3 National culture How pronounced have cultural differences been between Ghosn and the organization? Was culture a helper or hinder for Ghosn? As described in the text under Addressing national cultural issues career advancement can only be achieved by Nennkou Jyoretu, where the senior manager had the power, and the responsibility of the decision-making. Although the managers had control over the operations, the team-members were hindered of contributing in the decision-making, hence the slow development process. The fear of loosing face and failure disrupted the value chain at Nissan and when Ghosn came on board, he had to make some restructuring changes and to adjust the power distance. Japan is known for high employment security country and employees take pride in their work. However, Ghosn faced a challenge discovering that every team believed that their department is not responsible for Nissan problems and therefore unaware of the fact that the company is close to bankruptcy. The formal and informal decision making was not efficient at Nissan as the managers did not follow-up on their orders. There was too much focus on the functional structure and cost per unit. 7 Instead the managers should have focused on the customer satisfaction and meeting the investors demands for improving the earnings and the stock value. Ghosn listed five urgent problems that Nissan was facing and despite the cultural differences he believed that diversity was a strength rather than weakness. He communicated the 3 managerial principals to the employees: transparency, execution and communication. With his open management style he turned down barriers of power and empowered the middle management by establishing the cross-functional teams. Despite the major cultural differences between Ghosn and the organization it worked well in the end due to Ghosn leadership skills of letting the employees to contribute to the changes by involving them in the decision management the initiation process and the implementation phase. Question 4 Luck and timing Would Ghosn and his cross-functional team been able to make the same changes a few years earlier? There are some pros and cons in answering this question. As mentioned in the text the government practice of bailing out troubled companies did not appear in the case of the bankrupt financial house Yamaichi. This event played a psychological role for the Nissan employees and Ghosn used it cleverly to steer his new strategy. Carlos Ghosn has a background as VP at Renault. The management skills and resources acquired at Renault most evidently helped him to execute the strategy changes at Nissan. This raises the question whether he could be capable to execute such a management Excellency at Nissan without the management experience at Renault, probably not. A few years earlier Ghosn would not have had the support from Hanawa. The cross-functional teams worked well due to the internal and external economic conditions. They were with the sole purpose to drive change and transform Nissan from a consensus culture, where those with different opinion did not have to chance 8 to pledge their point of view to a consensus culture with roots to the western organizational culture style. In 1999 Nissan had probably reached the lowest point in financial performance and brand equity. Few years earlier the situation was bad, but not worse in the financial sense. 9 Additional question Other aspects of the evaluation Renault Nissan alliance The CEO Hanawa gained an alliance with Renault who took 36,8% equity stake in Nissan. Hanawa negotiated agreement as follows: Nissan retains its own name The Nissan CEO would continue to be selected by Nissan board of directors Nissan would take the principal responsibility to implement the revival plan Benefits Economy of scale New markets Shared distribution Sharing technology and know-how Developing new technology based on the shared experience Being able to react timely to the market needs Benefits for the both companies By selecting the most committed suppliers, the number of the suppliers can be reduced, hence gaining advantage of controlling the suppliers for price negotiation Sharing the same platform in production To secure smooth transition in the alliance Cooperation comity secured the implementation of the decisions taken during the transition period The managers acted upon the transition decisions, become better to give feedback and follow through New ideas of synergies merged in the aftermath

Donald McKay :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the 1840’s and 1850’s America experienced its golden age in shipping and sailing.1 At the front of this era was Donald McKay whose innovative ship designs lead to the numerous sea speed records, some of which stand today. For most of the early 19th century American ship building consisted of merchant and cargo ships. It took a long time for these ships to sail across seas. With the increased speed came decreased time to wait for pay. Another need for increased speed was the California gold rush of 1849. People wanted to make the trip as quickly as possible in order to stake their claims. Donald McKay’s clipper ships enabled people to do that.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This paper investigates why Donald McKay is the father of American clipper ships. He was born in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, September 4, 1810.2 When Donald was sixteen years old he had the desire to learn the trade of ship building, so he went to New York. In 1826 New York was the worlds best shipbuilder and shipbuilding was America’s leading industry. McKay decided that in order to learn the trade he must obtain an apprenticeship. So he became an apprentice to Isaac Web who has appropriately been called the â€Å"Father of Shipbuilders†. This is because more successful master shipbuilders came out of Web’s shipyard than from any other place in America.3 At the conclusion of his apprenticeship he went on to work for Brown & Bell. In 1832 packet building was the best and most readily available work in New York. The majority of these ships were built at Isaac Web’s, Brown & Bell’s, and Smith & Dimon’s. At this time McKay was wh at would be called a free lance ship wright. McKay then married Albenia Martha Boole the eldest daughter of John Boole.4 At this time McKay then went to Newburyport and formed a partnership with William Currier.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They formed the firm Currier & McKay and built the Courier. This was McKay’s first real production as designer and builder of a ship. The Courier was built for the coffee trade between New York and Rio de Janeiro and was sold to Andrew Foster & Son.5 Their firm soon dissolved and McKay then become connected with William Pickett and formed the firm of McKay & Pickett. Under this name they built the New York packet ship St. George. This was the first of the Red Cross Line.

Plate Tectonics Explained Essay -- essays research papers fc

The interior structure of Earth is chemically divided into an outer solid crust, the mantle, a liquid outer core, and a solid inner core. The core is largely composed of iron, along with nickel and silicon. Other lighter elements are usually in the crust. The core is divided into two parts, the solid inner core and the liquid outer core. The inner core is thought to be solid and primarily made up of iron and some nickel. The outer core is all around the inner core and is believed to be made up of liquid iron mixed with liquid nickel. The outer core is about 2890 to 5100km. The inner core is 5100 to 6378km. Earths mantle is mainly composed of substances high in iron and magnesium. The melting point of every substance depends on the pressure and the deeper we go the higher the pressure becomes. Because of this the upper mantle is said to be semi-molten and the lower mantle solid. The upper mantle iron-substances are semi-molten because it is hot and they are under little pressure, lower mantles iron-substances are solid because they are under a lot of pressure. The mantle is 35 to 2890km. Earths crust ranges from 5 to 70 km in depth. The thinnest parts are the oceanic crust made of dense iron magnesium silicate rocks and underlie the ocean basins. The thicker crust is continental crust, composed of sodium potassium aluminum silicate rocks. The crust varies from 0 to 35 km or 5 to 70km. Convection currents occur because the density of a fluid is related to its temperature. Hot rocks lower in the mantle are less dense than the cooler rocks above. The hot rocks rise and the cooler rocks sink because of gravity. Convection currents are thought to be the driving mechanism of plate movement. Convection currents cause convergent and divergent movements. When the rising part of the convection current rises it causes the upper mantle to move upward and in a lateral direction. This causes the mantle to split and new material to rise creating new ocean crust. The downward motion of the convection current pulls the mantle crust downward at convergent boundaries. When part of the mantle crust is uplifted the weight of the lifted part, pushes the sinking mantle down, causing motion in the tectonic plates. A convergent boundary is where two tectonic plates move towards each other. And when they collide they form either a subduction zone with its associated island arc or an... ...ld Ocean. They are somewhat divided by the continents into the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian and Arctic. The World Ocean is 361 million km ² in area, the volume is 1370 million km ³, and its average depth is 3790 m. The landmasses are divided into seven continents. They are Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, North America, South America and Europe. But before there were seven it was said to be just one giant landmass called Pangaea. Supposedly this super continent began to break up about 225-200 million years ago, eventually coming into the position the continents are today. Similar fossils of several different animals and plants that once lived on land had been found widely separated on the continents. There would be no way that these could have gotten where they were found if the continents were then as they are now. Works cited 1.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  History of Plate Tectonics -http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/tectonics.html 2.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Earth Structure http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/vwlessons/lessons/Earths_layers/Earths_layears4.html 3.)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Earth Science Book -copyright 2002 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The Black Panthers Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Black Panther Party was founded in 1966 by party members Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in the city of Oakland, California. The party was established to help further the movement for African American liberation, which was growing rapidly throughout the sixties because of the civil rights movement and the work of Malcolm X, and Dr. Martin Luther King. The Party disembodied itself from the non-violence stance of Dr. King and chose to organize around a platform for â€Å"self-defense†, (which later became part of the party’s original name). The party was established to help further the movement for African American liberation, which was growing rapidly throughout the sixties because of the civil rights movement and the work of Malcolm X, and Dr. Martin Luther King. The Party disembodied itself from the non-violence stance of Dr. King and chose to organize around a platform for â€Å"self-defense†, (which later became part of the party’ s original name). As a Marxist-Leninist organization and worked with many white activist organizations(for example, California’s Peace and Freedom Party). The Black Panthers name was derived from The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (or SNCC, pronounced "snick"), while working to register voters in Lowndes county, Alabama. Following the success of the Mississippi Freedom Party, organizers worked to create the Lowndes County Freedom Organization as an independent party. At the time, it was required that all organizational parties have visual emblem for [non-educated] voters. The SNCC contacted a designer in Atlanta for logo. The designer first choice was dove, but the workers of SNCC thought that it was too gentle, so the finally the designer suggested that the organization use the mascot of Clark Atlanta College, The Black Panther. Thus, the Freedom Party). Thus, the Lowndes County Freedom Organization became The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, and soon the parties were founded all across the nation. Many of these parties were unconnected to the SNCC. On April 25, 1967, the first issue of The Black Panther, the party official news organ, [was distributed]. In the following month thereafter, the party launches a march on the California state capital fully armed, in protest of the state’s attempt to band the possession of loaded weapons in public. Bobby Seale proceeded to read a statement of protest; while ... ...tions, and numerous dirty plots. The Black Party eventually fell apart due to the FBI’s systematic attempts to disassemble the party. Due to major financial dilemmas, some members went on to join another group called the Liberation Army, whiles others subdued themselves to enact a pro-peace philosophy, and others were incarcerated (Assata Shakur, Sundiota Acoli, Afeni Shakur). (Wikipedia:The Free Encyclopedia,1997).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the contrary, even though the old Black Panther Party was actually diminished due to antics by the federal government, a group calling themselves the New Black Panther emerged from the Nation of Islam decades after of the original Black Panthers. A new National Alliance of Black Panthers was formed on July 31, 2004, and is said to be inspired by the grassroots activism of the original organization, but is not related. (Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, 1997). Refrences The Black Panther Party. (1997). Marxists.org Retreived April 11,2005 http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/balck-panthers/1966/10/15.htm The USA Archives.(1969). Marxists.org Retreived April 11,2005 http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/balck-panthers/1966/10/15.htm

English charles dickens great expectations Essay

Discuss Dicken’s presentation of the relationship between Pip & Joe explain why it is important. Pip is a young boy who loves with his sister and her husband, Joe Gargery. One day while Pip is at the graveyard tending to his parents resting place he encounters a convict named Magwitch who forces Pip to give him file and food in order to escape. Then later on he is hired as a playmate by Ms. Havisham for the adopted daughter, Estella, who he later falls in love with and pursues most of his life chasing. Then Pip discovers he has a benefactor who remains a secret and he leaves his home in order to live in London. There he meets an old an acquaintance, Herbert Pocket, whom he met while visiting Ms. Havisham. Herbert and Pip become very close friends however while Pip is in London socially improving himself he neglects the friendship he has with Joe and as time goes by they gradually grow apart. Later on Pip meets his true benefactor but to his shock it was not Ms. Havisham but instead Magwitch who made a fortune. Magwitch decided he wanted to thank Pip and repay him by helping him escape and allows him to become a gentleman. However while Pip is visiting Ms. Havisham the estate is caught on fire and Pip does his best to try and save her. Magwitch wishes to escape and in the process Pip discovers he has a long lost daughter who he thinks is dead but is revealed it is actually Estella the love of Pips life. However Magwitch also dies in the process of trying to escape just before his conviction and then Pip falls terribly ill and is nursed better by his long time friend Joe and his new wife Biddy. Later on Pip realizes Estella is educated by suffering and the pair follow their own routes. There are a number of themes in this story which could include Suffering, Obsession and Greed. Each of these play a major part in the story and the build up of Pip’s journey in the story. But the main factor of the story is the friendship that Pip and Joe share and how it changes and it differs from the start but there are references made and short clips often show the respect and courtesy which Joe shows towards Pip. There are three main events which take place where they clearly describe the relationship that the two have and how Pip wants to become a gentlemen and how he wants to heighten his social and economic status effects how they treat each other. One of the three main events which describe the whole relationship that Pip and Joe have and how it progresses through the story is just after Pip’s sister dies where he teaches Joe to read and then Joe describes a very personal moment from when he was a child in this short piece you can see how close they actually were because in the rest of the story Joe does not show another moment from his past to anyone and see how much Joe can trust Pip and the respect in which he has for him. But this differs from when Joe decides to visit Pip in London there is completely different atmosphere no longer does Joe look to Pip as a frail young boy in need of attention and guidance but now a gentlemen and feels out of place and when he is drawn out of his comfort zone he feels alone and lost and this allows him to see Pip in a different light and also this works for Pip he has lived in London for a while and is used to the highest standard of people and living therefore when Joe decided to visit him he remembers the marshes and the home he used to live in and Joe as a common man and not as a socially accepted person.

Coca-Cola Management Strategy

Assessment 1 Case Study Report of Coca Cola Company Hang LU S81293 Executive Summary The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:  KO) is the world's largest beverage company, largest manufacturer, distributor and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups in the world and is one of the largest corporations in the United States. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in 1886. The Coca-Cola formula and brand was bought in 1889 by Asa Candler who incorporated The Coca-Cola Company in 1892. Besides its namesake Coca-Cola beverage, Coca-Cola currently offers nearly 400 brands in over 200 countries or territories and serves 1. 6 billion servings each day. [4] The company operates a franchised distribution system dating from 1889 where The Coca-Cola Company only produces syrup concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold an exclusive territory. The Coca-Cola Company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Its stock is listed on the NYSE and is part of DJIA and S 500. Its current chairman and CEO is Muhtar Kent. CONTENTS Introduction Company Background Mission and Vision Goals The Competitive Advantage of Coca-Cola Brands Five Forces Analysis Intensity of the Competitive Forces Generic Business Strategy Conclusion Introduction Coca-Cola has sold more than one billion servings every day. More than 10,450 beverages are consumed every second. It is present on all seven continents and is recognized by 94% of the world population. Coca-Cola grow from its humble roots as a home-brewed Georgia-based patent medicine to be the international soft drink powerhouse today. Coca-Cola used many technologies to achieve its rise to the top of the soft drink industry, defining new technologies and establishing paradigms that popped the status quo like a cap from a soda bottle. Through technology, Coca-Cola perfected Coke as a beverage and spread it throughout the world. Even today, the US soft drink industry is organized on this principle. â€Å"The Coca-Cola Company† is now the largest soft drink company in the world with products that include Coca- Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, and Fanta etc.. It is employing about 71,000 people worldwide in over 200 countries. Coke produces about 400 brands consisting of over 2. 600 beverage products, such as water, juice and juice drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, teas, and coffees. Coke products are distributed though restaurants, grocery market, street vendors, and others, all of which sell to the end users: consumers, who consume in excess of 1. 4 billion servings daily. Company Background The Coca-Cola Company is now the largest soft drink company in the world. Coca- Cola became the largest manufacturer, distributor, and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups which operate in more than 200 countries. Coca- Cola was invented on May 1886 by Dr. John Stith Pemberton in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. The name Coca-Cola was suggested by Pemberton's book-keeper, Frank Robinson. He penned the name Coca-Cola in the flowing script that is famous today. Vision & Mission Coca-Cola has been marketed with catching marketing themes such as â€Å"Drink Coca- Cola† and â€Å"Delicious and Refreshing†. After years of globalization and brand building, Coca-Cola proudly pronounces its Mission Statement â€Å"The Coca-Cola Company exists to benefit and refresh everyone who is touched by our business†. And their goals: The basic proposition of our business is simple, solid and timeless. When we bring refreshment, value, joy and fun to our stakeholders, then we successfully nurture and protect our brands, particularly Coca-Cola. That is the key to fulfilling our ultimate obligation to provide consistently attractive returns to the owners of our business. Indeed, it was! Coca-cola's mission â€Å"our people and our promise† mainly focuses in Coca-Cola world is to celebrate, refresh, strengthen and protect. Coca-Cola feels that they should offer a soft-drink to the entire global community, which is environmentally safe and accepted. The company's mission is directed towards its soft drink business and the strategy management changes that will be forthcoming. Coca-Cola appeals to the long term interests of stakeholders particularly shareowners, employees and customers. This helps to support the local populations by offering job opportunities, and it also helps out the local and global economies in which the employees live. Woodruff's vision that coca-cola to be placed within â€Å"arm's reach of desire† came true from the mid 1940s until 1960, the number of countries with bottling operations nearly doubled. It is so feasible that the company can reasonably expect to achieve in due time. Coca-Cola strives to find new innovations to better its products and to stay a step ahead of its competitors as what is mentioned in the mission â€Å"the action we will take†. This is a key element in the company's drive to be number one in the industry. Also it is constantly looking for improvements in everything that it does, both in the production and the manner in which the company is run daily. Goals â€Å"That combination infuses all the elements of the strategy that we are implementing to deliver value to our share owners in the year to come, and well into the future: a) Accelerate carbonated soft-drink growth, led by Coca-Cola; b) Selectively broaden our family of beverage brands to drive profitable growth; c) Grow system profitability and capability together with our bottling partners; ) Serve customers with creativity and consistency to generate growth across all channels; e) Direct investments to highest potential areas across markets; and f) Drive efficiency and cost-effectiveness everywhere. † The Competitive Advantage of Coca-Cola Brands The company's sharp focus on its business also gives it a cost advantage. Although Coke earned less than five cents per 8oz serving last year, it did manage to sell about 380 bil lion servings! That kind of volume has advantages. The Coca-Cola Company has invested in building its trademark for over 113 years. Consumers worldwide recognize the Coca-Cola trademark and icons as symbols of quality and refreshment. Because Coca-Cola is the â€Å"ideal† soft drink that sets the benchmark for consumers' expectations, businesses that display and associate with the trademark immediately signal that they are committed to serving the most preferred soft drinks in the industry. The advantages of coca cola in adopting globalization trends are first of all with the economic scale that is bigger (talking about the whole entire world instead of one country, as mass marketing) it help coca cola to actually reduce the cost of producing adjusting to the country where the product is manufactured and price (cutting the cost of transportation, export and import cost as well as tax). It also helps coca cola to gain competitive advantages of a high quality product. The localize system or management help the company to expand the local network with the value creation functions and also established in low c ost markets, instead of the country of origins. They also can have a tight bound of long term contract with the low cost supplier in each country. Five Forces Analysis Today, soft drink industry is a very competitive industry to be in. Porter's five forces model shows us that there is already a strong barrier to entry established by the traditional concentrate producers such as Coca-Cola, suppliers' bargaining power is strong, buyers' power is weak, substitutes for beverage products are easy to produce, and the intensity of rivalry is strong since the industry is already facing a slow growth and high industry concentration. †¢ Suppliers' Bargaining Power Suppliers' bargaining power in this beverage industry is strong. For example, the soft drink ingredient producer – NutraSweet who specializes in producing concentrate sweeteners. Since there is a rising concern in health and safety issues in the soft drink drinking within the consumer market, the healthier sweetener, aspartame, that NutraSweet markets allowed it to have a high impact and input on costs of each bottler's product costs. Since NutraSweet was the only marketer that marketed the standard aspartame the costs of using NutraSweet's aspartame is relatively high compare to other substitutes such as sugar. Buyers' Bargaining Power The Buyers of the soft drink industry are the concentrate bottlers. Bottlers of the soft drink industry have a low bargaining power since they form the largest base (the greatest number) of all the elements of Porter's five forces. Most of the bottlers are Coca-Cola owned before 1980, and almost all of them are under some sort of contractual agreement stating that bottlers must accommodate the programs set u p by the concentrate producers' for the products that they have franchised. High fees are required of the bottlers re such as high start-up costs ranging from $100,000 to several million dollars, paying for two-third of promotional costs, while costs were typically split fifty/fifty for doing consumer promotion and trade. It is also hard for bottlers to identify their own brand identity since their products are made of concentrates and the names that they use are the names of the concentrate manufacturer . Coca-Cola, hence discouraging their own product differentiation. †¢ Rivalry Among Competing Sellers There is a strong barrier setup by the traditional concentrate producers. For new rivalry to enter into the market is extremely difficult since the two soft drink giants such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola have already created a soft drink tradition and branding. Also since the soft drink giants have already created their bottler network and also owned majority of them, it is even harder for new entrants to be gain an absolute cost and competitive advantage. Governmental policies also create obstacles to the new entrants in the cola industry since the word â€Å"Coke† is strictly mean Coca-cola. Current rivalry within the soft drink industry is mainly evolved around the two giants who are Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The two giants owned most of the spacing for the vending machines, developed most the flavors for the popular products within the market, and occupied most of the soft drink market shares within the industry. They are able to utilize and plane well ahead of other smaller companies within the industry. Other smaller firms are mainly there for competition between the two firms. One example would be PepsiCo's purchase of Seven-Up's to expand its product line. Once Coca-Cola is aware of PepsiCo's expansion, readily they are also willing to purchase Dr Pepper. However since the buyout of Seven-Up's domestic operations was blocked by the Federal Trade, Coca- Cola also dropped its pursuit on Dr Pepper. In the current soft drink industry, there is a constant battle between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. †¢ Substitute Products Threats of substitutes are high since soft drink industry is a highly unstable industry. Switching costs for the consumers are extremely low since the pricing of soft drinks is cheap and consumer's taste is ever changing. There is no tradeoff for the consumers to switch to other products so it is easy for consumers to change their loyalties. One example would be the Pepsi Challenge rose by PepsiCo over the states. The challenged had blinded people over the states tasted different brands of soft drinks and found out that majority of them liked Pepsi over Coke, thus PepsiCo's Pepsi-Cola was able to gain market share and attracted a larger market share. †¢ Potential New Entrants The soft drink industry is an extremely difficult industry to get into. The existing soft drink industry is already dominated by experienced dominant players with over century-long experience, new entrants would have to be truly unique to be able to gain an absolute competitive advantage within this industry. If their products are unique, they would not have to worry about the fear of product substitution. Once the new entrants have gained an absolute advantage within the industry, they would have to deal with the suppliers who may have a strong bargaining power over pricing on the ingredients they need. Apart from that, they would need buyers, which are bottlers in this case. Once they have a base of bottlers with them, then only they have a chance of success in this industry. Intensity of the Competitive Forces Coca-Cola created a very strong barrier to entry for its competitors. New entry into the market is extremely difficult. The two soft drink giants, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo controlled the whole market. In addition, Coca-Cola has already created its bottler network and also owned majority of them, it is even harder for new entrants to gain an absolute cost and competitive advantage. The threats of substitutes are high since soft drink industry is a highly unstable industry. Switching costs for the consumers are extremely low and there is no trade-off for the consumers to switch to other products so it is easy for consumers to change their loyalties. Generic Business Strategy In order to gain competitive edge in the consumer market, other than responding quickly to the external forces and its internal environment, Coca-cola also looks into its position within the industry. The generic competitive strategies pursued by Coca-Cola are: Low Cost Strategy & Broad Differentiation Strategy Coca-Cola is seen to have employed these two competitive strategies: Focused Low Cost and Broad Differentiation. The company has chosen to serve the consumer drink market and achieved cost savings by means of: ) Achieving economies of scale in the mass production of all Coca-Cola products lowers its unit cost. ii) Long learning, knowledge and experience in production and process, as the company existed more than a century. iii) Efficiency and effectiveness in manufacturing and distribution network. iv) Sharing of research and development, advertising and promotions cost among the brands carried by Coca-Cola has enabled to achieve economies of scope. C oca-Cola uses Broad Differentiation strategy on the basis of: i) Offering of wide range of its drink products . round 230 brands are currently being offered in the global market. ii) High brand image and recognition have resulted in superior product perception among consumers. iii) Packaging and bottling . The use of contoured shape bottle and the slim curly font have made Coca-Cola an easily recognized symbol. Conclusion Nowadays, Coca-Cola is not just a brand. It’s already a part of people’s life. It leads carbonated soft-drink industry growth. The company is monopolize the beverage market over a century. However, People are becoming increasingly health conscious, this has led to a decrease in the consumption of soft drink. It is the big challenge for coca-cola company in the future. References 1. ^ â€Å"Board of Directors Elects Muhtar Kent Chairman†. The Coca-Cola Company. April 23, 2009. http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/presscenter/nr_20090423_muhtar_kent. html. Retrieved 2009-05-02. 2. ^ Coca-Cola Products: New Coca-Cola Products, Brands of Beverages & More 3. ^ â€Å"2009 Form 10-K Annual Report†. Form 10-K. The Coca-Cola Company. 2009. http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/investors/form_10K_2008. html. Retrieved 2009-08-31. 4. Cola Wars : Five Forces  Analysis October 18, 2007