Description
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Overview
Prepare a 10–12-page executive report in which you present a publicly traded company, analyze the economic environment of the company and industry, analyze the company’s global presence, analyze the effect of the macroeconomic principles, models, and tools used by the company, and recommend strategies the company could adopt to maximize long-term profits.By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:SHOW MORE
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Resources
Suggested Resources
You may use resources of your choice to prepare for this assessment; however, you will need to ensure that they are appropriate, credible, and valid. The MBA-FP6008 – Global Economic Environment Library Guide can help direct your research. The Supplemental Resources and Research Resources, both linked from the left navigation menu in your courseroom, provide additional resources to help support you.
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Assessment Instructions
Preparation
For this assessment, imagine you are a professional analyst working for an organization that is looking to expand through the acquisition of another company. After months of research, the list has been narrowed to three companies. You must take one of the companies and prepare a critical analysis of the macroeconomic environment and the challenges the company faces. This assessment lets you apply the theories and concepts from this course to a real world situation.To prepare for this assessment, you will first need to choose a publicly traded U.S. company to study and analyze. You will also need to support your analysis with examples from and references to your chosen company, as well as other scholarly or professional resources (at least 3).Your company analysis will include the following topics:
- The company, company background, industry (computer, financial, et cetera), and industry structure (for example, oligopoly, or monopolistic competition).
- If and how the company is regulated. (For example, does it fall under the jurisdiction of the EPA?)
- Factor markets.
- Global pressures and foreign competition.
- Cost structure. (For example, is it fixed versus variable?)
- Associated ethical issues.
- Economies of scope and scale.
Requirements
Prepare your company analysis as an executive report. Include a title page, executive summary, and reference page. Follow APA guidelines for all citations and references.Your completed company analysis should include the following:
- An introduction to the company and its industry.
- Include relevant background information.
- Describe the organizational structure.
- Analyze the current economic environment of the company and industry.
- Explain how things such as tax rates, unemployment, and government fiscal policies have affected the company’s economic decisions.
- Explain the role of the Central Bank in the economic environment.
- Analyze the company’s global presence.
- Describe the global economic climate the company is operating in.
- Explain how things such as free trade, trade barriers, Basel III, and/or NAFTA have affected the company’s economic decisions.
- Analyze the economic implications of operating in different market and industry structures.
- Explain the role of ethics and regulatory considerations in operating globally.
- Analyze the overall effect of macroeconomic principles, theories, policies, and tools that have influenced the company’s economic decisions and strategy development.
- Explain how macroeconomic principles, models, and tools created value for the organization.
- Explain how macroeconomic principles, theories, policies, and tools affected strategy development within the organization.
- In other words, what macroeconomic principles, theories, policies, and tools do you see at work within the company, driving the economic decisions and strategy development?
- Recommend strategies (based in macroeconomic principles, theories, models, and tools) the company could adopt to successfully maximize long-term profits.
- A conclusion that includes a long-term outlook for the company.
Additional Requirements
- Include a title page, reference page, and one-page executive summary.
- Number of pages: 10–12, not including title page, reference page, and executive summary.
- Number of resources: At least 3.
- APA format for citations and references.
- Font and spacing: Times New Roman, 12 point; double-spaced.
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Company Analysis Scoring Guide
CRITERIA NON-PERFORMANCE BASIC PROFICIENT DISTINGUISHED Analyze the economic environment of a company and industry. Does not analyze the economic environment of a company and industry. Describes the economic environment of a company and industry. Analyzes the economic environment of a company and industry. Analyzes the economic environment of a company and industry; includes a concise explanation of the factors that affect the economic environment. Analyze the global presence of a company. Does not analyze the global presence of a company. Describes the global presence of a company. Analyzes the global presence of a company. Analyzes the global presence of a company and explains the factors that affect its global presence. Analyze the effect of macroeconomic principles, theories, policies, and tools on a company’s economic decisions and strategy development. Does not analyze the effect of macroeconomic principles, theories, policies, and tools on a company’s economic decisions and strategy development. Describes the effect of macroeconomic principles, theories, policies, and tools on a company’s economic decisions and strategy development. Analyzes the effect of macroeconomic principles, theories, policies, and tools on a company’s economic decisions and strategy development. Evaluates how well the macroeconomic principles, theories, policies and tools used in a company’s economic decisions and strategy development have served to create value for the company in a global economy. Recommend strategies based on macroeconomic principles, theories, models, and tools that a company could use to maximize long-term profits. Does not recommend strategies based on macroeconomic principles, theories, models, and tools that a company could use to maximize long-term profits. Identifies strategies that a company could use to maximize long-term profits, but the strategies are not based on macroeconomic principles, theories, models, and tools. Recommends strategies based on macroeconomic principles, theories, models, and tools that a company could use to maximize long-term profits. Recommends strategies based on macroeconomic principles, theories, models, and tools that a company could use to maximize long-term profits and supports recommendations with relevant evidence. Correctly format citations and references using current APA style. Does not correctly format citations and references using current APA style. Uses current APA style to format citations and references but with numerous errors. Correctly formats citations and references using current APA style with few errors. Correctly formats citations and references using current APA style with no errors. Write content clearly and logically with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. Does not write content clearly, logically, or with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. Writes with errors in clarity, logic, grammar, punctuation, and/or mechanics. Writes content clearly and logically with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. Writes clearly and logically with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics; uses relevant evidence to support a central idea.
Company Analysis
Pallavi Bhardwaj
Capella University
Copyright ©2016 Capella University. Copy and distribution of this document is prohibited.
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
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Company Background and Industry Structure
The Coca-Cola Company, also known as Coca-Cola, is a leading non-alcoholic beverage
company. Its journey toward being the market leader began in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia. John S.
Pemberton, an American pharmacist, developed a formula for a syrup, later called Coca-Cola,
and served it at Jacob’s Pharmacy. Jacob’s Pharmacy was not a regular drug store. It was more a
general store that also sold medicines. The drink he served soon became popular and caught the
attention of Mr. Asa Candler, an American business magnate. In 1888, Asa Candler acquired the
rights to use the formula from Pemberton (The Coca-Cola Company, 2011b). By 1891, Candler
had acquired the sole ownership of the company at $2,300, and in 1892, he established The
Coca-Cola Company as a Georgia corporation (The Coca-Cola Company, 2012a).
Over time, two beverage companies have come to dominate the soft drink industry, The
Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo. There are other companies in the industry, too, but they form
a very small portion of the market share. The presence of a few big sellers is one of the features
of an oligopoly. An oligopoly is “a market structure in which only a few sellers offer similar or
identical products” (Mankiw, 2012, p. 349). Both The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo sell
almost identical carbonated soft drinks, but they each have managed to secure a loyal customer
base. Another feature of an oligopoly is high barriers to entry. The production, distribution, and
marketing of soft drinks require huge amounts of investment. This makes it difficult for new
firms to enter the market. A distinctive feature of an oligopoly is that firms engage in non-price
competition. Decades of rivalry between The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo have witnessed
intense competition between these firms where each firm has attempted to outdo the other
through concentrated advertising and marketing efforts. Neither of them has competed with each
other on pricing. Few dominant players, high barriers to entry, and non-price competition make
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
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the soft drink industry an oligopoly. The Coca-Cola Company has successfully established its
presence globally and is the most dominant player in this oligopolistic industry.
The economic environment of The Coca-Cola Company is affected by a variety of
factors, namely the disposable income of consumers, competition, emerging markets, economic
crises, and so on (Ottonello, 2015). The sales of the company depend largely on the disposable
income of consumers. A higher disposable income implies an increase in the purchasing power
of consumers, which in turn will have a positive impact on the sales of Coca-Cola.
The market share availability of Coca-Cola is threatened by the presence of strong
competitors, such as PepsiCo and Dr Pepper Snapple Group (Ottonello, 2015). The Coca-Cola
Company constantly devises innovative strategies to retain its position as a market leader. It has
adopted popular strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, product diversification, market
segmentation, and so on. For example, in March 2009, it tried to acquire China Huiyuan Juice
Group Limited in a bid to expand its juice business in China (Ottonello, 2015).
The soft drink market in the United States has become saturated, making it necessary for
Coca-Cola to seek less saturated markets. Asia Pacific and the Middle East provide lucrative
markets for the company.
Economic downturns adversely impact production, consumption, and the overall health
of economies (Ottonello, 2015). During an economic slowdown, there is a shortage of money
available for capital formation. The investment and expansion activities of Coca-Cola were
affected by the global shortage of funds.
The Coca-Cola Company has successfully faced the challenges posed by these economic
factors through its strategies. The success of its strategies has helped Coca-Cola establish its
presence in the global market.
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
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Coca-Cola’s Global Presence
Coca-Cola’s global presence can be analyzed by examining its organizational structure,
economies of scale, economies of scope, the effects of trade on its business, and competition
faced by it in the international market.
Organizational Structure of The Coca-Cola Company
An organizational structure is defined as a hierarchy that explains the delegation of duties
and workflow within an organization. Every business organization, irrespective of its shape and
size, follows an organizational structure. Being a company that operates worldwide, Coca-Cola
follows a streamlined international structure that perfectly aligns its business units across all
continents. James Quincey, President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), believes that an
efficient organizational structure, strong talent succession, and recognition of the next generation
leaders are vital to ensuring the long-term viability of the company (The Coca-Cola Company,
2016b).
The Coca-Cola Company’s organizational structure comprises four major groups and its
bottling partners. The four major groups are Europe, Middle East, and Africa; Latin America;
Asia Pacific; and North America. Each group is headed by a president who reports to James
Quincey, COO (“Operations Leadership,” n.d.).
The Coca-Cola Company manufactures concentrates and syrups, which it sells to the
bottling companies, and carries out marketing and promotional activities. The bottling partners,
such as FEMSA, are responsible for packaging, merchandising, and distributing the final product
to the vending partners. The vending partners then sell the final product to the consumers.
The bottling partners of Coca-Cola strive to establish a relationship with the customers,
namely grocery and convenience stores, restaurants, movie theaters, and so on, in every
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
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operating country. By establishing strong local relationships, they help in expanding the
company’s global reach. For years, Coca-Cola has relied on independent bottlers for its bottling
operations. Bottling companies face problems such as lack of funds, limited technical know-how,
and so on. To help solve their problems, Coca-Cola formed the Bottling Investments Group
(BIG) in 2006. Forming BIG has ensured that all bottlers become a part of The Coca-Cola
Company. BIG is present in four continents and has a workforce of 40,000 people. By registering
a whopping revenue of over $20 billion in 2015, BIG has proved to be a huge success for the
company (“The Coca-Cola System,” n.d.).
Cost Structure and Factor Markets
The cost structure of Coca-Cola is a combination of both fixed costs and variable costs.
Coca-Cola’s fixed costs include loan payments, insurance premiums, rent, and so on. Its variable
costs include the prices of raw materials, packaging expenses, the wages of workers directly
involved in production, and so on.
Land, labor, capital, and raw materials comprise the main inputs in the production
process at The Coca-Cola Company. Having established itself in the United States, the company
now ventures into countries with high growth prospects. It acquires land for setting up offices
and manufacturing plants and hires labor for its operations in these countries. The company
heavily invests in plant and machinery to efficiently carry out production. The main raw
materials used by Coca-Cola are nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners. High fructose corn syrup
(HFCS) is the principal nutritive sweetener used in the United States. Outside the United States,
sucrose, another form of sugar, is used as a nutritive sweetener. The company procures both
HFCS and sucrose from numerous sources. Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Sales & Services Company is
responsible for the procurement of raw materials, including HFCS, in the United States. The
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Comment [N1]: You did analyze the
global presence of a company and
explains the factors that affect its global
presence.
COMPANY ANALYSIS
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company procures orange juice concentrate from the Southern Hemisphere (mainly from Brazil)
for the production of juice and related products. Apart from sweeteners and juice concentrates,
the company also procures plastic, glass bottles, cartons, aluminum and steel cans, and so on,
from multiple suppliers across the globe. The Coca-Cola Company has never experienced
shortages of any raw material in the past (The Coca-Cola Company, 2011a).
Economies of Scale
Coca-Cola is a perfect example of a company that has achieved economies of scale.
Economies of scale are achieved when a company is able to reduce its per unit cost by carrying
out large-scale production. In order to meet consumer demand in more than 200 countries, CocaCola has been carrying out massive production in its numerous manufacturing plants, thereby
reducing its average cost.
However, before realizing the advantages of economies of scale, a company has to create
a huge demand for its products so that it can expand its scale of production. If there is no demand
in the market, the company will have large amounts of unsold stock. Hence, Coca-Cola heavily
invests in its branding and marketing activities to ensure that there is sufficient demand for its
products.
Economies of Scope
The Coca-Cola Company has also benefitted from economies of scope. Economies of
scope can be realized when a company diversifies its portfolio. Diversification allows the
company to lower its average cost by distributing the overall costs among the various products.
Being a leading player in the non-alcoholic beverage industry, Coca-Cola offers more than 500
sparkling and still beverages to its customers. According to Interbrand, a global brand agency,
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
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Coca-Cola has been ranked the world’s third most valuable brand with an estimated brand value
of $73.1 billion (McWilliams, 2016).
The Coca-Cola Company is the proud owner of 20 billion-dollar brands. (The Coca-Cola
Company, n.d.). The company offers a multitude of products to its customers, for example,
Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Minute Maid, and so on. Apart from carbonated drinks, the company
has diversified by selling non-carbonated bottled water (Ciel), flavored water (Glacéau
Vitaminwater), sports drink (Powerade), and so on. The diversification of its portfolio provides a
safety net to the company in case one product line fails.
The Effects of Trade and Taxes on Coca-Cola
Free trade enables companies to extend their business across the globe. Globalization and
liberalization have revolutionized international trade and unified the world. Coca-Cola is based
in Atlanta, but it has marked its presence in more than 200 countries, offering more than 3,800
products worldwide. In 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed
by the United States, Canada, and Mexico to spur trade between these countries. NAFTA proved
to be a boon for Coca-Cola in spurring its sales, especially in Mexico.
The proponents of NAFTA believed that it would generate massive employment
opportunities in the North American countries as a result of increased trade. On the contrary, it
led to the transfer of jobs from the United States to Mexico. Unlike the United States, Mexico
provides an abundant supply of labor at low wages. Therefore, many big American companies,
including Coca-Cola, have shifted their manufacturing and assembly plants to Mexico to reduce
their costs of production. NAFTA benefitted the Mexican workers, but raised unemployment
levels in the United States.
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
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The average consumption of sugary drinks by a Mexican is 163 liters per year, which is
40% more than the average consumption by an American (Watson & Treanor, 2016). In January
2014, the government of Mexico imposed a tax on sugary drinks because of the alarming rise in
obesity and diabetes levels in the country (Cohen, 2016). The per capita consumption of CocaCola took a hit after the imposition of the tax. However, the representatives of Coca-Cola were
confident of reviving their business in Mexico. The Coca-Cola Company increased their
investment in advertising, and this strategy brought positive outcomes for the company. The
surprise element was that the sales of soda across Mexico increased despite the tax imposition.
The Mexican beverage industry association, Anprac, reported that soda volumes increased by 2%
in 2016 between the months of January and April (Cohen, 2016).
Competition Faced by the Company
Coca-Cola’s biggest competitor is PepsiCo. The rivalry between the two companies is
popularly referred to as “Cola Wars.” The Cola Wars started in 1975 when PepsiCo launched
the “Pepsi Challenge” at various public locations. People were asked to drink from two white
cups, without revealing the contents to them. The results were in favor of Pepsi as a majority of
the people preferred its taste to Coke’s. Since then, there have been many instances where both
companies have competed against each other on various fronts, such as advertising, branding,
volume of sales, and so on.
Apart from PepsiCo, Coca-Cola faces competition from Dr Pepper Snapple Group and
many other small players in the soft drink industry. However, statistics show that Coca-Cola
captured 48.6% of the global soft drink market share in 2015. In contrast, PepsiCo accounted for
20.5% of the market share, and all other competitors combined accounted for 30.9% of the soft
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
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drink market (“Market Share of Carbonated Beverages Worldwide as of 2015, by Company,”
n.d.).
To continue to be recognized as a market leader, The Coca-Cola Company must build an
image of a socially and ethically responsible company. The company can build this image
through corporate social responsibility and following environmentally friendly practices.
Ethics and Business Code of Conduct
To maintain long-term viability, business organizations must also focus on ethical
behavior and corporate social responsibility apart from achieving their organizational goals.
However, Coca-Cola has been in trouble with allegations of unethical practices several times.
For instance, in 2003, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a public interest research
and advocacy organization, published a report accusing The Coca-Cola Company of exceeding
the permissible levels of pesticides in its drinks as per the European standards. The company
denied the allegation for three years, but the CSE reported the same results in 2006. Coca-Cola’s
sales volume dropped in the aftermath of the CSE report (“Pesticides in Soft Drinks,” n.d.). The
Coca-Cola Company has also been accused of water pollution. There have been reports of overextraction of groundwater in Kerala, India, leading to water scarcity in the region.
The image of the brand was tarnished by these allegations. When the allegations received
worldwide attention, the reputation of the company suffered. Many universities in the United
States and Europe banned the sale of Coke on their campuses, thereby affecting the sales of the
company. The controversies it faced over the years pushed the company to take necessary steps
to revive its image globally.
According to The Coca-Cola Company, “our sound business principles and practices
foster our strong, innovative and collaborative culture, which is committed to ethical behavior,
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
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accountability and transparency” (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016d, para. 1). The company has
formulated a 49-page Code of Business Conduct that acts as a guideline for ethical behavior to
be exhibited by the company and its employees. The company’s corporate matters are managed
by the Public Policy and Corporate Reputation Council. The Council is responsible for
identifying risks faced by communities and recommending appropriate measures to address those
risks. In addition to the sustainability reports published by the company every year, Coca-Cola
also produces an annual water report which details the various water-saving initiatives
undertaken by the company.
The Coca-Cola Company was the first Fortune 500 company to meet its 2020 Water
Replenishment Goal five years ahead of time. According to The Coca-Cola Company, “the
Coca-Cola system has achieved its water replenishment goals through 248 community water
partnership projects in 71 countries focused on safe water access, watershed protection and water
for productive use” (The Coca-Cola Company, 2016c, para. 5). On its way to becoming an
ethically-driven company, Coca-Cola collaborated with many organizations like the Global
Environment & Technology Foundation (GETF), United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and so on, on various projects that focus on
environmental protection and sustainable development.
Factors affecting the Macroeconomic Environment of Coca-Cola
PESTEL analysis can be used to analyze the macroeconomic environment that affects a
company. It is a tool used by researchers to examine how political, economic, social,
technological, environmental, and legal factors affect a company’s economic and strategic
decisions.
Political Factors
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Comment [N2]: You did analyze the
global presence of a company and
explains the factors that affect its global
presence.
COMPANY ANALYSIS
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A company has to comply with the government regulations of the country in which it
operates. Coca-Cola’s business operations are spread in more than 200 countries. Therefore, it
has to meet the respective legal requirements of each country it operates in. There have been
several instances where Coca-Cola’s business operations were affected by a country’s
government policies. In 1977, Coca-Cola decided to exit the Indian market despite a huge
customer base in India. This was because of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) being
passed by the Indian government in 1974. FERA stipulated that foreign equity should be limited
to 40% in every company. Coca-Cola refused to dilute its holding and decided to stop its
business operations in India. However, in the wake of India’s liberalization efforts in the 1990s,
the company returned to India in 1993 (Panchal, 2014).
Coca-Cola faced another political setback when its sales fell in the Middle Eastern
countries. During the Iraq War, in a show of support to the Iraqi soldiers, the citizens of the
Middle Eastern countries stopped buying the company’s products.
Coca-Cola also has to comply with the taxation system of the countries in which it
operates. The government of South Africa recently proposed a 20% tax raise on sugary drinks.
This proposal will come into effect from April 1, 2017 (“Coca-Cola Faces the Sugar-Tax
Problem in South Africa,” 2016). The tax raise is expected to reflect in the prices of the
company’s products. Because of this proposal, Coca-Cola faces the risk of a decrease in its sales
volume. Therefore, it has to formulate strategies to protect itself from such a situation.
Economic Factors
Economic conditions in a country reflect the ease and profitability of doing business.
Various economic factors, like interest rates, inflation rates, exchange rates, and so on, affect a
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
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company’s performance. Hence, companies prefer to undertake their business activities in
countries with a stable economic environment.
The recession of 2001 in the United States prompted the Federal Reserve to take
corrective actions to revive the economy. The Federal Reserve reduced interest rates on loans to
stimulate the economy. Coca-Cola capitalized on this opportunity and took loans at low costs in
2001 to finance its business operations in the following years.
The financial crisis of 2008 that shook the global economy did not have much of an
impact on Coca-Cola. Amid depressed economies and falling stocks, Coca-Cola emerged a
strong survivor. Though the crisis decreased the disposable income of people, Coca-Cola
managed to increase its unit case volume by 5% (Parker, 2012). According to the 2008 Annual
Review, the company had $4.7 billion in cash reserves and $2.6 billion of available credit (The
Coca-Cola Company, 2009). According to Jonathan Mildenhall, former Chief Marketing Officer
of the Coca-Cola Company, Coke emerged as a symbol of happiness in a time of distress.
Social Factors
A company has to continuously adapt to the cultures, traditions, demographics, and
trends prevailing in a country to maintain sustainability and profitability of its operations. CocaCola has always been proactive in satisfying diverse consumer demands. Lately, following a
healthy lifestyle has become a trend across the globe. People have become conscious of their
diet. They are substituting soft drinks with water and other healthy alternatives to fight obesity,
which is a widespread problem, especially among the youth. Coca-Cola realized that they had to
come up with a healthier alternative to their classic black drink to cope with changing consumer
preferences. On August 9, 1982, the company launched Diet Coke, a sugar-free drink for people
who wanted to avoid high sugar-content beverages. Diet Coke was a success. In 2005, the
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
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company returned to the global front with yet another successful product, Coke Zero (The CocaCola Company, 2016e). In 2007, AOL, a popular mass media corporation, named Coke Zero the
second-hottest product of the year after iPhone (Moye, 2015).
Given its presence in more than 200 countries, Coca-Cola has to formulate advertising
and marketing strategies keeping in mind the diverse cultures of the countries.
Technological Factors
Improvements in technology and constant innovation are two key factors that are
essential for a company to survive in a dynamic world. To maintain its position, Coca-Cola has
introduced various improvements in packaging, marketing, and distribution of its products.
Following the Tohuku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, Japan faced a serious
energy crisis. The Japanese government formulated stringent policies on electricity usage across
the country. The use of vending machines was banned because they required huge amounts of
electricity to function. To prevent their sales from dropping, Coca-Cola collaborated with Fuji
Electric and developed an energy-saving vending machine, “Apollo,” capable of dispensing
chilled Coke even after being shut down for 16 hours. In this way, Coca-Cola ensured that their
sales were not affected (Bruce, 2012).
Moving forward with their “Stay Extraordinary” tagline, Coca-Cola Israel used an
innovative printing machine that printed unique designs on 2 million Diet Coke bottles. The
motive behind this strategy was to let each Coke fan know that they are one-of-a-kind, and the
message was successfully conveyed by the company (Prlselac, 2014).
Environmental Factors
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
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Being the world’s largest non-alcoholic beverage company, Coca-Cola has always been
committed to providing a safe work environment to its employees, reducing its footprint on the
environment and contributing to environmental sustainability.
In 2012, Coca-Cola was placed in the third spot in the Environmental Protection
Agency’s list of on-site green power generators. The company uses biofuel and solar energy in
its facilities. It has also installed a landfill-gas-to-energy system, which is among the largest
biogas projects in the United States (The Coca-Cola Company, 2012b). Coca-Cola has launched
a variety of PET bottle recycling programs in many countries. For instance, Coca-Cola
collaborated with Vanguard Supermarket in China and launched a PET bottle recycling initiative
in which any consumer could send used PET Coke bottles to any Vanguard store for recycling
(“Packaging: Recycling,” n.d.).
Coca-Cola has invested more than $1 billion in various initiatives that deal with the
treatment of wastewater. To achieve its goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 25%,
Coca-Cola has installed 1.4 million HFC-free coolers across various countries (“Infographic: Our
2020 Environmental Goals,” n.d.).
Legal Factors
A company must comply with the regulations of the countries it operates in. Coca-Cola
has been in a number of legal troubles over the years.
In 1999, Coca-Cola was accused of racial discrimination in the workplace. It was alleged
that compared to Caucasian employees, African American employees were paid less and had
limited promotion opportunities. The employees filed a lawsuit against the company. Though the
management initially denied the allegations, they eventually ended up paying $193 million in
settlement (Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich & Ferrell, L, 2013).
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
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In 2009, Coca-Cola again found itself in a controversy when it faced a lawsuit for making
misleading claims about the health benefits of its Glacéau Vitaminwater drinks (Spitznagel,
2013). The label on the Vitaminwater bottles read “vitamin + water = all you need” and boasted
of preventing various chronic diseases, reducing the risk of eye diseases, and promoting a
healthy lifestyle. After years of legal battle, Coca-Cola agreed to add “with sweeteners” in two
places on the label of Vitaminwater bottles. It also agreed to remove the label “vitamin + water =
all you need” and stop making false claims of the health benefits of Glacéau Vitaminwater
(Stempel, 2015).
In addition to the factors discussed in the PESTEL analysis, macroeconomic policies and
tools also affect a company’s macroeconomic environment. The two main macroeconomic
policies are fiscal policy and monetary policy. Governments and central banks use
macroeconomic tools, namely, taxes, government spending, and interest rates, to execute
macroeconomic policies.
Fiscal Policy
Fiscal policy is a macroeconomic policy formulated by the government to influence
economic growth. The government can either increase or decrease its spending and taxation
levels to execute fiscal policy. An increase in government spending will lead to an increase in the
aggregate demand in an economy (Heakal, 2016). Consequently, it will have a positive impact
on the sales of The Coca-Cola Company. In contrast, a decrease in government spending will
lead to a decrease in the aggregate demand in an economy. The governments of developing and
less developed countries try to stimulate the economy by increasing spending. As the market for
carbonated drinks in the United States was already saturated, The Coca-Cola Company decided
to expand its business in the emerging markets. For instance, Coca-Cola has expanded its
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
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operations in countries such as China, India, and Vietnam. It experienced an increase in the unit
case volume of all its products by 29% in China and by 28% in India (Hirsch, 2010).
Taxation is another tool of fiscal policy. The government can either increase tax rates to
restrict economic activities or decrease tax rates to stimulate economic activities. An increase in
taxes reduces the disposable income of people, which means people will have less money to
spend (Heakal, 2016). In contrast, a decrease in taxes increases the disposable income of people,
which means people will have more money to spend. An increase in the disposable income of
people will positively affect Coca-Cola’s sales. British chancellor George Osborne announced a
two-tier levy on sugary drinks in his budget speech of 2016 (Campbell, Smithers, & Butler,
2016). This levy will come into effect from April 2018. Analysts have predicted that this move is
expected to increase the price of a can from 6 pence to 8 pence. Ultimately, the increase in prices
will persuade consumers to buy non-sugary drinks. Coca-Cola’s business is expected to be
largely affected by the imposition of the levy. However, Coca-Cola official Den Hollander does
not support the imposition of the tax. In his opinion, an increase in taxes cannot reduce the
calorie intake of people (Butler, 2016). To offset the negative effects of taxes, The Coca-Cola
Company could aim to reduce the sugar content in its drinks. It could also introduce more lowsugar drinks like Coke Zero and Diet Coke.
Monetary Policy
Monetary policy is a macroeconomic policy formulated by the central bank of a country
to regulate the money supply in the country. Changes in the money supply affect interest rates.
The central bank can regulate the money supply using three tools: open market operations, the
discount rate, and the required reserve ratio. Open market operations involve the buying and
selling of government securities to regulate the money supply. When the central bank buys
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
17
government securities, it increases the money supply in the economy. When the central bank
sells government securities, it decreases the money supply in the economy. An increase in the
money supply reduces the interest rates in the economy (Tarver, 2015). Low interest rates enable
The Coca-Cola Company to borrow at a low cost. This will encourage the company to further
invest in its operations.
The reserve ratio is a tool of the central bank that requires commercial banks to maintain
a portion of their deposits with the central bank. The central bank can decrease the reserve ratio
to increase the money supply and increase the reserve ratio to decrease the money supply
(Tarver, 2015). The Coca-Cola Company will benefit if the central bank reduces the reserve
ratio. A low reserve ratio leads to low interest rates. Consequently, Coca-Cola will be able to
borrow money at a low cost. A decrease in the cost of borrowing enables the company to raise
finance for investment and expansion (“Coca Cola – Monetary Policy and Its Affects,” n.d.).
The third tool used by the central bank is the discount rate. The discount rate is the rate at
which commercial banks borrow from the central bank. The central bank can lower the discount
rate to increase the money supply and raise the discount rate to reduce the money supply (Tarver,
2015). A low discount rate leads to an increase in the money supply, which in turn reduces
interest rates. Low interest rates encourage companies to borrow more at a low cost. The interest
rates in Europe are lower than the interest rates in the United States. Therefore, many American
companies, especially The Coca-Cola Company, have started issuing corporate bonds in Europe.
Coca-Cola has issued bonds worth 8.5 billion euros in the European market. It is reported to be
one of the largest euro-denominated bond transactions by an American company. Lately, Europe
and Japan have become favorable destinations for corporations to raise funds to reduce their
interest expenses (Xuan, 2015).
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COMPANY ANALYSIS
18
The Coca-Cola Company has faced many challenges and yet continues to dominate the
soft drink industry. To maintain its dominance and long-term growth in the industry, it has to
continuously formulate innovative growth and marketing strategies.
Strategies to Tap Long-Term Growth
In a world full of uncertainties, a company has to be extremely proactive in facing the
challenges of being a global leader. In order to maintain its position in the industry, Coca-Cola
has to continuously adapt to the dynamic nature of the world of business. The following three
strategies c
