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General Motors – 100yrs but is there 100 more
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General Motors – 100yrs but is there 100 more?
Introduction
General Motors Corporation mainly referred to as GM is the second largest automobile manufacturer in the world after Toyota. The main area of specialty for the company’s expansion, marketing as well as production of trucks, cars and car parts and its primary operations are situated in Europe and North America (Pelfrey 53). The company employs more than 325,000 people worldwide. The budget of GM is said to be bigger than that the output of some countries such as Pakistan and New Zealand. The research on this company is of great significance as its operations affect millions of consumers in the world. Any economic impact in this company affects the economies of the many countries that GM operates in (Daft & Marcic 22).
The company has been in an economic crisis which if not well addressed, could lead the company into a state of bankruptcy. For instance, in 2008, the company reported a 30% decrease in the level of profits which was partially accredited to the hastily increasing gas prices. This resulted into a massive decrease in the volume of sales and thus the company found itself struggling to make profits and stay afloat. The downfall of the economy has also caused the company to lose customers due to reduced purchasing power. The company has ended up turning to the government to seek financial aid in order to finance its operations. As a result of the current financial crises that the company is facing, it has resolved to lay off about 47,000 employees in the move to reduce the total operating costs.
This study will therefore, be aimed at looking at operations of the company in the past 100 years and how the financial crisis faced by the company has affected its operations. This will then be coupled with ascertaining the best ways of addressing those problems to facilitate recovery of the company (Fukuyama & Birdsall 119).
Data on GM Case Study
GM is the biggest automobile maker on an international front. Like most companies in the auto mobile industry General Motors has its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). GM was founded in 1908 and has stood as the global industry automobile retail principal since 1931(Fukuyama & Birdsall 96). GM’s vehicles are sold to over 200 countries around the globe, and GM employs slightly over 325,000 people, having a presence in manufacturing businesses in 32 states.
All automotive operations globally are united into a sole firm, the General Motors Automotive Operations. This encompasses General Motors North America (GENERAL MOTORSNA), General Motors Europe (GENERAL MOTORSE), General Motors Latin America/Africa/Mid-East (GENERAL MOTORSLAAM), and General Motors Asia Pacific (GENERAL MOTORSAP). General Motors is well known for its trucks as well as sport utility vehicle (SUV) sales. The company made immense sales of Pickups unlike other producers for a long time in 12 years time period (Fukuyama & Birdsall 113). It has more fuel-proficient cars and trucks (30+mpg) unlike other producers.
Market share statistics from the 2004 annual report are as follows:
GENERAL MOTORSAP 5.2% up (China is GENERAL MOTORSs second largest market at 9.3%)GENERAL MOTORSLAAM 17.4% up (GENERAL MOTORS is #1 in Brazil, Doubled its share in Argentina & Venezuela) GENERAL MOTORSE 9.5% up (Some loss in Europe due to erratic exchange rates) GENERAL MOTORSNA 26.7% down .7% US Trucks 29.0% down 1% Total Global 14.5% down 1%
Source: http://www.gm.com/Sales of trucks represent 60% of General Motors total United States Vehicle sales which went up by 1%. GM expects 30% of its sales to come from new production lines. GM current products that fall into the Problem Child group of the BCG Matrix are foreign brands like Holden, Vauxhall, and Opel, and full-size trucks and sport utility cars due to high fuel consumption (Nanto 103). The vehicles in the Star class include hybrid vehicles such as the 2006 Chevy truck, and smaller SUVs and crossover vehicles like the present Pontiac Vibe.
The financial crisis of GM started in 2005 when it declared that it had made a loss of $1.1 billion in the quarter of that financial year. This was due to increased medical expenses coupled with poor sales that affected the performance of the global largest automobile company (Pelfrey 63). GM has featured as a symbol of United States of America industrial might. The giant is now facing problems that affected other big firms like airlines and steel.
Three decades before most vehicles that Americans bought in each year were manufactured by GM. It is now estimated that those statistics have dropped slightly beyond a quarter. While in the past poor performance in General Motor’s business was affected by intense complications in the U.S. automobile sales, the present difficulties arise in the high sales period of five years in auto sales record. The auto market industry is changing rapidly.
For instance, Boeing has been surpassed by Europe’s Airbus to be the best commercial airplane manufacturer. The International Business Machines had difficulties building a strong baseline in the era of PCs before disposing off the business to a Chinese company (Cable 47). The market dynamics have been changing pretty quicker than firms.
GM has resisted venturing in gas-electric hybrid automobiles, for example, as Toyota’s Prius is a favorite in the market. GM chief executive ignores the dynamics in the auto market and affirms sales will increase. “In many ways, General Motors is struggling with the entire panoply of complications encountered by American businesses,” Morici said. This means that costs related with, labor, management, health care, pensions, far outweigh those of international rival automobile companies. General Motors’s loss of $1.1 billion ($1.95 per share) was a huge fall from the $1.21 billion ($2.12) in earnings the firm presented for the corresponding quarter during the last financial year earlier. In 2005 the loss included one-time expenses linked to the reformation in Europe and programs of job attrition, but regardless of these the firm lost $839 million.
Auto mobile industries dominate a huge distribution from resources, requirement distributors to retail goods, impacting on the United States economy (Cable 49). GM’s problems have resulted from mismanagement of the supply chain. This kind of business scenario has been observed in where few old stalwarts cannot keep up with more efficient and competitive rivals. Airlines have higher turnovers on subsidized fees because of volumes, company car in Asian markets make huge returns on automobiles that end users viewed having benefits, as observed by George Hoffer, a prominent economist and automobile industry specialist at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond (Taylor & Weerapana 332).
In what George Hoffer viewed as an exceptional turnaround for General Motors the brands sold do not create loyalty from consumers; General Motors discontinued domination as it developed other cars during the year 2005. The Chevrolet Cavalier for instance, became the Cobalt, the Venture was the Uplander, the Pontiac Grand Am was the G6, and the Buick Regal became the Lacrosse just a complete rebrand. Japanese automobile companies introduce new models into markets, they keep the old names, so they can get the virtues of the product and the consumers know where it fits. Consumers on their own volition are not in a position if G6 is appropriate not even to mention what an Uplander is.
Driving Sales of new products is disappointing especially for GM, and the North American marketplace where GM once controlled is shrank (Conrad 66). This was plainly observed in the first-quarter loss results of 2005. Earnings reduced to $45.77 billion, from $47.83 billion during the corresponding financial results of the previous year. This was partly because GM was reducing production to help manage costs. GM had indicated that its productivity would be poorer than anticipated, and the financial results coincided with it. This made prime credit-rating firms hint that they could fall General Motors bonds one notch to junk status later in the year (2005).
In 2008 General Motors went to Washington for loan assistance from the federal government. GM was on the verge of collapse due to the collapse of car sales around the world. This was as a result of the financial losses that was stemming from the banking sector. GM, being one of the giant automakers, was not expected to have fallen quite as quickly as it did because the company had been the industry leader in terms of sales for more than a decade (Cable 62). GM faced a liquidity crisis because it was running low in terms of cash, with only an estimated $16.2 million in reserves and cash outflows of $6.9 million. The company was required to file for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 if the Federal government did not offer loans.
GM executives were given a platform to relay their sentiments concerning the financial situation of their automotive industry before members of Congress and the press. During this devastating economic situation, the executives were expected to raise any concerns about the potential economic implications that would affect them in case they become bankrupt. The setbacks that GM faced resulted from declines sales and lack of available credit in a country where more than 90 % of all new cars are bought with financing. In addition, the oil prices reached an all time high in 2008 making the price per barrel to be way above $100. Most of the gas stations in America were retailing gas at $4 per gallon causing consumers to reduce sharply the use of cars. Americans shifted to more fuel-efficient automobiles and this was not a product associated with General Motors.
In 2008 General Motors was experiencing a shift in demand to the expanding economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. These markets were seen as the new emerging markets that would be a new source of generating sales revenues. In China these saw General Motors sales grow from 2 million cars in 2001 to nearly 8.9 million in 2007 because the Chinese government forces foreign car companies to form joint ventures with the local car manufactures (Pelfrey 38). Although this foreign countries are not immune to the growing turmoil in the developed nation’s economies it is believed that General Motors be able come out of its liquidity crisis.
There has been a growing trend in the industry because of the demand of hybrids and this is expected to continue. This has been brought about by the high oil prices due to the economic downturn and this is not expected to charge in the long-run. More Americans are now aware of the benefits of having a fuel efficient vehicle during this tough economic times and this has created a demand over the last decade with sales of hybrid gas-electric vehicles in the United States increasing. General Motors has not been able to capture this market but it predicts it will make great strides in the sales of hybrid gas-electric vehicles. This will be good news for General Motors because it will maintain its long-term market share and potential profit. Due to the anticipated increases in fuel prices and growing concern over environmental matters the sales of hybrid gas-electric vehicles is expected to grow (Pelfrey 42). There is a strong indication for that in a few years time there will be a strong entry into the alternative fuel market because of the high fuel costs which will eventually create room for grown in General Motors in the long run.
There has been some progress in the alternative fuel market because in 2008 Opel Insignia won car of the year in Europe. This has been a major mile stone for General Motors because the new vehicles were reviewed to be of high quality and at the same time they set good standard for the company. The sales shoot up because of these award winning cars even in the face of the difficult recession. General Motors is also building a large fleet of fuel-efficient automobiles with more than 30 mpg on the highway. This is important to General Motors’ strategy in meeting the projected growth in future and at the same time dealing with the demand of fuel efficiency hybrids like Chevy Volt
Findings and Discussion
An analysis of the operations of GM, the financial crisis that it experienced and related issues enables one to be acquainted with information needed to resolve the problems at hand. For instance, the financial crises faced by the company made consumers to lose confidence. There was no available credit and there was uncertainty in the economy. This led to lower levels of consumption and increased levels of unemployment and uncertainties in the outcomes of the presidential elections (Howard 48). GM’s long-term restructuring strategy was put on hold due to the global financial collapse of 2008. Most of the experts in GM viewed this as a successful game plan that would gear the company on an upward level but the resulting loss of sales placed the company in a crisis situation.
General Motors felt the sales slump affected the whole industry as they heavily depend on sales and the availability of credit for customers. In 2008 the sale fell by 24% and this meant that the companies were under pressure to conserve cash by cutting production costs. Unfortunately, General Motors, had yet to develop a healthy balance sheet, and this brought the company into a liquidity crisis that forced it to seek government backing or face potential bankruptcy. There was a drop in auto dealerships and this meant that any reduction in dealerships would create unemployment. Many companies in the US were reluctant to enter into new contracts because of the credit crunch and instead chose to retain their old stock that otherwise would have been dealt with (Taylor & Weerapana 324).
GM’s of turning to the government for funding is seen by many analysts as misappropriations of tax payers money since the company does not seem to have concrete plans to get itself out the financial crisis it is facing (Daft & Marcic 28). The company is basing its payback plan on the assumption that by 2014, many Americans will increase their rate of car buying to about 18.4 million annually. This figure will be 500, 000 more than the sales made in 2000 when the sales of the company were very high. Considering the current economic condition faced by the country, such projects are not likely to be attained any soon. The total sales in the year 2014 might not even exceed 13 million and this may make the repayment of funds obtained from the government difficult.
The share of the company is likely to drop from 21% to about 19.1% by the year 2014. However the company will have to do what it takes to prevent the share from falling below 19.1%. So with the numerous problems facing the company which have threatened to render the company bankrupt, the big question remains what measures the company ought to take to ensure that they are able to regain financial stability (Cable 66).
Conclusion and Recommendations
This research is of great benefit to the General Motors Company as its findings can be used in implementing policies to enhance increased productivity of the company. GM is a global company that has branches in many countries as it capitalizes in the large volume sales of its vehicles that have been on great demand for many years. The methods of data collection used in the final study are precise as the questions in the questionnaires are straight forward. In an attempt to improve on the quality of this research, most of the questions in the questionnaires are open ended to give the responders a chance to raise their opinions. Some of the research questions that are presented in a multiple choice format assist the researcher in data analysis as their answers are either affirmative or negative (Cable 75).
It is noticeable that the problems faced by GM were related to mismanagement and the economic crises of 2008. The operations of the company ought to be restructured so as to set in place new policies that aim at customer satisfaction and efficacy to organizational operations. This assertion implies that customer needs in terms of affordability of the automobile machines, lower fuel consumption and proper branding ought to be put in place (Nanto 103). Additional marketing and promotion strategies should also be used so as to widen the market share of the company. This will enable it to regain its competitive advantage, maximize sales and eventual increase its profit margins. There is also a need to diversify its investment structure so as to attract many customers and expand its market domination on the global front. With these strategies, GM’s 100 years market domination legacy can be acquired and still dominate for 100 more years (Pelfrey 59).
Works Cited
General Motors Corporate Website: http://www.gm.com/
Bergman, Manfred. Advances in mixed methods research: theories and applications. Boston: SAGE Publication, 2008.
Cable, Vincent. The storm: the world economic crisis and what it means. Melbourne: Routledge, 2009.
Conrad, Bud. Profiting from the world’s economic crisis; finding investment opportunities. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2009.
Daft, Richard & Marcic, Dorothy. Understanding management. New York: Cengage Learning, 2010.
Fukuyama, Francis & Birdsall, Nancy. New Ideas on Development after the Financial Crisis. New Delhi: JHU Press, 2011.
Howard, Davies. The Financial Crisis. New York: Polity, 2010.
Nanto, Dick. Global financial crisis: Analysis and Policy Implications. Boston: DIANE Publishing, 2010.
Pelfrey, William. Billy, Alfred and General Motors: a legendary company. New York: AMACOM Division, 2006.
Taylor, John & Weerapana, Akila. Principles of economics: Global Financial Crisis. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2009.
Appendix
Sample Research Questionnaire
Was GM affected by the global financial crisis in any way?
Yes (b) No
If yes, how did it affect the daily operations of the company?
Generally how would you rank the impact of the global financial crisis in GM?
Positive (b) Negative (c) Moderate
Were there any employees who had their jobs terminated due to the financial crisis?
Yes (b) No
Will government funding contribute in alleviating the financial crisis at GM?
Not really (b) It will help a big deal (c) It will depend on the amount of financial input
What do you consider to be the top most five solutions for the problems created by the financial crisis in GM?
How were the overall sales at GM affected by the crisis?
They decreased (b) No change (c) They were moderately affected
Has the management contributed in any way towards this financial crisis?
What ahs the management done so far to save the economic situation at GM?
How can GM avoid such financial crisis in future?
Naturalism in Jack London’s “The Law Of Life” Seen Through; Man Against Nature – Surviving The Elements (2)
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Naturalism in Jack London’s “The Law Of Life” Seen Through; Man Against Nature – Surviving The Elements
To demonstrate how little control a person has over his or her own life, Jack London uses the naturalism genre in “The Law of Life.” Delacroix asserts that “clearly, it matters very little whether or not man has a mind.” Even though it may appear that this is about nature having no limits, it is really about naturalism in the sense that humans are at the mercy of nature and the impersonal force of fate. In “The Law of Life,” a short story by Jack London, he uses naturalism in this way. While on a survival mission, a nomadic native tribe abandons one of their elders, Koskoosh, to die.. He describes himself as “an old leaf, clinging lightly to a stem,” a description he attributes to himself as an elder of the tribe. He’s blind, but he’s got a great sense of hearing. Because of this, both the tribe and Koskoosh recognize that his time has come and he will pass away. Their law of life refers to this innate awareness of mortality.
Naturalism is exemplified by the tribe’s law of existence. Life’s fundamental law dictates that every human being must die. No matter how hard they try, they will die one day. Inevitably, there will be a certain amount of stress. The elders of the tribe who came before him are referred to by Koskoosh as “episodes,” as if they had vanished like clouds in a summer sky. Even he was a blip in time, doomed to perish ” (749). After realizing that his death will have little effect on the environment, Koskoosh finally takes action. To him, it’s clear that Nature isn’t interested in an individual but rather a race or species. Each one of us has a duty to fulfill, and Koskoosh is fully aware of this. They had to die as soon as they finished their mission, because that was the only option. Koskoosh, for example, discusses the roles that each gender plays in their tribe, with a particular emphasis on women’s roles. An attractive young woman in their tribe has no responsibilities other than finding a husband. In time, men begin to approach her and eventually ask her to marry them, as she becomes more attractive. To be a mother and caretaker of the tribe’s home is her sole duty when this happens. When this happens, her task is done. How did Koskoosh end up in the snow with a pile of wood like him? Because “Nature was not kindly to the flesh,” the tribe sees this as normal. On the other hand, nature gave each individual a specific task to complete. Otherwise, he would have lost his life. In the end, it didn’t matter what happened to him ” (749). By nature, humans are entrusted with the responsibility of preserving and multiplying life. Nobody can escape death, no matter how hard they try (London’s 2011, for example). It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’ve come from; death is inescapable. Using the moose and wolf pack as an example, Koskoosh elaborates on this theme. ” A wolf is killed by the moose in the first two positions. However, the wolves’ third stance crushes the moose to the ground. It doesn’t matter how hard the moose tries, it can’t stop what’s coming. It is inevitable that the moose will succumb to natural law and be preyed upon by the pack of wolves. In the same way, because of the same attitude, Koskoosh has come to terms with his lot in life. His survival instincts dictate that he use his burning branch to frighten the wolf away. The fact that he is on the verge of death doesn’t deter him from fighting for his life. It’s finally dawned on him that there is no hope for him, so he gives up on life. It is time for him to give up his weapon of choice. Koskoosh knows that no matter how hard he tries, death will still take him. Nature does not pre-select individuals for survival or long-term health. Let it happen rather than fight it, according to Koskoosh and his tribe, because everyone dies. In the face of an unstoppable force, they opt for a life of acceptance and cooperation rather than opposition. In contrast to today’s society’s view of death, this concept and practice are incomprehensible. When a loved one dies, people today are devastated, and their families will do everything they can to keep their loved one alive as long as possible. It is common for families to spend thousands of dollars on Chemotherapy to treat a loved one who has been diagnosed with cancer. They don’t give up on life as easily as Koskoosh and his people. For many people, the value of human life appears to be more important than observing natural laws and customs.
The most brutal manifestation of London’s naturalistic vision is the law of life of a nomadic native tribe. He and his people have come to terms with the fact that he is doomed to die. They’ve shown that they accept death as a fact of life by abandoning him. They leave Koskoosh in the wilderness and let Mother Nature take care of the rest of the situation. To keep the group alive, they know that they can’t stop or prevent death, so they keep going anyway. Because Koskoosh has accepted his own death, the rest of his tribe is able to thrive. Every member of the tribe is aware that death is inevitable and accepts it. A final method of surviving for the tribe is naturalism interpretation. As they see it, the natural world and fat are both impersonal forces that can’t be controlled.
Principle No. 1 of Life. A person’s culture reveals his or her true nature through the way he or she lives, interacts, believes, and learns. Indigenous culture is so rich in myth and history that it is impossible for non-Native Americans to misinterpret it. When Jack London describes Native American culture and their outlook on life, regarding Darwin’s theory of evolution, he emphasizes naturalism as an important determinant for survival. It’s called “The Law of Life” because it’s a constant cycle. Birth and death are the beginning and the end of a person’s life. Young girls, like Autumn leaves turning brown, become more appealing until they meet a man and have children, at which point they become unattractive due to their age and manual labor, says Koskoosh (London, 389). It is impossible to avoid the inevitable progression of life and death. The manner in which death occurs and affects a living organism is what distinguishes it from birth. As a result of the harsh conditions in which they live, the tribe in Jack London’s “Law of Life” accepts the law. Hunters may have difficulty returning with food for the tribe because of heavy snowfall, or animals may hibernate to protect their young during the winter months.
Naturalism is a literary term that refers to a writer’s attempt to be true to nature by avoiding the fabrication of stories about what life is like (London 250). Naturalism is an attempt to show that there are many factors that determine the existence of a human being, and that he has little or no control over them. Nature has no control over man, but he has the ability to build shelter, clothing, and supplies to keep himself safe from the elements. Life and nature are on an equal footing when it comes to man’s abilities. Everything we do, from eating to sleeping to living to dying, is a cycle. Numerous stories of Jack London, the struggle for survival is never-ending. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’ve come from; nature is a constant and never-ending cycle.
When it comes to survival, man and nature go head-to-head. The main objective is to stay alive. Darwin’s Big Fish Theory In order for a species to survive, it must eat the smaller fish. Forces that are irrational and inexhaustible confront both man and the natural world. Weather in the Arctic region is both harsh and never-ending because of Mother Nature and the region itself. Wild animals, on the other hand, live better lives than members of the tribe in the frigid weather. Animals, for example, have a natural instinct to avoid any kind of danger, so they fare extremely well. In tribal societies, men who can no longer provide for their families are usually put to death. After death, man became a part of nature, becoming a part of the eternal and never-ending process of nature itself. An elderly man by the name of Koskoosh has a strong hold on naturalism. His ability to keep up with the tribe deteriorates over time. If Koskoosh is too ill to travel with the rest of the tribe due to the changing seasons, his family will be put at risk. People who are sick, elderly, or otherwise incapable of caring for themselves must be moved on so that the healthy, younger, and more vibrant human beings can take their place.
It doesn’t matter if Koskoosh fights it or not, death will eventually come. Even though he seemed content with death, he is now trying to fight for his time on earth, recognizing that he is on the brink of dying. Now that he has realized how far he has gone, Koskooh realizes he is completely out of his depth. Isn’t it all in the past now? That was the general rule, wasn’t it? How can I justify clinging to life? the breathtaking sights in London (394). As he waits for his last breath, he drops the stick into the snow and collapses on one of his knees, exhausted. As a general rule, regardless of one’s religion or ethnicity, death is inevitable. A river cannot be halted, and life cannot be rewritten. Nature, on the other hand, is unforgiving, powerful, and lacking in empathy. Using his own experiences, Koskoosh tries to figure out why he’s willing to give up his life for the greater good. He contends that we would all pass away and that humans will invariably strive to live, no matter the odds.
Work Cited
“Overview: ‘The Law of Life’.” Short Stories for Students. Ed. Sara Constantakis. Vol. 35. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. London, Jack. “The Law of Life.” The Bedford Anthology of American Literature Vol 2. ‘Ed’ 2008. Susan Belasco and Linck Johnson. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. Pp. 388-394.
ADDIN Mendeley Bibliography CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY London’s, J. (2011). Naturalism in “The Law Of Life.” In The Cambridge History of the American Novel (pp. 499–514). https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521899079.034
General Mills and Coca Cola
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General Mills
General mills products are widely known in many countries and it is common to find that nearly every house consumes one of Mills products. One their brands, Gold medal flour, have been known since 1880 and their sale has been on growth since their introduction to the market. There are other brands like Pillsbury that is refrigerated and frozen dough and there is also frozen vegetables green giant brand. Other than the products mentioned above, General Mills other brands include Betty Crocker that has existed since the 1921. Other than dessert mixes, there has been Betty Crocker cooking book that is common among most chefs.
The company’s product mix is actually all the products it offers to their customers. There are four dimensions that include width, length, depth, and consistency. The width is all the product lines that a company deals with, this can be affected by how much sales one company makes because more sales imply coming up with more product lines. General Mills width of product mix includes cereals, dough, fruit, meals, pizza, pastries, and vegetables that the company continues to expand as their sales increase. Other than product width, General Mills deal in product length which is the total number of products that the company actually offers. Product length is therefore all the products drawn from all the product lines within the company expressed as the average products. For General Mills, they have so much to offer from their different product lines. The Company’s product mix depth is the number of variations in each product. In practice, General Mills produces the identical products that are differentiated to meet the diverse demands of its customers. When it comes to depth, General Mills manufacture products and pack them into different sizes and quantities depending on the purchasing powers of its customers. The flavors are also packed into numerous quantities with particular reference to ice-cream, one of the firm’s popular product lines, in order to make them affordable to all the customers independent of their income power. The fourth dimension is consistency which is how a company produces, uses, and distributes its products. General Mills have done well in consistency; for instance, in distribution, General Mills has succeeded in distributing their products to a number of countries using international distribution chains.
The Coca-Cola
If there is one company that has been consistent in the global non-alcoholic and soft-drinks market, it is the Coca-Cola Company. The company, through its product invention and innovational skills, has improved their products throughout with technological evolvement and changes in demands and taste of its potential customers. The company has been in existence for over 127 years and has more than 500 brands with at least 3500 products dominating the soft-drinks market. The Coca-Cola Company has been able to dominate and lead the market due to its diverse product lines created through high degree of product innovation and invention, making it to sustain the changing market demands and needs. As a way capturing the new consumers’ product needs, Coke launched the diet soda to increase their market sales by targeting potential customers with health related issues and complications such as cancer. Coca-Cola has also spent a significant amount of resources to advertise and market their products, hence building positive brand image and popularity. Given the stiff competition that Coca-Cola faces from Pepsi Inc., Coca-Cola allocated resources for corporate social responsibilities (CSR) and activities. CSR(s) is a strong marketing tool that Coca-Cola uses in building strong positive brand image among its potential consumers. The company gives back to the society (customers) by establishing foundations targeting minorities and disadvantaged members of the society. The product safety campaign has also helped Coca-Cola to grow; it sell its products in plastic bottles that are recyclable and convenient for the consumers.
There is always room for improvement and the Coca-Cola Company can get more ideas to improve their products. To increase their customer base to capture low income earners, the company should come up with smaller sized products that are affordable to low income groups who are currently uncovered in the market. Similarly, given the health issues resounding Coca-Cola Coke products, the company should develop healthy drinks by working in collaboration in health experts to increase the fighting against diabetes and obesity.