Ethical issues in virtual education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Ethical issues in virtual education - Essay Example   The foundation of coaching once confined to local academies and education centers in past has extensively been extended to national and international colleges, universities and distant educational institutions. Not only this that schools, colleges and universities have been established like mushrooms in modern times, but also several new disciplines have also been introduced in these institutions with the passage of time, which encourage the students in respect of conducting researches to approve or reject the latest developed theories related to pure and social sciences and management and marketing etc too as well. Hence, the 20th century brought tremendous revolution in all fields of life including science, technology, industrialisation and advancement, which significantly left indelible imprints on teaching profession. Large-scale modifications in educational training centres not only upraised the level of education, and eradicated ignorance and illiteracy altogether, but also offered the people belonging to different cultures and communities the chances of seeking education at higher level even while staying at homes or in their own community and get professional education without any restriction of age, sex and region. The concept of virtual education is thus a wonderful achievement in this regards. University education is the continuity of the same pattern that was introduced by Plato in the ancient Greece, but providing of education through distance in various regions of the globe is the product of modern society.   

Leonardo the Renaissance Man Essay Example for Free

Leonardo the Renaissance Man Essay During the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci became a legend. He is noted as one of the greatest artists of his time as well as one of the greatest artists that ever lived. Throughout his life he accomplished many things and did them with astounding ability. Today people refer to someone who appears to have excelled in countless things as a â€Å"Renaissance Man†. Leonardo da Vinci is one of the best examples of this classification. Through always searching for more knowledge, he became well versed in many areas. Leonardo excelled in painting, scientific studies, mathematics, and countless other fields. Leonardo da Vinci is the best example of a true Renaissance Man. Although Leonardo was accomplished in many areas, his true talent was in his artwork. â€Å"Leonardo da Vinci excelled as a painter and was a pioneer of many painting techniques† (Leonardo Da Vinci: High Renaissance Artist, â€Å"Leonardo Da Vinci†). His skill in art came naturally. At a young age, it was discovered that Leonardo was talented at it. He loved to draw and was eventually admitted into an apprenticeship with one of the best known artists at the time, Andrea del Verrochio. Here he learned many techniques for painting which included oil painting, sfumato, tempera, and chiaroscuro. He used these techniques to paint many of his famous works. Some of which include the Mona Lisa, the Last Supper, Madonna of the Rocks, and countless more. Leonardo was a member of the Compagnia di San Luca, a guild for talented artists. He was always sought after by commissioners and was paid highly for his work in the guild. Some say the reason why Leonardo was so highly adored was because he had a way of making the painting seam real and because he sought perfection in everything he did. Before starting a painting, Leonardo would sketch and do studies in his notebook in order to practice that perfection. If he started the final and it wasn’t good enough, he would abandon his work. Leonardo painted throughout his lifetime and had a very successful art career, painting over 25 successful pieces. Today he’s thought of as one of the best artists in history. â€Å"Leonardo was obsessed with unlocking the secrets of science†¦He believed by studying it carefully, it could be accurately reproduced† (Arwen, Leonardo da Vinci- the Genius). Throughout his life, Leonardo was fascinated by nature and all of its sciences. As a child he would sit outside and reproduce images of birds and flowers in his notebooks. This admiration for science continued into his adulthood when he started constructing drawings of the human body. Leonardo was so intrigued by this concept that he dissected human bodies in an attempt to learn all he could about them. All together, Leonardo performed nearly 30 dissections. While performing these studies, he drew his findings. He completed detailed sketches of the heart, skull, fetus, muscles, and bones which are still used today. Although natural curiosity kept Leonardo studying the human body, he started his obsession because he believed he would be able to better depict people in his paintings. Leonardo had a theory that artists possessed a unique skill of observation and they could accurately reproduce images if they studied what made them up. Anatomy was just one branch of Leonardo’s sci entific studies. He also studied aerodynamics, optics, geology, and mechanics. Leonardo eventually applied his findings by creating countless inventions such as a flying machine, a parachute, tanks, underwater equipment, and a number of weapons. Leonardo was very interested in mathematics and he had some success in this area as well. A friend of Leonardo said, â€Å"In his early forties this obsession with mathematics overtook him, and his notebooks began to fill up with geometrical sketches and diagrams† (Geometry in Art and Architecture, Unit 14). Just as Leonardo believed science was important in art, he also believed math was. He thought math was the basis of all things and it needed to be understood for painting purposes. Leonardo was interested especially in geometry. He discovered the proof for the Pythagorean Theorem and illustrated a book with one of the leading mathematicians at the time, Luca Pacioli. Leonardo also applied math in many of his architectural designs as well as his inventions. He used math to calculate the volume of his horse statue, in order to figure out how much bronze would be needed to complete it. It can be seen in his notebooks how infatuated Leonardo was in the study of math. For on numerous pages he drew and examined different geometrical shapes. Overall, it can be seen that Leonardo was well versed and successful in many areas. He was an accomplished painter, completing over 25 well known pieces. Also, Leonardo achieved advancements in science by dissecting over 30 bodies and drawing images of his findings which are still used today. He was knowledgeable in math and even illustrated a book with a leading mathematician. Leonardo da Vinci became a legend in his time and still is one to this day. He mastered many areas of study, obtaining the classification of a universal genius. There is no doubt that Leonardo da Vinci is the best example of a true Renaissance Man.

Organizations Workforce Diversity And Its Competitive Advantage Commerce Essay

Organizations Workforce Diversity And Its Competitive Advantage Commerce Essay The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of leadership style over the relationship between organizations workforce diversity and its competitive advantage with mission and vision statements as intervening variable. Most organizations are adopting diversity into their policies and procedures to embrace its benefits and there is a growing recognition that it makes business sense to take diversity seriously. The demographics of working population has changed in last two decades with more mature workforce remaining in the workplace, now more female employees are seen in higher positions and there is also a variation in cultural backgrounds. Therefore, it seems beneficial for organizations to hire diverse workforce to meet the demands of customer expectations. Organizations that are flexible and responsive to a demanding marketplace require the service of multi-skilled, adaptable workforce. One clear competitive advantage for organizations having diverse workforce is that it pro vides an environment that values differences among employees and encourages them for different ways of thinking and behaving during work to fully contribute to organizational aims and objectives. Employers providing such an environment get the support of their employees and develop a positive public image. It must be understood that each member of diverse workforce holds his differences and similarities; hence, valuing and managing diversity is about recognizing the unique contribution each employee can make to the organization. It is about creating an environment in which everyone feels valued, welcomed, and able to make an important contribution toward the attainment of corporate objectives. Additionally, companies facing challenges in competing global marketplace for market share can use diversity as competitive advantage in a multicultural environment with a diverse pool of talented and experienced individuals who can bring innovation and creativity to the organization. Literature Review Diversity is not only associated to limited attributes that can be observed but also to those invisible characteristics such as differences in educational background, creativity, understanding, learning style, and problem-solving ability (Nafukho et al., 2011). So, organizational performances and processes can be influenced by an individual or a group representing different categories of diversity within a workplace. (van Knippenberg and Schippers, 2007). Diversity is defined as any dimension that can be used to differentiate groups and people from one another (Giovannini, 2004, p. 22). Hence, diversity affects the organizations effectiveness and performance in terms of competitive advantage. (Joshi and Roh, 2009; Klein et al., 2011). This presumes that performance has a relation with organizations ability to achieve goals with respect to its mission or vision (Devine and Philips, 2001). In other words, performance is deemed as an outcome which is a result of some purposeful activity to achieve competitive advantage as mentioned in mission or vision statements of an organization. (Swanson and Holton, 2009). As the organization strives to achieve its goals or objectives, conflict may arise within the diverse groups to cope up the challenges of differences among them which keep them from achieving organizational performance. (Østergaard et al., 2011). Since, Human Resource Department (HRD) deals primarily with performance of individuals, groups and organization at large to achieve competitive advantage, so diverse workforce demands the attention of HRD scholars and practitioners on the issues that arise in organization. It can be observed in modern trends for companies to use diverse workforce for completing special tasks which help achieve competitive advantage (Garrison et al., 2010) and there is always potential for the occurrence of conflict among such diverse groups which can derail the organization from achieving effectiveness. Hence, it becomes the resp onsibility of HRD to address such conflicts in advance and use the knowledge of how to build the high performing and productive teams of diverse workforce who can to the overall competitive advantage of organization (Klein et al., 2011). Evidently, most companies find diversity as a way to increase business competency, to improve net income, to gain competitive advantage, to build the effectiveness to compete in global markets, to improve business performance, to achieve higher employee satisfaction, to enhance corporate governance, to attract diverse talents and skills and to retain the workforce that maintains the customer base (McCuiston et al., 2004). Moreover, culturally diverse workforce brings benefits to business economy (Ferley et al., 2003) and leads to better performance of the business (Richard, 2000). According to Adler (1997), a company with a diverse workforce has greater chances for building an innovative working environment. This statement is beautifully expressed in the words of White (1999), who states that creativity thrives on diversity. These benefits can be derived from the proper implementation of diversity-promoting policies (Jamrog, 2002). Many firms today seem to be increasingly embracing r acial, ethnic and gender workforce balance, not for legal or ethical obligations, but as a matter of taking a progressive perspective on economic self-interest (Coil and Rice, 1993). It has been recognized recently that increasing diverse workforce has presented both opportunities and challenges for organizations which are striving for efficiency, innovativeness and global competitive advantage (Barak, 1999). As the global markets are getting more complex, utilization of organizations knowledge, skills and abilities is getting even more crucial in this rapidly increasing competition where organizations want to be more creative and innovative (Ng and Tung, 1998). In order to manage the growing diversity of the work force, organizations need to implement such systems and practices so that the potential advantages of diversity are maximized and the potential disadvantages are minimized (Cox, 1994). In the past two decades several academic researches have been conducted on various issues relating diversity. Richard (2000) examined the impact of diversity on organization and its productivity while Jackson (1993) found the positive relationship between diversity and cr eativity. Diversity research has also addressed the factors involved in assimilating new employees into an organizations culture (Berry and Sam, 1997). However, some argue that by its fundamental nature, assimilating new employees to obtain greater fit between the person and organization is achieved at the expense of diversity (Powell, 1998). In other research, Tsui et al. (1992) showed that race and gender has negative relationship with diversity as compared to age. Other studies have also consistently found that observable attributes have negative effects on outcomes such as identification with the group and job satisfaction at both the individual and group level of analysis (Milliken and Martins, 1996). Further, Milliken and Martins (1996) supported the argument of Tsui et al. (1992) that racial and gender diversity can have negative influence on individual and team outcomes in some cases regardless of age. As an example, they referred to those groups members who differ from the larger group tend to show less commitment, more turnover and absenteeism while at the same time this results in additional costs, such as, group coordination cost, communication cost and training and development cost. So, according to them, diversity results in increase in coordination and control costs. Dadfar and Gustavsson (1992) found that the majority of site managers believed that managers/supervisors are less effective when managing a work group composed of several nationalities. This is because language was regarded as a major obstacle to effective communication among workers of different nationalities. However, Watson et al. (1993) argue that these negative effects may diminish with time and may be offset by better quality and more creative decisions. Having said that, it is important to understand that even for those who decide to embrace diversity as a concept, the road to diversity is not without challenges. Many businesses fail to the see the full picture of diversity or understand all of its impacts on their operations (Farrer, 2004), as leading a diverse workforce requires considerable time, energy and skill. A diverse workforce represents many challenges to management in areas such as workplace authority, trust and commitment, different work ethics, firm structure and work-life balance (McCuiston et al., 2004). Diversity challenges also include training costs, discrimination and conflicts. The increase in training cost results from the needed diversity-promoting programs which need to be administered to all employees (White, 1999). The problem of perceived discrimination arises when a certain group feels that they have been unfairly discriminated against, which leads to a sense of rejection towards the group that was perceived as having unjustifiable benefits, which could lead to an increase in conflicts. According to Jehn (1995), the increase in conflicts possibly leading to tension and animosity occurs when employees do not have similar views on a particular issue and in turn such conflicts could have detrimental effects on performance. These effects include directing the attention of employees to each other instead of the job, increasing stress and anxiety, and it can result in hostile interaction among members (Chuang et al., 2004). Leadership Leadership remained the single most important issue in annual surveys for identifying top management issues during all times (HRI, 2002a). To manage a diverse workforce, organizations need visionary leaders but availability of them is scarce. According to the study by Diversity Inc. (2002), it is forecasted that many top management of many leading companies will lose one in five top managers due to retirement. Let alone, US companies will lose 40 percent or more of their top executives till 2015 (Wellins and Byham, 2001). One solution offered to this scarcity is to develop leaders at every level and in every function in an organization (Hesselbein, 2002). For this solution, Kappa Omicron Nu Honor Society (2002) advised the most effective leadership components to manage diversity, which are: Sensitivity and awareness about diverse workforce. Resources to strengthen and improve the quality of diverse individuals Inter-communication skills to solve mutual differences Strategies to maximize the effectiveness of diverse workforce. The goal should be to develop cross-cultural leaders and generate a new crop of multicultural professionals (Yukl, 2002). These leaders are provided with the required resources and authorities to manage workforce. The focus should be to enhance their listening, learning, networking, communication, and experimenting skills to manage a diverse workforce (Melymuka, 2001). Finally an effective strategy must be developed to include diversity at all levels of management, and there must be commitment to diversity at senior levels where it is strategically more important (Conklin, 2001). This strategy must be evident in organizations mission and vision statement and should involve a systemic, results-oriented, business-based approach (Fitzpatrick, 1997). Yet companies do not seek diversity unless this business competency results in increased profit and metrics that substantiate the necessity to expand the emphasis on diversity (Diversity Inc., 2002). Irrefutable measurable benefits can be de rived from properly implemented policies to promote diversity (Jamrog, 2002). The most evident measurable benefits are improved bottom line, competitive advantage, superior business performance, employee satisfaction and loyalty, strengthened relationship with multicultural communities, and attracting the best and the brightest candidates. Competitive advantage defined in diversity as, Recruiting and retaining people of diverse backgrounds who can share a common set of values. . .and approach to business is a priority for todays competitive organization (McCormack, 2002, p. 1). Jamrog (2002) suggested three-point approach to enhance effectiveness of leadership to manage diverse workforce: premise, guidelines and actions. There are three premises that leaders need to value diversity: (1) One size doesnt fit all leaders need to use different approaches for solving problems and developing workers as all situations and individuals are not the same, (2) Not everyone can be a leader organizational should focus only on individuals who have the ingredients of becoming a good leader, and (3) Leaders can be at any level or function anyone who can inspire, influence and guide others in the organization is a leader regardless of position. The five guidelines that leaders need to value diversity are: (1) Communicate, communicate, and communicate share freely your ideas, suggestions, opinions; listen to ideas of others with interest, (2) Build contact into your daily actions and duties Plan your actions, meetings, and duties so as to maximize contact with multiple p eople in the organization. (3) Manage and lead by walking around Be outside the office frequently and interact informally with others of different levels, functions, backgrounds and experience, (4) Champion diversity Bring in the contribution of everyone to increase commitment, innovation and creativity, and (5) Sponsor diversity Defend the decisions, actions and interactions while supporting everyone in the organization. Lastly, the five actions that leaders need to value diversity are: (1) Assessment of leadership potential within the organizations, (2) Provision of training and tools, (3) Inclusion of diversity at all levels, (4) measuring and rewarding efforts, and (5) encouraging the organization to be patient. Conceptual Framework: Research Methodology:

The Tv Generation :: essays research papers

The TV Generation Everyone has a moment in history which belongs particularly to him. It is the moment when his emotions achieve their most powerful sway over him, and afterward when you say to this person "the world today" or "life" or "reality" he will assume that you mean this moment, even if it is fifty years in the past. My generation is greatly influenced by the media, specifically television. Television becomes my reality by bringing into my life the happenings of the outside world. Our generation is often called the MTV generation. We are often stereotyped with the idea that all we do is sit around and watch TV. Sure, we probably do watch more television than our parents did as teenagers but we have to remember, TV was generally new to their generation. They only had a couple of channels to choose from while we sit in front of a television with 53 channels and a remote to control them with. We have the option to decide upon everything from The Disney Channel to VH1, The Family Channel to Fox. That box in our bedroom or family room is a very controlling yet entertaining appliance. Teenagers have always been free-spirited in any generation. We are always doing and saying childish things while trying to grow up. If we only have a couple years of our childhood left then who cares if we spend it in front of a TV? Which is not to say that we do that anyhow. Perhaps we use the TV as a way of relaxing before we go off and hit the books for two hours. Or maybe we use it to spend time with our family. I mean, come on, how many teenagers enjoy going on family outings with mom, dad, and kid brother? However, if the TV can gather everyone together on a Sunday afternoon to watch the "Packers" game then shouldn't mom and dad be happy? On the other hand, there is such a thing as bad TV. Sex and violence is plastered all over our brains with a flick of a switch and I tend to believe that this influences teenagers, or for that matter, anyone who watches it. But then again, we can not say all TV is evil. MTV has set up several programs to educate teens on sensitive subjects and has begun to censor certain videos and shows. Parents often say to their teens, "If you watch too much TV you'll fry you brains out." Yeah, right mom! As if we're going to believe that.

Thomas Jefferson :: essays research papers

THOMAS JEFFERSON Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), 3d PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. As the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, he is probably the most conspicuous champion of political and spiritual freedom in his country's history. He voiced the aspirations of the new nation in matchless phrase, and one may doubt if any other American has been so often quoted. As a public official--legislator, diplomat, and executive--he served the province and commonwealth of Virginia and the young American republic almost 40 years. While his services as a Revolutionary patriot have beenhonored by his countrymen with only slight dissent, his later and more controversial political activities have been variously interpreted. Believing that the government was not being conducted in the spirit of 1776, he turned against the administration in WASHINGTON's second term and remained in opposition during the presidency of John ADAMS. Jefferson, who was president from 1801 to 1809, was the acknowledged head of his political party, and his election to the highest office has been interpreted as a vindication of the right of political opposition. His ELECTION checked in the United States the tide of political reaction that was sweeping the Western world, and it furthered the development of political democracy. Throughout his life he sought to do that, though the term he generally used was republicanism. Opinions differ about his conduct of foreign affairs as president. He acquired the vast province of Louisiana and maintained neutrality in a world of war, but his policies failed to safeguard neutral rights at sea and imposed hardships at home. As a result, his administration reached its nadir as it ended. Until his last year as president he exercised leadership over his party that was to be matched by no other 19th century president, and he enjoyed remarkable popularity. He was rightly hailed as the "Man of the People," because he sought to conduct the government in the popular interest, rather than in the interest of any privileged group, and, insofar as possible, in accordance with the people's will. He was a tall and vigorous man, not particularly impressive in person but amiable, once his original stiffness wore off. He was habitually tactful and notably respectful of the opinions and personalities of others, though he had slight tolerance of those he believed unfaithful to

Multicultural Analysis of Bud, not Buddy

I feel that the book, Bud not Buddy is successful overall when evaluating or analyzing it against different criteria for successful multicultural books and materials. Bud, not Buddy is set in the 1930’s at the height of the Great Depression and with this book, the author Christopher Paul Curtis, skillfully weaves in Bud’s experiences with poverty, racism, and the experience of being an African-American foster child during the Great Depression.The author, Christopher Paul Curtis, writes from the perspective of a cultural insider’s mind-set and point of view when writing this book and giving the reader an accurate, yet interesting portrayal of what can happen to any child in similar circumstances during the Depression. In this novel, the storyline focuses on a ten-year-old African-American boy named â€Å"Bud. † Although there are no illustrations in this book, the text of the book does occasionally give the reader glimpses into the fact that Bud is an Afric an-American boy. However, the reader for the most part deducts the culture of Bud through the use of indirect things in the story.Some of those indirect things include the focus on the jazz band musicians conversations, the â€Å"stranger† who picks Bud up and lectures him for being alone and Black in that area at night, Bud passing by a group of people before arriving at the cardboard jungle and referring to them as â€Å"the white people with the coughing baby† (Curtis, 1999). There were no over-generalizations or simplifications of the African-American culture used in this book. The author did not use any language I felt was condenscending to the culture represented.If I had not seen the cover of the book, there were only a few sentences and subtle indications sprinkled throughout the book that indicates the young Bud was an African-American child. I feel part of the reason the book and the characters were successful without being stereotypical is, as the author ind icates in the Afterword of the book, some of the characters were loosely based on real individuals in the author’s life. Real individuals are not stereotypes so I think the reader can see this. The character Bud, was presented multi-dimensionally, so much so that his personality overshadowed his cultural group.I think this in itself is one measure of a successful multi-cultural children’s fiction book with characters of any cultural background. There were no images presented by the author that could lead to stereotyping the character and nothing to indicate the writer was attempting to meet the expectations of an audience who had pre-conceived notions of this culture. The cultural details that were within the story were naturally integrated. For example, when referring to the jazz band, the author doesn’t throw it in the reader’s face what the members look like.His words convey enough that one understands the culture of each member without any stereotypic al features being used to identify them. In asking myself does the book present cultural details authentically, I would say yes. I could see authentic culture being represented in most of the language in the story, in discussion of the instruments and the players in the jazz band, in the details of the individuals who ended up being Bud’s caretakers, and even in the food in The Sweat Pea Restaurant included cultural details that added a 3-dimensional-like feel to the novel.I did not see any invalid information for the culture addressed in the book or invalid information in general. I have to take in consideration the time period this book is supposedly taking place in as far as determining whether the language is used authentically. I have to admit, possibly because I am in the 21st century, I oftentimes got the picture of a rural white farm boy in that Bud constantly and consistently uses the words â€Å"shucks† and â€Å"doggone† and similar vocabulary to this .I realize some of the language is limited since Bud, not Buddy is a children’s book but I wasn’t always impressed with some of the vocabulary that was used and was not used. In my opinion, this would probably be one of the weaker areas in my analysis of the book. Good multicultural books should allow the reader(s) to experience the culture that the book is addressing. I did feel that while reading the book and in the use of some of the cultural details, I was experiencing the culture.I also felt the cultural elements oftentimes gave the book more color in that it lifted some of the text off the page in a sense. Along with this, just my personal feelings of course, I sometimes felt the author in avoiding being stereotypical in any sense, tiptoed around some areas that could have enriched the story. However, I do respect how fine the line can be between doing a multicultural story justice and avoiding some words and areas while presenting a quality multicultural story. When I think about it, even in the resolution of the problem in this story, it is a positive representation of the culture.The family and friends of the child take the child in, provide Bud a safe environment and the affection he wasn’t receiving before re-uniting with the family and friends within his own culture. That is a quality I didn’t even see initially until I put further thought into this multicultural analysis. This only strengthens the success of Bud, not Buddy’s portrayal of multicultural issues. I could strongly state that the book, Bud, not Buddy would enhance any elementary classroom library, learning resource center, or media center room.I feel the book would be a positive addition to any library collection while encouraging students to read literature that portrays diverse, yet balanced views of all cultures. The book, Bud, not Buddy would be a welcome addition in any collection of books, making the collection a more balanced and inclusive colle ction of multi-cultural books that in turn help to make cultural diversity the foundation of learning and growing. Reference Curtis, C. P. (1999). Bud, not Buddy. New York: Delacorte Press.

Industry Analysis: Soft Drinks Essay

Barbara Murray (2006c) explained the soft drink industry by stating, â€Å"For years the story in the nonalcoholic sector centered on the power struggle between†¦Coke and Pepsi. But as the pop fight has topped out, the industry’s giants have begun relying on new product flavors†¦and looking to noncarbonated beverages for growth. † In order to fully understand the soft drink industry, the following should be considered: the dominant economic factors, five competitive sources, industry trends, and the industry’s key factors. Based on the analyses of the industry, specific recommendations for competitors can then be created. Dominant Economic Factors Market size, growth rate and overall profitability are three economic indicators that can be used to evaluate the soft drink industry. The market size of this industry has been changing. Soft drink consumption has a market share of 46. 8% within the non-alcoholic drink industry, illustrated in Table 1. Datamonitor (2005) also found that the total market value of soft drinks reached $307. 2 billion in 2004 with a market value forecast of $367. 1 billion in 2009. Further, the 2004 soft drink volume was 325,367. 2 million liters (see Table 2). Clearly, the soft drink industry is lucrative with a potential for high profits, but there are several obstacles to overcome in order to capture the market share. The growth rate has been recently criticized due to the U. S. market saturation of soft drinks. Datamonitor (2005) stated, â€Å"Looking ahead, despite solid growth in consumption, the global soft drinks market is expected to slightly decelerate, reflecting stagnation of market prices. † The change is attributed to the other growing sectors of the non-alcoholic industry including tea and coffee (11. 8%) and bottled water (9. 3%). Sports drinks and energy drinks are also expected to increase in growth as competitors start adopting new product lines. 2 Profitability in the soft drink industry will remain rather solid, but market saturation especially in the U. S. has caused analysts to suspect a slight deceleration of growth in the industry (2005). Because of this, soft drink leaders are establishing themselves in alternative markets such as the snack, confections, bottled water, and sports drinks industries (Barbara Murray, 2006c). In order for soft drink companies to continue to grow and increase profits they will need to diversify their product offerings. The geographic scope of the competitive rivalry explains some of the economic features found in the soft drink industry. According to Barbara Murray (2006c), â€Å"The sector is dominated by three major players†¦Coca-Cola is king of the soft drink-empire and boasts a global market share of around 50%, followed by PepsiCo at about 21%, and Cadbury Schweppes at 7%. † Aside from these major players, smaller companies such as Cott Corporation and National Beverage Company make up the remaining market share. All five of these companies make a portion of their profits outside of the United States. Table 3 shows that the US does not hold the highest percentage of the global market share, therefore companies need to be able to compete globally in order to be successful. Table 4 indicates that Coca-Cola has a similar distribution of sales in Europe, North America, and Asia. On the other hand, the majority of PepsiCo’s profits come from the United States (see Table 5). Compared to PepsiCo, Cadbury Schweppes has a stronger global presence with their global mix (see Table 7). Smaller companies are also trying to establish a global presence. Cott Corporation is a good example as indicated in Table 8. The saturation of the US markets has increased the global expansion by soft drink leaders to increase their profits. The ease of entry and exit does not cause competitive pressure on the major soft drink companies. It would be very difficult for a new company to enter this industry because they 3 would not be able to compete with the established brand names, distribution channels, and high capital investment. Likewise, leaving this industry would be difficult with the significant loss of money from the fixed costs, binding contracts with distribution channels, and advertisements used to create the strong brand images. This industry is well established already, and it would be difficult for any company to enter or exit successfully. Three leading companies have prominent presence in the soft drink industry. The leaders include the Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, and Cadbury Schweppes. According to the Coca- Cola annual report (2004), it has the most soft drink sales with $22 billion. The Coca-Cola product line has several popular soft drinks including Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta, Barq’s, and Sprite, selling over 400 drink brands in about 200 nations (Murray 2006a). PepsiCo is the next top competitor with soft drink sales grossing $18 billion for the two beverage subsidiaries, PepsiCo Beverages North America and PepsiCo International (PepsiCo Inc. , 2004). PepsiCo’s soft drink product line includes Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Slice which make up more than one- quarter of its sales. Cadbury Schweppes had soft drink sales of $6 billion with a product line consisting of soft drinks such as A&W Root Beer, Canada Dry, and Dr. Pepper (Cadbury Schweppes, 2004). Financial Analysis The carbonated beverage industry is a highly competitive global industry as illustrated in the financial statements. According to John Sicher of Beverage Digest (2005), Coca-Cola was the number one brand with around 4. 5 billion cases sold in 2004. Pepsi followed with 3. 2 billion cases, and Cadbury had 1. 5 billion cases sold. However, the market share shows a different picture. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo control the market share with Coca-Cola holding 43. 1% and Pepsi with 31. 7% (see Graph 1); however these market shares for both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo 4 have slightly decreased from 2003 to 2004. Coca-Cola’s volume has also decreased 1. 0% since 2003, whereas PepsiCo’s volume has increased 0. 4% (see Graph 1). Diet Coke posted a 5% growth, but Coca-Cola’s other top 10 brands declined (Sicher, 2005). Overall, Coca-Cola’s market position has declined in 2004. The strategic group map (see Graph 1) also shows the growth of Cott Corp. of 18% which is significantly higher than that of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The American Beverage Association (2006) states that in 2004, the retail sales for the entire soft-drink industry were $65. 9 billion. Barbara Murray (2006e) analyzed the industry averages for 2004 and average net profit margin was 11. 29%. The current ratio average was 1. 11 and the quick ratio average was 0. 8. These figures help analyze the financial statements of the major corporations in the industry. As shown in Table 13, Coca-Cola has seen their net profit margin increase from 20. 7% to 22. 1% from 2003 to 2004. According to Coca-Cola’s annual report (2004), 80% of their sales are from soft drinks; therefore the total sales amount was used for their financial analysis. These figures show that their profits are increasing, but at a slow rate. This is in line with what is happening in the soft drink industry. The market is highly competitive and growth has remained at a stable level. The slight increase in Coca-Cola’s profit margin is most likely from their new energy drink product line. This industry is currently expanding rapidly, and is allowing the major beverage companies to increase their profits. Table 13 also shows Coca-Cola’s working capital was around $1. 1 billion in 2004. This is a large increase from 2003 at only $500 million. This shows that they have sufficient funds to pursue new opportunities. However, their current ratio and quick ratio are a cause for concern. A current ratio of 2 or better is considered good and Coca-Cola’s was 1. 102. This number shows that they may not have enough funds to cover short term claims. The quick ratio for 2004 was at 5 0. 906 and is considered good when it is greater than 1. This illustrates that Coca-Cola may not have the ability to pay short term debt without selling inventory. These two numbers are a concern because they are not able to satisfy their short term obligations. The current and quick ratios are in line with the industry averages, however (Murray, 2006e), Coca-Cola needs to improve these ratios in order focus on long-term plans (Coca-Cola Company, 2004). PepsiCo’s financial statements cannot be analyzed for only the soft drinks industry because they do not distinguish between businesses. Over half their profits are from snacks or other beverage items; however there are sales and profit figures for their two beverage subsidiaries. These sales figures grew from almost $16. 5 billion in 2003 to $18 billion in 2004 (Pepsi Co. Inc. , 2004). Their operating profit margin also increased 1% from 2003 to 2004 as illustrated in Table 13. This shows that beverage profits are increasing for them, but also at a slow rate. The increase could be due to the increase in market share that the Pepsi products gained in 2004 (Sicher 2004). The PepsiCo. Annual Report (2004) stated that beverage volume increased 3% in 2004, but was driven by the high growth of the non-carbonated beverage industry. Cadbury’s current and quick ratios are very similar to those of Coca-Cola. The current ratio and quick ratio for Cadbury Schweppes for 2004 were both 0. 917 (see Table 13). Again, the current ratio should be 2 or more, and the quick ratio should be over 1. This illustrates that Cadbury also has difficulty paying short term debt and claims. Cadbury’s net profit margin has increased by 0. 7% from 2003 to 2004. This can be attributed to their market share growth in 2004 of 0. 2% (Sicher, 2005). One ratio that is concerning is their debt to equity ratio for 2004 in Table 13. They have almost two times as much debt as they do to equity, which means that their funds are mainly provided by creditors as opposed to owners. This is concerning because they 6 owe a lot of money, and must make a decent profit to be able to pay it off. The industry average for debt to equity is 81%, and Cadbury is far from that number (2006e). Also, Cadbury has a negative working capital for both 2003 and 2004, meaning they have more liabilities than assets. This shows that they do not have any funds to pursue new opportunities, as their current assets are being used to pay off liabilities (Cadbury, 2004). Overall, the financial statements of the three top competitors in the soft drink industry show that the industry is highly competitive and has little growth. Net profit margins increased for all three corporations, however only at a small rate. It also seems that all three companies lack sufficient current and quick ratios, but are all within a reasonable range of the industry average (2006e). This may be due to expanding their product lines to include energy drinks and non-carbonated beverages in order to increase profits and diversify their business. The soft drinks market is now in the matured stage of the life cycle. Growth in the industry has remained stagnant, and the financial statements of the major corporations in the industry illustrate that their sales and income are following this trend. The companies are in good financial positions; gross profits and net profit margins are continuing to increase each year. The leverage and activity ratios are all within reasonable range. However, one area all three corporations need to improve on is the liquidity ratios. Their quick and current ratios are low and need to be increased so they are able to meet short-term obligations. Five Competitive Forces for Coca-Cola Company The soft drink industry is very competitive for all corporations involved, with the greatest competition being that from rival sellers within the industry. All soft drink companies have to 7 think about the pressures; that from rival sellers within the industry, new entrants to the industry, substitute products, suppliers, and buyers. The competitive pressure from rival sellers is the greatest competition that Coca-Cola faces in the soft drink industry. Coca-Cola, Pepsi Co. , and Cadbury Schweppes are the largest competitors in this industry, and they are all globally established which creates a great amount of competition. Though Coca-Cola owns four of the top five soft drink brands (Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta, and Sprite), it had lower sales in 2005 than did PepsiCo (Murray, 2006c). However, Coca-Cola has higher sales in the global market than PepsiCo. In 2004, PepsiCo dominated North America with sales of $22 billion, whereas Coca-Cola only had about $6. 6 billion, with more of their sales coming from overseas, as shown in Table 4 and Table 5. PepsiCo is the main competitor for Coca-Cola and these two brands have been in a power struggle for years (Murray, 2006c). Brand name loyalty is another competitive pressure. The Brand Keys’ Customer Loyalty Leaders Survey (2004) shows the brands with the greatest customer loyalty in all industries. Diet Pepsi ranked 17th and Diet Coke ranked 36th as having the most loyal customers to their brands. Refer to List 15 for the brand loyalty rankings of the various competitors. The new competition between rival sellers is to create new varieties of soft drinks, such as vanilla and cherry, in order to keep increasing sales and enticing new customers (Murray, 2006c). New entrants are not a strong competitive pressure for the soft drink industry. Coca-Cola and Pepsi Co dominate the industry with their strong brand name and great distribution channels. In addition, the soft-drink industry is fully saturated and growth is small. This makes it very difficult for new, unknown entrants to start competing against the existing firms. Another barrier to entry is the high fixed costs for warehouses, trucks, and labor, and economies of scale. New 8 entrants cannot compete in price without economies of scale. These high capital requirements and market saturation make it extremely difficult for companies to enter the soft drink industry; therefore new entrants are not a strong competitive force (Murray, 2006c). Substitute products are those competitors that are not in the soft drink industry. Such substitutes for Coca-Cola products are bottled water, sports drinks, coffee, and tea. Bottled water and sports drinks are increasingly popular with the trend to be a more health conscious consumer. There are progressively more varieties in the water and sports drinks that appeal to different consumers’ tastes, but also appear healthier than soft drinks. In addition, coffee and tea are competitive substitutes because they provide caffeine. The consumers who purchase a lot of soft drinks may substitute coffee if they want to keep the caffeine and lose the sugar and carbonation. Specialty blend coffees are also becoming more popular with the increasing number of Starbucks stores that offer many different flavors to appeal to all consumer markets. It is also very cheap for consumers to switch to these substitutes making the threat of substitute products very strong (Datamonitor, 2005). Suppliers for the soft drink industry do not hold much competitive pressure. Suppliers to Coca-Cola are bottling equipment manufacturers and secondary packaging suppliers. Although Coca-Cola does not do any bottling, the company owns about 36% of Coca-Cola Enterprises which is the largest Coke bottler in the world (Murray, 2006a). Since Coca-Cola owns the majority of the bottler, that particular supplier does not hold much bargaining power. In terms of equipment manufacturers, the suppliers are generally providing the same products. The number of equipment suppliers is not in short supply, so it is fairly easy for a company to switch suppliers. This takes away much of suppliers’ bargaining power. 9. The buyers of the Coca-Cola and other soft drinks are mainly large grocers, discount stores, and restaurants. The soft drink companies distribute the beverages to these stores, for resale to the consumer. The bargaining power of the buyers is very evident and strong. Large grocers and discount stores buy large volumes of the soft drinks, allowing them to buy at lower prices. Restaurants have less bargaining power because they do not order a large volume. However, with the number of people are drinking less soft drinks, the bargaining power of buyers could start increasing due to decreasing buyer demand (Murray, 2006a). Porter’s Five Forces Model identifies the five forces of competition for any company. The recognition of the strength of these forces helps to see where Coca-Cola stands in the industry. Of the five forces, rivalry within the soft drink industry, especially from PepsiCo, is the greatest source of competition for Coca-Cola. Industry Changes The soft drink industry is affected by macroenvironmental factors of the industry that will lead to change. First, the entry/exit of major firms is a trend in the industry that will likely lead to change. More specifically, merger and consolidation has been prevalent in the soft drinks market, causing some firms to exit the industry and then re-enter themselves. Several leading companies have been looking to drive revenue growth and improve market share through the increased economies of scale found through mergers and acquisitions. One specific example is how PepsiCo acquired Quaker Oats, who bought Gatorade which will help expand PepsiCo’s energy drink sector (Datamonitor, 2005). This trend has increased competition as firms’ diversification of products is increasing. A second trend in the macroenvironment is globalization. With the growing use of the internet and other electronic technologies, global communication is rapidly increasing. This is 10 allowing firms to collaborate within the country market and expand into world markets. It has driven competition greatly as companies strive to be first-movers. Specifically, the global soft drink market’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected to expand to 3. 6% from 2004 to 2009 (Datamonitor, 2005). Third, changing societal concerns, attitudes, and lifestyles are important trends. In the United States and Europe, people are becoming more concerned with a healthy lifestyle. â€Å"Consumer awareness of health problems arising from obesity and inactive lifestyles represent a serious risk to the carbonated drinks sector† (Datamonitor, 2005, p. 15). The trend is causing the industry’s business environment to change, as firms are differentiating their products in order to increase sales in a stagnant market. Thus, the long-term industry growth rate, the fourth trend, shows low growth in recent years. Since 2000, the CAGR is 1. 5 per cent (Datamonitor, 2005). The low growth rates are of concern for soft drink companies, and several are creating new strategies to combat the low rates. This leads to the fifth trend of growing buyer preferences for differentiated products. Because soft drinks have been around since as early as 1798 (American Beverage Association, 2006), buyers want innovation with the products they buy. In today’s globalizing society, being plain is not good enough. According to Barbara Murray (2006c), â€Å"The key for all of these beverage companies is differentiation. The giants have new formulations and appearances. Whatever the strategy, be it a new color, flavor, or formula, companies will strive to create the greatest brand awareness in the minds of the consumer in the hopes of crowding out its competitors. † Thus, the last trend, product innovation, is necessary to combat buyers need for a variety of tastes. Firms are already differentiating by taste, with the Coca-Cola company as an example. The firm’s product line includes regular Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Diet cherry Coke, 11 cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, Coca-Cola with Lime, Coca-Cola with lemon and many more (Murray, 2006a). Key Success Factors. Key factors for competitive success within the soft drink industry branch from the trends of the macroenvironment. Primarily, constant product innovation is imperative. A company must be able to recognize consumer wants and needs, while maintaining the ability to adjust with the changing market. They must keep up with the changing trends (Murray, 2006c). Another key factor is the size of the organization, especially in terms of market share. Large distributors have the ability to negotiate with stadiums, universities and school systems, making them the exclusive supplier for a specified period of time. Additionally, they have the ability to commit to mass purchases that significantly lower their costs. They must implement effective distribution channels to remain competitive. Taste of the product is also a key factor for success. Furthermore, established brand loyalty is a large aspect of the soft drink industry. Many consumers of carbonated beverages are extremely dedicated to a particular product, and rarely purchase other varieties. This stresses the importance of developing and maintaining a superior brand image. Price, however, is also a key factor because consumers without a strong brand preference will select the product with the most competitive price. Finally, global expansion is a vital factor in the success of a company within the soft drink industry. The United States has reached relative market saturation, requiring movement into the global industry to maintain growth (Datamonitor, 2005). Recommendations 12 Looking towards the future, the most important recommendation to Coca-Cola is continuing product innovation and expansion of their product line. The soft-drinks industry is fully saturated with competitors. Also, the industry is no longer expanding, and market share is actually decreasing as more consumers are looking to healthier options. By continually introducing new products, Coca-Cola will be able to increase their profits and allow the company to continue to grow. Also, having a diverse product line will make the corporation very stable, which is appealing to investors and creditors. A second recommendation would be to sustain or increase the global market share. Coca-Cola is very well-established globally, and is the global soft-drinks leader. This is very important to sustain because it is the source of the majority of their profits. If they lose global market share, their profits will decline dramatically. A final recommendation for Coca-Cola is to maintain and try to increase their brand loyalty. Diet Coke has the second highest brand loyalty of all the soft-drink competitors’ brands, and solid advertising campaigns will help maintain the brand loyalty. They can also strive to obtain higher brand loyalty in all other brands, not solely Diet Coke. The brand loyalty is important because it will allow Coca-Cola to sustain profits and maintain their market share. 13 Appendix Table 1: Datamonitor (2005, May). Global Soft Drinks: Industry Profile.New York. Reference Code: 0199-0802. Table 2: Datamonitor (2005, May). Global Soft Drinks: Industry Profile. New York. Reference Code: 0199-0802. 14 Table 3: Datamonitor (2005, May). Global Soft Drinks: Industry Profile. New York. Reference Code: 0199-0802. Table: 4 Murray, Barbara. (2006a). The Coca-Cola Company. Hoovers. Retrieved February 13, 2006, from http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/co/factsheet. x html? ID=10359 Coca-Cola 2004 Sales $ mil. % of total Europe/Eurasia/Middle East 7,195 33 North America 6,643 30 Asia 4,691 21 Latin America 2,123 10 Africa 1,067 5 Corporate 243 1 Total 21,962 100 Table 5: Murray, Barbara. (2006b). Pepsi Co. Hoovers. Retrieved February 13, 2006, From http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/co/profile. xhtml? ID=11166 Pepsi Co. 2004 Sales $ mil. % of total US 18,329 63 Mexico 2,724 9 UK 1,692 6 Canada 1,309 4 Other countries 5,207 18 Total 29,261 100 15 Table 6: Murray, Barbara. (2006b). Pepsi Co. Hoovers. Retrieved February 13, 2006, From http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/co/profile. xhtml? ID=11166 Pepsi Co. 2004 Sales $ mil. % of total PepsiCo International 9,862 34 Frito-Lay North America 9,560 33 PepsiCo Beverages North America 8,313 28 Quaker Foods North America 1,526 5. Total 29,261 100 Table 7: Murray, Barbara. (2006d). Cadbury Schweepes Inc. Hoovers. Retrieved February 13, 2006, from http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/co/profile. x html? ID=41767 Cadbury Schweppes 2004 Sales % of total Americas Beverages 33 Europe, Middle East, Africa 25 Americas Confectionery 16 Asia/Pacific 16 Europe Beverages 10 Total 100 Table 8: Walker, Tim (2006). Cott Corporation. Hoovers. Retrieved February 13, 2006, from http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/co/profile. xhtml? ID=42846 Cott Corporation 2004 Sales $ mil. % of total US 1,221. 8 74 Canada 189. 5 12 UK & Europe 186. 9 11. International 48. 1 3 Total 1,646. 3 100 Table 9: Select Financial Data from 2004 Income Statements. 2004 Annual Reports. (in millions) *only 50% of total sales included, the part attributed to beverage sales 16 Table 10: Select Financial Data from 2003 Income Statements. 2004 Annual Reports. (in millions) *only 50% of total sales included, the part attributed to beverage sales Table 11: Select Financial Data from 2004 Balance Sheets. 2004 Annual Reports. (in millions) *only 50% of total sales included, the part attributed to beverage sales 17 Table 12: Select Financial Data from 2003 Balance Sheets. 2004 Annual Reports. (in millions) *only 50% of total sales included, the part attributed to beverage sales 18 Table 13: Financial Analysis. Annual Reports. 19 Strategic Group Map goes here! 20 List 1: Brand Keys’ Customer Loyalty Leaders survey (2004) Brandweek. com Brand Loyalty Rankings This year/Brand/Last Year 1. Google. com (2) 2. Avis (1) 3. Verizon Long Distance (4) 4. KeySpan Energy (9) 5. Samsung Mobile Phone (7) 6. Hyatt Hotels (19) 7. Sprint Long Distance (3) 8. Canon Office Copier (8) 9. Yahoo. com (14) 10. Miller Genuine Draft (5) 11. Ritz-Carlton Hotels (17) 12. PSE&G (15) 13. Amazon. com (12) 14. Marriott Hotels (13) 15. Swissotel (NR) 16. Discover Card (27) 17. Diet Pepsi (31) 18. Budweiser (16) 19. Motorola Mobile Phone (10) 20. Coors (NR) 21. Netscape. com (59) 22. Sony Ericsson Mobile Phone (93) 23. Capital One Credit Card (29) 24. L. L. Bean Catalogue (20) 25. Wal-Mart (33) 26. Skechers (NR) 27. New Balance Athletic Shoe (22) 28. Miller Lite (87) 29. Starbucks (6) 30. Radisson (48) 31. BP Gasoline (79) 32. Inter-Continental Hotels (NR) 33. Sears Catalogue (30) 34. Verizon Wireless (37) 35. Schwab. com (26) 36. Diet Coke (47) 37. Mobil Gasoline (25) 38. T-Mobile Wireless (76) 39. Bell South Long Distance (28) 40. Adidas Athletic Shoe (23) 41. ETrade. com (42) 42. J. Crew Catalogue (54) 43. FedEx (50) 44. Westin Hotels (73) 45. Excite. com (35) 46. Hilton Hotels (36) 47. HotBot. com (34) 48. Sanyo Mobile Phone (NR) 49. MSN. com (38) 50. AltaVista. com (51) 21 51. AT&T Long Distance (24) 52. Spring PCS Wireless (60) 53. Pepsi (61) 54. Target (62) 55. Jet Blue Airways (67) 56. Bud Light (32) 57. Sears Store (40) 58. Sheraton Hotels (46) 59. Land’s End Catalogue (55) 60. Hampton Inn Hotels (NR) 61. Nokia Mobile Phone (11) 62. MCI Long Distance (83) 63. Holiday Inn Hotels (NR) 64. Ameritrade. com (104) 65. Best Western Hotels (NR) 66. Lycos. com (39) 67. Wyndham Hotels (68) 68. Xerox Office Copier (82) 69. Today (NBC) (56) 70. NFL (70) 71. MLB (58) 72. AOL. com (88) 73. Fox & Friends (Fox News Channel) (NR) 74. Southwest Airlines (64) 75. Exxon Gasoline (43) 76. DHL/Airborne Express (45) 77. BarnesandNoble. com (152) 78. AskJeeves. com (113) 79. Embassy Suites (86) 80. Nextel Mobile Phone (148) 81. SBC Long Distance (21) 82. TDWaterhouse. com (49) 83. Apple Computers (66) 84. Budget Rent A Car (71) 85. Subway (91) 86. Coors Light (81) 87. Texaco Gasoline (18) 88. Poland Spring (NR) 89. Chevron Gasoline (44) 90. J. C. Penney (75) 91. Expedia. com (85) 92. Fidelity. com (65) 93. Qwest Long Distance (41) 94. Visa Card (100) 95. UPS (127) 96. Aquafina (NR) 97. Gateway Computers (53) 98. Hertz (84) 99. Amstel Light (97) 100. Amoco Gasoline (101) 101. Nike (94) 102. Ramada Hotels (NR) 103. T. Rowe Price Mutual Fund (74) 104. Cingular Wireless (107) 105. Con Edison (57) 106. Enterprise Rent-A-Car (90) 22 107. Nextel Wireless (134) 108. Delta Air Lines (72) 109. American Morning (CNN) (63) 110. Arrowhead (NR) 111. Dell Computers (69) 112. Fleet Bank (157) 113. NBA (98) 114. New York Life Insurance (139). 115. Pizza Hut (105) 116. National Discount Brokers (102) 117. MerrillLynch. com (95) 118. NEC (NR) 119. Panasonic Mobile Phone (124) 120. Fidelity (96) 121. Dasani (NR) 122. Papa John’s (118) 123. CDNow. com (153) 124. Datek. com (77) 125. Siemens Mobile Phone (52) 126. IBM Computers (110) 127. Best Buy (154) 128. Reebok Fitness Shoes (103) 129. Sunoco Gasoline (121) 130. Wendy’s (115) 131. Wachovia Bank (89) 132. Good Morning America (ABC) (120) 133. Buy. com (142) 134. Corona (132) 135. CheapTickets. com (NR) 136. HP Computers (92) 137. PNC Bank (NR) 138. Shell Gasoline (119) 139. Dunkin’ Donuts (109). 140. Coca-Cola (129) 141. Citibank (112) 142. Early Show (CBS) (151) 143. AT&T Wireless (99) 144. Travelocity. com (138) 145. Bank of New York (158) 146. Bank of America (NR) 147. Continental Airlines (114) 148. CSFB. com (125) 149. Toshiba Computers (NR) 150. JP Morgan Chase Bank (106) 151. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (117) 152. American Express Credit Card (135) 153. Deer Park (NR) 154. Sony Vaio (111) 155. Fodors. com (128) 156. Domino’s Pizza (122) 157. Compaq Computers (80) 158. KFC (116) 159. Little Caesars (140) 160. Putnam (126) 161. Burger King (136) 162. Vanguard Mutual Fund (78) 23 163. United Air Lines (137) 164. Evian (NR) 165. Heineken (155) 166. Minolta Office Copier (159) 167. Travelers Insurance (144) 168. McDonald’s (141) 169. National Car Rental (145) 170. Sharp Office Copier (169) 171. Hotels. com (147) 172. Janus Mutual Fund (123) 173. Ricoh Office Copier (164) 174. Godfather’s (130) 175. Roundtable Pizza (131) 176. MetLife Insurance (162) 177. First USA (NR) 178. Fila (172) 179. Arby’s (161) 180. American Airlines (143) 181. USPS Parcel Delivery (156) 182. Prudential Insurance (163) 183. Dollar Rent A Car (167) 184. Bank One (NR) 185. Hardee’s (165) 186. Mountain Dew (168) 187. PriceLine. com (160) 188. Chuck E. Cheese Pizza (146) 189. MasterCard (150) 190. US Airways (166) 191. Aetna Insurance (174) 192. 7 Up (170) 193. Dr Pepper (176) 194. Alamo Rent-a-Car (178) 195. Jack in the Box Restaurant (171) 196. Taco Bell (173) 197. The Hartford Insurance (175) 198. Beck’s (179) 199. White Castle (177) 200. NHL (180) 201. Diet 7 Up (108) 202. Kmart (182) 203. Diet Dr Pepper (133) 24 Works Cited American Beverage Association (2005). Soft Drink Facts. Retrieved February 21, 2006 from http://www. ameribev. org/variety/facts. asp Cadbury Schweppes. (2004). 2004 Annual Report. Retrieved February 17, 2006 from http://www. cadburyschweppes. com Datamonitor. (2005, May). Global Soft Drinks: Industry Profile. New York. Reference Code: 0199-0802. Hein, Kenneth. (2004). Brand Loyalty 2004. Retrieved February 12, 2006 from http://www. brandkeys. com/news/press/102504Brandweek. Loyalty. pdf Murray, Barbara. (2006a). The Coca-Cola Company. Hoovers. Retrieved February 13, 2006, from http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/co/factsheet. xhtml? ID=10359 Murray, Barbara. (2006b). Pepsi Co. Hoovers. Retrieved February 13, 2006, from http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/co/profile. xhtml? ID=11166 Murray, Barbara. (2006c). Carbonated Beverages. Hoovers. Retrieved February 13, 2006, from http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/ind/overview. xhtml? HICID=1049 Murray, Barbara. (2006d). Cadbury Schweppes Inc. Hoovers. Retrieved February 13, 2006, from http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/co/profile. x html? ID=41767 Murray, Barbara. (2006e). Comparison Data. Hoovers. Retrieved February 13, 2006, from http://premium. hoovers. com/subscribe/co/fin/comparison. xhtml? ID=10359 PepsiCo Inc. (2004). 2004 Annual Report. Retrieved February 17, 2006 from http://www. pepsico. com Sicher, J. D. (2005). Beverage.