Greed Or Corrupt-Advertising Coca-Cola?

“There’s a moment you’ve been waiting all your life for. When you find the very reason you’re alive for.” This semester included a small moment in my life, which had an impact on my life. My love for musicals began to heighten beginning college. I have created a fifteen-hour musical soundtrack playlist, to paying $400 to watch “Hamilton: An American Musical” in Chicago. Musicals have a way of inspiring individuals and have increased my drive to work in the entertainment business. This semester, I casually looked at what musicals were playing in the Indianapolis area, and I came across the musical “Finding Neverland.” I ended up getting tickets for the October 20 show. Little did I know this show would have such an impact on me.

Economists are always eager to eliminate every conduct which will lead to a non-competitive market. The models for economic analysis

c) Critically evaluate the relationship between culture, politics, power and motivation that enables teams and organisations to succeed providing justified recommendations. (13 marks)

Coca–Cola a leading manufacturer, distributor and marketer of soft drink products. Coca–Cola was not always the sugary syrup soft drink most people know today. As a matter of fact, before 1886 Coca-Cola was made with alcohol and cocaine. Concocted by Dr. John Pemberton a pharmacist in Atlanta Georgia Coca-Cola was originally named Pemberton’s French Wine Coca. Dr. Pemberton marketed the drink as a cure all for mental and physical disorders and was sold from a soda fountain at his local drug store. A step ahead of prohibition, Dr. Pemberton replace the wine in his formula with a sugary syrup. The cocaine portion of Coca-Cola was removed before 1914 when cocaine was deemed illegal in the United States of America. Coca-Cola as we know today still contains coca but the narcotic portion of cocaine, it is removed. Today, Coca-Cola has expanded to over 200+ countries. From concerts to sport venues to local restaurants you are more than likely to come across a Coca-Cola product, Coca-Cola has had such an impact on society that it is given credit for how we portray Santa Clause today. Other credits should also be given to Coca-Cola like an increase in diabetes and other diseases.

Coca Cola Company is an American beverage manufacturing corporation in which it is taking care of the manufacturing, marketing and retailing of their non alcoholic beverage and syrup products throughout the world. Coca-cola company was started by a pharmacist whose name is John Stith Pemberton in 1889 in Columbus, Georgia it is now a multi-billion corporation operating in nearly 200 countries with its main headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia (www.coca-cola.co.uk/about-us/our-business). Although the company is best known for its most popular product “Coca Cola”, an aerated non-alcoholic cold beverage, but it offers around 500 brands all over the globe. (Pendergrast, 2000).

When reading the letter from the chief Executive Officer Muhtar Kent the content of the letter was optimistic and upbeat. Also, the CEO references to the company as global thirst quenching corporation that do not take the size for granted, this helps the reader understand Coca-Cola modesty. Likewise, the CEO added Targeted disciplined investments for the future of the company that will help the company to expand and grow. Furthermore, increasing revenue, profit and growth by building the brand Coca-Cola. Furthermore, Simplifying and streamlining operations of the company enabling to standardize the operation around the world.

In a globally competitive environment, Coca-Cola engaged in questionable conduct such as channel stuffing, falsifying marketing research, anti-trust issues or racial discrimination for a few reasons (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2013). Coca-Cola used channel stuffing as a short term tactic to artificially report an increase in sales, which could entice more shareholders to invest into their company (Edwards, 2015). But in the long run, it becomes similar to a Ponzi scheme. The distributor returns the unsold cases of soft drinks to Coca-Cola, in which Coca-Cola would add them as sales returns on their accounting ledger. The shareholders see an increase of Coca-Cola shipments and an increase of sales revenues on the financial reports. Channel stuffing draws a lot of attention from executives and investors as profits decrease and sales increase (Edwards, 2015).

“Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism” by Bartow J. Elmore tells a story of how Coca- Cola have changed its industry as well as the globe by utilizing natural resources. To start on his journey about Coca-Cola, Elmore questions the success of the company behind selling Coke, a low-priced mixture of “sugar, water, and caffeine, packed in glass, plastic, or aluminum” (Elmore 8). Elmore discovers that even though advertising plays an essential key in selling products, Coca-Cola is mostly profitable from outsourcing the supply (Elmore 9). Besides explaining his research on the Coca-Cola capitalism, Elmore also emphasizes on the ecological evidences that support it, which make this book an environmental history of Coca-Cola capitalism (Elmore 14).

While this book begins by defining stage money as “Imitation money used in theatrical production, in film, and by magicians,” the next seven chapters are not spent describing these fake dollar bills (v). Donahue and Patterson step away from analyzing the aesthetic value of theatre and analyze what it costs. As corporations of today take steps into the 21st century, Broadway is forced to evolve with them. Due to the lack of ability of performers to increase productivity, the environment is high-risk. Investors can put in millions of dollars into a project and lose it all, simply because audiences were not drawn to the show. However, investing the same amount in a successful show can make millions. This “survival of the fittest” mantra describes

The book Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism by Bartow J. Elmore is about the environmental history of Coca-Cola. Elmore is a historian who grew up in the Atlanta area, where the Coca-Cola Company was formed and has a presence to this day. The book discusses how the Coca-Cola Company came into existence and how it acquired resources to manufacture the best-selling product, Coke. After doing a little bit of background on the three book options offered for review, I chose this book because I was most interested in how the company came into existence and how the products were manufactured. What I discovered was that the Coca-Cola Company is a consumer, not a producer. I will go on in this review and discuss the reasons why it is a consumer and not a producer.

Today, the Coca-Cola Company is the biggest soft drink corporation on the planet. It accounts for about 44 percent of soft drink sales market in the United States and the company spends on average $3 billion on advertising annually (Smith). Coca-Cola is one of the most iconic brands of century promoting itself as the drink of freedom, choice, and US patriotism. However, behind this carefully crafted image exists a selfish dollar hungry and greedy company. Greed can be defined as the excessive or rapacious desire, of possessions, power, especially for wealth. Coca-Cola Company is exploiting less developed countries of resources, spoiling the environment, as well as bring about an assortment of heath issue

When a child is born, the parents hope that they have a better, and longer life then they did. Yet for the first time in modern US history, “Today’s children are expected to have shorter life expectancies than there parents” (Life Expectancy of U.S. Children Cut Short by Obesity). The somber realization is the result of a several decade long epidemic which threatens to poison future generations and prevent them from living long prosperous lives. The obesity rate in the United States has sky rocketed in the last ten years to a staggering 34.9% of all adults (L. Ogden, Prevalence of Obesity in the United States, 2011-2012). This number is only expected to increase with the current generation of children, as diseases such as type two diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and coronary heart disease increase in prevalence (Center of Disease Control and Prevention). The culprit, is what Americans eat. Almost all the food that is accessible by the average American is processed, and therefore contains a ridiculous amount of artificial ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup (Hojjat 86). Many companies such as Coca Cola have been a contributing to the current state of the United states poor health, by advertising to younger ages and relating there product to creating a sense of happiness.

Coca-Cola argues many points in support of its marketing and image. Especially in the years following WWII, Coke has worked hard to present an image associated with having a good time. Since the late 1800s, Coke’s advertising has shown people in beautiful places and in beautiful clothes, having a beautiful time and enjoying their beautiful lives--even in times of war and economic recession. While wars, riots and scandals rage in this country, Coke has been “holding forth to the world a picture of itself as pleasant and rewarding--the kind of place most people would like for it to be” (Watters 216). In Coke’s more recent advertising, Coke continues its image of fun and beauty, showing teens enjoying a sunrise and at a rave dance party in the woods. However, these more current commercials were in response to two other adds that were considered “not funny” and “mean spirited” by public opinion polls (Sampey par 1-4). Those ads showed family members and friends physically fighting with each other because someone had forgotten to bring Coke.

One of the company’s most popular jingles was known as “I want to buy the world a

1. Do you think Coca-Cola will surpass the scandals around the world like it did in the past?