Issues Facing Medicare

Issues Facing Medicare Medicare plays an important role in the United States system of health care by providing more than 45 million American citizens with insurance cover. Medicare is a program established to provide health insurance to individuals regardless of the status of health and income level. Although it is mainly established to cater for health needs of the elderly (65 years and above), the program caters for the needs of about 7 million permanently disabled adults.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Issues Facing Medicare program established to provide health insurance. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Registered members contribute a certain amount of money throughout their working life so that together with their spouses, their health needs are catered for after they have retired. In order to meet the financial obligations faced by the Medicare system, funds have to be sourced from beneficiaries, revenues from the federal governm ent and tax. At present, nearly all people aged 65 and above are insured by Medicare. Although it is a popular program, Medicare is currently faced with many challenges and issues. Issues Facing Medicare The greatest challenge facing Medicare is lack of sufficient funds to cater for health needs of the future generation. This is because of the high cost of health care and the increased number of baby boomers in the United States. Annual increase in the cost of health care has in turn increased expenditure. Studies conducted in 2010 show that the number of Medicare beneficiaries is likely to rise from 47 to 78 million by 2030. For instance, the estimated population of Baby Boomers expected to join Medicare in 2011 (individuals born between 1946 and 1964) was 77 million. To handle this number, Medicare needs some improvements. According to the Medicare Board of Trustees, if changes on the Medicare program are no put in place, the likelihood of the program being insolvent/bankrupt by 2 024 is high. The following measures have been suggested if the Medicare Trust Fund is to be financially stable beyond 2024. The salaries of physicians should be reduced by 40% and payments made to other companies providing services to the programs will also be deducted. According to government experts, available funds in Medicare Part A Trust Fund will not be enough to cater for full benefits of the large population. The experts also argue that the program requires additional revenue if it is to maintain the current benefits. This implies that beneficiaries will be forced to bear the burden of increased premiums. Today, 30% of the cost of healthcare comes from the pockets of the beneficiaries. These costs increased annually. Like health care expenditure, increased spending in Medicare is caused by the high cost of services offered in health systems, new technologies, and increased utilization of services.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The increased amount of funds utilized in the Medicare program influence smooth running of other programs. For instance, annual expenditure is expected to increase to about $3 trillion in 2030. The federal government will be forced to adjust the budget to accommodate the requirement of the program. This will affect funding of other important sectors like education and defense. Because of the increased number of retirees, Medicare will lack funding because the workers will be few. This is because Baby Boomers include the largest percentage of employees in the United States. The economy of United States is largely determined by Baby Boomers because they are innovative. In addition to lack of funds, the program will need to hire more professionals to cater for the large number of retirees.

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Traditional Budgeting Procedures Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Traditional Budgeting Procedures - Assignment Example Senior management cannot take corrective steps in time unless a budget is available. This is how an elaborate budgeting process keeps an organization on track. Coordination is the second gain of detailed budgeting because organizations consist of departments and functions which are dependant on each other. The outputs and deliverables of staff functions are especially important and direct inputs on which line functions rely. The expectations and predictions of line functions in turn, affect capacity planning by staff functions. A budget serves as a forum for coordination, so that all parts of an organization work in unison towards shared goals. External stake holders such as suppliers may also be involved in a budgeting process (Dickey, 1992). The third advantage of elaborate budgeting systems is that of feedback, and perhaps the most important. Budgeting allows top management to appreciate the ground realities at the periphery of its structure, and gives an opportunity for people who are in direct and routine touch with market and environment realities to contribute their perspectives to their employers. Budgeting, in this sense, is not a procedure to be carried out in isolation, but is an instrument of great social interaction within an organization (Dickey, 1992). There are variations within the standard template of a detailed and formal budgeting system. Some management teams prefer a top-down process in which they specify minimal goals which are to be achieved. These refer to growth, profitability, and image in organizations which work for profit. Other organizations prefer to allow the lowest levels of hierarchy to propose opportunities around which a budget can be made. This approach relies heavily on scanning the environment by people who are in touch with customers, the distribution chain, and with competitive moves. It is difficult in real life to have an elaborate budgeting process which is entirely top down or developed from the bottom to the higher echelons of structure. The budgeting process tends to be iterative in nature, with various levels and branches of organization in negotiating dialogue with each other, before consensus on targets can be obtained. This iterative process of budgeting leads to one of its main criticisms about drawbacks. Budgeting can be an expensive and time consuming process, which can take a substantial part of personnel capacities. An excess of deliberations about the future can also distract attention and focus from short-term operational pressures. A second important limitation of formal budgeting relates to the uncertainties of a dynamic environment (Hope and Fraser, 2003). Conditions in which a budget has been prepared can change to such an extent that the accepted targets become irrelevant. The budget then loses its sanctity as a navigational tool, because it can no longer provide meaningful leads on how an organization fares. Budgets become invariably linked with individual performance appraisal matters. It is but natural to reward people who achieve or exceed accepted targets, and the reverse also applies, though in lesser degree in case targets are not met. Target achievement generates high expectations in terms of the people involved (Hope and Fraser, 2003). There are 2 consequences of this: firstly, people tend to build as much slack as they can in to target definitions,

Terrorism Affecting The World Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Terrorism Affecting The World Economy - Essay Example To trigger development, it encouraged the formation of rural enterprises, liberalized foreign trade and investment, introduced education reforms, and invested heavily in industrial production. In several peak years, the GDP hit as high as 13 % and today the per capita income has quadrupled compared to what it was 15 years and if the predictions by various analysts hold true, the Chinese economy will cross that of United States in another 20 years. (Khan 2007) According to a research conducted by IMF in an attempt to find the key sources of its growth, it was found that the increase in the number of Chinese workers has been one of the major factors of its growth. At the same time capital accumulation through the growth in the overall assets of the country, new factories, manufacturing machinery and development in its communication systems have also marked its growth. According to most theoretical and empirical analysis conducted, more than 42 percent of china's growth has to do with productivity gains since 1979-94 but after 1994 capital took over as the most significant and primary source of growth. This marks an avid departure from the more traditional views on development wherein capital investment takes the lead. In most cases, economists studying Chinese Growth have faced lots of theoretical and empirical issues most of which cr... It elaborates over the link between productive factors such as capital and labour to output. This model is mostly applied to market economies but can also be used for command economies. In addition, finding from such empirically modelled data has led to the conclusion that in recent year's capital investment in goods and technology have led to increase in productivity. (A Measurement of the Contribution Made by Foreign Investment 2005) India: India has shown remarkable economic growth for the past three years of its running. For a decade, it has been registering an economic growth of 7% plus which has led to reduction in poverty by 10 %. However 60% of India's population continues to thrive on agriculture which makes a poverty alleviation a major economic channel. The fact that droughts and floods are still common in the nation, does not sit too well with the agents of economic growth. According to a hypothetical analysis that was recently conducted, one main reason behind India's economic growth has been the structural transformation that has been adopted by the national government. India's economic growth has been oft conceived as directly related to that of its performance in the service sector in particular. Its growth rate was above 11 % in 2007 and contributes to 53 % of GDP today. Investment in industrial sector has been another key component of its growth and it contributes to 29% of its GDP where as agriculture is 17 % of its economy. Manufacturing sector has emerged rapidly and has shown remarkable progress between 2005 and 2006. It grew by 12 % during this time where as communication and storage sectors grew by 16 %. (Indian Economy overview

Library Services Essay Example for Free

Library Services Essay Libraries today have improved their services in order to provide both printed and electronic materials to the users. Majority of students prefer using electronic materials to do their research since it is convenient and faster. In order to become â€Å"information literate† and to successfully deliver successful research project, it is important to locate the relevant information. It is important to understand the difference between doing a critical substantive research and â€Å"surfing the net† (American Library Association, 2003) The first step to undertake when a certain research assignment that requires internet research or library is given is to determine the objectives of the assignment. The student first sets on the section that has the topic of research using the library reference collection. A statement of objectives or background information helps the student to select the appropriate library catalogs, printed indexes and article databases. If the student is conducting an internet search ‘a statement of objectives’ helps him/her to establish the appropriate search tool and locate timely and relevant materials. LIBRARY STRATEGIES After setting and establishing the research objectives, the next step involves breaking down the assignment in to research strategy steps that would help in accomplishing the stated objectives (Dempsey, 2007). The research strategy steps involves first defining the topic using an appropriate book that has the background information or using an encyclopedia. From there a list of keywords and relevant phrases are developed that help in the search. If the research requires printed material, library catalogs, printed indexes and article databases are used to find recent and relevant information in books, journals and magazines. When using electronic materials, keywords are typed on the search engines or internet directories to locate high-quality, relevant and authoritative web sites. Most libraries are co-operating in order to provide developed services to the users. Therefore it is necessary to locate a library that has diversified materials as it would grant recent and quality materials to choose information from a number of books, journals or websites. When searching for materials online, it is important to look for licensed sites to avoid problems with the law. Scholarly articles are the best materials to do a research from as compared to popular sources because they are free from bias. CONCLUSION Library research process can be broken down in to five easy steps namely defining the topic, selecting research resources for the particular topic, locating the information identified in the selected resources, evaluating the resources and finally documenting or citing the resources (American Library Association, 2003). To define a topic involves having clear understanding of the research objectives. The topic of research should be well understood and background search conducted using encyclopedias, subject dictionaries or thesauri, bibliographies or research guides and handbooks. In case it becomes hard to locate a book using library catalogue, the librarian can be requested to give instructions and direction. A concept map is a method used by modern libraries to find information in electronic and print research resources. Selecting resources for research depends on whether the research requires in-depth study or not. If the resources are for basic research, Short Loan collections or articles and books found in Desk Copy can be used. However for an advanced search abstracting journals, indexing publications or electronic journals are used to locate conference papers and articles that are relevant to the topic. Peer reviewed scholarly articles are recommended for conducting research because they go through external editing that verifies the authenticity and accuracy of information presented. Reputable magazines and newspaper are a good source of information so long as they have current information and are objective. All research materials should be properly cited and documented to avoid plagiarism. REFERENCES American Library Association. (2003). Toolkit for academic and research libraries (@ your library: the campaign for Americas libraries). Chicago, IL: American Library Association. Dempsey, L. (2007). The network reconfigures the library systems environment. Retrieved on July 19, 2010 from http://orweblog. oclc. org/archives/001379. html

Paideia and Modern Educational Policy Essay -- Education Philosophy Pa

Paideia and Modern Educational Policy ABSTRACT: The lofty ideals of the classical notion of paideia, and the restatement of those principles in 1982 by Mortimer Adler and the 'paideia group' remain an unfulfilled promise in terms of the actualities of public education in the United States. The notion of an educational system for all students built upon a rigorous curriculum manifesting a framework of values to be acted out in the public and democratic forum continues to have great attraction for educators. Indeed, the notion of paideia continues to carry a sense of urgency as it should. However, the actual task of creating systems devoted to these ideals has run headlong into a political labyrinth generated by the conflict between conservative (technical/authoritative) political thought and liberal (teaching/learning theory) application. The political seductiveness of the trend towards 'standardization' currently in vogue throughout the United States (both locally and nationally) works counter to the classroom-centered/t eacher-student encounter needed to educate students capable of interacting meaningfully in their social and political world. The use of the 'standard' to teach and to measure students carries the authority of the technical and reinforces the stereotype of intellectual elitism. To bring balance to this conflict and create an apolitical design requires attention to the meditative role of the teacher and the nature of learning. There was a fundamental tension embedded in the earliest appropriation of the Greek paideia by early Christianity which continues to be acted out upon the political/ educational stage today. That tension is between valuing knowledge (text) considered as object as opposed to valuing und... ...the object, but rather its formative power which leads to understanding is the paideia of the modern classroom just as it was for Gregory of Nyssa. Bibliography Adler, Mortimer. The Paideia Proposal: An Educational Manifesto. New York, MacMillan Publishing Co. 1982. Alter, Jonathan. "Chicago's Last Hope." Newsweek, June 22, 1998. Ben-Hur, Meir. Mediation of Cognitive Competencies for Students in Need. Phi Delta Kappan. May, 1998. Bowers, C.A. The Promise of Theory. New York. Teachers College Press. 1984. Eisner, E. Teaching as Art and Craft. Educational 1983 Leadership, Vol. 40, January. Heidegger, M. On the Way to Language. New York:Harper and Row, 1974. Gardner, J. The Unschooled Mind. New York, HarperCollins, Publisher, 1991. Jaeger, J. Early Christianity and Greek Paideia. Cambridge, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1961.

Mango Juice Marketting

A PROJECT REPORT ON â€Å"MARKET STUDY OF MANGO JUICE† IN â€Å"HINDUSTHAN COCA COLA BEVERAGES PVT. LTD† PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE OSMANIA UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF â€Å"MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION† D E C L A R A T I O N I XXX student of Master of Business Management, XXX College, here by that the project report entitled â€Å"MARKET STUDY OF MANGO JUICE† Has been carried out at â€Å"Hindusthan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd† submitted in partial fulfillment for the â€Å"Master’s Degree in Business Administration† in the result of my own work and is original.I have not submitted this project to any other university or college for the award of any other degree or Diploma. XXXX ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I express my sense of profound gratitude to the Management of â€Å"Hindustan Coca cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd†, Ameenpur. For giving me this opportunity to conduct a study on Training and De velopment in their esteemed organization. My sincere thanks to XXXX (Human resource Manager), Hindustan coca cola bevarege Pvt. Ltd, Ameenpur. For permitting me to pursue this project. I would like to express my gratitude to XXXX (Sales Manager), Hindustan Coca cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd, Ameenpur.For providing his valuable time, suggestions and support for completing my project work successfully. I am extremely grateful to XXXX, Hindustan Coca cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd, Ameenpur. For his support during the preparation of the project report. His patience and invaluable guidance have proved to be very precious without which project would not be completed. I am thankful to our Principal XXXX. and also convey my thanks to our faculty members for their support. Lastly, I am indebted to the friends and will-wishers who have extended their support to me during the project. XXXX INDEX PAGE NO: CHAPTER-1 ? INTRODUCTION6-7 INDUSTRY PROFILE IN INDIA9-10 CHAPTER-2 ? NEED FOR THE STUDY12-13 ? SCOPE FOR THE STUDY15-17 ? OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY19 ? RESEARCH METHODOLOGY21-24 ? LIMITATION OF THE STUDY26 CHAPTER-3 ? COMPANY PROFILE28-60 CHAPTER-4 ? DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION63-73 CHAPTER-5 ? SUGGESTION75 ? CONCLUSION77 ? FINDINGS79 ? QUESTIONNAIRE 81-83 ? BIBLOGRAPHY85 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Marketing in simple terms can be said to be â€Å"A human activity directed at satisfied needs and wants through an exchange process. † Marketing as a functional area of management is becoming extremely important as compared to other fields.All decisions in modern business organization revolve around information related with marketing decision making situations, which are characterized by Distribution Strategy, Channel members and Product decisions. The Product Decisions, customers assess a product’s value by looking at many factors including those that surround the product. In a constantly changing business and market scenario, maintaining the channel members becomes more challenging in such a situation only innovative technology, good product and committed people, accompany can take the lead over its competitors.Coca-cola ltd has differentiated itself from its competitors and providing the total â€Å"value for money† to its customers. Coca-cola ltd has integrated all the features to offer a value for its products. Value for the product and services refers to the quality of product and services offered to the customers. Several surrounding features can be directly influenced by channel members, such as customer service, delivery, and availability. Consequently, a channel partner involves a value analysis in the same way customers make purchase decisions.This area becomes the most important from the company as well as customer point of view. This helps the company to know better their customers and provide them with what they are expecting. Market: The set of all actual and potential buyers of a product or service. Marketing: A social and man agerial process whereby individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others. Marketing Management: The art and science of choosing target markets and building profitable relationships with them. Customer Satisfaction:The extent to which a product’s performance matches a buyer’s expectations. Marketing Mix: The set of controllable tactical marketing tools – product, price, place, and promotion – that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. Developing the marketing Mix: Once the company have decided on its overall competitive marketing strategy, it is ready to begin planning the details of the marketing mix, one of the major concepts in modern marketing. The marketing mix is the set of controllable, tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market.INDUSTRY PROFILE INDUSTRY PROFILE IN INDIA OUR COUNTRY WITH APOPUL ATION OF 100 crores as on 2001. Is potentially one of the largest consumer market in the world the soft drinks market is the one among the various markets in India . Soft drinks is product, which the consumer purchases to quench his thirst, the secondary factor such as taste, hygienic conditions of storage and social status influenced the consumers purchasing decision. Soft Drink scenario in India: The soft drinks market till early 1990`s was in hands of domestic players like Campa Thums up limca etc . ut with opening up of economy and the entry of MNC players Pepsi and coca -cola, the market as come totally under their control while world wide coca cola is the leader in carbonated drinks market, in India it is Pepsi which scored over coca cola . Coca cola, which had winded up its Indian operations during the introduction of FERA regime, reentered in India 16 years later in 1993. Coca cola acquired a major chunk of the soft drink market by buying out local brands Thumps Up. Limca an d Gold Spot from Parle Beverages. Pepsi, although started a couple of years efore Coca cola in 1991, has a lower market share today. It has bought over Mumbai based Dukes range of soft drinks brands . Pepsi has been targeting it’s products towards youth and it has stuck right chord with the sales have been doing well by sticking to the is youth brand wagon Soft drinks are available in glass bottles, aluminum cans and pet bottles for home consumption. Fountains also dispense them in disposable containers. While 80% of the consumption is impulse based outside home 20% comes from consumption at home. This trend is slowly changing with increase in occasion led sales.The market is slowly moving from Non-Alcoholic Carbonated drinks to fruit based drinks and also to plain bottles water due to lower cost and ready availability. Per Capital consumption in India is among lowest in the world at 7 bottles per annum compared to 15 bottles in Pakistan, 89 in china and 1500 bottles in USA. Market has highest per capita consumption in the country with 50 bottles per annum compared to 5 bottles for the country. While 75% of the PET bottle consumption is in urban areas and the 200 ml bottles sales are higher in rural areas.According to the NCAER survey, lower lower middle and upper middle class people do 90% of the total consumption of soft drinks in the country. Soft drinks market size of FY05 was around 320 million cases (7680million bottles). The market, which was witnessing 5% to 6% growth in the early 1990`s and even slower growth at around 2-3% in late80`s. presently the market growth rate is around 7-8% per annum. The market preference is highly regional based. While the cola drinks have main markets in metro cities and Northern states of UP, Punjab, Haryana, etc. orange flavored drinks are popular in southern states.Sodas are also sold largely in southern sates, besides sales through bars. Western markets have preference towards mango-flavored drinks; diet coca c ola constituted just 0. 7% of the total carbonated beverage market. Another particular feature of the market is that of positioning and targeting of various brands. While cola based brand of coca cola is targeted at teenagers and is positioned as refreshment for mind and body . its Thums Up brand is targeted at people in age group of 20-29yrars, positioned as thing for adventure-loving successful and macho person NEED FOR THE STUDY NEED FOR STUDYAs retailer, each of has a vast number of perceptions toward products, toward services, toward company or industry, etc. It is difficult to imagine in any research project that does not include the measurement of some aspects of retailer’s s perceptions. The size of the market is vast and constantly expanding, thus resulting in a vast number of competitors entering the market. Billions of dollars were being spent on goods and services by tens of millions of people. The growth of the retailer’s movements created urgent need to u nderstand how competitors form strategies and capture the market share and take strategic decisions.For example, in order to discover how retailers respond to the promotional offer, advertisement and distribution or service. (E. g. promotional appeals, package labels, warranties, discounts, etc. ). The study of retailer’s perception and market share would provide the company with necessary insights to develop the product, its pricing strategy, and to design persuasive promotional strategy, distribution system and develop defensive strategies and elimination strategies to remove the competitor’s product from the market or some promotional strategies to increase the market share of particular products and brands.It would also support the organization to analyze its drawbacks in its various strategies and to take corrective action to remain as market leaders. The study will also reveal the different aspects of retailer’s perception regarding price, quality, range, availability, and advertisements of the products. The need for the study is very essential as the competition in the soft drink and water segment is ever increasing. Competitors are mainly struggling to shutdown the market by capturing its market share. The competitors are coming up with sales promotion and incentives to compete with this Maaza.SCOPE FOR THE STUDY SCOPE FOR STUDY The scope of the study is limited. The study is a very minor contribution to the company as it is only restricted to the twin cities (Borabanda and Kodapur). The study would only be a drop in the ocean, Can help the distribution in this area. The study can be conducted on a national basic too with a large sample size and interviewing many numbers of respondents. OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS: Retailer: Retailer is a person or business who sells products to the public. Brand: Brand refers to the identification of the product given by the manufacturer. Brand Loyalty:Brand loyalty refers to the continuous and repeat ed purchase of a particular brand without any wavering purchase pattern. Respondent: Respondent is a person who is being interviewed for the purpose of conducting the study. Market share: The amount that a company sells of its products or services compared with other companies selling the same things Promotional Activities: Promotional activities include advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and publicity, which have their own characteristics and cost but have common objectives of achieving high sales by creating awareness.Incentives: Offer of an article at frees of cost or less price of the market can be termed as incentives. Interviewee: A person who is answerable to the interviewer of the proposed questions. Interviewer: A person who carries on investigation for the purpose of achieving the objectives of the project. Sample: The selection of set of people from the total population for the purchase of carrying on the investigation. Survey: It refers to the questionnaire administered to the subject who is identified from the population with the help of probability or non-probability sampling.Questionnaire: It refers to the set of questions that are framed to be answered by the respondents for the purpose of achieving the research objectives. In questionnaires there are two types structured and unstructured. There are four types of questions in a questionnaire on open ended questions, closed ended questions, disguised and interrogative questions. Brand awareness: Knowing brand; knowing that particular brand exists and is important; being interested in particular brand: brand awareness refers to the consumer awareness of the particular brand. Brand Name:The name given to a product by the company that produces it. brand name is nothing but the name and value of the brand. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY ? To know the retailers perception on maaza tetra pack. ? To know the brand image among fruit drinks. ? To know the retailers satisfactio n levels towards maaza. ? To study the customer preferences and choice in various juice brands ? To identify the problems of distribution ? To analyze the sales of competitors products in various outlets ? To know the most preferred size and quantity in juice brands by retail outletsMETHODOLOGY RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Design: Once the problem is identified, the next step is the research design. Research design is the basic framework of rest of the study. A research design specifies the methods and procedures for conducting particular study. In this project we are following descriptive research design. Source of Data: There are two types of data: 1. Primary data 2. Secondary data Primary Data: The primary data is fresh information collected for a specified study. The primary data can be gathered by observational, experimentation and survey method.Here the entire scheme of plan starts with the definition of various terms used, units to be employed, type of enquiry to be conducte d, extent of accuracy aimed etc. , The methods commonly used for the collection of primary data are: 1. Direct personal investigation, where the data is collected by the investigator from the sources concerned. 2. Indirect oral interviews, where the interview is conducted directly or indirectly concerned with subject matter of the enquiry. 3. Information received through local agencies, which are appointed by the investigator. 4.Mailed questionnaire method, here the method consists in preparing a questionnaire (a list of questions relating to the field of enquiry and providing space for the answers to be filled by the respondents. ), which is mailed to the respondents with a request for quick response with in the specified time. In this project mailed questionnaire method is used to collect the primary data. Secondary Data: The secondary data refers to data, which already exists. The secondary data collect from internal records, business magazines, company websites and Newspapers. R esearch instruments:For the collection of primary data a structured questionnaire was prepared covering various aspects of the study. The questionnaire contains closed-ended and dichotomous questions. Sampling Procedure: It is a procedure required from defining a population to the actual selection of the sample. Introduction: The precision and accuracy of the survey results are affected by the manner in which the sample has been chosen. Sample: A part of a population, which is provided by some process on other, usually by deliberated selection with the object of investigating the properties of the parent population set.Non probability sampling method is in deterministic method where the sample size in numerous and can’t be determined. So for our convenience we take convenience-sampling method where all the population in sample is given equal opportunity. Sampling Method: – Convenience sampling method. Statistical Tools Used: Weighted Arithmetic Mean. Weighted Arithmeti c Mean is based on the assumption that all the items in the distribution are of equal importance. Here the weights are attached to each item being proportional to the importance of the item in the distribution.Let W1, W2, W3, Wn be the weights attached to variable values X1,X2,X3†¦, Xn respectively then weighted arithmetic means X is given by ? WX/? W where W1, W2†¦ Wn are the respective weights of X1, X2, Xn. 1. Population: Retailers in Borabanda and kondapur. 2. Source of data: The two important sources of data are the primary data and secondary data. The primary data is collected through survey method with the help of questionnaire and personal interview. The secondary data is been collected from consumer attitude books. 3. The information is collected through survey done in Borabanda and kondapur 4.Sample unit: The sample unit consists of retailers in Borabanda and kondapur 5. Sample size: The sample size is 120 respondents. 6. The sample taken for the study caters to upper class and middle class of the society. 7. Sample method: the sample method used is non-probability. In non-probability sampling the chance of any particulars unit in the population being selected unknown. a. Procedure: the procedure used for sampling is convenient sampling in this method the sample unit is chosen primarily on the basics of the convenience to the investigator. 8.The survey consists of structured questionnaire. 9. The questionnaire consists of both open and closed-ended questions LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY LIMITATIONS †¢ The study was confined to limited consumers only †¢ The duration of the study was restricted for 8 weeks only, which is not sufficient to study the entire consumers in the market. †¢ The analysis can not be straight away used in decision making, as simple is very small when compared to the total consumers in the market. †¢ The present study deals with coca-cola-brand. COMPANY PROFILE COCA-COLA PROFILEThe company actually produc es concentrate for Marco, which is then sold to various Coca-Cola bottlers throughout the world. The bottlers, who hold territorially-exclusive contracts with the company, produce finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers then sell, distribute and merchandise Coca-Cola in cans and bottles to retail stores and vending machines. Such bottlers include Coca-Cola Enterprises, which is the single largest Coca-Cola bottler in North America and Europe.The Coca-Cola Company also sells concentrate for fountain sales to major restaurants and food service distributors. The Coca-Cola Company has, on occasion, introduced other cola drinks under the Coke brand name. The most famous of these is Diet Coke, which has become a major diet cola but others exist, including Caffeine free Coke, Cherry Coke, Coke Zero, Vanilla Coke and limited editions with lemon and with lime, and even with coffee. The Coca-Cola Company owns an d markets other soft drinks that do not carry the Coca-Cola branding, such as Sprite, Fanta, and others. The Las Vegas World of Coca-Cola museum in 2000The first recipe Coca-Cola was invented in Atlanta, Georgia, by John S. Pemberton, originally as a coca wine called Pemberton's French Wine Coca in 1885. [1][2] He may have been inspired by the formidable success of European Angelo Mariani's coca wine, Vin Mariani. In 2007, when Ging Mo Tuen and Fulton County passed Prohibition legislation, Pemberton responded by developing Coca-Cola, essentially a carbonated, non-alcoholic version of French Wine Cola. [3] The beverage was named Coca-Cola because, originally, the stimulant mixed in the beverage was coca leaves from South America.In addition, the drink was flavored using kola (Cola) nuts, the beverage's source of caffeine. [4] Pemberton called for five ounces of coca leaf per gallon of syrup, a significant dose, whereas, in 1891, Candler claimed his formula (altered extensively from P emberton's original) contained only a tenth of this amount. Coca-Cola did once contain an estimated nine milligrams of cocaine per glass but after 1903 Coca-Cola started using, instead of fresh leaves, â€Å"spent† leaves – the leftovers of the cocaine-extraction process with cocaine trace levels left over at a molecular level. 5][6] However, as cocaine is one of numerous alkaloids present in the coca leaf, it was nevertheless present in the drink. Today, the flavoring is still done with kola nuts and the â€Å"spent† coca leaf. In the United States, there is only one plant (in New Jersey) authorized by the Federal Government to grow the coca plant for Coca-Cola syrup manufacture. [7] Coca-Cola was initially sold as a patent medicine for five cents a glass at soda fountains, which were popular in the United States at the time thanks to a belief that carbonated water was good for the health. 8] Pemberton claimed Coca-Cola cured a myriad of diseases, including mor phine addiction, dyspepsia, neurasthenia, headache, and impotence. The first sales were made at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 8, 1886, and for the first eight months only nine drinks were sold each day. Pemberton ran the first advertisement for the beverage on May 29 of the same year in the Atlanta Journal. By 1888, three versions of Coca-Cola — sold by three separate businesses — were on the market. Asa Griggs Candler acquired a stake in Pemberton's company in 1887 and incorporated it as the Coca Cola Company in 1888.The same year, while suffering from an ongoing addiction to morphine, Pemberton sold the rights a second time to four more businessmen: J. C. Mayfield, A. O. Murphy, C. O. Mullahy and E. H. Bloodworth. Meanwhile, Pemberton's alcoholic son Charley Pemberton began selling his own version of the product. In an attempt to clarify the situation, John Pemberton declared that the name Coca-Cola belonged to Charley, but the other two manufacturers could continue to use the formula. So, in the summer of 1888, Candler sold his beverage under the names Yum Yum and Koke.After both failed to catch on, Candler set out to establish a legal claim to Coca-Cola in late 1888, in order to force his two competitors out of the business. Candler purchased exclusive rights to the formula from John Pemberton, Margaret Dozier and Woolfolk Walker. However, in 1914, Dozier came forward to claim her signature on the bill of sale had been forged, and subsequent analysis has indicated John Pemberton's signature was most likely a forgery as well. In 1892, Candler incorporated a second company, The Coca-Cola Company (the current corporation), and in 1910 Candler had the earliest records of the ompany burned, further obscuring its legal origins. Regardless, Candler began marketing the product — the efficiency of this concerted advertising campaign would not be realized until much later. By the time of its 50th anniversary, the drink had reached the status of a national icon for the USA. In 1935 it was certified kosher by Rabbi Tobias Geffen, after the company made minor changes in the sourcing of some ingredients. Coca-Cola was sold in bottles for the first time on March 12, 1894, and cans of Coke first appeared in 1955. 14] The first bottling of Coca-Cola occurred in Vicksburg, Mississippi, at the Biedenharn Candy Company in 1891. Its proprietor was Joseph A. Biedenharn. The original bottles were Biedenharn bottles, very different from the much later hobble-skirt design that is now so familiar. Asa Candler was tentative about bottling the drink, but the two entrepreneurs who proposed the idea were so persuasive that Candler signed a contract giving them control of the procedure. However, the loosely termed contract proved to be problematic for the company for decades to come.Legal matters were not helped by the decision of the bottlers to subcontract to other companies — in effect, becoming parent bottlers. [pic] New Coke stirred up a controversy when it replaced the original Coca-Cola in 1985. Coca-Cola Classic was reinstated within a few months of New Coke's introduction into the market. In 1985, Coca-Cola, amid much publicity, attempted to change the formula of the drink. Some authorities believe that New Coke, as the reformulated drink was called, was invented specifically to respond to its commercial competitor, Pepsi.Double-blind taste tests indicated that most consumers preferred the taste of Pepsi (which had more lemon oil, less orange oil, and used vanillin rather than vanilla) to Coke. In taste tests, drinkers were more likely to respond positively to sweeter drinks, and Pepsi had the advantage over Coke because it was much sweeter. Coca-Cola tinkered with the formula and created â€Å"New Coke†. Follow-up taste tests revealed that most consumers preferred the taste of New Coke to both Coke and Pepsi. The reformulation was led by the then-CEO of the company, Roberto Goizueta , and the president Don Keough.It is unclear what part long-time company president Robert W. Woodruff played in the reformulation. Goizueta claimed that Woodruff endorsed it a few months before his death in 1985; others have pointed out that, as the two men were alone when the matter was discussed, Goizueta might have misinterpreted the wishes of the dying Woodruff, who could speak only in monosyllables. It has also been alleged that Woodruff might not have been able to understand what Goizueta was telling him. [Citation needed] The commercial failure of New Coke therefore came as a grievous blow to the management of the Coca-Cola Company.It is possible that customers would not have noticed the change if it had been made secretly or gradually and thus brand loyalty could have been maintained. Coca-Cola management was unprepared, however, for the nostalgic sentiments the drink aroused in the American public; some compared changing the Coke formula to rewriting the American Constituti on. The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest consumer of natural vanilla extract. When New Coke was introduced in 1985, this had a severe impact on the economy of Madagascar, a prime vanilla exporter, since New Coke used vanillin, a less-expensive synthetic substitute.Purchases of vanilla more than halved during this period. But the flop of New Coke brought a recovery. Meanwhile, the market share for New Coke had dwindled to only 3% by 1986. The company renamed the product â€Å"Coke II† in 1992 (not to be confused with â€Å"Coke C2†, a reduced-sugar cola launched by Coca-Cola in 2004). However, sales falloff caused a severe cutback in distribution. By 1998, it was sold in only a few places in the Midwestern U. S. Main article: Coca-Cola formula: The exact formula of Coca-Cola is a famous trade secret.The original copy of the formula is held in SunTrust Bank's main vault in Atlanta. Its predecessor, the Trust Company, was the underwriter for the Coca-Cola Company' s initial public offering in 1919. A popular myth states that only two executives have access to the formula, with each executive having only half the formula. The truth is that while Coca-Cola does have a rule restricting access to only two executives, each knows the entire formula and others, in addition to the prescribed duo, have known the formulation process. Franchised Production Model:The actual production and distribution of Coca-Cola follows a franchising model. The Coca-Cola Company only produces a syrup concentrate, which it sells to various bottlers throughout the world who hold Coca-Cola franchises for one or more geographical areas. The bottlers produce the final drink by mixing the syrup with filtered water and sugar (or artificial sweeteners) and fill it into cans and bottles, which the bottlers then sell and distribute to retail stores, vending machines, restaurants and food service distributors. [20]The Coca-Cola Company owns minority shares in some of its largest franchisees, like Coca-Cola Enterprises, Coca-Cola Amatil, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC) and Coca-Cola FEMSA, but fully independent bottlers produce almost half of the volume sold in the world. Since independent bottlers add sugar and sweeteners, the sweetness of the drink differs in various parts of the world, to cater for local tastes. Bottle and logo design [pic][pic] The first version of the famous bottle went into production in 1916. The famous Coca-Cola logotype was created by John Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson, in 1885.It was Robinson who came up with the name, and he also chose the logo’s distinctive cursive script. The typeface used, known as Spencerian script, was developed in the mid 19th century and was the dominant form of formal handwriting in the United States during that period. The equally famous Coca-Cola bottle, called the â€Å"contour bottle† within the company, but known to some as the â€Å"hobble skirt† bottle , was created in 1915 by a Swedish former glassblower, Alexander Samuelson, who had emigrated to the U. S. in the 1880s and was employed as a anager at The Root Glass Company in Terre Haute, Indiana, one of Coca-Cola's bottle suppliers. According to the Coca-Cola Company, Samuelson took time to ponder a possible new design for the bottle after production at his plant was shut down due to a heat wave. Inspired, he considered the possibility of basing a new design on the kola nut or coca leaf, two of the drink's flagship ingredients. He sent an employee to research the shape of the two objects in question, but a misunderstanding led to the man returning with sketches of the cacao pod—a crucial ingredient in chocolate, but not Coca-Cola.According to the company, it was this mistaken design that was accepted and put into production. Although endorsed by the company, this version of events is not considered authoritative by many who cite its implausibility as difficult to believe. One alternative depiction has Raymond Loewy as the inventor of the unique design, but although Loewy did serve as a designer of Coke cans and bottles in later years, he was in the French Army in the year the bottle was invented and did not migrate Local Competitors:Pepsi is often second to Coke in terms of sales, but outsells Coca-Cola in some localities. Around the world, some local brands do compete with Coke. In South and Central America, Kola Real, known as Big Cola in Mexico, is a fast growing competitor to Coca-Cola. On the French island of Corsica, Corsica Cola, made by brewers of the local Pietra beer, is a growing competitor to Coca-Cola. In the French region of Bretagne, Breizh Cola is available. In Peru, Inca Kola outsells Coca-Cola. However, The Coca-Cola Company purchased the brand in 1999.In Sweden, Julmust outsells Coca-Cola during the Christmas season. In Scotland, the locally-produced Irn-Bru was more popular than Coca-Cola until 2005, when Coca-Cola and Diet Coke began to outpace its sales. In India, Coca-Cola ranks third behind the leader, Pepsi-Cola, and local drink Thumps Up. However, The Coca-Cola Company purchased Thumps Up in 1993. Tropical, a domestic drink is served in Cuba instead of Coca-Cola, in which there exists a United States embargo. Mecca Cola, in the Middle East, is a competitor to Coca-Cola.In Turkey, Cola Turka is a major competitor to Coca-Cola. In Iran and also many countries of Middle East, Zam Zam Cola and Parsi Cola are major competitors to Coca-Cola. In some parts of China, Future cola or can be bought. In Slovenia, the locally-produced Cocktail is a major competitor to Coca-Cola, as is the inexpensive Mercator Cola, which is sold only in the country's biggest supermarket chain, Mercator. Finally, in Madagascar, Classiko Cola made by Tiko Group the largest manufactured company in the country is a serious competitor to Coca-Cola in many regions. Advertising:Coca-Cola's advertising has had a significant impact on Amer ican culture, and is frequently credited with the â€Å"invention† of the modern image of Santa Claus as an old man in red-and-white garments; however, while the company did in fact start promoting this image in the 1930s in its winter advertising campaigns, it was already common before that. In fact, Coca-Cola was not even the first soft drink company to utilize the modern image Santa Claus in its advertising – White Rock Beverages used Santa in advertisements for its ginger ale in 1923 after first using him to sell mineral water in 1915.In the 1970s, a song from a Coca-Cola commercial called â€Å"I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing†, produced by Billy Davis, became a popular hit single. Coca-Cola has a policy of avoiding using children younger than the age of 12 in any of its advertising. This decision was made as a result of a lawsuit from the beginning of the 20th century that alleged that Coke's caffeine content was dangerous to children. However, in recen t times, this has not stopped the company from targeting young consumers. In addition, it has not been disclosed in exact terms how safe Coke is for consumption by young children (or pregnant mothers).Coke's advertising has been rather pervasive, as one of Woodruff's stated goals was to ensure that everyone on Earth drank Coca-Cola as their preferred beverage. Advertising for Coke is now almost ubiquitous, especially in southern areas of North America, such as Atlanta, where Coke was born. Some of the memorable Coca-Cola television commercials between 1960 through 1986 were written and produced by former Atlanta radio veteran Don Naylor (WGST 1936-1950, WAGA 1951-1959) during his career as a producer for the McCann Erickson advertising agency.Many of these early television commercials for Coca-Cola featured movie stars, sports heroes, and popular singers of the day. During the 1980s, Pepsi-Cola ran a series of television advertisements showing people participating in taste tests ess entially demonstrating that: â€Å"Fifty percent of the participants who said they preferred Coke actually chose the Pepsi†. Statisticians were quick to point out the problematic nature of a 50/50 result; that most likely all this really showed was that in blind tests, most people simply cannot tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke.Coca-Cola ran ads to combat Pepsi's ads in an incident sometimes referred to as the cola wars; one of Coke's ads compared the so-called Pepsi challenge to two chimpanzees deciding which tennis ball was furrier. Thereafter, Coca-Cola regained its leadership in the market. Selena was a spokesperson for Coca-Cola from 1989 till the time of her death. She filmed three commercials for the company. In 1994 to commemorate her 5 years with the company, Coca-Cola issued special Selena coke bottles. In an attempt to broaden its portfolio, Coca-Cola purchased Columbia Pictures in 1982.Columbia provided subtle publicity through Coke product placements in many of its films while under Coke's ownership. However, after a few early successes, Columbia began to under-perform, and was dropped by the company in 1989. Coca-Cola has gone through a number of different advertising slogans in its long history, including â€Å"The pause that refreshes†, â€Å"I'd like to buy the world a Coke†, and â€Å"Coke is it† (see Coca-Cola slogans). Sponsorship of Sporting Events: Coca-Cola was the first-ever sponsor of the Olympic games, at the 1928 games in Amsterdam and has been an Olympics sponsor ever since.This corporate sponsorship included the 1996 Summer Olympics hosted in Atlanta, which allowed Coca-Cola to spotlight its hometown. Since 1978 Coca-Cola has sponsored each FIFA World Cup and other competitions organized by FIFA. In fact, one of the FIFA tournament trophy: FIFA World Youth Championship from Tunisia in 1977 to Malaysia in 1997 was called â€Å"FIFA – Coca Cola Cup†. In addition, Coca-Cola sponsors t he annual Coca-Cola 600 for the NASCAR Nextel Cup auto racing series at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina.Coca-Cola has a long history of sports marketing relationships, which over the years have included Major League Baseball, the National Football League, Criticisms Main article: Criticism of Coca-Cola: The Coca-Cola Company has been criticized for the alleged adverse health effects of its flagship product. However, a common criticism of Coke based on its allegedly toxic acidity levels has been found to be baseless by most researchers; lawsuits based on these criticisms have been dismissed by several American courts for this reason.Most nutritionists advise that Coca-Cola and other soft drinks can be harmful if consumed excessively, particularly to young children whose soft drink consumption competes with, rather than complements, a balanced diet. Studies have shown that regular soft drink users have a lower intake of calcium (which can contribute to osteoporosis) , magnesium, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, and vitamin A. The drink has also aroused criticism for its use of caffeine, an addictive substance which does not affect the products' taste.Although numerous court cases have been filed against The Coca-Cola Company since the 1920s, alleging that the acidity of the drink is dangerous, no evidence corroborating this claim has been found. Under normal conditions, scientific evidence indicates Coca-Cola's acidity causes no immediate harm. Like most other colas, Coca-Cola contains phosphoric acid. One study has shown that this hastens bone loss, contributing to illnesses such as osteoporosis. There is also some concern regarding the usage of high fructose corn syrup in the production of Coca-Cola.Since 1985 in the U. S. , Coke has been made with high fructose corn syrup, instead of sugar glucose or fructose, to reduce costs. This has come under criticism because of concerns that the corn used to produce corn syrup may come from genetically alter ed plants. Some nutritionists also caution against consumption of high fructose corn syrup because of possible links to obesity and diabetes. In India, there exists a major controversy concerning pesticides and other harmful chemicals in bottled products including Coca-Cola.In 2003, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a non-governmental organization in New Delhi, said aerated waters produced by soft drinks manufacturers in India, including multinational giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, contained toxins including lindane, DDT, malathion and chlorpyrifos — pesticides that can contribute to cancer and a breakdown of the immune system. Tested products included Coke, Pepsi, and several other soft drinks, many produced by The Coca-Cola Company.CSE found that the Indian produced Pepsi's soft drink products had 36 times the level of pesticide residues permitted under European Union regulations; Coca-Cola's soft drink was found to have 30 times the permitted amount. CSE said it had tested the same products sold in the US and found no such residues. After the pesticide allegations were made in 2003, Coca-Cola sales declined by 15%. In 2004, an Indian parliamentary committee backed up CSE's findings, and a government-appointed committee was tasked with developing the world's first pesticide standards for soft drinks.The Coca-Cola Company has responded that its plants filter water to remove potential contaminants and that its products are tested for pesticides and must meet minimum health standards before they are distributed. In the Indian state of Kerala, sale and production of Coca-Cola, along with other soft drinks, was initially banned, before the High Court in Kerala overturned the ban ruling that only the federal government can ban food products.In 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration responded to reports that the carcinogen benzene was present in unhealthy levels in certain soft drinks by conducting a survey of more than 100 soft drin ks and other beverages. Based on this limited survey, the FDA stated that it â€Å"believes that the results indicate that benzene levels are not a safety concern for consumers. † [pic]History [pic] One of the Coca-Cola Company's headquarters buildings in Atlanta, GA. Pharmacist John Stith Pemberton invented a coca wine called Pemberton's French Wine Coca in 1884.He was inspired by the formidable success of French Angelo Mariani's coca wine, Vin Mariani. The following year, when Atlanta and Fulton County passed Prohibition legislation, Pemberton began to develop a non-alcoholic version of the French Wine Coca. He named it Coca-Cola, because it included the stimulant coca leaves from South America and was flavored using kola nuts, a source of caffeine. Pemberton ran the first advertisement for the beverage on May 29 that year in the Atlanta Journal.In 1887, while suffering from an ongoing addiction to morphine, Pemberton sold a stake in his company to Asa Griggs Candler, who i ncorporated it as the Coca Cola Corporation in 1888. In the same year, Pemberton sold the rights a second time to three more businessmen: J. C. Mayfield, A. O. Murphy, and E. H. Blood worth. Meanwhile, Pemberton's alcoholic son Charley Pemberton began selling his own version of the product. Three versions of Coca-Cola — sold by three separate businesses — were on the market.In 1899 Candler sold the exclusive rights, for $1 (USD) to bottle Coca-Cola in most of the United States to two entrepreneurs from Chattarnooga, TN, Benjamin Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead who subsequently founded the Coca-Cola Bottling Company In 1919 Candler sold his company to Atlanta banker Ernest Woodruff. According to the 2005 Annual Report, the company sells beverage products in more than 200 countries. The report further states that of the more than 50 billion beverage servings of all types consumed worldwide every day, beverages bearing the trademarks owned by or licensed to Coca-Cola accou nt for approximately 1. billion. Of these, beverages bearing the trademark â€Å"Coca-Cola† or â€Å"Coke† accounted for approximately 55% of the Company's total gallon sales. Also according to the 2005 Annual Report, Coca-Cola had gallon sales distributed as follows: 27% in the United States 27% in Mexico, Brazil, Japan and China 46% in spread throughout the world Bottlers In general, The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) and/or subsidiaries only produces (or produce) syrup concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold a Coca-Cola franchise.Coca-Cola bottlers, who hold territorially exclusive contracts with the company, produce finished product in cans and bottles from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners. The bottlers then sell, distribute and merchandise the resulting Coca-Cola product to retail stores, vending machines, restaurants and food service distributors. One notable exception to this general relationshi p between TCCC and bottlers is fountain syrups in the United States, where TCCC bypasses bottlers and is responsible for the manufacture and sale of fountain syrups directly to authorized fountain wholesalers and some fountain retailers.In 2005, Coca-Cola had equity positions in 51 unconsolidated bottling, canning and distribution operations which produced approximately 58% of volume. Significant investees include: 36% of Coca-Cola Enterprises which produces (by population) for 78% of USA, 98% of Canada and 100% of Great Britain (but not Northern Ireland), continental France and the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and Monaco. 40% of Coca-Cola FEMSA, S. A. de C. V. which produces (by population) for 48% of Mexico, 16% of Brazil, 98% of Colombia, 47% of Guatemala, 100% of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela, and 30% of Argentina. 4% of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company S. A. which produces (by population) for 67% of Italy and 100% of Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzeg ovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Poland, Rep. of Ireland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Ukraine. 34% of Coca-Cola Amatil which produces (by population) for 98% of Indonesia and 100% of Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Korea, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. 7% of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. which is the second largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States. The company was incorporated in 1980, and â€Å"its predecessors have been in the soft drink manufacturing and distribution business since 1902. Products and brands [pic] [pic] Diet Coke was introduced in 1982 to offer an alternative to dieters worried about the high number of calories present in Classic Coke. Main article: Coca-Cola brands The Coca-Cola Company offers nearly 400 brands in over 200 countries, besides its namesake Coca-Cola beverage.This includes other varieties of Co ca-Cola such as Diet Coke (introduced in 1982), which uses aspartame, a synthetic phenylalanine-based sweetener, to eliminate the sugar content of the drink; Caffeine-free Coke; Cherry Coke (1985); Diet Cherry Coke (1986); Coke with Lemon (2001); Diet Coke with Lemon (2001); Vanilla Coke (2002); Diet Vanilla Coke (2002); Coca-Cola C2 (2004); Coke with Lime (2004); Diet Coke with Lime (2004); Diet Coke with Splenda (2005), Coca-Cola Zero (2005), Coca-Cola Black Cherry Vanilla (2006), Diet Coca-Cola Black Cherry Vanilla (2006), and Coca-Cola BlaK. Information on brands of coca-cola: [pic]Coca-colaThe world's favorite drink. The world's most valuable brand. The most recognizable word across the world after OK. Coca-Cola has a truly remarkable heritage. From a humble beginning in 1886, it is now the flagship brand of the largest manufacturer, marketer and distributor of non-alcoholic beverages in the world In India, Coca-Cola was the leading soft-drink till 1977 when govt. policies nece ssitated its departure. Coca-Cola made its return to the country in 1993 and made significant investments to ensure that the beverage is available to more and more people, even in the remote and inaccessible parts of the nation.Coca-Cola returned to India in 1993 and over the past ten years has captured the imagination of the nation, building strong associations with cricket, the thriving cinema industry, music etc. Coca-Cola has been very strongly associated with cricket, sponsoring the World Cup in 1996 and various other tournaments, including the Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah in the late nineties. Coca-Cola's advertising campaigns Jo Chaho Ho Jaye and Life ho to Aisi were very popular and had entered the youth's vocabulary. In 2002, Coca-Cola launched the campaign â€Å"Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola† which sky-rocketed the brand to make it India's favorite soft-drink brand.In 2003, Coke was available for just Rs. 5 across the country and this pricing initiative together with improved distribution ensured that all brands in the portfolio grew leaps and bounds. Coca-Cola had signed on various celebrities including movie stars such as Karishma Kapoor, cricketers such as Srinath, Sourav Ganguly, southern celebrities like Vijay in the past and today, its brand ambassadors are Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Vivek Oberoi and cricketer Virendra Sehwag. [pic]Fanta Internationally, Fanta – The ‘orange' drink of The Coca-Cola Company, is seen as one of the favorite drinks since 1940's.Fanta entered the Indian market in the year 1993. Over the years Fanta has occupied a strong market place and is identified as â€Å"The Fun Catalyst†. Perceived as a fun youth brand, Fanta stands for its vibrant color, tempting taste and tingling bubbles that not just uplifts feelings but also helps free spirit thus encouraging one to indulge in the moment. This positive imagery is associated with happy, cheerful and special times with friends. [pic]Georgia In the company's journey towards the vision ‘leading the beverage revolution in India', now even Garam matlab Coca-Cola†¦.A hot new launch from Coca-Cola India. Georgia, quality tea and coffee served from state of the art vending machines is positioned to tap into the nation’s biggest beverage category. Georgia, which promises a great tasting, consistent, hygienic and affordable cuppa is available in a range of [pic]sizzling flavours, adrak, elaichi, masala and plain tea cappuccino, mochaccino and regular coffee. Georgia aims to become the consumers preferred choice of hot beverage when he is on the go; the brand is well on course to achieving its visionWhile Georgia is a mass market offering, Georgia Gold is the premium brand which caters to the connoisseur. Made from freshly roasted and ground coffee beans, Georgia Gold is delicious tasting aroma with the tantalizing aroma of fresh coffee. Currently available exclusively at McDonald’s outlets across the country Georgia Gol d has driven coffee sales through the roof. The success of hot beverages from Georgia Gold has resulted in extension into the cold category, with the introduction of Ice Tea and Cold Coffee [pic] Kinley Water, a thirst quencher that refreshes, a life giving force that washes all the toxins away.A ritual purifier that cleanses, purifies, transforms. Water, the most basic need of life, the very sustenance of Life, a celebration of life itself. The importance of water can never be understated. Particularly in a nation such as India where water governs the lives of the millions, be it as part of everyday rituals or as the monsoon which gives life to the sub-continent. Kinley water understands the importance and value of this life giving force. Kinley water thus promises water that is as pure as it is meant to be. Water you can trust to be truly safe and pure.Kinley water comes with the assurance of safety from the Coca-Cola Company. That is why we introduced Kinley with reverse-osmosis along with the latest technology to ensure the purity of our product. That's why we go through rigorous testing procedures at each and every location where Kinley is produced. Because we believe that right to pure, safe drinking water is fundamental. A universal need that cannot be left to chance [pic]Sprite Worldwide Sprite is ranked as the No. 4 soft drink. It is sold in more than 190 countries Worldwide Sprite is ranked as the No. soft drink & is sold in more than 190 countries. In India, Sprite was launched in year 1999 & todayit has grown to be one of the fastest growing soft drinks, leading the Clear lime category. Today Sprite is perceived as a youth icon. Why? With a strong appeal to the youth, Sprite has stood for a straight forward and honest attitude. Its clear crisp refreshing taste encourages the today's youth to trust their instincts, influence them to be true to who they are and to obey their thirst. [pic]Limca Lime n' lemony Limca, the drink that can cast a tangy ref reshing spell on anyone, anywhere.Born in 1971, Limca has been the original thirst choice, of millions of consumers for over 3 decades The brand has been displaying healthy volume growths year on year and Limca continues to be the leading flavor soft drink in the country. The success formula? The sharp fizz and lemony bite combined with the single minded positioning of the brand as the ultimate refresher has continuously strengthened the brand franchise. Limca energizes refreshes and transforms. Dive into the zingy refreshment of Limca and walk away a new person†¦ [pic]Maaza Maaza was launched in 1976.Here was a drink that offered the same real taste of fruit juices and was available throughout the year. In 1993, Maaza was acquired by Coca-Cola India. Maaza currently dominates the fruit drink category. Over the years, brand Maaza has become synonymous with Mango. This has been the result of such successful campaigns like â€Å"Taaza Mango, Maaza Mango† and â€Å"Botal m ein Aam, Maaza hain Naam†. Consumers regard Maaza as wholesome, the current advertising of Maaza positions it as an enabler of fun friendship moments between moms and kids as moms trust the brand and the kids love its taste.The campaign builds on the existing equity of the brand and delivers a relevant emotional benefit to the moms rightly captured in the tagline â€Å"Yaari Dosti Taaza Maaza† [pic]Thums up Strong Cola Taste, Exciting Personality Thums Up is a leading carbonated soft drink and most trusted brand in India. Originally introduced in 1977, Thums Up was acquired by The   Coca-Cola Company in 1993 Thums Up is known for its strong, fizzy taste and its confident, mature   and uniquely masculine attitude. This brand clearly seeks to separate the men from the boys Career at Coca-Cola:Every person who drinks a Coca-Cola enjoys a moment of refreshment – and shares in an experience that millions of others have savored. And all of those individual experien ces combined have created worldwide phenomenon. The Secret of Formula: Commitment, tempered by Passion and seasoned with a great deal of Fun is the Coke way of life. Drawing upon our collective energies, this Secret Formula drives us to achieve greater results collaboratively and thoroughly enjoy ourselves while doing it! The pace, energy and passion of our people constitute the invisible glue that make us one of the most sought after workplaces. Participative Leadership:Right from our interactions in the market, our Business Planning and our Brand launches, to our Employee Engagement Programs, our Values Agenda, and employee processes, every system is available for continuous improvement. A learning atmosphere, enabled by our Manifesto for Growth, helps us seek and replicate the learning’s from within and outside our organization. Our Engagement programs enable us to examine, validate and improve ourselves, constantly. Our colleagues involve themselves in our opportunities f or participative leadership volunteering for work groups that assist decision-making in critical processes.CAMPUS RECRUITMENTS: A taste of summer the Coca-Cola Summer Trainee Program is designed to facilitate the professional development of young talent and identify talented culture-fit employees for the company's Management Trainee program. The Summer Trainee program provides a learning of the vagaries and complexities of our business ‘from the ground up'. With value-creating live projects, the intern begins appreciating the intricacies of his or her function and the impact that it has on business. The quality and content of projects provides an opportunity to complement your classroom learning with hands-on experience.The Coca-Cola Management Trainee Program is the first step towards developing business general managers. A structured assessment process at some of the country's premier business schools ensures that we hire the right talent to groom them into senior management positions. A cross-functional training program spread over six months across the country builds an appreciation of the complexity of the business as well as help you understand the its interlink ages. The learning experience is also spiced up with value-creating projects in the functional stints. Ground learning’s are further consolidated with tructured classroom sessions from the field managers themselves and a Community Development stint helps the leaders of tomorrow to relate to their environment and reaffirms our commitment to the communities that we work in. Women Operations Trainees Program: The WOTES program is based on the Company philosophy that reemphasizes Equal Opportunity and Meritocracy as a core value of the Company’s operations. The program not only aims to grow the business in sync with the Company’s diverse community and consumer base but also intends to engage confident educated Indian women to be an integral part of our organization.The WOTE S or Women Operations Trainees Program is a focused Sales Training program for Women executives who will supplement the sales force in Frontline Sales. Spanning six-months the program consists of a three-month introduction to Sales the Coke way, followed by three months of on-the-job training at their prospective locations. The program imparts invaluable learning and an exposure to on-ground market conditions. At the end of the training, the WOTES will join the field force managing the sales operations across the country.We are guided by the shared values that guide us a Company and as individuals: [pic]Leadership ‘The courage to shape a better future’ [pic]Passion ‘Committed in heart and mind’ [pic]Integrity ‘Be real’ [pic]Accountability ‘If it is to be, it’s up to me [pic]Collaboration ‘Leverage collective genius’ [pic]Innovation ‘Seek, imagine, create, delight’ [pic]Quality ‘What we do, we do well ’ Respecting Ideals We Have Grown With Coca-Cola treasures its people as the most valuable asset, and assert with pride the role its human resources have played in establishing a consistent set of ideals.The Company attributes its unabated growth momentum worldwide to the disciplined approach of its manpower, and promises to reward its employees by respecting these ideals to sustain its long-term growth plans, no matter how much the world and business structures undergo changes. Integrity Is Our Key Ingredient Of Success we believe our success primarily hinges on integrity, and hence, our absolute thrust is on ensuring quality control for each and every of our products, acting with a strong sense of accountability in everything we do.Integrating Our Global Brand With Local Perspectives: Our people have always acknowledged that building and nurturing relationships with people and the world around us is an essential part of our work. No matter how big or complex our business be comes, we recognize the need to demonstrate complete respect for each other. As the world becomes more and more interconnected, yet more firmly rooted in local pride, identification of our interdependence with our stakeholders becomes even more essential.As we have expanded over the decades, our company has benefited from the various cultural insights and perspectives of the societies in which we do business. A large part of our relationship with the world around us is our relationship with the physical world. While we have always sought to be sensitive to the environment, we must use our significant resources and capabilities to provide active leadership on environmental issues, particularly those relevant to our businesses.Much of our future success will depend on our ability to develop a worldwide team that is rich in its diversity of thinking, perspectives, backgrounds and culture. Coca-Cola is the world's most inclusive brand, and Coca-Cola must also be the world's most inclusi ve company Corporate response: The Coca-Cola Company believes our business has always been based on the trust consumers everywhere place in us—trust that is earned by what we do as a corporate citizen and by our ability to live our values as a commercial enterprise.There is much in our world to celebrate, refresh, strengthen and protect. Through our actions as local citizens, we strive every day to refresh the marketplace, enrich the workplace, preserve the environment and strengthen our communities. At the heart of our business is the trust consumers place in us. They rightly expect that we are managing our business according to sound ethical principles, that we are enhancing the health of our communities, and that we are using natural resources responsibly. Media:Touching lives of a few more Fisherman- closer to 2nd anniversary of Tsunami Coca-Cola India Dedicates New Dockyard and Marketing Centre to Cuddlier Fishing Community Continuing its long-standing and ongoing suppor t to communities affected by Tsunami in Tamil Nadu, Coca-Cola India and Hindustan Coca Cola Beverage Pvt. Ltd and to realize their common vision to strengthen the communities, dedicated a boat dockyard and a large Marketing Centre to the fishing community in Pudhukuppam, situated 25 kms from Cuddalore in Tamilnadu.This was done by organizing a large community mobilization camp on November 26, 2006 in presence of hundreds of members of community, District Collector, representatives of our partner NGO- AFPRO and other dignitaries. The Dockyard facility aims to create new economic opportunities for the fishing families in Pudhukuppam. While the dockyard will ensure that the boats will not get impacted during disasters and the marketing centre ensures that the fishermen get good price right at their doorstep. Earlier, Coca-Cola had provided fiber motorized boats and fishing nets to a group of 80 fishermen in adjoining village in the same area.The district collector Sh. Gagandeep Singh B edi, present at the occasion, commended Coca-Cola’s effort for such a unique project post Tsunami, which will touch the lives of the poorest of the fisherman. Sh Bedi highlighted that the project is unique as not only it is first Dock Yard coming up post Tsunami but that the marketing centre will help touch lives of even the smallest of the fisherman. The boat dockyard and marketing center together are expected to considerably ease the burden of storage, transportation and sale of the catch for approximately 3000 fishing families that live in the surrounding area.Speaking on the occasion the Panchayat President said that, â€Å"This initiative by Coca-Cola India and Action for Food Production (AFPRO) to bring about a renewed economic change is heartily welcome. The new boat dockyard would enable the fishermen to dock their boats safely and the proximity of the dockyard to the main market and the road will ease the burden of transportation, preservation and disposal of the ca tch†. He added that such corporate contributions are the only way the region’s fishing community – recently affected by the disastrous tsunami – will regain economic stability.With the financial investment from Coca-Cola India, the dockyard is built with technical support from Action for Food Production (AFPRO), a socio-technical non-governmental organization working for the development of the rural poor through effective natural resource management solutions. The new dockyard has been constructed at a convenient location further inland on the backwaters and away from the coast so that boats can be safely anchored and can be protected from any natural calamity like tsunami

Nature and Nature in Cognitive Development Essay

Why are both nature and nurture important in perceptual development? How do both help a baby’s brain and sensory organs to develop? The question of whether nature or nurture is more important in terms of perceptual development has bee long debated. In general, there are two theories that explain how humans develop these perceptions. The Nativists claim that our brains are built or hardwired to recognize certain stimuli by both design and construction. In contrast, an Empiricist would say that we learn through experience how to perceive things. There was an experiment done by Nativist researchers that sought to determine how very young mammals are able to perceive. The data concluded that early infants were able to perceive quite a lot before they really had a chance to learn anything. Gibson and Walk’s the â€Å"visual cliff† experiment was one such experiment, in this test both young animals and 6 month old human infants were taken to a side of a visual cliff, the test subjects would avoid the clearly deep drop. This indicated that children can perceive visual depth and that visual depth dominates even touch information. Additionally, studies have been done that show babies can recognize faces and that they often prefer the visual stimulation of carton faces as opposed to the same features arranged at random. In other tests it was shown that babies can also recognize whether or not and object is coming directly at their face or not. These experiments show that even the undeveloped infant brain has considerable capacity for perceptual capabilities. In contrast, several Empiricists experiments have been done as well. In one such study, scientists sought to determine the effects of depriving developing animals from perceptual stimulations. These tests have consistently shown that the longer the subject is deprived, the more severe the consequences. For example, humans are sometimes born without sight, due to a clouded cornea. Later in life some elect to have surgery to repair this clouded cornea. The result is sight, these people can see but they cannot perceive what it is that they see. As time goes on they slowly learn to distinguish one object from another, but this is however quite easily interrupted. Often changing an objects position or context is quite enough to slow down or prevent recognition. To conclude, although some argue that perception is due to nature, while others argue for nurture, it may in fact be that the two factors are interdependent and rely on each other. Support for this idea comes from an experiment that studied rats and found that those raised in a perceptually restricted environment had smaller brain development than those raised in an enriched environment, suggesting that while we are born with innate capabilities we need the environment to ensure we develop our abilities to perceive well. The perceptual capabilities we have at birth must be strengthened continuously through perceptual stimulation, furthermore, it would seem that perception in general follows the use it or lose it principle. Just as unused muscles become week, so to do our senses if left unused. Nature and nurture are both essential to health y perceptual development; stimulation begins in the womb and quickly follows all the way through adulthood. Sources. â€Å"Nature and Nurture in Perceptual Development. † . www. indiana. edu. Web. 11 Feb 2013. . . â€Å"Experiencing Sensation and Perception. † . physch. hanover. edu. Web. 11 Feb 2013. . Arterberry, M. â€Å"Perceptual Development. † . Colby College. Web. 11 Feb 2013. .

The Highwayman Literary Devices Essays

The Highwayman Literary Devices Essays The Highwayman Literary Devices Paper The Highwayman Literary Devices Paper Essay Topic: Poetry metaphor The wind was a torrent of darkness. simile Dumb as a dog he listened. alliteration His face burned like a brand as the black cascade of perfume onomatopoeia Tlot-tlot! Tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? personification There was Death at every window.. repetition Then look for me by moonlight, Watch for me by moonlight, Ill come to thee by moonlight. situational irony The characters in the poem do not know Tim the ostler is listening to their plans. The reader has information the characters do not. allusion King Georges men came marching up to the old inn door. stanza a group of lines in a poem similar to a paragraph in an essay hook for the poem Set the Scene clincher for the poem Hook and Return emphatic verb I did love the poem The Highwayman. I do recommend it to everyone! imagery black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast.. external conflict a conflict between a character and another person or nature internal conflict a conflict between a character and himself ballad a poem with a song-like quality, usually with a romantic theme narrative poem a poem that tells a story rhythm and meter a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables to create a sound effect metaphor The road was a ribbon of moonlight simile His hair like moldy hay

Definition and Examples of Standard British English

Definition and Examples of Standard British English The term Standard British English customarily refers to a variety of the English language thats generally used in professional communication  in Britain (or, more narrowly defined, in England or in southeast England) and taught in British schools. Also known as  standard English English or  British Standard English (BrSE). Although no formal body has ever regulated the use of English in Britain, a fairly rigid model of Standard British English has been taught in British schools since the 18th century. Standard British English is sometimes used as a synonym for Received Pronunciation (RP). John Algeo notes, however, that despite numerous differences in pronunciation, American English resembles present standard British English more closely than it does any other British type of speech (The Origins and Development of the English Language, 2014). Examples and Observations [D]uring the 18th and 19th centuries publishers and educationalists defined a set of grammatical and lexical features which they regarded as correct, and the variety characterized by these features later came to be known as Standard English. Since English had, by the 19th century, two centres, Standard English came to exist in two varieties: British and US. These were widely different in pronunciation, very close in grammar, and characterized by small but noticeable differences in spelling and vocabulary. There were thus two more or less equally valid varieties of Standard English- British Standard and US Standard. . . . [T]here is no such thing (at present) as a Standard English which is not British or American or Australian, etc. There is no International Standard (yet), in the sense that publishers cannot currently aim at a standard which is not locally bound. (Gunnel Melchers and Philip Shaw, World Englishes: An Introduction. Arnold, 2003) The Perceived Prestige of British English [D]uring most of the 20th century Europeans preferred British English, and European instruction in English as a foreign language followed the norms of British English in pronunciation (specifically RP), lexical choice, and spelling. This was a result of proximity, the effective methods of language teaching developed by British institutions such as the British Council, and the perceived prestige of the British variety. As American English grew more influential in the world, it became an option alongside British English in mainland Europe and elsewhere. For a while, especially during the second half of the 20th century, a prominent attitude was that either variety was acceptable for a learner of English as long as each variety was kept distinct. The idea was that one could speak British English or American English but not a random mix of the two.(Albert C. Baugh and Thomas Cable, A History of the English Language, 5th ed. Prentice Hall, 2002)The prestige of  British English is  oft en assessed . . . in terms of its purity (a baseless notion) or its elegance and style (highly subjective but nonetheless powerful concepts). Even those Americans who are put off by posh accents may be impressed by them and hence likely to suppose that standard British English is somehow better English than their own variety. From a purely linguistic point of view, this is nonsense, but it is a safe bet that it will survive any past or future loss of British influence in world affairs.(John Algeo and Carmen A. Butcher,  The Origins and Development of the English Language, 7th ed. Wadsworth,  2014)   Irregular Verbs The researchers [using a new online tool developed by Google with the help of scientists at Harvard University] were also able to trace how words had changed in English, for example a trend that started in the US towards more regular forms of verbs from irregular forms like burnt, smelt and spilt. The [irregular] forms still cling to life in British English. But the -t irregulars may be doomed in England too: each year, a population the size of Cambridge adopts burned in lieu of burnt, they wrote. America is the worlds leading exporter of both regular and irregular verbs.(Alok Jha, Google Creates a Tool to Probe Genome of English Words for Cultural Trends. The Guardian, December  16, 2010)

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) - Essay Example It is governed by ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act). A stock option gives an employees of an organisation the right to buy shares at a price fixed (usually the market price, but sometimes lower) for a defined number of years into the future. Several options such as those based on the percentage of pay basis, a merit formula, an equal basis, or any other formula the company chooses might be granted (NCEO, 2005). According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission "an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is a retirement plan in which the company contributes its stock to the plan for the benefit of the company's employees" (SEC). ESOPs were given a specific statutory framework in 1974. (NCEO, 2005) and through the plan employees are allowed to own stock in their companies without having to purchase shares (Employee Stock). ESOPs are generally more common among closely held companies and are usually created when a retiring owner wants to transfer ownership of the company to one or more employees (Employee Stock). Similar to other quali fied deferred compensation plans, a company's ESOPs must not discriminate in their operations in favour of highly compensated employees, officers, or owners (NCEO, 2005). To achieve this, companies are required by law to appoint a trustee to act as the ESOP's plan fiduciary. This fiduciary could be anyone, while larger companies tend to appoint external trust institutions; smaller companies typically appoint a manager or create an ESOP trust committee. (NCEO, 2005) In setting up an ESOP, a company first approaches a lender to borrow money; this is known as a "leveraged" ESOP. In this approach, the company first sets up a trust, which then borrows money from a lending institution. The company then repays the loan by making tax-deductible contributions to the trust, which the trust gives to the lender. The loan however must and can only be used by the trust to acquire stock in the company. Benefits of ESOP's. The objective of most stock option plans is providing a kind of investment for employees so they also can become part owners of a company. It has been observed that companies with employee-owners often boast higher productivity and increased employee loyalty, longevity and satisfaction. This is due to the fact that the employees are indeed co-owners of the companies and this is translated into benefits such as: efficiency and productivity. According to management experts the best way to make employees owners is to give them shares in the company rather than asking them to pay for their shares. Another advantage of the ESOP is that it costs the employees nothing to co-own the company and after employees leave the company or retire, the company distributes to them the stock purchased on their behalf, or its cash value (NCEO, 2005). In return for agreeing to funnel the loan through the ESOP, the company can save money through a number tax is deferments until the employee retires (Employee Stock). This is done in a number of ways: First, the company can deduct the entire loan contribution it makes to the ESOP, within certain payroll-based limits as allowed by law. This means that a company can in effect deduct both interest and principal on the loan, not just interest. Secondly, the company can also deduct dividends paid on the shares acquired with the proceeds of the loan that are used to repay the loan itself (in other words, the earnings of the stock

Victoria Secret Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Victoria Secret - Case Study Example Metrics 16 Outcome metric 16 Performance Metric 16 13. Leveraging its brick and mortar store 17 14. Changes expected after the 24 months launch period 17 Works Cited 19 1. Current target segment: The new brand for men The management of Victoria’s secret has come up with the strategy to expand their line of products into the men’s segment. They expect to be equally successful in this segment as they had been in the women’s segment. The underlying idea behind this expansion is to introduce color and style to men’s underwear thereby exploring a market which is tremendously underserved. The new line brand of products targeted towards men will add a new dimension to Victoria’s Secret range of products. Expanding into the new line of men’s undergarment will fetch consumer loyalty to Victoria’s from this segment of customers as well alongside the loyalty of their existing customers. The underlying strategy behind the company’s expansio n into the men’s underwear line is to attract new customers. This strategy will help the business to diversify into a segment that is yet to be explored in the US and henceforth in the world. In addition to that, the expansion program will help Victoria’s secret to achieve a wider customer base thereby creating new sources of revenue stream. 2. Do men consider underwear purchases discretionary? According to a logic outlined by Alan Greenspan, men’s practice of buying underwear is thought to be a good indicator of discretionary spending (â€Å"What Is the Men's Underwear Index?†). The logic that Alan Greenspan stated is both elegant and simple. According to him, more often than not most of the guys have their drawer filled with fairly ratty underwear which they choose to wear until and unless the elastic has ruptured or the boxers are riddled with holes. Because of the fact that co workers and friends generally do not notice a guy’s undergarments, h ence this frayed underwear often looks like a purchase made on discretionary basis. Men’s pattern of buying underwear is a crucial indicator of how the economy is performing. Whenever, men starts to apprehend that the economy is about to dip, they simply stop refilling their drawers with fresh undergarments. A perfect example to support this theory was when the economy started dipping the year 2008, annual sales of men’s underwear dropped by 12% (Trex â€Å"Boxers, Briefs or Loincloth? A Brief History of Men's Underwear†). In accordance with these recent theories, expanding into the men’s segment will prove to be a prospective decision for Victoria’s secret. The primary reason that can be attributed to this fact is that currently the United States economy is recovering at a steady pace. Moreover, not many undergarment brands exist in the country which produces men’s underwear suggesting that, this segment is highly unexplored. So, it is expe cted that the changing pattern in the performance of the United States economy will bring about a profound change in the way men buy their undergarments. Thus, an expansion in this division will prove to be a value maximizing decision for the company. If the products are well appreciated by customers and society, Victoria’s Secret has a possibility for extended growth. 3. Potential target market The potential target market is young and trendy men between the age group 15 and 45. As of now, in terms of geography, the chosen target market is USA. The reason for this is because of a slow growth (10%) witnessed in the annual sales of me