Cola Wars †The Carbonated Soft Drink Industry Essay

Threat of New Entry The existing players in the soft drink industry have much advantage relative to new entrants. First, supply-side economy discourages new entrants by forcing them to enter the market in large scale. CSD’s demand side benefits of scale also makes it difficult for new entrants to be accepted by the public. In 2002, a survey found that 37% of respondents chose a CSD because it is their favorite brand, while only 10% said so about bottled water. This demonstrates CSD customers’ high brand loyalty and their lack of desire to buy from new entrants. In terms of capital requirement, concentrate manufacturers only requires $25~$50 million to set up a plant that can serve the entire United States of America. Yet, new entrants may have difficulties competing with major players’ well-established brands and their large scale unrecoverable (therefore, hard to finance) spending on advertising. There is also unequal access to bottlers and retail channels for newcomers. Most bottlers are in long-term contracts with major CSD brands; also, the largest distribution channel, supermarkets, consider CSD a â€Å"big traffic draw†, thus provide little to no shelf space for newcomers. In addition, strong fear of retaliation from major players also makes newcomers hesitate to enter. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Required inputs for CSD are mostly raw materials such as caramel coloring, phosphoric or citric acid, natural flavors, caffeine, and fructose. Almost all suppliers of the CSD industry provide undifferentiated commodities and thus have little bargaining power and almost no strength to integrate forward. Bargaining Power of Buyers End consumers and retail channels can both be considered as buyers in the CSD industry. End consumers are likely to have brand loyalty to their CSD as analyzed in threat of new entry. Thus, consumers are expected to continue purchasing a brand unless there is a significant price increase or substantial change in flavor. Consequently, end consumers have little bargaining power. Retail channels, on the other hand, have more bargaining leverage since they buy CSDs in much larger quantities than end consumers. Yet, for retail channels such as supermarkets (making up almost one third of all retail volume), CSDs are considered a â€Å"big traffic draw†, thus reducing its bargaining power. In addition, fountain outlets (making up another 23.4% of retail channel) also have insignificant bargaining power since they rely on CSD companies’ heavy investment in dispensers, cups, point-of-sale advertising, and many other types of equipment. Threat of Substitutes CSDs are unique in terms of taste and properties. When a consumer craves CSD, it is difficult to find a replacement that can equally satisfy his or her desire. Even after CSD was identified as the â€Å"largest source of obesity-causing sugars in the American diet† in 2005, CSDs still â€Å"accounted for 73.1% of U.S. non-alcoholic refreshment beverage volume (down from 80.8% in 2000)† at around the same time. It is true that consumers are moving towards alternatives that have more natural flavors such as several tea-based drinks and bottled water; yet, CSD firms have quickly adapted to this shift and largely dominated the market of these alternatives. Rivalry Among Existing Competitors Even though rivalry among existing competitors – Coke, Pepsi, and Cadbury Schweppes seem intense, the profitability has not been weakened. This is largely because of the high concentration of competition and their focus on promotion, advertising, and other forms of branding instead of waging large-scale price wars. In a way, the success of Coke and Pepsi required the heavy competition on these dimensions. â€Å"Without Coke, Pepsi would have a tough time being an original and lively competitor. The more successful they (Coke) are, the sharper we (Pepsi) have to be.† says Roger Enrico, former CEO of Pepsi. The CSD industry profitability lies within the Cola War itself that forces major players to improve continuously. Through Porter’s five forces analysis, it becomes clear that CSD is so profitable because of the way its industry competition is shaped: high entry barriers due to newcomers’ unfavorable supply-side economies of scale, demand-side benefits of scale, and unrecoverable advertising spending; low bargaining power of suppliers and buyers since CSD requires mainly homogeneous commodities, buyers have high brand loyalty, and retailers rely heavily on CSD firms’ investments; well handled threat of substitutes; and healthy internal rivalry that is vital to continuous improvement.

Contract and Chou Essay

The case scenario under review by our team includes a contract law situation involving a board game company and a game inventor. Big Time Toymaker (BTT) is a board game company which develops, manufactures, and distributes board games, and Chou is the name of the inventor of a new strategy game. In this scenario, what began with a payment made from BTT to Chou for exclusive negotiating rights for 90 days, ended in a change in management at BTT, leading to their company no longer having interest in distributing Chou’s game. Several questions will be asked about the validity of the terms agreed upon by the parties involved, including at what point did the parties have a contract, and what role does the statute of frauds play in this contract? Our objective is to analyze the case scenario, including the previously stated questions, and provide the answers to those and other questions pertaining to the scenario and contract law. Question 1 At what point, if ever, did the parties have a contract? There was mutual agreement between Chou and BTT via verbal agreement, and a subsequent email verifying that an agreement had been tentatively reached. According to the terms of distribution between Chou and BTT a contract was only valid if formalized in writing. An argument may be made that three days prior to the 90 day time limit a mutual agreement was reached and valid via an E-contract law. There was mutual assent between both Chou and BTT. The argument for the other side will state there was never a formalized written contract from either Chou or BTT, only an email with a subject heading stating Strat Deal. Is the email a valid contract? Question 2 What facts may weigh in favor of or against Chou in terms of parties’ objective intent to contract? Facts show that BTT sent an email with a subject heading of Strat Deal with information stating that Chou and BTT have reached an agreement. The writing states that after months of no response from BTT and with no management in place the company no longer wishes to distribute Chou’s intellectual property. Chou was in compliance with BTT at all times regarding issues pertaining to Strat. Chou will allege that there was a contract between himself and BTT that was of mutual assent and under E-contract law the emails were valid. Question 3 Does the fact that the parties were communicating by email have any impact on your analysis in questions 1-2 above? According to CA Civil Code 1624, b 3, a, online contracts are endorsable even if writing is required by the statute of frauds. Communication of contracts is valid under E-contract law. There is no impact on analysis made of above stated questions because of online communication. Question 4 What role does the statute of frauds play in this contract? A key factor in any contract is acceptance, and in this case a verbal agreement had been reached three days before the exclusive negotiation right was expired. Chou then said he was going to draw up the contract. Big Time Toymaker (BTT) then sent Chou an email outlining all of the things that they had agreed upon that would be included in the contract. Seeing the email, Chou then assumed that this was the contract to be enforced and did not respond to BTT. Even though Chou received the email, he did not respond to it, thereby giving Chou the defense that silence is never acceptance. However, in E-contact law dictated by CA Civil Code 1624, b, 3, a, it says that online contracts are endorsable even if writing is required by the statute of frauds. In addition, the â€Å"Click On† or â€Å"Click Wrap† agreement clause states that these agreements are enforceable since the opportunity to read and acknowledge was given. The statutes of frauds do play a part in this contract due to the Uniform Commercial Code requiring that the statute of frauds applies to any contract for the sale of goods for $500 or more. However, the exact amount of â€Å"Strat† units that Big Time Toymaker (BTT) will sell or at what cost of each unit is unclear to the reader, it was described in detail in the email BTT sent to Chou. Question 5 Could BTT avoid this contract under the doctrine of mistake? Explain. The new management at BTT cannot avoid this contract under the doctrine of mistake because a mistake was not made by both Chou and the old management team. The mistake by Chou was accepting the email outline of the contract terms as an actual contract agreed to by both parties. Scienter applies to Chou in this case by accepting a seemingly legitimate contract. Would either party have any other defenses that would allow the contract to be avoided? The change of management brought about individuals bound to the same company as the old management team was, therefore, scienter applies to the new management team in privity. The draft sent from Chou and received by BTT is a negotiable instrument. BTT thereby becomes a holder in due course. The inaction of BTT after the draft was sent is in violation of the UCC requirement that all offers are to be open for a reasonable period of 90 days. Chou was under the impression that a contract had been made before that 90 days had expired. Chou has real defense as well as personal defense due to breach of contract and fraud. Question 6 Assuming, arguendo, that this e-mail does constitute an agreement, what consideration supports this agreement? By law, statute of frauds would support this agreement. Due to the terms, there cannot be a lawsuit that can be upheld on particular contracts or arrangements, except if it is written and signed by the authorized party or representative. Under the statute, certain kinds of contracts have to be in writing in order to be enforceable in a court of law (Contracts: Statute of Frauds, 2013). The writing also has to be signed by the person who is held responsible for the contract or by that person’s agent. To evade the justification of the Statute of Frauds, one would need to make sure the contracts are in text and signed by the other party; so, if the opposing party does not hold his or her end of the agreement, one would gain from that particular party. Question Assuming BTT and Chou have a contract, and BTT has breached the contract by not distributing the game, discuss what remedies might or might not apply. It is obvious BTT’s manager did not think clearly about protecting BTT from liability. He carelessly wrote the emails, and his careless actions put BTT at risk. This led Chou to believe that this e-mail was meant to replace the earlier notion that he should draft a contract. Although the word contract was not ever used in the e-mail, it said that all of the terms had been agreed upon. The compensation would be awarded to Chou by the court in a civil action due to the wrongful conduct, being the breach from the other party, BTT. If the contract is breached by BTT, Chou will be granted equitable relief by the court, which comes in the form of specific performance, injunctive relief, or reformation. Monetary damages could also be in effect, in which they can be compensatory, resulting from a loss due to nonperformance. Also, consequential, which are indirect but to be expected from non-completion. Restitution would also take place that would be equivalent to total the party has been unfairly supplemented by the non-breaching party, and liquidated, which damages are a preset value rendering from the agreement. The compensatory damages for recovery Chou suffered by the non-breaching party would be the damages that would be awarded to the party in the same situation he would have been in if the other party had executed as agreed upon (Melvin, 2011). After review of the case scenario involving Big Time Toymaker and Chou the game inventor, we have concluded that not only was there a contract agreement between the parties, but that according to E-contract law, Chou may be bound by the terms included in the original email sent from BTT. In addition, the doctrine of mistake cannot be used in this situation because of scienter toward Chou and the old and new management of BTT. Several questions were asked of our team in accordance with contract law and the scenario provided by the textbook. This completes our analysis of the scenario and answers to the questions we were presented.

Helen Burns in Jane Eyre

Though Helen Burns is a short- lived character, her appearance in the book is significant on a symbolic level. In the novel, Helen epitomizes religious devotion and Christian principles, with the idea of ‘love your enemies’ summarizing her beliefs.Helen’s religious beliefs define her character and are referenced to help demonstrate the missing relationships in her and Jane’s life, as a result of being orphaned. Her religious conduct provides a comfort to her, and later on a comfort to Jane when confronted with her dying friend.The friendship formed with Helen greatly affects Jane and teaches her a lot, including how to mask her passion. Helen is the first person we see Jane form a friendly and intimate relationship with, increasing the impact and significance of Helen’s death scene; which can be viewed as a pivotal moment in Jane’s life, and a possible symbol of the death of her passion. Helen’s references to religious teaching can be u sed in the novel to demonstrate missing relationship dynamics in the girl’s life and help explore the friendship that they form.For example, Helen refers to God as ‘maker, father, friend, universal parent. ’ It is significant that God has these roles, as they are foundation figures in life that the girl’s have fallen short of. It is possible that part of the appeal of God to Helena, and soon to Jane, is because these individuals are not present in their life.This would demonstrate and explain the importance of religion in Helen’s life and the comfort God brings to her. Similarly, Helen suggests that one of the appeals to God and religion is the opportunity it provides to create a relationship.When Helen tells Jane ‘I love him, I believe he loves me,’ she is presenting ides of reciprocity and balance in a relationship. These ideas are contrasted in the relationships Jane and Helen have experienced in Mrs Reed’s house, the orphanag e and at Lowood.However, this can be a reminder to us that these ideas are seen with in the relationship between Helen and Jane; emphasizing the importance of their friendship to each other and further increasing the heartbreak of her death for Jane. Helen represents a model of Christianity that stresses tolerance and acceptance.Helen’s compliant attitude to life is center to her character and is significant in the story as it has a great impact on Jane. Helen Burns is a character incapable of anger or vengeance. This can be seen through the bullying of Helen by Mrs. Scratcherd.As Jane observes Mrs. Sctratcherd continually ‘make her an object of constant notice’ she finally lashes out at Helen for not having cleaned her nails. Helen ‘without being told, unloosened her pinafore,’ and Mrs Scratcheard striked her a dozen times. Helen is unresponsive.Jane is confused by Helena’s patient response to mistreatment and later tells Helen that ‘If I were in your place, I should dislike her, I should resist her. ’ However, her ability to remain graceful and calm even in the face of (what Jane Sees as) unjustified punishment makes a great impression on Jane who ‘heard her with wonder’ as Helen explained the way she conducts herself. It is possibly through Helen Burn’s example that Jane learns to ‘mask’ her passion. As well as being an ideal for the Christian ethos, it could be said that the character of Helen Burns possesses Christ like characteristics.Helen’s suffering of rejection at Lowood can be compared to Jesus’ suffering of persecution. Furthermore, her response to suffering can be said to mirror those of Jesus. The idea of ‘Love your neighbor,’ summarizes Helen’s beliefs; she never passes judgment or rebels, and she seeks to forgive those who hurt her.This view of Helen should be noted as it links to and can emphasize the idea of Helen being a â €˜teacher’ to Jane, and the large impact that Helen will make on Jane’s life. While Jane and Helen are very dieeferent character’s, Jane very much feels she can relate to Helen and learns from her influence.Like Jane, Helen is an orphan who longs for a home. In the scene before her death, Helen tells Jane she is ‘going to my long home- my last home. ’ This is one example of the difference in the two girls beliefs. Helen believes that she will find her home in heaven rather than England.This conversation about life after death contrasts what adult’s in Jane’s life have taught her and similarly goes against Jane’s previous fears regarding ghosts, death and the supernatural. In this moment, however, we as the reader see Jane is  comfortable literally next to death, a concept she feared when living with the reads.This is the first intimate moment we see Jane experiencing- Jane is nestled in close to her friend, whose arm is aro und her. In this moment we feel Jane is contempt and comfortable. It is possible that Jane’s attitude to death was a fear of the unknown, which now Helen has made more familiar, therefor providing her with the strength to cope so close to death. Helen’s death can be seen symbolically on many levels.One interpretation of Helen’s death is that it symbolizes the death of Jane’s passion. The name ‘Helen Burns’ itself implies destruction, fire and burning. Fire is a recurring theme throughout the beginning of the book, which is referred to to represent the fiery and passionate nature of Jane’s character.As well as this, during the short friendship between Helen and Jane, we can notice the awe in which Jane has for the levelheaded attitude that Helena carries. Therefore, on both a literary and symbolic term, the death of Helen burns suggests death or destruction to Jane’s passion.

Russian and Iraqi Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Russian and Iraqi Relations - Essay Example Russia needed cold hard cash and Iran needed replacement arms. Munition sales were estimated at $1 billion in sales and 1992 registering even greater amounts. Russia was experiencing extreme pressure from the US to stop the sales and Russia did, to an extent, delay delivery of munitions. However, Russia stated that they viewed Iran as a friendly neighbour and needed to look after their own interests. Russia publicly agreed that they did not want to sanction any arms build up in the Middle East but the country was sure such was not the case in Iran. Tensions in Moscow began to rise as Iran began to interject itself into Azerbaijan shortly followed by visits to nine other states in the region. Regardless of this Russia signed a major deal to assist in the development of the Iran nuclear program. Relations continued to deteriorate and Russia, at this point, determined that it would honour its open arms contracts with Iran but would not enter into new contracts. However, contention remained between the US and Russia over the Russian involvement in the Iranian Nuclear Program. Moscow continually asserted that they were not supplying missile technology; however, despite Russia's unwillingness to assist with their missile project in July of 1998 Iran successfully test fired their first missile with the assistance of Pakistan, North Korea and China. Tensions of the nuclear program continued to grow and the strain began to be felt more and more on US/Russian relations. Another area of concern in the Mid East for the US was the possible resumption of relations between Iraq and Russia. The sanctions placed against Iraq were closely followed by the economic loss felt by Russia while bowing to western pressure. Russia held over $10 billion dollars of Iraqi debt which Iraq was at current unable to repay. Still Russia was eager to build solid relations in the Mid East region. As the author states Russia's motivation to build relations in the Arab world were to: "ensure Russia's national security; Prevent the spread of political and military fires in the Middle East to the increasingly unstable regions of the Caucasus and Central Asia; and make use of the potential in the Arab states t help solve Russia's economic problems." Russia did make headway in 1993 when it signed an agreement with Kuwait offering military cooperation which later led to $750 million in arms sales followed by UAE sales reported to be near $3 billion. However, arms sales were disappointing to the Russians in the Gulf area and they desperately needed hard cash. In April of 1993 the Russian parliament speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov sent an emissary to Iraq in an attempt to renew the relations the two countries has shared prior to the invasion of Kuwait. In secret meetings Iraq sought Russia's help in getting UN sanctions against the country removed. In exchange for the request to gradually lift the sanctions Iraq was to publicly assert the sovereignty of Kuwait. In the midst of these negotiations Iraq, much to the embarrassment of the Russians, sent its troops to the Kuwait border. However, maintaining their presence the Russian's continued to champion Iraq's cause by offering to oversee compliance by Iraq during the six month lifting of sanctions and again asserted that Iraq was prepared to

Intersex and Intersex Surgery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Intersex and Intersex Surgery - Essay Example In the western society, the field of intersex is very clear in educating people on the various disorders that human beings bear and the efforts that scientists have made in the comprehension of the conditions. Many writers have also made tremendous strides forward in a bid to educate people on the various conditions involved in the field of intersex. Another aspect of the field that has close ties with the main subject is intersex surgery. This is the kind of surgery performed on people with the intersex disorder in a bid to accomplish varying purposes. The two main reasons that the surgery is performed are to either save the life of the person or to address social issues that the person may be facing (Sytsma 106). However, many scientists warn about the issue of genital surgery as research shows that the results got from the surgery are far worse than good on not only the areas under surgery but also the entire body system of the person. Katrina Roen is a very famous writer who has written many books and articles concerning the area of intersex. She is the writer of one critically analyzed and reviewed article called â€Å"But We Have to Do Something.† The article has had major reviews from the manner in which Katrina focuses on the issues portrayed by various writers in the field of intersex and intersex surgery. She majorly focuses on the issue of cosmetic surgery in the western society in relation to infants atypically sexed. In her publication, she criticizes the rest of the publications stating that the manner in which they feature the female and human body as a whole is not only demining but also bothering the rest of the population. In the 21st century, many changes have been made in the surgical processes carried out, and this has had great benefits to many people. However, Katrina states that these changes should not be a reason for people to always opt for surgery and especially when dealing with young people and infants. Katrina states that t he young and infants are rather vulnerable at their ages and getting them through surgery is a rather traumatic process. She goes ahead to state that parents should take responsibility for their actions as anything may happen in the surgical rooms having authorized the procedures. It is not right for children and infants to go through the strenuous surgical processes as they may have a negative impact on their development, and the outcome is never certain (Roen 42). Katrina also states that taking them through the procedures is rather poor as the kids had no approval of undergoing the procedure. She then advises that parents halt such procedures and just wait for their kids to grow up and make their own decisions as to whether they should undergo the surgery or continue living in their conditions. Another factor that she takes into consideration while going around her discussion is about the work published by feminists and their regard to intersex procedures. She criticizes other fe male writers and professors from the manner in which they portray the female body. According to Katrina, many feminists in the 21st century have been swept by the moving wind of globalization and technology. She states that this is not a bad fact and is rather commendable as it increases the field of research for problem solution. However, she claims that this should not be an excuse for

Urgent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Urgent - Essay Example The Indians would be under the protection of the government of United States. If a white man is killed by an Indian, The responsible Indian would be brought for trial and punishment. The converse would also be true. The Indian tribes were also promised annuities by the U.S. government. The Indian were largely satisfied with the provisions of this treaty as their concerns were addresses. However, the treaty could not last long due to encroachment by tribes. According to this treaty, Spain returned to France the territory of Louisiana which France had ceded to Spain in 1763. When the government of United States became aware of the transfer, it raised concern over a threat to its security. With this treaty, France and Napoleon became very powerful as it had the mouth of Mississippi and the outlet for the produce of seven states. Later Napoleon disregarded the treaty and sold Louisiana to United States which was reluctantly agreed by

Organizational Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Organizational Change - Essay Example This trend is mainly observed among the major retailers. Secondly, digitization has resulted into organizational change as it has levelled the competition among small organizations and well-established companies (Lewis, 2011). Thirdly, innovation and technology have resulted into major changes in the way organizations are managed. Technology has resulted into improved communication and efficiency. Fourthly, the use of the internet and social media tools has led to changes and has transformed how businesses relate with their customers and the society at large. The fifth and most critical driver is globalization. Businesses no longer operate only in their home countries. They have spread their operations across various parts of the world owing to globalization. This means that they are influenced by economic, political and technological changes taking place in the entire global scene (Lewis, 2011). Finally, change within organizations is driven by the acceleration and convergence of the above-mentioned factors. The first key to effective organizational change is involvement. It is essential to note that change is characteristically disrupting for individuals in the organization. Attention is paid to the leadership team for support in the event of change (Cook et al., 2004). The leaders and all important stakeholders should adopt change. It is important to note that change fails when the leadership is not centrally involved. The second key driver of successful organizational change is communication (Fernandez and Rainey, 2006). It is imperative for the leadership to communicate to the employees on its vision in regards the change process. On various occasions, leaders often assume that the employees understand the change process while they do not. Leaders need to listen to their employees’ concerns and come up with the best ways to address them (Lewis, 2011). This can be