Questions
The Price of Baked Beans As residents in the UK hunkered down at home to protect...

The Price of Baked Beans
As residents in the UK hunkered down at home to protect themselves from the spread of novel
Coronavirus they filled the pantries with toilet paper, sanitizing products and convenience foods.
Baked beans, one of the UK’s most enduringly popular convenience foods, are expected to
become scarce and expensive during the next months. The reason is unprecedented heavy rainfall
which has devastated crops in the main growing areas, the American state of Michigan and the
Canadian province of Ontario. A few weeks ago growers were expecting a record harvest but the
position is described now as catastrophic.
The price of a 100lb –bag of Canadian beans has soared from $27 to around $70, which
has added $0.60 to the retail price of a 15oz can previously costing between $1.50 and $1.20.
Moreover, the crop failure caused and unseemly scramble for supplies among big
canning firms such as Heinz and Crosse and Blackwell. Alternative sources being sought
includes South America, East Africa and even Romania.
Worldwide baked beans consumption is around 800,000 tonnes a year. The British eat a
healthy 80 000 tonnes, which represents 4 500 000 cans a day, with an annual retail value of
more than $200 million. The annual import bill is between $20 and $30 million.
Source: adapted from The Times.
Questions
1. Using the above information, explain and illustrate the factors which caused a rise in the
price of baked beans.
2. Analyse the factors which might have influenced the amount by which the retail price
was raised to consumers.
3. Discuss, with reference to the information in the passage, the economic effects of the
increase in the price of beans on growers.
4. Examine other possible economic effects of the increase in the price of beans.

In: Economics

SolarTubeGen is a start-up company in the renewable energy sector. The founder of SolarTubeGen, Fritz Herzberg,...

SolarTubeGen is a start-up company in the renewable energy sector. The founder of SolarTubeGen, Fritz Herzberg, has developed cutting-edge technology to convert the energy in the sun’s rays to electricity via a novel system of mirrors designed to focus the sun’s rays onto tubes containing a patented type of gas, which then heats and expands to drive turbines. Ramirez & Walker LLP has won the contract for the first audit of SolarTubeGen on the basis of its expertise in the energy sector. However, the lead partner, Mark Ramirez, recognizes the success of the audit is dependent on the correct assessment of the technology being used at SolarTubeGen. Mark specified in the successful audit bid documents that the audit will use an external specialist to help with valuation of the company’s assets.

Fritz Herzberg is very protective of his company’s intellectual property and is resistant to Mark’s first suggested specialist, Manfred Hamburg. Fritz believes that Manfred Hamburg is hostile toward him because they clashed when they both worked for a German company making photovoltaic cells in the 1990s. Fritz has suggested another specialist, Lily Beilherz, with whom he has had good working relations over the last 20 years.

Required

  1. a. Advise Mark Ramirez about the choice of a specialist for the audit of SolarTubeGen. What must he consider when making his choice? Refer to AU-C 620 Using the Work of an Auditor’s Specialist to support your answer. (ASB standards can be accessed at www.aicpa.org/research/standards.)
  2. b. SolarTubeGen takes over another renewable energy company during the second-year audit. The new subsidiary is based in another country and has previously been audited by a local audit firm. Evaluate how Mark should handle the new audit responsibilities brought about by the client’s ­expansion.

In: Accounting

Respond as appropriate. Each response must be a least 100 words in length. You have been...

Respond as appropriate. Each response must be a least 100 words in length. You have been appointed as the team leader of a new project in your company. After a few weeks in the position, you start to notice there are distinct positive and negative members on your team. A few of your team members have been listed below along with a description of their group behavior. Identify which positive or negative member role they are displaying and explain how you would deal with each member to either encourage or diminish their behavior.

3.  Beth is not fond of the task that the team has been asked to complete. She thinks that the group meetings are a waste of her talents and spends most of the meetings discussing her daughter’s soccer games or how her husband never helps out around the house. When she is not talking, she is busy balancing her checkbook or working on her novel instead of taking notes.

4. Charlie cannot stand to be wrong and is very expressive when he is frustrated with the group. Last week he presented the group with some financial statistics that were incorrect, but instead of claiming his mistakes, he blamed Beth for distracting him while he was calculating the numbers and then claimed that John must have accidentally changed some of the figures when he was printing copies from the electronic spreadsheet.

5.  Sally is a member you can really depend on. When you cannot make it to a meeting, you can rely on her to act as team leader. She is very organized and effective at distributing work amongst the group. She knows what needs to be done and can set deadlines for all of the tasks. She encourages new ideas from the team and motivates them to follow through with those ideas.

In: Operations Management

Question 2 Jamie is a real estate agent working for ‘Houses R Us’ real estate. As...

Question 2

Jamie is a real estate agent working for ‘Houses R Us’ real estate. As part of his employment contract, Jamie receives a base salary of $50,000 per annum plus 10% of the agency’s commission on sold properties where he has had a direct connection with the sale. He is also provided with a car, a Toyota Kluger costing $48,000. He is not required to contribute to the running costs of the car which total $13,500 per year and is allowed to use the car outside of work hours and on weekends.

Jamie's salary package also includes a laptop which cost $2,300 and a mobile phone costing $1,200 per year. His employer also reimburses his annual professional subscription of $550 and provides him with an entertainment allowance of $2,000 per year.

Jamie was also lucky enough to achieve the highest sales for the previous six month period and was rewarded with a high tech home entertainment system worth $4,800.

‘Houses R Us’ also offer their staff loans of up to $100,000 towards purchasing their own house at a rate of 4% per annum. Jamie is considering taking up this offer to purchase his first home.

Required
Advise Jamie and ‘Houses R Us’ of the taxation and FBT consequences of these transactions. You are not required to calculate any FBT liability.

Rationale

This assessment task will assess the following learning outcomes:

be able to identify and explain the rules of law relating to taxation law topics covered in the subject.

be able demonstrate a capacity to engage in legal research.

be able to use legal research skills to apply the law to legal problems relating to taxation so as to reach a solution.

be able to analyse legal rules so as to differentiate between possible outcomes to the legal issues arising from novel fact situations.

In: Accounting

B. Compare and contrast these two case studies: The first one we discussed in class, General...

B. Compare and contrast these two case studies:

The first one we discussed in class, General Motors (GM), which decided to offshore production from the USA to Mexico. When GM began this in the late 70s, it was a relatively new idea for a major American producer, and was highly controversial, but the trend has grown over the decades, and nowadays other major car companies, including European and Asian giants like BMW and Honda, have followed the same strategy to close plants in their homelands and reopen in Mexico where labor is much cheaper. In 1978, there were 80,000 GM employees in the Flint, Michigan area, and today there are around 7,000. As those plants closed, the consequences have been very destructive for the surrounding towns, where unemployment skyrocketed (and with it crime, gangs and drugs), and areas have become like ghost towns where people have been evicted from their homes, and apartment buildings and businesses have been abandoned. As GM first began this offshoring in the late 70s they were enjoying a 49% share of the American car market, but changes in the market were showing that they would soon be losing this high position. By the mid 80’s they were down to 40% and this downward trend has continued (not only for them but for other American car manufacturers as well). Today, they stand at 15%.

The second one involves Malden Mills, a textile company (fabrics and clothing) in Lawrence, Massachusetts, near the city of Boston in the USA. In the 80s, other textile companies in the region had closed their Boston area factories to relocate to where labor was cheaper, often to Asia and Mexico, but Malden Mills decided to stay. During the 80s they survived near-bankruptcy and decided to gamble and re-focus their production on high-end, high-priced specialty fabrics, especially Polartec, a lightweight, fleecy material that turned out to be very popular with brands like L. L. Bean and Ralph Lauren. The gamble paid off and the Polartec profits rose from $5 million in 1982 to $200 million in 1995. The company was quite strong and successful when a crisis hit in December of 1995—an accidental industrial fire completely destroyed the factory. Everyone in the industry expected Malden Mills to do the only ‘smart’ thing at this point and take the $100 million insurance money and reopen in a developing country where labor would be cheaper. But they shocked everyone by announcing that they would rebuild in Lawrence, and also they would pay full salaries to their 3,000 employees for 3 months and continued health insurance for 6 months. Rebuilding in Lawrence ended up costing the company around $450 million and keeping the laid-off workers on salary and health benefits cost $20 million more, but the company gained a national reputation as a business ‘with a heart’ and enjoyed a very positive boost to their brand. They reopened in 1996, and most of the original employees were hired back, as their jobs were held for them. As the years went by, however, the company fell upon hard times. Perhaps due to the amount of money they spent on rebuilding, or perhaps it was mostly due to changes in the marketplace, but Malden Mills had to declare bankruptcy in 2007. The family that had run the plant for generations was forced out as another company took over, changed the name to Polartec, reduced the staff to 800, and moved most of the operations to other countries.

As you compare and contrast these two case studies, make sure you apply contrasting theories as well, such as Shareholder vs Stakeholder, or perhaps Social Darwinism vs. Ethic of Care. Since this is an essay, make sure you have a central point that you are developing along the way, which will be important to your conclusion.

In: Economics

B. Compare and contrast these two case studies: (350 words) The first one we discussed in...

B. Compare and contrast these two case studies: (350 words)

The first one we discussed in class, General Motors (GM), which decided to offshore production from the USA to Mexico. When GM began this in the late 70s, it was a relatively new idea for a major American producer, and was highly controversial, but the trend has grown over the decades, and nowadays other major car companies, including European and Asian giants like BMW and Honda, have followed the same strategy to close plants in their homelands and reopen in Mexico where labor is much cheaper. In 1978, there were 80,000 GM employees in the Flint, Michigan area, and today there are around 7,000. As those plants closed, the consequences have been very destructive for the surrounding towns, where unemployment skyrocketed (and with it crime, gangs and drugs), and areas have become like ghost towns where people have been evicted from their homes, and apartment buildings and businesses have been abandoned. As GM first began this offshoring in the late 70s they were enjoying a 49% share of the American car market, but changes in the market were showing that they would soon be losing this high position. By the mid 80’s they were down to 40% and this downward trend has continued (not only for them but for other American car manufacturers as well). Today, they stand at 15%.

The second one involves Malden Mills, a textile company (fabrics and clothing) in Lawrence, Massachusetts, near the city of Boston in the USA. In the 80s, other textile companies in the region had closed their Boston area factories to relocate to where labor was cheaper, often to Asia and Mexico, but Malden Mills decided to stay. During the 80s they survived near-bankruptcy and decided to gamble and re-focus their production on high-end, high-priced specialty fabrics, especially Polartec, a lightweight, fleecy material that turned out to be very popular with brands like L. L. Bean and Ralph Lauren. The gamble paid off and the Polartec profits rose from $5 million in 1982 to $200 million in 1995. The company was quite strong and successful when a crisis hit in December of 1995—an accidental industrial fire completely destroyed the factory. Everyone in the industry expected Malden Mills to do the only ‘smart’ thing at this point and take the $100 million insurance money and reopen in a developing country where labor would be cheaper. But they shocked everyone by announcing that they would rebuild in Lawrence, and also they would pay full salaries to their 3,000 employees for 3 months and continued health insurance for 6 months. Rebuilding in Lawrence ended up costing the company around $450 million and keeping the laid-off workers on salary and health benefits cost $20 million more, but the company gained a national reputation as a business ‘with a heart’ and enjoyed a very positive boost to their brand. They reopened in 1996, and most of the original employees were hired back, as their jobs were held for them. As the years went by, however, the company fell upon hard times. Perhaps due to the amount of money they spent on rebuilding, or perhaps it was mostly due to changes in the marketplace, but Malden Mills had to declare bankruptcy in 2007. The family that had run the plant for generations was forced out as another company took over, changed the name to Polartec, reduced the staff to 800, and moved most of the operations to other countries.

As you compare and contrast these two case studies, make sure you apply contrasting theories as well, such as Shareholder vs Stakeholder, or perhaps Social Darwinism vs. Ethic of Care. Since this is an essay, make sure you have a central point that you are developing along the way, which will be important to your conclusion.

In: Economics

Please Provide the solution in java, already have a question which is answer in C++. Language:...

Please Provide the solution in java, already have a question which is answer in C++.

Language: java.

Please don't provide your email for private answer.

Q1. Implement a program which allows the user to find the shortest path between two nodes in a graph possibly passing through a third node. I.e. the user should be able to ask questions like: Which is the shortest path from A to B passing through C? The program should output an ordered list of the nodes to traverse from A to B if such a path exists. If no such path exists then the program should output that no such path exists.

Use sample text provided below as input when not executing tests (in the case that the tests should be executed you may use another input). This is the undirected road network of New York City. It is connected, contains parallel edges, but no self-loops. The edge weights are travel times and are strictly positive. You should also calculate/show the time complexity of your algorithm.

Sample Text file:

264346
733846
1 2 2008
2 1 2008
3 4 395
4 3 395
5 6 1935
6 5 1935
7 8 3828
8 7 3828
9 10 4182
10 9 4182
9 11 3500
11 9 3500
1 12 2105
12 1 2105
2 13 1478
13 2 1478
14 15 3427
15 14 3427
16 17 4148
17 16 4148
18 19 2529
19 18 2529
20 21 3065
21 20 3065
20 22 3163
22 20 3163
23 24 6768
24 23 6768
25 26 1300
26 25 1300
27 28 1957
28 27 1957
29 30 1295
30 29 1295
31 32 8530
32 31 8530
33 34 4986
34 33 4986
33 35 843
35 33 843
36 37 908
37 36 908
38 39 2545
39 38 2545
40 41 980
41 40 980
29 42 2686
42 29 2686
43 44 1425
44 43 1425
44 45 4410
45 44 4410
46 47 2759
47 46 2759
2 48 1541
48 2 1541
49 50 3787
50 49 3787
49 51 2964
51 49 2964
52 53 5170
53 52 5170
54 55 1300
55 54 1300
56 57 1834
57 56 1834
58 59 1762
59 58 1762
60 61 1253
61 60 1253
62 63 6045
63 62 6045
64 65 2578
65 64 2578
66 58 1527
58 66 1527
67 68 8081
68 67 8081
68 60 793
60 68 793
60 69 4270
69 60 4270
70 71 883
71 70 883
69 70 1136
70 69 1136
72 73 12904
73 72 12904
74 75 1995
75 74 1995
74 76 3516
76 74 3516
77 78 1220
78 77 1220
77 79 2327
79 77 2327
78 80 11763
80 78 11763
78 81 3209
81 78 3209
82 83 922
83 82 922
82 84 4359
84 82 4359
85 86 19802

In: Computer Science

Brenna's mother recently fell down the lowest step of their front porch while scooping snow, and...

Brenna's mother recently fell down the lowest step of their front porch while scooping snow, and she cracked her ulna. Brenna gets angry at her mother for scooping the snow in the first place when she knows she has osteoporosis and a tendency for falling. Brett hires a snow removal service that will arrive as early as possible after future snows to prevent this from happening again, because they both know that Brenna's mom is going to continue to shovel. She still feels young, and she says her osteoporosis and age aren't holding her back in life.

1. Brenna and Brett both feel that even though Brenna's mother has a history of falling every couple of years, she is overall very healthy compared to others her age. Brett's mom on the other hand is only a few years older and very active in her local community organizations and tennis league.

True or False: Functional status is a better indicator of health in older adults than age, because how they have taken care of themselves over their lifetime greatly affects how they feel and function. Two different 70-year-olds can have completely different health statuses.

a. True
b. False

2. Brenna's parents have lived in the same college town since Brenna was young. This town has so much diversity; it is a melting pot of cultures. Brenna has always loved visiting her parents because she is able to meet up with friends at the various ethnic restaurants around town.

True or False: Younger adults are often advocates of upholding traditional food patterns.

a. True
b. False

3. Brett's weekly phone call with his father has become a graphic rundown of all of his father's bodily functions and ailments. Brett wants the best for his father, but he isn't a fan of the graphic details, nor of his father complaining without changing anything about his nutrition or lifestyle. He did buy a multivitamin the other day at the store, and he's about to open the box, sometime today or tomorrow, to see what it's all about.

Which of the following is NOT an age-associated physiological gastrointestinal system change that affects nutritional status?

a. damaged, less efficient mitochondria resulting in less energy
b. chronic diarrhea and gas
c. dysphagia
d. reduced B12 absorption
e. reduced saliva and mucus production
f. slower peristalsis

4. Brett feels that he can help his father prevent age-related loss of muscle mass. As a physical trainer, Brett has helped many people maintain their fitness, so he wants to help his father, too.

True or False: When comparing young versus older adults, older adults have less protein, water, and fat mass.

a. True
b. False

5. Brett's mother is an active mahjong player at the local library, and one of her mahjong friends has been recommending that the ladies in the league start using supplements. Brett's mother constantly sees supplement ads on television, and she reads in her daily digest magazine that women over 50 years of age should take several different supplements to maintain their health.

Which of the following is an age-related nutrient of concern?

a. vitamin A
b. vitamin E
c. vitamin B12
d. All of these are correct.

6. Brett has been with Mark, one of his good buddies, about his parents' health issues. Mark is a doctor. Mark tells Brett that all he can do is show concern for his parents and offer ways to help them that don't sound like he's putting them down. Maintaining a sense of self is important to aging healthily. Brett hadn't thought of his parents like that.

There are many conditions a person may face in their elder years that affect their nutritional status. Which of the following is a condition that puts older adults at nutritional risk?

a. depression
b. functional disability
c. poverty
d. social isolation
e. All of these are correct.

In: Nursing

Coke and Pepsi in India: Issues, Ethics, and Crisis Management There is nothing new about multinational...

Coke and Pepsi in India: Issues, Ethics, and Crisis Management

There is nothing new about multinational corporations (MNCs) facing challenges as they do business around the world, especially in developing nations or emerging markets. Royal Dutch Shell had to greatly reduce its production of oil in Nigeria due to guerrilla attacks on its pipelines. Cargill was forced to shut down its soy-processing plant in Brazil because of the claim that it was contributing to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Tribesmen in Botswana accused De Beers of pushing them off their land to make way for diamond mines.

Google was kicked out of China only to be later restored. Global business today is not for the faint hearted.
It should not come as a surprise, therefore, that MNC giants such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo—highly visible, multibillion dollar corporations with well-known, iconic brands around the world—would encounter challenges in the creation and distribution of their products in some countries. After all, soft drinks are viewed as discretionary and sometimes luxurious products when compared to the staples of life that are often scarce in developing countries. One of those scarce staples is water. Many observers think a shortage of water is the next burgeoning global resource crisis.

Whether it is called an issue, an ethics challenge, or a scandal, the situation confronting both Coke and Pepsi in India, beginning in 2003, richly illustrates the many complex and varied social challenges companies face once they decide to embark on other country’s shores. Their experiences in India may predict other issues they may eventually face elsewhere or trials other companies might face as well. With a billion-plus people and an expanding economy, and with markets stagnating in many Western countries, India, along with China and Russia, represent immense opportunities for growth for virtually all businesses. Hence, these companies cannot afford to ignore these burgeoning markets.
Initial Allegations
Coke and Pepsi’s serious problems in India began in 2003. In that year, India’s Center for Science and Environment (CSE), an independent public interest group, made allegations that tests they had conducted revealed dangerously high levels of pesticide residue in the soft drinks being sold all over India. The director of CSE, Sunita Narain, stated that such residues could cause cancer and birth defects as well as harm nervous and immune systems if the products were consumed over long periods of time.

Further, CSE stated that the pesticide levels in Coke’s and Pepsi’s drinks were much higher than that permitted by European Union standards. On one occasion, Narain accused Pepsi and Coke of pushing products that they wouldn’t dare sell at home.

In addition to the alleged pesticides in the soft drinks, another special interest group, India Resource Center (IRC), accused the companies of over consuming scarce water and polluting water sources due to its operations in India.

IRC intensely criticized the companies, especially Coca-Cola, by detailing a number of different “water woes” experienced by different cities and regions of the country. IRC’s allegations even more broadly accused the companies of water exploitation and of controlling natural resources, and thus communities. Examples frequently cited were the impact of Coke’s operations in the communities of Kerala and Mehdiganj.

In 2004, IRC continued its “Campaign to Hold Coca-Cola Accountable” by arguing that communities across India were under assault by Coke’s practices. Among the continuing allegations were communities’ experiencing severe water shortages around Coke’s bottling plants, significant depletion of the water table, strange water tastes and smells, and pollution of groundwater as well as soil. IRC said that in one community Coke was distributing its solid waste to farmers as fertilizer and that tests conducted found cadmium and lead in the waste, thus making it toxic waste. And the accusation of high levels of pesticides continued. According to IRC, the Parliament of India banned the sale of Coca-Cola in its cafeteria.

In December 2004, India’s Supreme Court ordered Coke and Pepsi to put warning labels on their products. This caused a serious slide in sales for the next several years.

Sunita Narain
One major reason that Indian consumers and politicians took seriously the allegations of both CSE and IRC was CSE’s director, Sunita Narain—a well-known activist in New Delhi. Narain was born into a family of freedom fighters whose support of Mahatma Gandhi goes back to the days when Gandhi was pushing for independence in India over 60 years ago. She took up environmental causes in high school. One major cause she adopted was to stop developers from cutting down trees. Her quest was to save India from the ravages of industrialization. She became the director of CSE in 2002.

According to a BusinessWeek writer, Narain strongly holds forth on the topic of MNCs exploiting the natural resources of developing countries, especially India. She manifests an alarmist tone that tends toward the end-is-near level of fervency. She is skilled at getting media attention. In 2005, she won the Stockholm Water Prize, one of a number of environmental accolades she has received.

In addition, she has been very successful in taking advantage of India’s general suspicion of huge MNCs, dating back to its tragic Bhopal gas leak in 1984. Narain claims she does not intend to hurt companies but only to spur the country to pass stricter regulations.

Sacred Water
Coke and Pepsi’s problems in India have been complicated by the fact that water carries considerable significance in India. We are often told about cultural knowledge we should have before doing business in other countries. Water is one of those issues in India. Although the country has some of the worst water in the world, due to poor sewage, pollution, and pesticide use, according to UN sources, water carries an almost-spiritual meaning to Indians. Bathing is viewed by many of them to be a sacred act, and tradition for some residents holds that one’s death is not properly noted until one’s ashes are scattered in the Ganges River. In one major poll, Indians revealed that drinking water was one of their major life activities to improve their well-being.

Indians’ sensitivity to the subject of water has undoubtedly played a role in the public’s reactions to the allegations.
Coke’s and Pepsi’s Early Responses
Initially, Coke and Pepsi denied the allegations of CSE and IRC, primarily through the media. It was observed that their response was limited at best as they got caught up in the technical details of the tests. Coke conducted its own tests, the conclusion of which was that their drinks met demanding European standards.

Over the next several years, the debate continued as the companies questioned the studies and conducted studies of their own. The companies also pointed out that other beverages and foods in the Indian food supply, and indeed water, had trace pesticide levels in it and they sought to deflect the issue in this manner.
The IRC also attacked Coke and Pepsi for not taking the crisis seriously. They argued that the companies were “destroying lives, livelihoods, and communities” while viewing the problems in India as “public relations” problems that they could “spin” away. IRC pointed out that Coca-Cola had hired a new public relations firm to help them build a new image in India, rather than addressing the real issues. According to IRC, the then-new CEO of Coke, Neville Isdell, immediately made a visit to India, but it was a “stealth” visit designed to avoid the heavy protests that would have met him had the trip been public. IRC also pointed out that Coke had just increased its marketing budget by a sizable amount in India. IRC then laid out the steps it felt Coke should take to effectively address its problems.

Pesticide Residue and Partial Bans
The controversy flared up again in August of 2006 when the CSE issued a new study. The new test results showed that 57 samples from 11 Coke and Pepsi brands contained pesticide residue levels 24 times higher than the maximum allowed by the Indian government. Public response was swift. Seven of India’s 28 states imposed partial bans on the two companies, and the state of Kerala banned the drinks completely. Officials there ignored a later court ruling reversing the ban.

During 2006, the United Kingdom’s Central Science Laboratory questioned the CSE findings. Coca-Cola sought a meeting with CSE that it denied. Also that year, India’s Union Health Ministry rejected the CSE study as “inconclusive.”
The Companies Ratchet up Their Responses
As a result of the second major flurry of studies and allegations in 2006, both Coke and Pepsi ratcheted up their responses, sometimes acting together, sometimes taking independent action. They responded almost like different companies than they were before. Perhaps they finally reckoned this issue was not going to go away and had to be addressed more forcefully.
Coke’s Response
Coke started with a more aggressive marketing campaign. It ran three rounds of newspaper ads refuting the new study. The ads appeared in the form of a letter from more than 50 of India’s company-owned and franchised Coke bottlers, claiming that their products were safe. Letters with a similar message went out to retailers and stickers were pressed onto drink coolers, declaring that Coke was “safety guaranteed.” Coke also hired researchers to talk to consumers and opinion leaders to find out what exactly they believed about the allegations and what the company needed to do to convince them the allegations were false.

Based on its research findings, Coke created a TV ad campaign that featured testimonials by well-respected celebrities. One of the ads featured Aamir Khan, a popular movie star, as he toured one of Coke’s plants. He told the people that the product was safe and that if they wanted to see for themselves they could personally do so. In August and September 2006, over 4,000 people took him up on his offer and toured the plants. Opening up the plants sent the message that the company had nothing to hide, and this was very persuasive.

The TV ads, which were targeted toward the mass audience, were followed by giant posters with movie star Khan’s picture drinking a Coke. These posters appeared in public places such as bus stops. In addition, other ads were targeted toward adult women and housewives, who make the majority of the food-purchasing decisions. One teenager was especially impressed with Khan’s ads because she knew he was very selective about which movies he appeared in and that he wouldn’t take a position like this if it wasn’t appropriate.

In a later interview, Coke’s CEO Isdell said he thought the company’s response during the second wave of controversy was the key reason the company began turning things around. After the 2003 episode, the company changed management in India to address many of the problems, both real and imagined. The new management team was especially concerned about how it would handle its next public relations crisis. Weeks later, in December 2006, India’s Health Ministry said that both Coke’s and Pepsi’s beverages tested in three different labs contained little or no pesticide residue.
Pepsi’s Response
Pepsi’s response was similar to Coke’s. Pepsi decided to go straight to the Indian media and try to build relationships there. Company representatives met with editorial boards, presented its own data in press conferences, and also ran TV commercials. Pepsi’s commercials featured the then president of PepsiCo India, Rajeev Bakshi, shown walking through a polished Pepsi laboratory.

In addition, Pepsi increased its efforts to cut down on water usage in its plants. Employees in the plants were organized into teams and used Japanese-inspired kaizens and suggested improvements to bring waste under control. The company also employed lobbying of the local government.
Indra Nooyi becomes CEO Pepsi had an advantage in rebuilding its relationships in India, because in October 2006, an Indian-born woman, Indra Nooyi, was selected to be CEO of the multinational corporation. It is not known whether Pepsi’s problems in India were in any way related to her being chosen CEO, but it definitely helped. After graduating from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, and later Yale University, Nooyi worked her way up the hierarchy at PepsiCo before being singled out for the top position.

She previously held positions at the Boston Consulting Group, Motorola, and ABB Group.
Prior to becoming CEO, Nooyi had a number of successes in Pepsi and became the company’s chief strategist. She was said to have a perceptive business sense and an irreverent personal style. One of Nooyi’s first decisions was to take a trip to India in December 2006. While there, she spoke broadly about Pepsi’s programs to improve water and the environment. The Indian media loved her, beaming with pride, and covered her tour positively as she shared her own heartwarming memories of her life growing up in India. She received considerable praise. Not surprisingly, Pepsi’s sales started moving upward.

While all the criticism of Coke and Pepsi was going on, roughly from 2003 to 2006, both companies were pursuing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in India, many of them related to improving water resources for communities, while the conflict was center stage.
A Commentary on “What’s Going on”
Because of all the conflicting studies and the stridency of CSE and IRC, one has to wonder what was going on in India to cause this developing country to so severely criticize giant MNCs such as Coke and Pepsi. Many developing countries would be doing all they could to appease these companies. It was speculated by a number of different observers that what was at work was a form of backlash against huge MNCs that come into countries and consume natural resources.

Why were these groups so hostile toward the companies? Was it really pesticides in the water and abuse of natural resources? Or was it environmental interest groups using every opportunity to bash large corporations on issues sensitive to the people? Were CSE and IRC strategically making an example of these two hugely successful companies and trying to put them in their place?
Late in 2006, an interesting commentary appeared in BusinessWeek exploring the topic of what has been going on in India with respect to Coke and Pepsi.

This commentary argued that the companies may have been singled out because they are foreign owned. It appears that no Indian soft drink companies were singled out for pesticide testing, though many people believe pesticide levels are even higher in Indian milk and bottled tea. It was pointed out that pesticide residues are present in most of India’s groundwater, and the government has ignored or has been slow to move on the problem. The commentary went on to observe that Coke and Pepsi have together invested $2 billion in India over the years and have generated 12,500 jobs and support more than 200,000 indirectly through their purchases of Indian-made products including sugar, packing materials, and shipping services.

Continuing Protests, Renewed Priorities, and Strategies
Eventually, the open conflict settled down and sales took an upturn for both companies, but the issue lingered. In June 2007, the IRC continued its attacks on Coca-Cola. It accused the company of “greenwashing” its image in India.

The IRC staged a major protest at the new Coke Museum in Atlanta on June 30, 2007, questioning the company’s human rights and environmental abuses. They erected a 20-foot banner that read “Coca-Cola Destroys Lives, Livelihoods, Communities” in front of the New World of Coke that opened in May 2007. Amit Srivastava of the IRC was quoted as saying, “This World of Coke museum is a fairy tale land and the real side of Coke is littered with abuses.” A representative of the National Alliance of People’s Movements, a large coalition of grassroots movements in India, said, “The museum is a shameful attempt by the Coca-Cola Company to hide its crimes.”

Piling On
The protestations by these groups apparently motivated other groups to take action against Coke. It was reported that United Students Against Sweatshops also staged a “die-in” around one of Coke’s bottling facilities in India. And more than 20 colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom removed Coca-Cola from campuses because of student-led initiatives to put pressure on the company. In addition, the protests in Atlanta were endorsed by a host of groups that participated in the U.S. Social Forum.

Coke’s Renewed Priorities
Undaunted, Coca-Cola continued its initiatives to improve the situation in India and around the world. Coke faces water problems around the world because it is the key natural resource that goes into its products. The company had 70 clean-water projects in 40 countries aimed at boosting local economies. It was observed that these efforts were part of a broader strategy on the part of CEO Neville Isdell to build Coke’s image as a local benefactor and a global diplomat.

The criticism of Coke has been most severe in India. CEO Isdell admits that the company’s experience in India has taught some humbling lessons. Isdell, who took over the company after the crisis had begun, told The Wall Street Journal, “It was very clear that we had not connected with the communities in the way we needed to.” He indicated that the company has now made “water stewardship” a strategic priority, and in a recent 10-K securities filing, had listed a shortage of clean water as a strategic risk.

In August 2007, Coca-Cola India unveiled its “5-Pillar” growth strategy to strengthen its bonds with India. Coke’s new strategy focuses on the pillars of People, Planet, Portfolio, Partners, and Performance. The company also announced a series of initiatives under each of the five pillars and its “Little Drops of Joy” proposal, which tries to reinforce the company’s connection with stakeholders in India.

Though most of the attention focused on Coca-Cola, it should also be noted that Pepsi has continued taking steps on a number of projects as well. One novel initiative is that the company now gathers rainwater in excavated lakes and ponds and on the rooftops of its bottling plants in India. The company sponsors other community water projects as well.

Indian Beverage Association Formed
Though Coke and Pepsi are typically fighting each another in their longstanding “cola wars,” due to their mutual problems in India they formed the Indian Beverage Association (IBA) in the summer of 2010. Other beverage companies were quick to join.

Because of continuous hostility from regulators and activist groups, the two companies decided that a joint effort to address issues might make sense.

The IBA was formed to address the issues related to the government of Kerala’s charge that Coke is polluting the groundwater in the state and other taxation issues that affect both companies. Their issues have been ongoing, but Kerala’s government decided to form a tribunal against Coca-Cola, seeking $48 million in compensation claims for allegedly causing pollution and depleting the groundwater level there. Another important issue was the value-added tax (VAT) by the Delhi government. The IBA brought in other bottlers and packaging firms that had similar interests and issues in India.

Question; What are ethical considerations in terms of Kantian or Utilitarian theory? How should sustainability be considered?

* If the case involves a company's or a manager's actions, evaluate what the company or the manager did or did not do correctly in handling the issue affecting it. How should actions have been handled?


In: Economics

What are characteristics of a human becoming nurse? What are strengths and weaknesses to this theory...

  • What are characteristics of a human becoming nurse? What are strengths and weaknesses to this theory of nursing?
  • Case Study- The hospice nurse sat with Ann's husband, Ben. Ann was resting quietly as the increased dosage of IV pain medication gradually reached its therapeutic level. Ben turned his head and slowly turned, looking out the room's only window. As he glanced up, a small flicker of light caught his breath. It was a shooting star. A tear fell from the corner of his eye and he turned to Ann. The nurse sensed that something significant to Ann and Ben was unfolding. Shuffling to Ann's bedside, he took her small fragile hand in his. These hands had rocked cradles, burped babies, and groomed the horses she loved to ride. Gently holding her hand, he turned to the nurse. "She would ride like the wind was chasing her." Looking back to Ann his voice broke; choking back tears "Ann, Ann I saw Jessie…Jessie is calling." Ben turned "Jessie was our daughter. She died having a baby that was too big. When she died it was a pitch-black night. Cold, so cold, the baby died too, a little boy, named him Abe, Jr. after Jessie's husband. I took Ann outside so she could cry to God above and there in this dark sky we saw two falling stars…together…just falling. We knew it had to be Jessie and Abe…two angels to light up the night." Ben turned back as a deep sigh escaped from Ann's lips. A soft smile remained as she joined Jessie and Abe.

In: Nursing