Business Decision Making Project Part 3

Business Decision Making

Name

University

Course

Professor

Introduction

The Coca- Cola Company is one of the world’s greatest multinationals that has its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The company specializes its operations in the manufacture, retail, and the marketing of nonalcoholic drinks, concentrates and syrups (Foster, 2014). Most importantly, the coca-cola company is best known for its famous coca-cola product that was invented in the year 1886. Since its inception in the year 1889, the Coca-Cola Company has made its operations in different parts of the globe with different outlets in almost every part of the world (Albanese, 2001). Additionally, the company has a variety of products that are sold to different customers with varying tastes and preferences from all over the world. The company has its own anchor bottler in North America for different varieties of refreshments (Foster, 2014). As a result of the company trying to expand its operations to new places while expanding its production, several problems have cropped up that calls for better strategies to be developed to solve the problems. Getting into new markets where cheap and almost similar products exists has been a big challenge for the company over the last couple of years. This paper will try to look at a problem that is experienced in the company, identify a research variable from the problem, sample collection method and identify a way that will make it easy to analyze the data.

The problem at Coca-Cola Company

There are a number of problems that are being experienced in the company as it tries to expand its operations across all the world as well as trying to satisfy its clients from different areas of the world. Among the many problems that the company faces, the problem of the emerging market performance seems to affect the company greatly (Albanese, 2001). This problem arises as the company tries to penetrate and dominate new markets for its products. As the company puts up its efforts in penetrating the new markets, stiff competition from domestic players like Pepsi Cola has been on the rise too, and this has had an effect on its market performance (Foster, 2014). The competitors are also finding a way to have their products dominate in the regions where coca-cola as a company is operating too. As such, the company has to up its competitive strategies by coming up with appropriate market strategies that will outsmart the products of its competitors in the same market. The company has to markets in the BRIC region by getting their products better known in Indonesia and Vietnam among other global regions.

Research variable

There are a number of variables that can be deduced from the problem identified in the above section. The key research variable that can be deduced from the problem is that of product quality. The quality of the products offered by the company are important in determining the kind of reception that the company products will receive from the market (Basavanthappa, 2011). Regarding the quality, the better the products, the better the reception and the lower the quality of products from the company, then the reception will be poor in the market (Albanese, 2001). As such, it is the quality of the product given by the company that determines its performance in the market. The quality also dictates the prices of the products produced in the market, thus affecting the competition that the company receives from the its key competitors.

Sample collection methods

There are a number of sample collection methods that could be used in collecting both qualitative and quantitative data for this study. One of the sampling techniques that can be used in the whole process is random sampling as well as stratified sampling all that give the researcher an opportunity to collect unbiased data (Foster, 2014). Additionally, using these sample collection techniques will be accompanied by several data collection techniques like the use of questionnaires, interviews and observations. Using these data collection techniques as well as the sampling methods will give the researchers a better picture of what is experienced in the market by the company (Albanese, 2001). Questionnaires and interviews will get important information about the reception of the product in the target market as well as the consumption of alternatives in the same market, thus giving a proper picture of the state of the company in the markets that it operates from (Basavanthappa, 2011).

Validating the data collection methods used to be used in the study

There are a number of methods that can be used to determine if the data collection techniques applied are right or not. One of the methods that may ensure the validity of the data collection techniques is looking at the past, researchers that employed the same techniques and the success that was achieved (Foster, 2014). Additionally, the sample size will also determine the success of the data collection methods applied. If the sample size used is more than what the designed data collection methods can get, then it is very much likely that the method will not bear any meaningful fruits. As such, these techniques will be effectively used in trying to find out if the data collected for the study are valid or not (Basavanthappa, 2011).

Looking at other related studies and the frequency with which the data collection techniques employed have been adopted can give important insights on how perfect the data to be collected is. If the techniques have been used in a number of related studies, then it is very evident that the method employed will with no doubt give valid data that will be used in the study (Basavanthappa, 2011). If on the other hand the data collection methods applied have not be used in a number of studies and alternative methods have been used, then shifting to the alternatives with the hope of getting better results may be the only option for this study.

Conclusion

To conclude, it is evident that the company is experiencing different problems that need to be solved for purposes of realizing better results and profits from the operations of the company. It is on this note that this paper has described the major problem experienced in the company, the best data and sample collection techniques and the methods that can be used to effectively know that the data collection techniques will give valid data. As such, if the above-mentioned elements are considered, then it will be very easy to carry out the study and solve the problem experienced by the company once and for all.

References

Albanese, F. (2001). Merchandising and Licensing to Improve Brand Equity. The Coca-Cola Case. Symphonya. Emerging Issues in Management, (1). doi:10.4468/2001.1.06albanese

Basavanthappa, B. (2011). Chapter-14 Techniques of Data Collection. Essentials of Nursing Research, 250-289. doi:10.5005/jp/books/11400_14

Foster, R. J. (2014). Corporations as Partners: “Connected Capitalism” and The Coca-Cola Company. PoLAR, 37(2), 246-258. doi:10.1111/plar.12073