Product Description: A “Soft Drink” is a carbonated, flavored, non-alcoholic liquid meant for human consumption. Example products produced by this industry include cola (Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, Diet Dr. Pepper, store brands, etc.), flavored soft drinks (Orange Crush, Grape Nehi, etc.), root beer (A&W, Barq’s, IBC), ginger ale (Vernor’s, Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Schweppes Ginger Ale, etc.), etc.

Substitute Products: by definition, a substitute is a product produced OUTSIDE this industry but serves the same function as a product produced INSIDE this industry. Primary substitutes for soft drink products include milk, bottled (and tap) water, sparkling water, fruit juices, beer, wine, spirits, coffee, teas, soy and coconut milks, etc. (NOTE: A SUBSTITUTE IS NOT A PRODUCT MANUFACTURED BY A DIFFERENT COMPANY IN THE INDUSTRY).

Strategic Group: Coca-Cola (KO), PepsiCo (PEP), Monster Beverage (MNST), and Keurig/Dr Pepper (KDP).

Note: You MUST use these companies. Refer to them by their ticker symbol (i.e. “KO” for The Coca-Cola Company). Also, for the purposes of this project, just focus on the strategic grouping of companies listed above and pretend they all have a PRIMARY function of manufacturing Soft Drinks (not water, food stuffs, etc.). Ignore the company “Embotelladora Andina” and “American Beverage S.A.” These are international companies that are not in your strategic group.

Note: In this industry, note the following terms and DO NOT CONFUSE THEM:

• Raw material suppliers: These are the companies that supply raw materials that get turned into soft drinks.
• Manufacturers / Producers: These are the companies that purchase raw materials from suppliers and CREATE the soft drink products. These companies include the companies in the strategic group.
• Customers: These are the companies that purchase the soft drinks in bulk from the manufacturers. These would include wholesalers, retailers, etc. (This includes Walmart, gas stations, Publix, etc.).
• Consumers: These are the people who actually drink the soft drinks (i.e. you and me). The consumers buy from the customers. (The consumers are actually the retail or wholeseale organizations who buy from the companies that produce customers, not customers of the manufacturing industry).

Note: Do not use the terms “buyer” or “supplier” because they are ambiguous. Rather, use the term “consumer” or “raw material supplier”.

Perform basic research on the industry that you have been assigned (Use the “Gale: Business Insights” database from Troy’s library page). Once you get as much industry information that you can there, look up each of the companies in your strategic grouping and find out what you can about each of them as well. You can also use the SEC’s EDGAR database to look up particular companies (https://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml). The companies in this group are almost exclusively publicly traded, which means that each company must make certain documents available to investors, the government, and to the general public. In later portions of this assignment, you will need the information for the competitors, so while you are gathering information, save everything you can about the industry and group of competitors to a folder on your PC. This might include URLs, 10K filings, recent press releases, and more. Then, for the first part of this assignment (listed below), prepare a single Microsoft Word document using the Sample Submission Document as a guide (use the latest APA style guide). I’ll be checking very closely to make sure you follow the format of the Sample Submission document EXACTLY, so pay close attention to this. Most students struggle with two things in these assignments. First, they don’t follow the sample document exactly. Second, they don’t proof their work sufficiently. In this document, prepare a response to each of the questions asked and make sure that you completely answer all portions of each question. In addition, make sure that you do the following:

Note: You MUST use information that is much more recent than journal articles for this project. That is, journals are great, but it takes too long for articles to be published for them to do you much good in some areas. Other information is simply not going to be found in journals at all. Examples would include information on the current political climate, pending legislation, economic indicators, etc. Google is your friend here. Just make sure that you stick to reputable sources (i.e. government sites, industry sites, specific company sites in the industry, reputable news outlets, etc.). Do NOT use any source that is a social network (i.e. Wikipedia, FaceBook, etc.), an “essay for sale” site (i.e. “UK Essays”), nor the work of other students at other universities (i.e. Fern Fort University).

1. Put your name and student ID number in the document header, along with page numbers, following the example in the Sample Submission document. Note that the page header on the title page includes “Running Head:” to the left of your name, but not on the other pages in the document.
2. Make sure your work (all portions, no exceptions) is in Times New Roman, 12pt font, 1” margins.
3. Use Microsoft Word’s built-in “Source Manager” to handle your citations and references. For instructions as to how to do this, either ask the instructor for a “how-to” or just download it from the Writing Assignments module (it says, “Setting up Microsoft Word…”). I also have a video on how to do this in the Writing Assignments module in Canvas.
4. Create a title page that looks like the one in the sample document. (NOTE: After Writing Assignment #1 has been graded, your instructor will assign you a company. Just leave the company name off of the title page until your company has been assigned. Remember, you don’t get a company assigned until AFTER certain conditions are met based on your list of opportunities and threats.). Follow the format of the Sample Submission document AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE.
5. Make sure to use headings that match the Sample Submission document.
6. Immediately prior to submitting your document to Canvas, proofread your document THOROUGHLY. Troy University pays the cost for students to have the Premium version of Grammarly’s free add-in to Microsoft Office, which will show up on the ribbon bar in Microsoft Word. In addition, Word’s built-in proofing tools (grammar, spelling, and style checkers) are also used for grading. These are the PRIMARY methods that the instructor uses to check student work for errors. (Note: Each “routine” error generally results in a 1-point deduction from the submission grade. “MAJOR ISSUE” errors generally result in a 5+ point deduction for each occurrence.). Please also note that you are responsible for all mistakes in your submission, even if Grammarly and Word don’t find any errors.  
   WRITING ASSIGNMENT #1
7. Perform basic INDUSTRY research for the ENTIRE industry you have been assigned (not just the strategic group) and look for issues by following the PESTEL model’s major categories. Read what the textbook has to say about the PESTEL model and what types of things go into each category. You can also find examples online by just Googling “PESTEL Example” and reading some of the pages that show up. There is a great page at https://www.business-to-you.com/scanning-the-environment-pestel-analysis/ that should give you some good ideas.).

Make sure you have at least 20 opportunities and 20 threats total. However, they need to be spread out so that you have at least one opportunity and one threat for each category in each of the two models, with no duplicates. Even though a phenomenon can technically be listed in more than one category, only put it in one. It is even possible that a phenomenon can be both an opportunity and a threat, depending on how one views it. Regardless, only list something once.

2. Perform additional basic INDUSTRY analysis for the industry again, but this time use “Porter’s Five Forces” model. Identify at least 2 major issues for EACH of the forces in the model. (NOTE: Again, this is an INDUSTRY analysis, not a company analysis.) For #1 and #2 above, the following items should help you get started. I expect to see most of
   these in your work because they are nearly always applicable to most industries: Unemployment rate, disposable income, wage rates, currency exchange rates, inflation rate, etc.
   Political stability at home and abroad, military strife, effects of administration changes, etc.
   Changing legislation (state / Federal), regulations (both FDA and EPA), court cases, etc.
   Social and political issues regarding environmental concerns (raw materials, production, waste, etc.).
   Technological developments, availability of raw materials, barriers to entry/exit, economies of
   scale/scope, market growth/contraction, etc.
   Social trends and issues involving the products themselves, generational issues (i.e. old consumers vs.
   younger, demands consumers put on businesses, demand changes due to consumer preferences, etc..
3. Using this information, create a list of Opportunities and Threats (numbered O1, O2, O3, etc. and T1, T2, T3, etc.) that would apply to the majority of the companies in your firm’s industry. (note: If you provide an opportunity that is worded to include a something a competitor or the industry can do, your answer is completely incorrect and you will just have to do it over. Just because a company says that something is an opportunity for them does not make it an opportunity. Many companies often get this incorrect. Also, don’t use the words “Opportunity” or “Threat” to describe an opportunity or threat!) Opportunities and Threats ALWAYS meet the following criteria:
   a. They represent phenomena or trends that currently exist and are not past or hypothetical future problems unless there is strong and sufficient evidence that suggests that the phenomena will PROBABLY exist (and your evidence must be clear and strong, in the present tense, with solid sources to back it up).
   b. They represent phenomena or trends, NOT ACTIONS that a competitor or the industry might do about them (again, this is an automatic show-stopper). Read each one aloud and ask yourself if you are saying that a company can do something. If yes, then I stop grading here. If no, then possibly okay.
   c. They apply to the environment in which the industry operates, not just to one or a few companies in the industry. Remember, your focus is on the environment in which the industry operates, not the industry competitors.
   d. They are not under the control or direct influence of only one or a few competitors.
   e. They do NOT describe things that are ALWAYS true (i.e., “Companies must follow government regulations”, or “When unemployment goes up, people have less money to spend”).
   f. They are written in complete and grammatically correct sentences.
   g. They are all in the present tense (not past or future tense).

Sample Solution

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