Soft Drink Case Study

PepsiCo: Is diversification a choice?

Week 3

Group Case Study Assignment

A. General instructions

1. Use UMUC’s Library (mainly) for research in this assignment. Look for worldwide data, and not North America data; remember; this is a global strategy course!!

2. Only use scholarly and reliable non-scholarly sources such as Bloomberg, Reuters, Money, Forbes, and Fortune (no answer.com, QuickMBA, eHow, Wikipedia…….).

3. Assignment should be supported by at least five scholarly (peer-reviewed articles), and at least three reliable non-scholarly sources; in addition to the weekly readings and multimedia content listed in the classroom.

4. Assignment should be written in a paper format; not a question and answer format.

5. A half page Introduction should be included. Also, Lessons Learned and a Conclusion should be included at the end of the case study.

6. All questions are to be attempted. Relate your answers to the required reading. Do not restate the information from the case study; go beyond the included information; analyze!

7. Paper should be 12-15 pages long, with one inch margins, 12 point font, double-spacing, and should be posted as a PDF document. The cover page, reference list, and appendix are not part of the page count. All graphics should be placed in the appendix.

8. Use APA format for in-text citations and the reference list.

B. Questions:

1. Using UMUC’s Library databases; research the two main industries that PepsiCo operates in. What are the changes and trends in these industries?

2. Research the following three PepsiCo competitors and do a SWOT analysis for them: Coca Cola, Snapple Dr. Pepper, and Kraft.

3. Conduct a Porter’s Five Forces analysis of the non-alcoholic beverage industry.

4. How are the organizational changes that PepsiCo implemented impacting its performance? What role does PepsiCo’s management play here?

5. If you were PepsiCo’s CEO: Should the company continue its diversification away from the non-alcoholic business? What is the impact on PepsiCo’s global operations?

6. What is PepsiCo’s future outlook from your perspective?