Friday, May 29, 2020

Overcoat Symbolism in The Namesake - Literature Essay Samples

Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake is a story that is parallel to Nikolai Gogol’s short story The Overcoat. Gogol’s work is commended and mentioned countless times by Lahiri in her writing. The Overcoat is about a man named Akaky Akakievich, who, at first, is content with his life then begins to question his identity. In an attempt to better himself, he replaces his old overcoat with a freshly-tailored one, and everyone envies it. At the instant his overcoat is robbed from him, not one person lent him a helping hand. In The Namesake, an overcoat is one’s identity, a burden that everyone possesses, and it can reveal or conceal a character’s true colours. Each name is an overcoat. Gogol Ganguli, the main protagonist, was named after Nikolai Gogol, the author of the story that saved his father’s life in a massive train wreck. â€Å"With a slight quiver of recognition, as if he’d known it all along, the perfect pet name for his son occurs to Ashoke†¦ ‘Gogol,’ he repeats, satisfied† (Lahiri, 28). This name â€Å"was the first thing his father had given him† (Lahiri, 289) and it was presented with a purpose. It so happens that Gogol’s life bares resemblance to Akaky’s. For instance, Akaky discovers that his shame is possibly the result of having an ugly overcoat, just as Gogol finds shame in being Gogol. â€Å"He thought that the sin might perhaps lie with the overcoat† (Gogol, 400). When Akaky wears he his overcoat, Akaky suddenly changes, becoming the complete opposite of himself. During the party, he â€Å"dined cheerfully and wrote nothing after dinner†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ( Gogol, 410). This is similar to how Gogol transforms when he changes his name to Nikhil. â€Å"But now that hes Nikhil its easier to ignore his parents, to tune out their concerns and pleas†¦ It is as Nikhil, that first semester, that he grows a goatee, starts smoking Camel Lights at parties†¦, gets himself a fake ID that allows him to be served liquor†¦, loses his virginity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Namesake, 105). By wearing Nikhil, Gogol becomes the version of himself that he found the most happiness in. In the process, a new character was revealed along with his traits, personality, niches and tendencies. An overcoat can reveal a character. In the novel, Gogol is involved in a love affair with Maxine Ratliff. The name Maxine means â€Å"the greatest, maximum.† She represents the epiphany of American women: smart, sophisticated, and sexually uninhibited. Her outgoing personality and openness to Gogol appealed to him and made her seem as though she was perfect for him, hence being the greatest. â€Å"He is curious about her, attracted, flattered by the boldness of her pursuit† (Lahiri, 130). The closer Gogol is with her, the more naked she becomes to him. It is the way she accepts herself that makes her unique and different from Gogol. â€Å"She has the gift of accepting her life; as he comes to know her, he realizes that she has never wished she were anyone other than herself, raised in any other place, in any other way. This, in his opinion, is the biggest difference between them, a thing far more foreign to him than the beautiful house shed grown up in, her education a t private schools† (Lahiri, 138). Just as an overcoat can expose everything about a character, it is able to do the complete opposite. An overcoat can also conceal a character. Moushumi means â€Å"A damp southwesterly breeze† (Lahiri, 240). A breeze comes and goes, like Moushumi’s past and present. When Gogol had first seen her at pujos when they were teenagers, she was a quiet character and always had her nose in a book. At the time when they formally met, at the insistence of their parents, she was striking and bold, a significant shift in personalities. â€Å"She was exactly the same person, looked and behaved the same way, and yet suddenly, in that new city, she was transformed into the kind of girl she had once envied, had believed she would never become.† (Lahiri 215). The breeze is also a symbol of the coming and going of men in her life. â€Å"She allowed the men to buy her drinks, dinners, later to take her in taxis to their apartments†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lahiri, 215). Unfortunately, Gogol became a victim of Moushumi’s breeze when Moushumi decided to have an extramarital affair with her high school pen pal. Everything is a just a â€Å"breeze† for Moushumi, a happy-go-lucky soul that slyly wanders from place to place and person to person. Her overcoat concealed her from the ones she cared about, especially Gogol. She needs her overcoat, but it is a hindrance that doesn’t seem to change. Overcoats are necessary, but can become a burden. In the novel, the main protagonist goes back and forth with becoming Gogol and Nikhil. At first, he is comfortable in his own overcoat on the first day of kindergarten, then he begins to† save up money† for a new overcoat as the story progresses. It is when he becomes old enough that he replaces his former overcoat. Gogol’s name change symbolizes his transition into adulthood as he deserts the childhood ties that come with his daknam. Nikhil was Gogol’s new overcoat. Nikhil means â€Å"he who is entire, encompassing all†, something that Gogol thought he was after he had his name legally changed. â€Å"He wonders if this is how it feels for an obese person to become thin, for a prisoner to walk free† (Lahiri, 102). The Gogol overcoat became a burden to him because it prevented him matching his expectations and from becoming the version of himself that he envied. â€Å"He hates that his name is b oth absurd and obscure, that it has nothing to do with who he is, that it is neither Indian nor American but of all things Russian. He hates having to live with it, with a pet name turned good name, day after day, second after second† (Lahiri, 76). On the other hand, Nikhil was a burden to his family. As he gets closer with Maxine and mainstream American culture, Gogol strays farther his family. When Ashoke dies, he carries the guilt that comes with being so distant from his family. It was then that he decides to accept Gogol back into his life, but on his own terms. â€Å"Nikhil will live on, publicly celebrated, unlike Gogol, purposely hidden, legally diminished, now all but lost† (Lahiri, 290). He still chooses to conceal Gogol despite accepting him. An overcoat can either define a person or a person can define it. Everyone has an overcoat. Everyone needs an overcoat. It’s defined by one’s name, culture, upbringing, accidents, losses, relationships. All that transpired in Gogol’s life had a purpose, that it was not in vain. He was destined to find The Overcoat in his room. He was destined to be a child of Bengali immigrants, to live in America, to become an architect, to find love countless times and fail as many times, to live when his father ceased to. He was destined to become Nikhil only to become Gogol again, but he had to choose to accept himself on his own terms, as the other character’s did, choosing to hide behind their overcoats or become proud of it. Regardless, â€Å"We all came out of Gogol’s overcoat† (Lahiri, 78).

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Cosmology Science Vs Religion Essay - 822 Words

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Christian belief encountered significant opposition. Until then, most of the world shared the belief of the â€Å"Medieval world view† that not only was the earth positioned at the center of the universe, but that God was all knowing, all powerful and all good. God was thought to have created and sustained the wondrous workings of the universe. This belief told the people all they needed to know about the meaning and purpose of life. Then, scientific discovery and methods began to undermine religious beliefs. Scientists began to reveal that natural laws and natural forces governed the world. Opposing beliefs, e.g. the Marxism belief, criticized Christian views. People like, Bacon, Copernicus, Kepler,†¦show more content†¦Although science explains much about life and the universe, some people choose to believe religion. One major reason for the contrast in views is the difference of interpretations of the Bible. Extreme Christians take the story of Genesis purely literally and believe God created the world in six days, leaving no room for the arguments of science. Others still believe in the story of Genesis but that instead of six days, six periods of time. Others, however, completely reject Christianity. Despite claims that scientific discovery and methods have never really ‘challenged’ Christian belief, I personally feel that Christians have responded well to any attacks. Some Christians firmly believe that the universe has arisen completely through a miraculous act of God and completely reject scientific theories. This is called ‘creationism’. Another attack on scientific arguments is the ‘First Cause’ theory introduced by Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas once quoted that â€Å"the universe couldn’t have simply sprung from nothing†; therefore, one is forced to reach the conclusion that it is caused to exist by something. The ‘big bang’ is not accepted, as this is not answering what caused this to happen. After a series of questioning, most reach the conclusion of God. The Anthropic Principle is a prime example ofShow MoreRelated Creationism vs. Evolution Essays1663 Words   |  7 PagesCreationism vs. Evolution This paper will focus on the huge controversy between Creationism and Evolution. I will provide two opposing viewpoints on this subject. First, the discussion will focus on the question of why many people believe that God created the universe and all living things. On the other end of the spectrum, scientific information will be presented that substantiates the evidence against the existence of God. This creationism counter-argument known as evolution has itsRead MoreModern Science Over The Course Of The Year1502 Words   |  7 PagesWe have been reviewing modern science over the course of the year. But trying to compare and contrast the transition between modern and contemporary. How has contemporary changes impacted science, and the understanding. My view of Modern science is material evidence to support theories and concepts. As we look at philosophers closely connected with it, we get names like Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, and Gottfriend Leibniz. Copernicus he is best known as the first astronomer to posit the idea of aRead MoreAboriginal Australia as a Dream Culture738 Words   |  3 PagesTo better understand Aboriginals as a Dream Culture I want to give more insight into Aboriginal Australians general culture and their conceptions of â€Å"Dream Time.† In his discussion of religion, Mircea Eliade describe s a concept of Cosmos vs Chaos (Eliade 1957). In this notion an unordered world is chaotic only until is it transposed during a sacred time: â€Å"By occupying it and, above all, by settling in it, man symbolically transforms it into a cosmos though a ritual repetition of the cosmogony† (EliadeRead MoreEvolution, Structure, And Ultimate Fate Of Neil Degrasse Tyson2479 Words   |  10 Pagesconstant mystery and challenge to humankind. Humans wish to understand what is beyond their immediate environment. Cosmology is the study of the universe, more specifically, the origins, evolution, history, structure, and ultimate fate. In Greek, the term â€Å"cosmos† means universe, which is the very foundation of the study. Cosmology’s largest critic is Creationism; thus, science and religion battle it out to discover what is true and right in the world. The history of the universe extends past the beginningRead More Science and Religion: Our Attitudes Today Are Tomorrows Future3013 Words   |  13 Pagesbranches of science. Science itself is knowledge about a topic. There are physics science (interactions of physical science and natural), astronomy and space science, math science, chemistry science, medicine science, and measurements and weight science. Natural science, also known as scientific method is a more disciplined way of studying the world. This is also known as social science. Fields of study under natural and/or social science are physics, geology, biology, chemistry, political science, anthropologyRead MoreRelation Between Science and Religion Essay4079 Words   |  17 Pageson What is the Relation between Science and Religion William Lane Craig Examines several ways in which science and theology relate to each other. Back in 1896 the president of Cornell University Andrew Dickson White published a book entitled A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom. Under White’s influence, the metaphor of â€Å"warfare† to describe the relations between science and the Christian faith became very widespread during the first half of the 20th century. The culturallyRead More Carl Gustav Jung and the Buddhist Mandala Essay3657 Words   |  15 Pageswere fraudulent, and that she fabricated her visions in response to his own ideas to hold his interest. However, this psychologized Kantian cosmology found continued expression in Jungs own 1916 pseudonymous work Septem Sermones ad Mortuos after which he drew the first of many mandalas. It is likely therefore, that Jung fed his own ideas on Kantian cosmology to his fifteen year-old niece S.W., who then distilled it all back to him in the mythic forms of a mediums visions, which he then later re-expressedRead MoreConfucianism And Its Influence On Society2178 Words   |  9 PagesConfucianism can be regarded as a religion, a belief, a way of ruling and a basis for laying the ground rules for the East Asian countries. Confucianism had gone through so many transformations and has been affected by many religions and dynasties. Many dynasties have adapted the ways of Confucianism, which state that there is a connection between humans and heaven. However, as time progressed, religions such as Buddhism and Daoism also adapted the ways of Confucianism, but they changed some of itsRead MoreTheories of How Life Began on Earth1782 Words   |  8 Pagesdid matter come to exist? Obviously, the search for clues has not ceased. Yet, after all this energy has been expanded, much of what we know is still only speculation. We have however, come a long way from the mystical beginnings of the study of cosmology and the origins of the universe. The theories I have heard about how life on earth began are interesting but the on e that makes the most sense to me is Creationism. There are numerous theories that mankind has come to believe how life began onRead MoreThe Heliocentric Theory vs. The Catholic Church Essay2163 Words   |  9 PagesThe Heliocentric Theory vs. The Catholic Church We view the world today as the Earth and planets revolving around the Sun. Naturally, this always wasnt the case. Aristotle created a model in which since God created the Earth and man, therefore everything should revolve around us, creating a geocentric model of the known universe. This model was widely accepted by the people, as well as the Church, since the theory was God-centered. It wasnt until

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Hiv And The World Health Organization - 2239 Words

First reported incidences of HIV were established in rural geographic areas prior to 1955 (Lemey et al., 2003). The virus then managed to quickly spread amongst larger populations resulting in a shift from an uncommon infection to a highly prevalent disease throughout 1955 to 1970. After the original outbreak, in 1994, further information regarding the infection was mandated to be reported to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 25 different states using a structured confidentiality report system (Prejean et al., 2011). With this provided system, the Global Programme on AIDS and the World Health Organization (1995) later concluded a total of 10,000 new cases develop each day. The CDC (2015) describes HIV as an infection†¦show more content†¦In contrast, the number of individuals infected with HIV within the U.S. as of 2014 totaled to an estimated 1.2 million people (CDC, 2015). Out of these people, 14% were not aware they had been infected with the virus with one in every seven individuals conveyed as not knowing they were infected. As these acquired values were related to the data collected within the U.S. on a global scale, it was concluded that a total of 19 million individuals were unaware of their HIV status when compared to the 35 million people infected worldwide. From the time of incident reporting, the CDC has kept the epidemic of HIV infection under high surveillance (Prejean et al., 2011). As they additionally state, this has permitted researchers to gather further information relating to the many ways in which HIV infection can be impacted by gender, race, behavior, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and so forth. In the efforts of bec oming familiarized with the trends HIV incidence produces, Hall et al., (2008) stated preventative measures can be identified and implemented towards the decrease in total HIV prevalence. When taking the number of infection occurrences into account, factors relating to identifying the causes of HIV incidences must be managed in order to lessen the degree of infection (Kelly et al., 1997). During the early stages of HIV observation, Kelly et al., (1997) attributed the core concepts

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Report on global marketing of Coca Cola

Questions: Soft drink case study: possible approaches International market research. The soft drinks organisation may start by defining the market research problem e.g. how do we identify the new soft drink consumers or what are the new trends in terms of lifestyle, health, fitness etc. This could be informed by considering what business decisions the organisation will have to make and mapping back from them e.g. what is the lowest cost soft drinks market to enter?The organisation will consider different sources of data collection and the role of quantitative/qualitative formats.An effective marketing information system is essential in this FMCG market. The organisation may be scanning for: emerging markets per capita spend on soft drinks purchasing behaviours around take away or on site/packaging preferences/cultural issues on tastes, drinking norms etc. strengths of competitors and substitutes e.g. tea, coffee, fruit juices etc. etc.A market research brief would be constructed to make the dat a collection and analysis cost effective and focused.Global marketing segmentation. The market research findings and the current marketing strategy should reveal the critical criteria for segmentation. This would cover geographical markets as well as local and global consumer profiles. Technical factors such as internet coverage and mobile phone penetration could be core segmentation criteria alongside Social factors such as levels of interest in health, fitness and lifestyle. A Brand Strategy may be emerging to coordinate marketing segmentation e.g. Coca Cola are dropping the price of Coke in India where it is not the top cola and attempting to make it a year round drink.Methods of entry. The nature of the product i.e. low price with high production and distribution costs may shape thinking around method of entry. Local production and supply chains may be unavoidable leading to join ventures and partnerships. Established food and drinks agencies may also offer cost effective entry to markets with food and drink regulations and high levels of competition and substitutes. Parallel marketing in conjunction with other established local organisations targeting the same consumer segments e.g. music, sport, fashion etc. may also contribute to a method of entry. 1. Effective and sustainable strategies are essential if a global organisation is to survive and grow in a changing environment. 2. Evaluate how the following factors would impact on the global strategies of the market leaders in the soft drinks industry namely Coca Cola, PepsiCo Cadbury Schweppes. The emergence of the new economic powerhouses The emergence of the new consumer The changing nature of competition Technological changes The emergence of global media. Answers: Introduction: It has been a common experience of all major global companies that the existing allure of the global markets is mesmerizing. Multinational companies that operate within the intensely competitive rather saturated markets at home countries are forced to expand themselves abroad. However, the decision of international expansion is not to be taken in a light mood. The organizational managers are required to convince themselves that the expansion decision would create value for the shareholders. This report aims at analyzing the given case study on global market and discussing two related statements. The first states that effective and sustainable strategies are essential if a global organization is to survive and grow in a changing environment (Banalieva and Dhanaraj, 2013). The second states that any global player must fully evaluate marketing opportunities before making their choice of which markets to enter. The report provides a deep insight into the case study of Coca Cola and reflects upon the global market strategies of the Company. Coca Cola is regarded as the topmost soft drink producing firm globally. It was initially founded by Dr John Pemberton, a famous pharmacist within Atlanta. The firm has been increasingly successful over last century. It even started its partnership with bottlers across the globe (Chang, 2012). As in case of one of the leading soft drink marketers, Coca Cola, the firm has been on a continuous attempt to adopt ever changing innovative strategies to survive the adverse conditions of market at times of crisis. With implementation of some of the greatest sustainable strategies in global marketing, Coca Cola has maintained its successful position within the soft drink industry. In terms of approaches to market entry, Coca Cola has been in the forefront too. It is famous for its marketing expertise (Chinomona and SibandaVaal, 2012). The key business strength of Coca Cola is its brand image. It has undertaken great efforts as well as effective strategy for creating wide-reputed brand. Rationale for International Expansion: Multinational companies like that of the soft drink industry embarks upon innovative expansion strategy for some reasons, namely, for improving the effectiveness of cost of their operations, for expanding into new markets for capturing new customers, and also for following global customers. As firms seek for growth in the new regions across the globe, they basically prioritize those countries that they aim at entering into. Since several markets seem appealing owing to their market size or lower cost of production, it is quite important for the companies to select and prioritize which countries to enter first and evaluate all advantages (Choi, 2010). For instance, some of the international markets may be small in size but their strategic complexity is much lower, and this may render them convenience in easy entrance to the markets. Often there are some regional differences in a particular country, and so it is better to conduct a careful investigation, planning, research, and formula tion of strategies before entering into any market. Source: (Moen et al., 2009) 1. With reference to the provide case study, the statement that effective and sustainable strategies are essential if a global organization is to survive and grow in a changing environment is completely compliable. It is true that for any organization the choice for an entry mode is important, but it does not necessarily guarantees its success. Post entrance strategies termed as growth strategies hold similar great significance (Chung and Wang, 2007). In the context of global environment and era of advancement, it is a natural process that firms operates on a continuous trial to keep doing innovative undertakings to surpass their competitors in the race of success. This constant change in the environment leads every business firm to adapt to the changing environment with effective and innovative strategies of development. The same holds true for soft drink industry which is even more vulnerable to strict competition (Delios and Henisz, n.d.). Leading marketers like Coca Cola, PepsiCo , etc compete with each other to acquire the largest market share. So, in order to operate in align to market conditions, firms are required adopt sustainable strategies to survive and also rule the market. Ansoff Growth Matrix This model suggests that firms can successfully grow the business with existing or new products in the existing or new markets. Market penetration strategy refers to the idea that firms are selling increased number of products in the existing market. This may be attained by either acquiring shares from competitors or by attracting new customers (Etgar and Rachman-Moore, 2010). The firm may even develop new products (product development) or targeting the existing market (segmentation). Diversification refers to the concept of entering new markets with new products. Companies As in case of one of the leading soft drink marketers, Coca Cola, the firm has been on a continuous attempt to adopt ever changing innovative strategies to survive the adverse conditions of market at times of crisis. With implementation of some of the greatest sustainable strategies in global marketing, Coca Cola has maintained its successful position within the soft drink industry. Some of the innovative strategies of Coca Cola have been the following: Innovative advertising to communicate The firm has utilized every possible media available to advertise its products along with its technological back up. Right from the use of radio in the early days, the Company has transformed every media to be its own platform to promote its products (Ghorbal-Blal, 2011). The Company has always been portraying itself as a refreshing as well as pleasurable drink. It has launched some of its own campaigns successfully. These include The Coke adds life and Have a coke and smile in 1970s, Coke is it! and Cant beat the feeling in 1980s, and finally always life and Open happiness in 2000s. The Company sponsors major sport events across the globe and even recruits top celebrities and sportsmen to endorse its brands. These celebrities as brand ambassadors add extra glamour to its already created brand image. Through internet facilities, the company has been promoting its products to millions of population across the globe. In terms of approaches to market entry, Coca Cola has been in the forefront too (Glsoy, zkanl and Lynch, 2012). It is famous for its marketing expertise. The key business strength of Coca Cola is its brand image. It has undertaken great efforts as well as effective strategy for creating wide-reputed brand Distribution: The distribution network of Coca Cola follows two strategies; first is direct selling and another is indirect selling. In case of direct selling, the firm supplies different products to retailers. They may be retail stores, multiplex, malls, restaurants, etc. This brings only a small portion of the revenue. However, most of the revenue comes from indirect selling. The Company engages into partnership with several distributor agencies(Lee, 2013). These distributors are supplied with company products, and they in turn deliver those to the retailers. Source: (Woodside, 2010) International Labor Relations Management Strategy: Prior to initiation of operations in any nation, a Company must determine the method they plan to staff their facilities. Three frameworks exist for a firm to staff international operations, namely ethnocentric, polycentric, and geocentric. The approach of ethnocentric is when people belonging to home company are charged with managing of operations in foreign lands. Polycentric approach is when local people of foreign lands manage operations(Mavondo, 2001). Finally, geocentric approach is when a firm selects its best people to incorporate functions. So, this can be an amalgamation of home, host country, and third party managers. The success of Coca Cola can be linked to the choice of geocentric staffing approach. International Diversification Strategy: This strategy entails some changes in the current products which serve towards expansion of its potential. It is different product development such that it creates new customers that expand the market capability of actual products. This is almost conducted by creation of new brands. All the product lines that are offered by Coca Cola are enjoyable drinks and maintain effective hydration. 2. With reference to the given case study, it has been rightly stated that any global player must completely evaluate marketing opportunities before making their choice of which markets to enter. This may be examined with one of the leading soft drink companies within the industry and that is Coca Cola (Moen et al., 2009). The company y is well aware that its major business decision in selecting any specific market relies upon three factors, namely, the process of international market research, global market segmentation, and the approaches of market entry. All the above mentioned factors are well managed by Coca Cola. The Company Coca Cola is well-known for its marketing expertise and also it is said to implement innovative marketing strategy which is responsible to lead to success of the company over a century. The Company understands the need to undertake effective market research before plunging into any business decision(Rhee, 2008). This is the reason the company conducts thorough market research and studies nationally as well as internationally to understand its current position and also to assess its future position in the market. Often, market personnel of Coca Cola reach out to the market themselves and collect information directly from their customers. This provides them with unbiased and raw data about their products and customer feedback. Market segmentation refers to the technique of portioning market in groups of potential customers having similar needs or attributes and also exhibit same buying behavior (Timmor and Zif, 2005). It aims at analyzing as well as understanding market, finding key opportunities and also developing competitive advantage to capitalize on all opportunities. Coca Cola is said to segment its customers as per the following conditions: Geographical condition The Company has segmented its global market based on varied geographies. Several divisions have been created across the globe and heads of each division report to the parent company. Each division is bestowed with lot of autonomy for running various operations (Vrcelj, Jur i and Zaki, 2013). Place of consumption The firm has been selecting specific locations such as multiplex, railway stations, restaurant, and also at homes. Different product sizes are available for different areas of selection. Demographics The Company selects demographic base for its segmentation as it selects as per the age groups and also income level to promote its products. Product type The Company is said to segment its products based on product type of those products that are bought by the customers (Woodside, 2010). The whole market is grouped into cola products and non cola products. Presently the cola products produce major revenues, but that of non cola products are also on a rise. Targeting Coca Cola Company is said to target various segments with its multi-facet ads. The Companys primary market is youth with age limit 10-25 years and 25-40 years are secondary market. The cola products are targeted to people who seek for strong flavor, whereas diet cola as well as other variants are preferred by the health conscious ones. It uses non cola products for targeting the health-oriented target groups of the market. In terms of approaches to market entry, Coca Cola has been in the forefront too. It is famous for its marketing expertise (Zarankin and Senatore, 2005). The key business strength of Coca Cola is its brand image. It has undertaken great efforts as well as effective strategy for creating wide-reputed brand. Some of the strategies that enabled the firm to attain competitive advantage amidst all its competitors are: Marketing branding strategy Brand reflects a promise of satisfaction and quality on behalf of a company. Coca Cola has utilized all its marketing resources for creating a strong brand for itself that has been successful in attracting brand loyal customers across the globe. This is nothing but the result of sustained market efforts. Besides usual advertisements in newspapers, television and bill boards, it laid emphasis on promoting its products on universities, organizations, institutions to result in enhanced sales revenues. Global cum local strategy The Company has utilized its capability to adopt such a strategy that is a perfect blend of central as well as local market functions for achieving optimum marketing as well as distribution efficiency (Vrontis and Sharp, 2003). With this, the company maintains a potentially strong brand across the globe with introduction of local elements within the marketing to ensure that product image is aligned to that of the local culture and flavors. Introducing new product The Company has always preferred accounting for customer preferences as well as designing products as per their choices and demands. This is achieved by the company by an internal approach whereby the firm takes a stock of the internal assets as well as expertise in producing something that the customers would buy. Producing new products is essential for firms to survive in the competitive market (Ghosh, 2010). The Company sponsors major sport events across the globe and even recruits top celebrities and sportsmen to endorse its brands. These celebrities as brand ambassadors add extra glamour to its already created brand image. Conclusion: From the detailed discussion on strategic management of multinational firms, it may be concluded that in the present scenario of ever rising competition in the global trends and environment, it is a natural phenomenon that these companies need to ensure that they adopt more and more innovative strategies in the changing environment to survive and also grow sustainably in the competitive environment. An instance that is highlighted in the report is from the soft drink industry. As referred to in the given case study, Coca Cola is one of the leading soft drink marketer that captures largest market share through its products and services. One of the greatest strengths of the firm has been its brand image that has been built by the firm over the last few decades with strong commitment and persistence (Enserink, 2008). Some of the effective strategies have been contributing factors in case of Coca Cola. Marketing as well as advertising have been two most significant operations of the firm . Innovative marketing approaches have been adding on its success right from the beginning. The Company understands the need to undertake effective market research before plunging into any business decision. This is the reason the company conducts thorough market research and studies nationally as well as internationally to understand its current position and also to assess its future position in the market. It aims at analyzing as well as understanding market, finding key opportunities and also developing competitive advantage to capitalize on all opportunities. References Banalieva, E. and Dhanaraj, C. (2013). Home-region orientation in international expansion strategies.J Int Bus Stud, 44(2), pp.89-116. Chang, B. (2012). Strategies of Post-entry Foreign Expansion: Speed-up or Slow-down?.International Business Research, 5(8). Chinomona, R. and SibandaVaal, D. (2012). When Global Expansion Meets Local Realities in Retailing: Carrefour's Glocal Strategies in Taiwan.IJBM, 8(1). Choi, Y. (2010). Toward Developing Marketing Strategies in Turbulent Environment.Journal of Global Academy of Marketing Science, 20(4), pp.279-280. Chung, H. and Wang, Z. (2007). Analysis of Marketing Standardization Strategies.Journal of Global Marketing, 20(1), pp.39-59. Delios, A. and Henisz, W. (n.d.). Political Hazards, Experience and Sequential Entry Strategies: The International Expansion of Japanese Firms, 1980-1998.SSRN Journal. Enserink, M. (2008). GLOBAL HEALTH: Malaria Drugs, the Coca-Cola Way.Science, 322(5905), pp.1174-1174. Etgar, M. and Rachman-Moore, D. (2010). Geographical Expansion by International Retailers: A Study of Proximate Markets and Global Expansion Strategies.Journal of Global Marketing, 23(1), pp.5-15. Ghorbal-Blal, I. (2011). The role of middle management in the execution of expansion strategies: The case of developers selection of hotel projects.International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30(2), pp.272-282. Ghosh, B. (2010). Looking through Coca-Cola: Global Icons and the Popular.Public Culture, 22(2), pp.333-368. Glsoy, T., zkanl, . and Lynch, R. (2012). Effective international expansion strategies of emerging countries: the strategies that helped Arelik.Management Research Review, 36(1), pp.4-32. Lee, H. (2013). Joint Global Expansion Strategies between Supply Chain Participants and Logistics Service Providers.International Journal of Advanced Logistics, 2(2), pp.55-68. Mavondo, F. (2001). Global Competitive Strategies in the New World Economy.International Marketing Review, 18(3), pp.355-359. Moen, ., Bolstad, A., Pedersen, V. and Baks, O. (2009). International Market Expansion Strategies for High-Tech Firms: Examining the Importance of Different Partner Selection Criteria when Forming Strategic Alliances.IJBM, 5(1). Rhee, J. (2008). International Expansion Strategies of Korean Venture Firms: Entry Mode Choice and Performance.Asian Bus Manage, 7(1), pp.95-114. Timmor, Y. and Zif, J. (2005). A Typology of Marketing Strategies for Export.Journal of Global Marketing, 18(3-4), pp.37-78. Vrcelj, N., Jur i, A. and Zaki, K. (2013). Usvajanje Generi kih Globalnih Poslovnih Strategija - Marketing Aspekt // Adoption Of Generic Global Business Strategies Marketing Aspect.    , 1(9). Vrontis, D. and Sharp, I. (2003). The Strategic Positioning of Coca-Cola in their Global Marketing Operation.The Marketing Review, 3(3), pp.289-309. Woodside, A. (2010). Key Success and Failure Paths in Fashion Marketing Strategies.Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 1(1), pp.1-8. Zarankin, A. and Senatore, M. (2005). Archaeology in Antarctica: Nineteenth-Century Capitalism Expansion Strategies.International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 9(1), pp.43-56.