PERSONAL LETTER

A Personal letter is sent from one individual to another individual or

organisation in order to address matters of an informal nature. Examples:

 Apologies
 Thank you's
 Personal reference
 Congratulations
 Invitations
 Condolences

They differ from formal types in that they can be used to express personal
feelings and depending on the relationship between the sender and receiver do not
require formal concise language.

Personal letters normally have five parts:

1. The Heading: This includes the address, line by line, with the last line
being the date. Skip a line after the heading. The heading is indented to
the middle of the page. If using preaddressed stationery, add just the
date.
2. The Greeting: The greeting always ends with a comma. The greeting
may be formal, beginning with the word "dear" and using the person's
given name or relationship, or it may be informal if appropriate.

 Formal: Dear Uncle Jim, Dear Mr. Wilkins,

 Informal: Hi Joe, Greetings,

Occasionally very personal greetings may end with an exclamation point for
emphasis.

3. The body: Also known as the main text. This includes the message you
want to write. Normally in a friendly letter, the beginning of paragraphs is
indented. If not indented, be sure to skip a space between paragraphs.
Skip a line after the greeting and before the close.
4. The complimentary close: This short expression is always a few words
on a single line. It ends in a comma. It should be indented to the same
column as the heading. Skip one to three spaces (two is usual) for the
signature line.
5. The signature line: Type or print your name. The handwritten signature
goes above this line and below the close. The signature line and the
handwritten signature are indented to the same column as the close. The
signature should be written in blue or black ink. If the letter is quite
informal, you may omit the signature line as long as you sign the letter.

Postscript: If your letter contains a postscript, begin it with P.S. and end it with
your initials. Skip a line after the signature line to begin the postscript.

Types of Personal Letters

People write and send personal letters for only a small number of people to
read — usually one or two. Writers can send personal letters for lots of different
reasons: short memos for business strategies, love letters between long-
distance sweethearts or even pen pal messages to foreign exchange students.
Senders usually handwrite personal letters, which emphasizes the personal
nature of the note.

 Love Letters: One of the most personal and intimate types of letter is a
love letter; senders write these letters to express their romantic feelings
for another person. Senders can write in happiness to a wife or boyfriend
living far away, but others might also write a letter in lament after a
breakup. Senders usually decorate these letters: Some add a perfume to
the paper and write with flair pens in fancy handwriting styles. Other
writers include pictures or draw hearts and lips onto the letter paper.
Some writers also date the letters as fond reminders for couples when
they get older. Love letters are also known for their over-the-top
descriptions of emotion and the recipient's beauty and kindness.
 Pen Pal Letters: Pen pals can still write to each other outside of school
hours. Pen pals are people who regularly write to each other; schools
usually encourage pen pals so students can practice writing in another
language to another student abroad. Students usually write the letters in
class before giving them to the teacher to send to a linked school. There,
the students will reply to the letters personally and send them back
through their own teacher. The content of these letters serves to help
with the classes' learning and exams, so teachers encourage relevant
questions such as "How old are you?" and "Where do you live?".
 "Dear John" Letters: "Dear John" is an expression and a name given to
letters sent by a woman to a man with whom she wants to break up.
American soldiers in the second world war often received "Dear John"
 letters because they had been overseas and at war for too long. Their
wives and girlfriends usually gave the reason for their split as having met
a new man. The meaning behind the word "John" is not fully confirmed,
but experts have offered their own opinions. One theory holds that John
was a very common name for soldiers in the 1920s and '30s. Another
theory holds that the phrase stemmed from a pre-war radio show called
"Dear John" presented as a letter from a gossipy female character. To
reflect modern sexual equality, the letters men write to women with
whom they want to break up are called "Dear Jane" letters.
 Personal Business Letters: Personal business letters can be sent from
one office employee to another or from a dissatisfied or upset customer.
Employees usually send interoffice letters as personal reminders for
upcoming meetings or to detail new business strategies. Customers
usually write personal letters in complaint, but they can also serve to
praise an employee. Contrary to other personal letters, senders usually
type business letters on a computer and print them out. However, some
customers will still send handwritten letters to show how personally
dissatisfied or pleased someone is.

Conventions

 Addresses:
o Your Address:
You must always remember to include your own address on the top
right-hand side of the page. This will enable the person that you are
writing to, to be able to reply.
o The Address of the person you are writing to:
This address should be displayed beneath your address on the left-hand
side, remember to include the name of the person that you are writing
to.

 Date: This should be displayed on the right-hand side of the page on

the line beneath your address and should be written in full format:
e.g. 1st January 2001

 Salutation & Greeting:

Dear Mr Jones,
The above shows the format of the greeting line. The salutation
formats are shown below:
 Mr - for a male
Mrs - for a married female
Miss - for an unmarried female
Ms - for a female whose status is unknown or would prefer to remain
anonymous
Dr - for a person with the status of a doctor

The salutation should be followed by the surname only (not the first
name).

If you are familiar with the person that you are writing to then it may
be more appropriate to include their first name rather than using their
title. This is a decision that you will need to make based on your
relationship with the person in question.

 Concluding:
o Yours sincerely,
You should conclude with the words: "Yours sincerely,".

Followed by:

o Your signature
Sign your name, then print it underneath the signature.

You may wish to conclude with something more friendly e.g. "All the
best", "Best regards," etc.

Content

Consider your relationship and familiarity with the person or organisation

with whom you are writing to and adjust the level of formality accordingly.

Further Considerations

Expressing Yourself: Write by hand; your penmanship is a piece of you and by

writing by hand it gives the recipient something completely unique and special.

Mementoes: Enclose a photo; in some circumstances your recipient might have

forgotten about or never have seen you. Alternatively enclose a memento of a
shared experience (these can be photocopied, rather than sending the original).
From the Heart: Remind your recipient of your shared experiences; or share one
thing about that person that you admire, compliments can go a long way to building
on relationships.

Avoid Email: Email has made it easy to jot down a few words, spell check and hit
send. When handwriting use conventional snail mail, obviously checking for
spelling and grammar. Know what you are going to say and how you’d like to write
it before you start, there is no delete button in real life.

Model
 Ashley Kalinski
1754 Orange Street
FULLARTON SA 5063

12 January 2012

Hi Sophie,

I’m writing this from the cutest little café in New York! I feel like I’m
on Friends!
Mum’s been making sure we don’t miss one sight in the whole city, so
we’ve been walking practically all day. So far we’ve seen Times Square,
Broadway, Central Park and The Plaza. I caught a glimpse of the Statue
of Liberty but we’re going to go and see it properly tomorrow!
The streets are super busy here and everyone looks amazing in their
winter coats and hats. I had to buy mittens today! I miss being able to
feel my fingers! Hope you’re enjoying your holidays.
Miss you times a million, see you back in Adelaide on the 20th!

Love,

Ashley

PS I’m bringing you back a souvenir!

 BUSINESS LETTERS
A business letter is more formal than a personal letter. It should have a
margin of at least one inch on all four edges. It is always written on 8½"x11" (or
metric equivalent) unlined stationery.

Business writing is different

Writing for a business audience is usually quite different than writing in the
humanities, social sciences, or other academic disciplines. Business writing strives
to be crisp and succinct rather than evocative or creative; it stresses specificity and
accuracy. This distinction does not make business writing superior or inferior to
other styles. Rather, it reflects the unique purpose and considerations involved
when writing in a business context.

When you write a business document, you must assume that your audience
has limited time in which to read it and is likely to skim. Your readers have an
interest in what you say insofar as it affects their working world. They want to know
the “bottom line”: the point you are making about a situation or problem and how
they should respond.

Business writing varies from the conversational style often found in email
messages to the more formal, legalistic style found in contracts. A style between
these two extremes is appropriate for the majority of memos, emails, and letters.
Writing that is too formal can alienate readers, and an attempt to be overly casual
may come across as insincere or unprofessional. In business writing, as in all
writing, you must know your audience.

In most cases, the business letter will be the first impression that you make
on someone. Though business writing has become less formal over time, you
should still take great care that your letter’s content is clear and that you have
proofread it carefully.

Pronouns and active versus passive voice

Personal pronouns (like I, we, and you) are important in letters and memos.
In such documents, it is perfectly appropriate to refer to yourself as I and to the
reader asyou. Be careful, however, when you use the pronoun we in a business
letter that is written on company stationery, since it commits your company to what
you have written. When stating your opinion, use I; when presenting company
policy, use we.

The best writers strive to achieve a style that is so clear that their messages
cannot be misunderstood. One way to achieve a clear style is to minimize your use
of the passive voice. Although the passive voice is sometimes necessary, often it
not only makes your writing dull but also can be ambiguous or overly impersonal.
Here’s an example of the same point stated in passive voice and in the active
voice:

Passive: The net benefits of subsidiary divestiture were grossly

overestimated.

[Who did the overestimating?]

Active: The Global Finance Team grossly overestimated the net benefits of
subsidiary divestiture.

The second version is clearer and thus preferable.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. What if you are the head of
the Global Finance Team? You may want to get your message across without
calling excessive attention to the fact that the error was your team’s fault. The
passive voice allows you to gloss over an unflattering point—but you should use it
sparingly.

Focus and specificity

Business writing should be clear and concise. Take care, however, that your
document does not turn out as an endless series of short, choppy sentences. Keep
in mind also that “concise” does not have to mean “blunt”—you still need to think
about your tone and the audience for whom you are writing. Consider the following
examples:

After carefully reviewing this proposal, we have decided to prioritize other

projects this quarter.

Nobody liked your project idea, so we are not going to give you any funding.

The first version is a weaker statement, emphasizing facts not directly

relevant to its point. The second version provides the information in a simple and
direct manner. But you don’t need to be an expert on style to know that the first
phrasing is diplomatic and respectful (even though it’s less concise) as compared
with the second version, which is unnecessarily harsh and likely to provoke a
negative reaction.

Parts of a Business Letter

 The Heading (The Retern Address) or Letterhead: Companies usually

use printed paper where heading or letterhead is specially designed at the
top of the sheet. It bears all the necessary information about the
organisation’s identity.
 Date: Date of writing. The month should be fully spelled out and the year
written with all four digits October 12, 2005 (12 October 2005 - UK style).
The date is aligned with the return address. The number of the date is
pronounced as an ordinal figure, though the endings st, nd, rd, th, are often
omitted in writing. The article before the number of the day is pronounced
but not written. In the body of the letter, however, the article is written when
the name of the month is not mentioned with the day.
 The Inside Address: In a business or formal letter you should give the
address of the recipient after your own address. Include the recipient's
name, company, address and postal code. Add job title if appropriate.
Separate the recipient's name and title with a comma. Double check that
you have the correct spelling of the recipient 's name.
The Inside Address is always on the left margin. If an 8 1/2" x 11" paper is
folded in thirds to fit in a standard 9" business envelope, the inside address
can appear through the window in the envelope.
 The Greeting: Also called the salutation. The type of salutation depends on
your relationship with the recipient. It normally begins with the word "Dear"
and always includes the person's last name. Use every resource possible to
address your letter to an actual person. If you do not know the name or the
sex of of your reciever address it to Dear Madam/Sir (or Dear Sales
Manager or Dear Human Resources Director). As a general rule the
greeting in a business letter ends in a colon (US style). It is also acceptable
to use a comma (UK style).
 The Subject Line (optional): Its inclusion can help the recipient in dealing
successfully with the aims of your letter. Normally the subject sentence is
preceded with the wordSubject: or Re: Subject line may be emphasized by
underlining, using bold font, or all captial letters. It is usually placed one line
below the greeting but alternatively can be located directly after the "inside
address," before the "greeting."
 The Body Paragraphs: The body is where you explain why you’re writing.
It’s the main part of the business letter. Make sure the receiver knows who
 you are and why you are writing but try to avoid starting with "I". Use a new
paragraph when you wish to introduce a new idea or element into your
letter. Depending on the letter style you choose, paragraphs may be
indented. Regardless of format, skip a line between paragraphs.
 The Complimentary Close: This short, polite closing ends always with a
comma. It is either at the left margin or its left edge is in the center,
depending on the Business Letter Style that you use. It begins at the same
column the heading does. The traditional rule of etiquette in Britain is that a
formal letter starting "Dear Sir or Madam" must end "Yours faithfully", while
a letter starting "Dear " must end "Yours sincerely". (Note: the second word
of the closing is NOT capitalized)
 Signature and Writer’s identification: The signature is the last part of the
letter. You should sign your first and last names. The signature line may
include a second line for a title, if appropriate. The signature should start
directly above the first letter of the signature line in the space between the
close and the signature line. Use blue or black ink.
 Initials, Enclosures, Copies: Initials are to be included if someone other
than the writer types the letter. If you include other material in the letter, put
'Enclosure', 'Enc.', or ' Encs. ', as appropriate, two lines below the last entry.
cc means a copy or copies are sent to someone else.

Types of Business Letters

 Sales Letters: Typical sales letters start off with a very strong
statement to capture the interest of the reader. Since the purpose is
to get the reader to do something, these letters include strong calls to
action, detail the benefit to the reader of taking the action and include
information to help the reader to act, such as including a telephone
number or website link.
 Order Letters: Order letters are sent by consumers or businesses to
a manufacturer, retailer or wholesaler to order goods or services.
These letters must contain specific information such as model
number, name of the product, the quantity desired and expected
price. Payment is sometimes included with the letter.
 Complaint Letters: The words and tone you choose to use in a letter
complaining to a business may be the deciding factor on whether
your complaint is satisfied. Be direct but tactful and always use a
professional tone if you want the company to listen to you.
 Adjustment Letters: An adjustment letter is normally sent in
response to a claim or complaint. If the adjustment is in the
 customer’s favor, begin the letter with that news. If not, keep your
tone factual and let the customer know that you understand the
complaint.
 Inquiry Letters: Inquiry letters ask a question or elicit information
from the recipient. When composing this type of letter, keep it clear
and succinct and list exactly what information you need. Be sure to
include your contact information so that it is easy for the reader to
respond.
 Follow-Up Letter: Follow-up letters are usually sent after some type
of initial communication. This could be a sales department thanking a
customer for an order, a businessman reviewing the outcome of a
meeting or a job seeker inquiring about the status of his application.
In many cases, these letters are a combination thank-you note and
sales letter.
 Letters of Recommendation: Prospective employers often ask job
applicants for letters of recommendation before they hire them. This
type of letter is usually from a previous employer or professor, and it
describes the sender’s relationship with and opinion of the job
seeker.
 Acknowledgment Letters: Acknowledgment letters act as simple
receipts. Businesses send them to let others know that they have
received a prior communication, but action may or may not have
taken place.
 Cover Letter: Cover letters usually accompany a package, report or
other merchandise. They are used to describe what is enclosed, why
it is being sent and what the recipient should do with it, if there is any
action that needs to be taken. These types of letters are generally
very short and succinct.
 Letters of Resignation: When an employee plans to leave his job, a
letter of resignation is usually sent to his immediate manager giving
him notice and letting him know when the last day of employment will
be. In many cases, the employee also will detail his reason for
leaving the company.
 Model

5 Hill Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53700

March 15, 2005

Ms. Helen Jones

President
Jones, Jones & Jones
123 International Lane
Boston, Massachusetts 01234
Dear Ms. Jones:

Ah, business letter format-there are block formats, and indented formats, and modified
block formats . . . and who knows what others. To simplify matters, we're demonstrating the
block format on this page, one of the two most common formats. For authoritative advice
about all the variations, we highly recommend The Gregg Reference Manual, 9th ed. (New
York: McGraw-Hill, 2001), a great reference tool for workplace communications. There
seems to be no consensus about such fine points as whether to skip a line after your return
address and before the date: some guidelines suggest that you do; others do not. Let's
hope that your business letter succeeds no matter which choice you make!

When you use the block form to write a business letter, all the information is typed flush left,
with one-inch margins all around. First provide your own address, then skip a line and
provide the date, then skip one more line and provide the inside address of the party to
whom the letter is addressed. If you are using letterhead that already provides your
address, do not retype that information; just begin with the date. For formal letters, avoid
abbreviations where possible.

Skip another line before the salutation, which should be followed by a colon. Then write the
body of your letter as illustrated here, with no indentation at the beginnings of paragraphs.
Skip lines between paragraphs.

After writing the body of the letter, type the closing, followed by a comma, leave 3 blank
lines, then type your name and title (if applicable), all flush left. Sign the letter in the blank
space above your typed name. Now doesn't that look professional?

Sincerely,

John Doe
Administrative Assistant
 5 Hill Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53700

15 March 2005

Ms. Helen Jones

President
Jones, Jones & Jones
123 International Lane
Boston, Massachusetts 01234

Dear Ms. Jones:

Ah, business letter format--there are block formats, and

indented formats, and modified block formats . . . and who
knows what others. To simplify matters, we're demonstrating
the indented format on this page, one of the two most common
formats. For authoritative advice about all the variations,
we highly recommend The Gregg Reference Manual, 9th ed. (New
York: McGraw-Hill, 2001), a great reference tool for workplace
communications. There seems to be no consensus about such
fine points as whether to skip a line after your return
address and before the date: some guidelines suggest that you
do; others do not. Let's hope that your business letter
succeeds no matter which choice you make!

If you are using the indented form, place your address at

the top, with the left edge of the address aligned with the
center of the page. Skip a line and type the date so that it
lines up underneath your address. Type the inside address and
salutation flush left; the salutation should be followed by a
colon. For formal letters, avoid abbreviations.

Indent the first line of each paragraph one-half inch.

Skip lines between paragraphs.

Instead of placing the closing and signature lines

flush left, type them in the center, even with the address
and date above, as illustrated here. Now doesn't that look
professional?

Sincerely,

John Doe
Company, Inc.

123 Alphabet Drive

Los Angeles, California 90002

15 October 2012

Mr. John Doe

Customer Service Representative

Widgets Galore, Inc.

987 Widget Street

Miami, Florida 33111

Dear Mr. Doe:

I am writing you concerning a recent purchase of widgets. Approximately two weeks ago, on
October 1, I ordered a total of 50 widgets for Company, Inc. via the Widgets Galore client webpage.
I received an email notification two days later confirming the receipt of payment and the shipment of
the widgets. According to your website, shipments should reach their destination within 3-5
business days of being sent, but I have yet to receive the widgets. Do you have any information on
what may have happened to delay the shipment or where the shipment is currently?

I have worked with Widgets Galore, Inc. in the past and have the greatest confidence in your
products and customer service. We need the shipment of widgets soon, however, and I hoped you
might be able to provide me with an idea of when I can expect them. Thank you in advance for any
help you might be able to offer.

Sincerely,

Sam Brown

Vice President of Company, Inc.

555-555-5555

s.brown@companyinc.com
 WORD DIVISION
The purpose of the written word is to communicate, and written matter
should be easy to read. However, the splitting of words at the end of a line can
impede the flow.

The main rule in English word division is, that the pronunciation of the first
part of the word be recognisable before the eye reaches the second part in the
succeeding line. Thus, the word coincidence must be split co-inci-dence to ensure
that it is not confused with coin-age. All other considerations are secondary to this
rule.

 In general, words are spilt into syllables, e.g. com-bine, walk-ing, vis-u-alis-
ation, etc. In compound words it is suitable to split the words, e.g. lifetime,
etc.
 Etymology should also be taken into consideration, e.g. geri-atrics.
 It is suitable to divide a word after a prefix, e.g. anti-bacterial, not
antibacterial, or before a suffix, e.g. count-able.
 Pronunciation should also be considered, hence, photo-graph, but photogra-
pher, and not photo-grapher.
 Never split an English word between two letters that form one sound, i.e. –
ea-, -th-, -sh-, etc. Hence read-able not re-adable, worth-less not worthless,
wash-ing, not was-hing.
 Never split a word so that the second part is unpronounceable, e.g. not
probab-le but prob-able.
 A split which gives only two letters at the beginning of the second line is
never permissible, and one which gives only two letters at the end of the first
line is undesirable. (Exceptions are prefixes, such as re-, di-, etc.)
 Never split a word such that the last line of a paragraph consists only of the
second part of the word.
 Some words cannot be split, for example, sources. Sour-ces misleads the
reader into thinking the word has to do with sour. Other words simply cannot
be pronounced if split: brou-ght, thoug-ht etc.

Word Division Rules

Word division is used to maintain a relatively even right margin. However,

any division that would cause the reader to have difficulty in comprehending or
pronouncing a word should be avoided.

Because electronic dictionaries and word-processing programs may not

always agree with authority for word-division—generally the current edition of
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary—it is important to review and adjust word-
division decisions. This will be easier to accomplish by using manual rather than
automatic hyphenation.

Do Not Divide:

o One-syllable words: drilled, through, strength.

o Amounts of money written in figures: $1,756.09
o Abbreviations: UCLA
o Contractions: wouldn't, couldn't, don't
o A person's name.
o Words with fewer than 6 letters (no matter how many syllables): pony,
today, going.
o The last word in a page.
o The last word on any more than two consecutive lines.
o The one-letter syllable at the beginning of a word: (a-round) In order to
discourage incorrect word division, some dictionaries no longer mark one-
letter syllables at the beginning or the end of a word.
o Do not separate word groups that need to be read together, such as page
and number; month and year; title and surname, etc. Use a nonbreaking
space when keying these groups.

Mrs. Dominguez; 465 miles; 10:30 a.m.; Chapter 15; Adam Hagerty, Jr.

Divide:

 Between syllables only: pen-cil, sen-tence, sec-tion. (A dictionary may be

necessary for determining syllabication.)
 Only at the already-existing hyphens in a hyphen¬ated word: mother-in-law,
self-sufficient.
 After the basic word in words ending in "ing": fall-ing, sit-ting
 After a one-letter syllable: sepa-rate, capi-tal
 Between two one-letter syllables: gradu-ation, humili-ation
 Dates at the comma: July 4, 1992
 At the point of compound in compound words: Micro-soft
 Coke is it -- it being the #1 nonalcoholic beverage company, as well as one
of the world's most recognizable brands. The Coca-Cola Company is home to 16
billion dollar brands, including four of the top five soft drinks: Coca-Cola, Diet Coke,
Fanta, and Sprite. Other top brands include Minute Maid, Powerade, and
vitaminwater. All told, the company owns or licenses and markets more than 500
beverage brands, mainly sparkling drinks but also waters, juice drinks, energy and
sports drinks, and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. With the world's largest
beverage distribution system, The Coca-Cola Company reaches thirsty consumers
in more than 200 countries.

Geographic Reach

The world's largest beverage company rings up nearly 58% of its sales
outside the US, in some 200 countries worldwide across Eurasia, Africa, Europe,
North America, and the Pacific Region. Important international markets include
Asia and Latin America.

Operations

It owns and market four of the world's top five nonalcoholic sparkling
beverage brands: Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite.

In line with its Vision 2020 strategy, which seeks growth opportunities and
operational efficiencies, The Coca-Cola Company adopted a new global operating
structure in 2013. The company's business is divided into three operating
segments: Coca-Cola International, Coca-Cola Americas, and Bottling Investments
Group (BIG). The Coca-Cola International business consists of the company's
Europe, Pacific, and Eurasia & Africa groups, while Coca-Cola Americas includes
the company's North America and Latin America groups. BIG focuses on the
beverage company's owned bottling operations outside of North America.

The Coca-Cola Company's bottling investments help to maximize the

efficiency of its production, distribution, and marketing efforts. They include a 29%
stake in Mexico's bottler Coca-Cola FEMSA (now the largest independent Coke
bottler), 23% of European bottler Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling, and 29% of Coca-
Cola Amatil, a bottler and distributor of Coke products in Australia, New Zealand,
and surrounding countries.

Sales and Marketing

Not only is Coca-Cola one of the world's most recognizable and valuable
brands, but The Coca-Cola Company supports the largest beverage distribution
system in the world, made up of company-owned or controlled bottling and
distribution operations, as well as independently owned bottling partners,
distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. Beverages bearing trademarks owned by or
licensed to them account for 1.9 billion of the approximately 57 billion beverage
servings of all types consumed worldwide every day.

To keep its brand foremost in the mind of consumers, the company incurred
advertising expenses in excess of $3.26 billion in 2013, about the same as in 2012.

Financial Performance

After experiencing straight five years of revenue growth, in 2013 The Coca-
Cola Company's revenues declined by 2% due to the unfavorable impact of its
geographic mix (with growth in lower revenue per unit emerging and developing
markets exceeding growth in developed markets). The unfavorable impact of
foreign currency fluctuations also decreased consolidated net operating revenues
by 2%.

After experiencing net income growth in 2012 due to higher revenues and a
decline in other operating charges, in 2013 The Coca-Cola Company's net income
dropped by 5% due to a decrease in revenues and operating income.

In 2013 the company’s operating cash inflow decreased by 1% due to a

decline in the net income and a change in working capital.

Strategy

The popularity of soft drinks, especially in mature markets, has been on the
decline since about 2005 as negative publicity about obesity and other health risks
continues to threaten sales. As a result, The Coca-Cola Company and other top
soft drink makers are turning toward other parts of their noncarbonated product
portfolio for growth, such as fruit juices, sports and energy drinks, and bottled water
and tea beverages.

The Coca-Cola Company is also looking to relatively undeveloped markets

with a growing middle class and money to spend on soft drinks and juices. To that
end, it announced it will invest $5 billion with its bottling partners in Africa by 2020,
raising its investment in the region to $17 billion from 2010 to 2020. Coke plans to
build new manufacturing capacity, develop sustainability initiatives and create jobs.

In a move that supports expanding its fruit-based drinks portfolio and

investing in Africa, in late 2014 The Coca-Cola Company announced a partnership
with alcoholic beverage company SABMiller and South Africa's Gutsche Family
Investments to create Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, the continent's largest bottler.
The new company will serve about a dozen high-growth markets, where
disposable incomes and the population are growing, and handle about 40% of the
beverage company's African volume. In exchange for its $260 million investment,
The Coca-Cola Company will receive an 11% interest in the bottler and SABMiller's
global Appletiser brand of carbonated juices as well as about 20 other African and
Latin American non-alcoholic beverage brands. Gutsche Family Investments
already controls Coca-Cola Sabco, a Coke bottler since 1940 with operations in
seven African countries. Coca-Cola Beverages Africa will absorb most of
SABMiller's non-alcoholic operations on the continent as well as Coca-Cola
Sabco's plants.

That year the company teamed up with Keurig Green Mountain, entering
into a 10-year global strategic agreement to collaborate on the development and
introduction of The Coca-Cola Company global brand portfolio for use in Keurig
Green Mountain's Keurig Kold at-home beverage system.

In 2013 Coca-Cola opened a new bottling plant in Myanmar as part of a

planned $200 million investment during the next five years there which also
includes adding more than 22,000 jobs during that time period.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Diversifying its portfolio, in 2014 the company acquired a 16.7% equity stake
in Monster Beverage Corp., a leading maker of energy drinks. Under the terms of
the deal, The Coca-Cola Company will transfer ownership of its worldwide energy
business, including NOS, Full Throttle, Burn, Mother, Play and Power Play, and
Relentless, to Monster; and Monster will transfer its non-energy business, including
Hansen's Natural Sodas, Peace Tea, Hubert's Lemonade and Hansen's Juice
Products, to The Coca-Cola Company.

In 2013 it bought ZICO Beverages, a maker of ZICO Pure Premium Coconut

Water.

Growing its distribution network, in 2013 The Coca-Cola Company bought

Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Company, the sixth-largest independent Coca-
Cola bottler in the nation that serves nine northern California counties.
 Coca-Cola es la empresa No. 1 de bebidas no alcohólicas, así como una de
las marcas más reconocidas del mundo. The Coca-Cola Company es el hogar de
16 mil millones de marcas en dólares, entre ellos cuatro de los cinco mejores
refrescos: Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta y Sprite. Otras marcas principales incluyen
Minute Maid, Powerade, y vitaminwater. En total, la compañía posee licencias y
comercializa más de 500 marcas de bebidas, no solo bebidas gaseosas sino
también agua, jugos, bebidas deportivas y energizantes, tés listos para beber y
cafés. Con el sistema de distribución de bebidas más grande del mundo, The
Coca-Cola Company llega a los consumidores sedientos en más de 200 países.

Alcance geográfico

Mayor compañía de bebidas del mundo con casi el 58% de sus ventas fuera
de los EE.UU., en unos 200 países de todo el mundo a través de Eurasia, África,
Europa, América del Norte y la región del Pacífico. Los mercados internacionales
más importantes son Asia y América Latina.

Operaciones

Posee un mercado de cuatro de las cinco marcas de bebidas no alcohólicas

espumosas del mundo: Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta y Sprite.

Con su estrategia Visión 2020, busca oportunidades de crecimiento y

eficiencia operativa, The Coca-Cola Company adoptó una nueva estructura
operativa global en 2013. El negocio de la empresa se divide en tres segmentos
operativos: Coca-Cola Internacional, Coca-Cola Americas, y embotellado
Investments Group (BIG). El negocio de Coca-Cola Internacional consta de
Europa, el Pacífico, y Eurasia y África los grupos de la sociedad, mientras que
Coca-Cola Américas incluye grupos de América del Norte y América Latina de la
empresa. BIG se centra en las operaciones de embotellado de propiedad de la
empresa de bebidas fuera de América del Norte.
 Inversiones en el embotellado de The Coca-Cola Company ayudan a
maximizar la eficacia de sus esfuerzos de producción, distribución y
comercialización. Ellos incluyen una participación del 29% en la embotelladora de
México Coca-Cola FEMSA (ahora el embotellador más grande de Coca-Cola
independiente), el 23% de embotellador Europea Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling, y el
29% de Coca-Cola Amatil, un embotellador y distribuidor de productos de Coca-
Cola en Australia, Nueva Zelanda, y los países vecinos.

Ventas y Marketing

No sólo es la Coca-Cola una de las marcas más reconocidas y valiosas del

mundo, The Coca-Cola Company es compatible con el sistema de distribución de
bebidas más grande del mundo, formado por las operaciones de embotellado y
distribución con participación mayoritaria de la empresa, así como de gestión
privada, socios, distribuidores, mayoristas y minoristas. Bebidas que representan
1.9 mil millones de los aproximadamente 57 millones de consumiciones de
bebidas de todo tipo que se consumen en todo el mundo todos los días.

Para mantener su marca más importante en la mente de los consumidores,

la compañía incurrió en gastos de publicidad de más de 3260 millones dólares en
2013, casi lo mismo que en 2012.

Desempeño Financiero

Después de experimentar durante cinco años un crecimiento de los

ingresos, en 2013 los ingresos de The Coca-Cola Company se redujeron en un
2%, debido al impacto desfavorable de su mezcla geográfica (con un crecimiento
de los ingresos más bajo por unidad mercados emergentes y en desarrollo
superen el crecimiento en los mercados desarrollados). El impacto desfavorable
de las fluctuaciones de moneda extranjera también disminuyó los ingresos
operativos netos consolidados en un 2%.

Después de experimentar el crecimiento del ingreso neto en 2012, debido a

mayores ingresos y una disminución en otros gastos de explotación, en 2013 los
ingresos netos de The Coca-Cola Company se redujeron en un 5%, debido a una
disminución de los ingresos y utilidad de operación.

En 2013 el ingreso de efectivo operativo de la compañía disminuyó un 1%,

debido a una disminución de los ingresos netos y un cambio en el capital de
trabajo.
 Estrategia

La popularidad de las bebidas no alcohólicas, especialmente en los

mercados maduros, ha estado en declive desde alrededor de 2005 como la
publicidad negativa acerca de la obesidad y otros riesgos de salud sigue
amenazando ventas. Como resultado, The Coca-Cola Company y otros principales
fabricantes de refrescos están dando vuelta hacia otras partes de su cartera de
productos sin gas para el crecimiento, tales como zumos de fruta, bebidas
deportivas y energéticas, agua mineral y bebidas de té.

The Coca-Cola Company también está buscando a los mercados

relativamente subdesarrollados con una creciente clase media y dinero para
gastar en refrescos y jugos. Para ello, anunció que invertirá $ 5000 millones con
sus socios embotelladores en África en 2020, aumentando su inversión en la
región a $ 17 millones de dólares de 2010 a 2020. Coca-Cola planea construir
nueva capacidad de producción, el desarrollo de iniciativas de sostenibilidad y
crear puestos de trabajo.

En un movimiento que apoya la expansión de su portafolio de bebidas a

base de frutas y la inversión en África, a finales de 2014 The Coca-Cola Company
anunció una alianza con la compañía de bebidas alcohólicas SABMiller y
GUTSCHE Inversiones familiares de Sudáfrica para crear Coca-Cola Beverages
África, el continente más grande embotellador. La nueva compañía servirá como
una docena de mercados de alto crecimiento, donde los ingresos disponibles y la
población están creciendo, y manejar alrededor de 40% del volumen de África de
la empresa de bebidas. A cambio de su $ 260 millones de inversión, The Coca-
Cola Company recibirá un interés del 11% en la embotelladora y marca Appletiser
global de SABMiller de jugos, así como otras 20 marcas de bebidas no alcohólicas
de África y América Latina. Gutsche Family Investments ya controla Coca-Cola
Sabco's, un embotellador de Coca-Cola desde 1940 con operaciones en siete
países africanos. Coca-Cola Beverages África absorberá la mayor parte de las
operaciones no alcohólicas de SABMiller en el continente, así como las plantas de
Coca-Cola Sabco's.

Ese año, la empresa se asoció con Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, de

entrar en un acuerdo estratégico global de 10 años para colaborar en el desarrollo
y la introducción de la cartera global de marca Coca-Cola Company para su uso
en Keurig Kold sistema de bebidas en el hogar de Keurig Green Mountain.

En 2013 Coca-Cola abrió una nueva planta embotelladora en Myanmar

como parte de una inversión prevista $ 200 millones durante los próximos cinco
años allí, que también incluye la adición de más de 22.000 puestos de trabajo
durante ese período de tiempo.

Fusiones y Adquisiciones

La diversificación de su cartera, en 2014 la compañía adquirió una

participación del 16,7% en Monster Beverage Corp., un fabricante líder de bebidas
energéticas. Bajo los términos del acuerdo, The Coca-Cola Company transferirá la
propiedad de su negocio de la energía en todo el mundo, incluyendo NOS, Full
Throttle, Burn, Madre, Reproducción y Power Play, y Implacable, a Monster; y
Monster transferirá su negocio no energético, incluyendo de Hansen Natural
Sodas, Paz té, limonada de Hubert y Juice Products de Hansen, a The Coca-Cola
Company.

En 2013 compró ZICO bebidas, un fabricante de ZICO puro premium Agua

de Coco.

El crecimiento de su red de distribución, en 2013 The Coca-Cola Company

compró Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Company, el sexto mayor embotellador
independiente de Coca-Cola en la nación que sirve nueve condados del norte de
California.