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Discussion Question #1:   It appears as if Anheuser-Busch and MolsonCoors (which now owns the  Miller beer brands in the United States), the two largest beer  manufacturers and distributors in the United States, plan on combating  the rise of non-beer competition in the alcohol consumption market  through aggressive promotional expenditures. Is this a viable option?  How much more beer advertisement, whether through mass media or on-site  promotions, can be effectively utilized to convince consumers to drink  beer? Are there not other options that beer manufacturers can utilize to  deal with the increasing competitive pressures from non-beer alcoholic  beverage manufacturers? Could changes in product offerings, pricing  structures, or distribution play important roles in the beer industries  response to this increasing competition?

Discussion Question #2:   The above discussion and question highlights one critical challenge  facing one industry dealing with one environmental variable  (competition). What other environmental challenges can you identify that  exist today in the remaining environmental forces? The possibilities  are numerous. For example, economically, the United States is becoming a  fragmented society. Popular press articles are constantly exploring the  widening gap between the haves and the have nots. How will this  impact the methods in which organizations market products? Are certain  industries more vulnerable to this widening gap?  Are other industries  likely to benefit from it? Popular press articles can also be utilized  to identify important environmental trends that would fall under the  categories of political forces, legal and regulatory forces,  technological forces, and socio-cultural forces.