Case Study : Leading The Starbucks Way

Starbucks is rated as the number one World’s leading coffee distributor. Customers satisfactions are always be in the center of their business and the company works consistently to maintain it as customer look forward to a unique experience when visiting one of Starbuck stores. With over 12,000 stores worldwide, Starbucks has always aimed at achieving and maintaining competition in the industry.  Starbucks success reside in many factors :  the company is admire and respected worldwide,employees are recognized and respected for what they contribute to the success of the company. Open communication

1. In the beginning, how was Starbucks different from other coffee options for coffee drinkers in the United States? What activities and assets did Starbucks leverage to differentiate itself from competitors?

Howard Schultz’s sends personal calls for feedback and advice which humanizes the communication, he conveys his goals and ideals of business through motivational speeches and training that he carries out, making sure that there is an emotional connection with the staff. He relies mostly on personal communication with both the higher level department and with the general lower level management. The general goals are communicated among the ranks therefore the tram spirit is driven by it. (Sardelli)

Several key success factors exist for Starbucks, a leader in the coffee industry. They include

In this paper, I will talk about Starbucks Company. I will define the influence of the vision, and mission of the company and primary stakeholders along with their overall success. An examination will be conducted to categorize five forces of struggle and their effect on the corporation. I will carry out a SWOT analysis to determine the opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses. Founded on the SWOT analysis, a technique of opportunities and advantages will be exploited while threats and weaknesses will be diminished. Several types and levels of techniques will be talked over to operate the profitability and competitiveness. I will outline a plan of communication to make approaches known to all investors. Two corporate authorities will be designated to assess the efficiency of the regulating managers. I will also assess the effectiveness of management within the Company and come up with sanctions for upgrading.

Starbucks advertises two essential mission statements. First and foremost, it strives to “establish [ourselves] as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while [we] grow(s).” (Starbucks) Reflective of its mission, Starbucks bases its strategic campaign and communications on six indispensable philosophies; structuring a pleasant work environment in which employees are treated with “respect and dignity,” incorporating diversity in all business aspects, purchasing, roasting and delivering fresh coffee, retaining satisfied customers, giving back to the community and environment, and developing

In 1971 Starbucks started as a small coffee shop that specialized in selling whole arabica beans in Seattle’s Pike Place market. After being inspired by Milan’s coffee culture - especially the role it espresso bars played in the Italians’ everyday social lives - Starbucks opened an espresso bar in the corner of their shop. Their ideal was to create a ‘third place’ - besides home and work - where people could relax and enjoy a good cup of coffee (Moon & Quelch, 2006). Over two decades the company enlarged and served over 20 million unique customers in over 5,000 stores around the world. Their brand strategy could best be described as ‘live coffee’, which meant creating an ‘experience’ around the consumption of coffee that fitted into people 's everyday lives (Moon & Quelch, 2006). Three components were fundamental for their branding strategy. First of all, the coffee itself which should represent the highest-quality coffee in the world, derived from Africa, Central and South America, and the Asia-Pacific regions (Moon & Quelch, 2006). Secondly, the atmosphere should be inviting and make customers feel comfortable. The ambiance in stores should make customers want to stay (Moon & Quelch, 2006). Thirdly, service - customer intimacy - is a key factor within their brand strategy, which aims to create an experience for the customers, and aims at building customer loyalty (Moon & Quelch, 2006). The employees - called ‘partners’ - are

Cognition gives the companies information on how consumers respond to different marketing stimuli they face for the products used. It has to do with customer’s thinking and how do they behave toward a particular product. To be more specific and also reading the book “cognition refers to the mental structures and processes involved in thinking, understanding, and interpreting stimuli and events.” (Peter & Olson, pg. 21)

The context change in form that Starbucks found itself competing with smaller chains that resembled its former pre-expansion model with competitors focusing in creating symbolic-expressive value and fast food restaurants that had started to offer specialty coffee with more aggressive advertisement at a lower cost. The competitive context changed for Starbucks because it’s focus in mass distribution channels and its retail footprint strategy stated its product within a standard performance product value; this affected the value perception of the product.

Starbucks dates back from 1971 and is based in Seattle, Washington. The company was founded by Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Zev Siegl and it

Starbuck’s strategy focused on three components; high-quality coffee, intimate service, and ambient atmosphere. Starbucks worked closely with growers in Africa, South and Central America, and Asia-Pacific regions to insure the quality of its product. Starbucks called all employees' "partners" and worked hard to train them with the skills necessary to best serve the customer. The atmosphere at Starbucks was crafted after the European-style espresso bar. The company goal was to create ambience through the Starbucks "experience" and by making the area comfortable, yet upscale.

1. Starbucks serves what many would consider a basic commodity-- coffee.  As a commodity, traditional management wisdom would dictate that vendor selection would be based upon price; the vendor with the lowest price typically earns the business. How did Howard Schwartz transform Starbucks from a shop that "specialized in selling whole arabica beans to a niche market of coffee purists" into an "upscale cultural phenomenon" (p. 2)?  Be certain to identify Starbucks ' 'service vision or concept ' and 'service strategy ' under Schwartz ' leadership.

Starbucks was established in 1971 in Seattle, Washington. The company’s culture is focused on the image that it builds for the customers, i.e. friendly, earthy and warm and a very welcoming place to be. Secondly the focus is on the customers and their needs. Starbuck’s mission statement and vision statement show the emphasis on being leader of the coffeehouse industry. The mission statement shows what the core business of the company is and the vision statement shows what the company wants to achieve in the future. The company’s mission is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” (Starbucks, 2016). This shows what needs to be done to keep the business running. The key part of this statement is to inspire and nurture the human spirit. They start this concept with the employees. The company culture is one of warmth that it extends to its employees and customers. The part of the mission statement that states one person, one cup and one neighbor shows that they have a meaningful impact on employees and customers. They plan to gradually grow the business, one neighborhood at a time. The company’s vision statement is “to establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow” (Starbucks, 2016). This vision statement shows the

This case assignment discusses the history of Starbuck’s accomplishments as they entered the American coffee culture heritage. In 1983, The chairman and CEO Howard Schultz traveled to Italy and had a dream to carry the Italy coffeehouse ritual back to the United States. Schultz was focused on creating an environment meeting company that makes good coffee but also be a social experiment. Starbucks today opened more than 19,000 stores functioning in 62 countries. Starbucks has numerous rewards that globalization has offered and they have significantly benefited from it, while in the coffee industry. Starbucks has a wide-range in marketing strategies to benefit the customers. During the different obstacles that Starbucks has encountered, they must stay reliable in quality and uphold to adjust to different customer values.

Corporate culture is a key component to the success of Starbucks. When looking at the seven dimensions of corporate culture (fn textbook pg 338) Starbucks emphasizes Team and People Orientation along with Innovation and Risk-Taking and pose less emphasis on a competitive environment or an outcome oriented approach. (see appendix c) In order to ensure a strong corporate culture Starbucks utilizes innovative and simple ways to ensure the key values are deeply held and widely shared. (fn) By visiting up to 40 stores weekly by the CEO Richard Schultz, creation of Starbucks Broadcast News to convey company news, or administering an “attitude survey” every 18 months to all employees they ensure the company and its partners (employees) are connected. (fn textbook)