Starbucks Canada Case Study Analysis

Data is facts and numbers that hasn’t been modified or analysed for example times and numbers. When data is by itself it has no meaning to it however information by itself does have a meaning.

Information is data that has been processed so that it has meaning and value to a recipient,

Data comprises of factual information. Data are the facts from which information is derived. Data is not necessarily informative on its own but needs to be structured, interpreted, analysed and contextualised. Once data undergoes this process, it transforms in to information. Information should be accessible and understood by the reader without needing to be interpreted or manipulated in any way.

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?

Data is very important and critical to any organisation, so is in the telecommunication industries. Information that can be easily used must be available so that the decisions makers within an industry can make informed decisions based on visible facts projected by the data available. If this is not the case, decision-making processes can become extremely challenging and, in some cases, impossible. The flow of information within an organization is critical to the success of that organization (Davenport & Prusak, 1998). Organizations struggle in collecting data, retrieving information and making decisions based on the extracted information. A decision making process consists of making judgments based on the qualitative data.

Information is data which is accurate and timely specific and organized for a purpose presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance. Information can lead to an increase in understanding and decrease in uncertainty.

From doing this assignment I thought that data and information was the same but now when I do this assignment I see that is not that.it true they go hand to hand but there not the same at all.

I've chosen the Starbucks Corporation on which to do my case assignment for the session. I first became interested in Starbucks while working on a paper for a previous marketing class. I became intrigued at the entrepreneurial spirit that such a large corporation had managed to maintain throughout its massive expansion. Starbucks corporation, unlike many of its now-defunct rivals, has done an outstanding job since its meager beginnings in 1970 with the execution of its strategic process; resulting in it currently owning 40% of the specialty coffee market and boosting annual sales exceeding $7 billion according to Burt Helm. Historic successes and recent turmoil within the company, including a near 40% decline in 2007 in profits (Sullivan

Starbucks has always taken exceptional care in keeping its brand value.  In fact, Starbucks prides itself in its brand, particularly the power it has to keep its customer base strong. Before analyzing this loyal customer base it is best to consider the particular characteristics of the brand that has led to Starbucks having such devoted patrons.

One of the most vital roles of business leaders today is the ability to conduct a comprehensive and honest analysis of the business. Such analysis can be conducted for strategic and business planning purposes or simply to determine if a company is a good investment opportunity. To demonstrate the importance of business analysis from both a business leader’s strategic point of view and from a business investor’s point view, this paper will provide the following study of Starbucks Coffee Company: (1) SWOT Analysis; (2) Relevance of Threats; (3) Internal and External Stakeholders; and (4) Balancing the stakeholders’ needs.

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.

Starbucks finally failed in Australia. The company closed almost all of its 84 Australian stores in the year of 2013. The brand made several mistakes that contributed to the declined business in Australia. Starbucks entered the market in 2000. At that point, McCafe and Gloria Jean's were already established there. The thing is, Starbucks stores were also opened in low-traffic areas and were charged more money than the other competitors. Although the disappointing sales in Australia didn't set back Starbucks that much. But we still should learn something from it. The company has reported that 2 main factors had hold their business back: the worsening economic conditions in the US and some poor real estate decisions, these plagued the company at that moment. Others have suggested that the increased competition from the likes of McDonald’s has contributed to the decline. But surely there is more to it than that.

Many people actually think that data and information can be used interchangeably but this is not true. Data is raw material that has not been processed and has been extracted from the source the way it is. Data is also unorganized therefore cannot be used for a meaningful purpose. On the other hand, information is processed data therefore the latter has to be organized into a meaningful manner for the former to exist. A good example of how data and information interact is through the use of computers; the computers need data and they process it into information that is usable by humans. In the case of a computer, data is a series of 1s and 0s which means the data has not been organized or interpreted therefore the human cannot understand it, but when these 1s and 0s are organized by the computer they give out information that can be used in decision making. Data forms the foundation for information and knowledge. Data exists in the form of pictures, words, numbers, character, sound, and video that have little or no meaning to the user.