Starbucks Case Study : Starbucks

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?

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.

Starbucks Corporation purchases and roasts high-quality coffees, along with beverages and fresh food items, throughout all company-operated stores. The consolidated financial statements reflect the financial position and operating results of Starbucks Corporation. Ratio Analysis was used to analyze the performance of Starbucks using the financial ratios of liquidity, solvency, and profitability. Calculations and amounts were provided in the excel spreadsheet labeled “Financial Ratios”. All data provided were conducted from the balance sheet and income statement accounts over the fiscal years 2015 and 2014. Starbucks Corporations ' fiscal years’ end on the Sunday closest to September 30 (sec.gov).

In general the coffeehouse industry in the United States was experiencing an increase in coffee consumption per capita due to the “Starbucks effect”. At this time Starbucks was operating approximately 20,000 stores in the United States and was living a fast expansion strategy worldwide.

Firstly, Starbucks’ net sales growth from 2006 to 2015 shows us that the company has been working well on its attractiveness through time. Indeed, except in 2009, sales have been constantly increasing from one year to another at a rate of 11% in average. Over the period, two specific year are to be highlighted. 2007 and 2015 experienced respectively an increase of 21% and 17% much higher than the 11% in average. While 21% was the normal sales growth rate in 2007, Starbucks has experiencing an amazing year sales wise since the beginning of 2015. According to the last estimations, this sales increase seem to be due to outstanding performances on the tea market as well as a great progression in terms of traffic in Asia and in the US.

a) The nature of Starbucks’ business is to generate income based on operating activities. When referencing the Statement of Cash Flows and looking at their operating activities, you can see that Starbucks generates $2,908.3M in net cash provided by operating activities. Investment is a significant item in this statement as well. The company spent $785.9M in investments in the year ending September 29th, 2013. Strong investment activities show that Starbucks is investing through buying and selling (Sales, maturities, and calls of investments $1,040.2M) and using their spare cash to invigorate future growth and fund future obligations.

The Starbucks Company was founded in Seattle in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Seigel with a dream to inform American customers about the fine coffee drinking experience. In a short time, they became a multi-million-dollar company in the industry from a small coffee business house by keeping their standards high and only purchased premium quality coffee and by giving a unique experience to their customers. Currently, the company is considered on top in the coffee line, and has over 12,000 locations in more than 35 countries. (Starbucks Company Timeline)

For this assignment we were required to review the case study titled “Starbucks’ Structure” found in Chapter 3 of our The five functions of effective management text. We are required to write a paper that answers the four case questions of 1. Complete a job description and job specification for a Starbucks employee. 2. What form of departmentalization should Starbucks use? Should the form be changed in stores offering food products and lunch? Why or why not? 3. When the company began to experience financial problems, should the leadership try to centralize power and decision-making

Regionally, they have experienced competition from coffeehouses such as Millstone Coffee, Caribou Coffee and recently Borders Coffee.

Three Seattle academics and entrepreneurs, English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and writer Gordon Bowker, started the Starbucks Corporation in 1997. Their primary product was the selling of whole bean coffee in one Seattle store. By early 1980's, this business had grown into four stores selling the coffee beans, a roasting facility, and a wholesale business for local restaurants. "There store did not offer fresh-brewed coffee sold by the cup, but tasting samples were sometimes available" (Thompson, Jr. et al, 2005). In 1982, Howard Schultz left his job as vice president and general manager of a Swedish company and assumed his new responsibilities as head of marketing and overseeing Starbucks

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) Identify the controllable and uncontrollable elements that Starbucks has encountered in entering global markets:

Q1) The Porter's competitive strategies which is Starbucks using is differentiation strategy. Following a differentiation strategy, Starbucks seeks to offer unique products that are widely valued by customers. The speed with which Starbucks had managed its ascent was almost as remarkable as the changes it had formed in traditional conceptions of brand marketing. At a time of rising perceptions of correspondence across most product and service categories throughout the developed world, Starbucks had managed to take one of the world's oldest commodities and turn it into a differentiated, lasting, value-laden brand. The attraction of differentiation over low cost as a basis for competitive advantage is its potential for sustainability. It is

Leading the Starbucks Way, Michelli talks about the five foundational principles that have guided Starbucks leaders during continuous times of growth, economic downturn, recovery, transformation and how to create maintainable success. The organization’s core values are their coffee, employees, customers, stores, and neighborhoods in which they operate. Throughout the book you learned how Starbucks built its brand from nurturing human connections, maintaining worker and customer trust along with loyalty and passion, and how they expand by constantly creating new products. He also tells how Starbucks overcame challenges of the recession increasing a huge amount in profitability without straying away from core values and mission. This book connected great with organizational communication due to the fact he talked about how the organization operates. I was able to see many different concepts we learned in class this semester as is in their leadership styles of management, what approach they use to manage the business, and a couple of the theories of organizational communication that the company relies heavily on. With that being said I was able to pull from this book that Starbuck Company follows the transformational leadership style, they work under the human relations approach, and that they rely on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Country Club management.