Starbucks: Culture and Environment

Starbucks is one of the largest known coffee distributors within the United States. Their mission statement is “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time”. Their objective is to be one of the most well known and respected brands around the world. With 21,366 stores around the world, operating in 65 countries, they are a major company that has influence on the economy in the United States and around the world (Starbucks 2015).

Starbucks is dominant coffee brand in North America, which also is well-known worldwide. Established in 1971 as coffee shop oriented to a niche of coffee purists, in late 1980’s it turned to be a constantly growing chain of stores that sold whole-beans and premium-priced coffee to mostly affluent, well-educated customers. In years 1992-2002 company was showing at least 5% annual growth. And by 2002 Starbucks was serving already 20M customers in 5886 stores (both operated and licensed) around the globe, had $3.3 billion net revenues and was opening 3 new stores a day in average.

I chose to do the Starbucks Ethnography over all of the other options because Starbucks currently plays a large role in the social behaviors of today’s society. It has grown significantly from when it was first founded and is currently dominating the coffee market worldwide. Starbucks has become a social and cultural phenomenon because, “...it is at once a globalized consumer institution and a local place in which the mundane daily activities of sipping coffee, writing in journals, and conversing with friends are practiced” (Dickinson 7). Since I am in the age group that Starbucks is particularly trendy with (young adults), I already have some expectations for what the results of the ethnography will be. I have also lived in Orange County for my entire life, so I had some context as to which race would be more prevalent to the Starbucks I had gone to. I wish to explore the symbolic anthropology, which, “...focuses on understanding cultures by discovering and analyzing the symbols that are most important to their members” (Nanda 35). Understanding the symbolism behind coffee and Starbucks is important since it has multiple meanings and has become deeply ingrained within our culture.

As Starbucks moves into new markets all over the world, it continues to build its brand through the delivery of the Starbucks Experience. "Our success at every market that we have entered into reiterates our commitment to become a great, enduring company with the most recognized and respected brand in the world, known for inspiring and nurturing the human spirit. Our Mission: to be a global company, making a difference in peoples ' lives by leveraging our brand and the coffee experience to foster human connections." (www.starbucks.com)Starbucks ' development strategy adapts to different markets addressing local needs and requirements. Starbucks currently uses three business strategies: joint ventures, licenses, and company-owned operations.

Starbucks has created a competitive advantage with their product quality by setting themselves apart from their competitors. “The Company has stayed with the upper-scale of the coffee market, competing on comfort rather than convenience, which is the case with its closest competitors, McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts” (Mourdoukoutas, Panos). Consumers believe they are receiving a better product and experience when they purchase from a Starbucks as opposed to another large food service company that may sell coffee.

starbucks Corp., an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington, has expanded rapidly since its opening in 1971. These outrageous success was due to its well-developed strategy vision which lay out the company's strategic course in developing and strengthening its business. Starbucks is a global corporation that sells authentic coffee in 30 countries, reporting revenues of nearly $5.1 billion in 2006. The main goal of Starbucks is to embrace diversity by applying the highest standards of excellence. Starbucks strives to perfect the relationship with the working class by making the service as fast as possible because they believe that every customer has their own personal rate. One

For my ethnographic report, I chose to study Starbucks located in the NJIT campus center in Newark, New Jersey. The purpose of this study was to identify the behaviors and possible needs of the people in the area that enter this establishment, and possibly all coffee shops located in a school campus. I conducted my ethnography research from 1:45 PM to 3:45 on Wednesday, February 5, 2017. It was slightly snowing that day, which is a variable that I took into consideration. I was sitting on the last seat of the corner, the opposite way from the cash register facing the entrance of the coffee shop. During the two hours that I spend at the coffee shop only 5 people walked in which I found unusual because people tend to grab a cup of coffee whenever the weather is unpleasant. Perhaps on snowing days people don’t tend to visit the campus center as much they go directly to class from their dorm or house.

According to CBC news Starbucks responded, saying "Our core values as a company is to create a culture of belonging, inclusion and diversity..." and "...we will continue to embrace and welcome customers from all backgrounds and religions in our stores around the world."

As mentioned earlier, our research method of choice is naturalistic observations. Each group member will be going to different Starbucks locations in the lower mainland. By going to different locations, we are expecting to prevent all of us from getting the same results from the same repeat customers if there does end up being any. This may also show us if there are different patterns in different Starbucks locations.

Starbucks is one if not the largest growing coffee shops in America. It has started a war on coffee. Starbucks has taken its franchise and expanded all over the world and really placing a Starbucks in just about every corner. It went back to its hometown and opened up a café. It happened right after Dunkin Donuts which was an England franchise and began advancing west and it now in three locations in Southern California. Dunkin Donuts opened up its store on Santa Monica boulevard in Los Angeles there was a mass of people lined up outside. McDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks have been fighting for the position for serval years and the battle is escalating fast.

Seeing a Starbucks sign reminds a person of the tantalizing flavors that are brewed from the store that sells millions of people their first cup of coffee every morning. Upon walking into the store, it is inviting and welcoming. The staff is friendly and helpful and the crowd is eager to enjoy that bittersweet java on the taste buds. When an order is made, the staff prepares each individual cup of coffee fresh, and exactly to the customer’s preference. Starbucks Corporation is the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world. Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz has built a booming empire, with 13,500

The problem identified in the report is Chen, the president of Levendary China, has completely changed the core design of the company to give local look and feel. Even the Levendary’s classic wooden framed upholstered chairs are replaced with an alternative of local made plastic chairs by Chen. The change in the taste preferences by the Chinese customers is another problem which made Chen to change the core values of Levendary according to the local demand. The Head-Quarters of Levendary also faced problem with Chen’s stubborn attitude and his reluctance for the change in operations in China. Foster’s leadership is another issue to be considered due to lack of international management experience. The shares of Levendary trading at discount compared to other restaurant stocks and Levendary China clearly states in its income statement: a loss of 143620$ in the year 2010. Inconsistent accounting is another drawback to be considered in the operations of Levendary café in China.

Starbucks first opened its doors in Seattle’s Pike Place Market with the name being coined from that of Moby Dick’s first mate (Schultz & Yang 1999). It has spread its shops across North America, all over Europe, the Middle East, Latin America as well as the Pacific Rim with an estimated 35 million customer weekly (Michelli, 2008). With tremendous growth from a small time coffee shop, the company has matured to an international icon that today it is one of the world’s leading retailer, roaster and brand specialty coffee (Story, 1971). The company offers whole bean coffees, espresso beverages, and confectionery and bakery items.

In terms of competition and the forces, which could limit the success of Starbucks it is important they stay ahead or even with other companies concerning innovative products. Many more micro companies are coming up with new products with a similar quality and a lower price/cost. It is important that Starbucks continues to search for innovative products to continually satisfy their customers. At the same time “rivalry” amongst Starbucks and smaller providers of coffee will continue to increase as the demand for coffee continues. The buyers bargaining power is significant as they can determine the cost, type of product, quantity and ultimately

What was once a small coffee shop opened by Gerald Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Ziev Siegl in 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has grown into the number one specialty coffee retailer. With over 10,000 coffee shops in more than 30 countries, of which 4,200 are licensed and franchised and 6,000 are owned, the company’s main objective is to establish Starbucks as the “most recognized and respected brand in the world,” (Moon). Currently, Starbucks is relying on retail expansion, product innovation, and service innovation to achieve a long-term goal once set by current chairman Howard Schultz: “The idea was to create a chain of coffeehouses that