StarbucksUbiquity And Personal Relevance Of Starbucks Ethnography

Learning about dramaturgy and the idea of maintaining self is very important to social interactions. Erving Goffman’s theoretical concepts that make up dramaturgy can be seen in many social settings especial at Starbucks. By using the different tools that make up impression management I can see how we are very much like actors in a play that are trying to maintain a believable performance.

A coffee shop is a perfect place to study social construction in our society. For one, a plethora of different people go in and out of such shops. And they do so for a variety of reasons. Because of this, coffee shops truly encapsulate America. Our group aimed to capture the workings of society using the four classic anthropological methods. Sikander Chohan, who authored the biological anthropology section, focused on how physical factors of human beings affected the Tim Hortons he studied. Our linguist specialist, Chris Josebalan, focused on how nonverbal communication, vocal vocabulary, and gender speech contrasts were factors in the everyday workings of the Coffee Beanery Café he studied. Our two cultural specialists, Noah Smith and Ashley Hamblin, studied people's reasonings, gender construction, and the effect of groups. Owen Ekblad, our archaeology specialist, studied at two locations of the local coffee shop chain called Sweetwaters. The two locations he visited, in Ann Arbor and Canton, were representative of a wider variety of human influence and behavior. All in all, our group aimed to make observations that would give us an insight into social construction in coffee shops.

My observations of human behavior were made at Starbucks on Grand avenue, New York near Elmhurst. I chose this location due to the high customer traffic that it sees. Since it is a popular coffee shop, the customer base cuts across different multicultural sector of the population. There is a lot of variety in the backgrounds and personalities of the people visiting the shop. This quality makes any patterns that are recognized more representative of the general public.

The purpose of this qualitative observational study is to uncover common characteristics and themes that are drawn individuals to visit and spend time in Starbucks cafes? Generally, people believe that Starbucks cafés are used as meeting places and remote workspaces to achieve productivity, while enjoying coffee. (Loudenback, 2016) Starbucks cafés over the years have spread throughout major U.S. cities and metropolitan areas. Through observation, the data will gather by documenting the activities, interactions, and reactions of participants (customers and staff) using rich thick descriptions to identify common themes or trends to understand the success of Starbucks cafés. The observation process used is largely investigative, where the researcher gradually makes sense of this social phenomenon by contrasting, comparing, replicating, cataloguing and classifying the objects of this study. (Creswell, 2013)

First, Starbucks products are clearly designed for those with a disposable income. Realistically, who would spend almost three dollars for a small cup of coffee when you can get a jumbo coffee for .99 cents at a gas station? One reason could be quality. Starbucks claims to use high-quality whole bean coffee and sells them in a traditionally European style. But the products are not limited to coffee. Starbucks also offered a full array of organic drinks, socially conscious products, outrageously priced coffee mugs—some of which are plastic versions that prominently display their logo, and music downloads. There were two available downloads that I observed. One was a new release by a famous artist. The other was a new release by an “undiscovered” new group. Similar to the music, my observations revealed that the Starbucks patrons primarily fit into two categories. The first were businessmen and women, who entered

Most the behavior I observed was a very casual and relaxed as the people seemed to all be friendly and enjoying their absurd priced beverages. Once in awhile someone would recognize a fellow customer and they would proceed to great each other with either a handshake or hug. Spatial arrangement between people was typical of most American norms. They typically had about a person length in between each person making sure not to get to close to bump into one another which is considered rude in this country.

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.

I gathered my information from Dunkin’ Donuts shop on the Third Avenue. Dunkin’ Donuts is one of the largest coffee shop chains in the world. I chose this because it is close to our house. When I first walked into the shop, I heard Chainsmokers’ Closer song. It was also a quiet place sometimes where you could just sit and relax. It is a small place with limited seats. There were only three small tables and a long table. The place is air-conditioned, so it is cold. There is also free Wi-Fi, so the customers will not get bored while they are waiting in line or drinking their coffee. There is also a Baskin-Robbins inside the store, so it is not only a coffee shop but also an ice cream shop. I wanted to interview one of the staff, but they were busy. I ended up interviewing an old woman because she was sitting with me since there were limited seats. She is 71 years old and originally from Mexico. She was 23 years old when she moved here. She is married to a Mexican too and they had three children.

I have chosen Dunkin Donuts for my Ethnography of a Coffee House report. Opened in 1948 by William Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, Mr. Rosenberg named his restaurant “Open Kettle” which at that time served only donuts and coffee. Two years later in 1950, Mr. Rosenberg renamed his restaurant “Dunkin Donuts.” Mr. Rosenberg’s goal was “make and serve the freshest, most delicious coffee and donuts quickly and courteously in modern, well-merchandised stores,” a philosophy which still holds true today (News Dunkin Donuts).

There’s clearly a huge gender disparity of Starbucks customers; I attribute this to American culture’s requirement of hypermasculinity implying that men need to be tough to be considered real men. Starbucks’ wide variety of drinks include “girly” lattes and mochas which men seem to avoid. As for racial consumer differences, there’s a clear white majority of Starbucks patrons. This could be simply due to Cal Poly’s demographics or even stemming from a desire to fit the “basic white girl” stereotype. It’s easy to flaunt your Starbucks cup as a badge of honor; it represents a status that tells other people “I can afford an outrageously priced drink” while also subtly letting them know “I am better than you”.

buying coffee at Starbucks don’t need my help, they are doing just fine. Part of the challenge for this assignment was figuring out exactly what I wanted to do and who I wanted to help.. I considered helping one of my roommates, but again decided against it because there’s too many people that need a helping hand. I wanted to help someone that really needed help, like a homeless person or someone in an emergency. I finally decided on a homeless man that sleeps outside of a Mexican Restaurant next to my house. Everyday I walk past him lying on the grass next to his cardboard sign and I take no action. At first I wanted to give him 20$, but I’m old enough to know that he won’t spend that money wisely, so I decided on buying him a large

As Starbucks competes in the coffee shop industry, they need to be aware of a few factors that affect their operating environment. These factors consist of Trump’s Import Tax Laws, JAB, and New Emerging Technology. Trump is planning to sign a law to decrease tax deductions on imports, which would make importing more expensive. One of Starbuck’s biggest raw material consumption is coffee beans, which are imported from countries like Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, México, Panamá, Perú and Puerto Rico (Fact Sheet: Starbucks Latin America). Therefore, this would affect Starbucks first hand since the environment for growing coffee beans is better in other countries than it is

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.

Starbucks used many tactics to reduce its distance from foreign markets. Firstly, Starbucks conducted extensive research in each country. They used focus groups, and quantitative analysis, to evaluate local cultural sensitivities and preferences. But it also used specific local adaptations. For

In particular, hybridization of Starbucks could be observed from the chain store in Insadong, Seoul. Insadong is one of the most historical streets in Seoul with traditional stores selling Korean culture and artworks. The long-established shops along Insadong undoubtedly have their signboards in Hangul. Thus, to fit into such street, Starbucks, with its conspicuous English billboard, has decided to ‘Koreanize’ itself by having a signboard in Hangul – the first ever Starbucks shop with a non-English logo. In addition, they also sell traditional Korean food like rice juice and rice cake (Song 2012, 31). Hence, Insadong’s Starbucks is an example of cultural hybridization where the modification of Starbucks marketing strategies resulted in a unique ‘Koreanized’ Starbucks chain store containing mixtures of Western and traditional Korean