The organization we chose to audit is Starbucks. As one of the largest coffee chains in the United States, we saw an opportunity to analyze their company and learn from the challenges they face. With a plethora of different communication styles at work within the company it seemed to be a prefect platform for us to base our final project. The first Starbucks opened in 1971 in the historic Pikes Place Market in Seattle, Washington. There is now over 13,000 stores located in the U.S. alone. We’ll be focusing on the individual stores to see what communication styles take place within Starbucks on a day-to-day basis. To better understand what makes Starbucks successful, we’re taking a deeper look at how the organization communicates so we can further …show more content…
Based on the interviews with one of Starbucks management team members, it was clear that communication in and of itself was an issue at this specific store. Beyond the district level, Starbucks may very well have better methods of communication in place however at the store level it appears that several things interfere with the company’s communication behavior. For example, during morning hours the stores are busy and even described as always “chaotic”. As a consumer, this is an obvious evaluation as Starbucks is generally very popular and seems to be consistently busy during most hours of operation. Based on reports from the managers at the store level, communicating tasks at hand can be quite difficult. Once a shift starts there is far too much to be done to allow time for the staff, primarily the management team, to discuss the goals for the shift and delegate tasks to shift leaders or supervisors, who in turn delegate to the baristas. What typically happens is each staff member starts their shift and begins tackling whatever they can to get “caught up”. When thinking of rules and norms, this organization has enabled norms that have greatly affected the communication behavior among the
The basis of Starbucks’ operations and policies is to connect with the staff so that they can better the organizational
In 2002, unexpected findings of a market research showed problems regarding customer satisfaction and brand meaning for Starbucks customers. The situation was unacceptable for a company whose overall objective is to build the most recognized and respected brand in the world. Starbucks was supposed to represent a new and different place where any man would relax and enjoy quality time, alone or with others. But the market research showed that in the mind of the consumers, Starbucks brand is viewed as corporative, trying to expand endlessly and looking to make lots of money. This huge gap between customers' perception and Starbucks' values and goals called for immediate action.
The structure of Starbucks business communication is exceptional. Rather you are in their store buying a Caramel Frappuccino®, visiting their website or watching one of their advertisements on television; as the consumer, the message is loud and clear. Pick up any newspaper and you are likely to find an article about the coffee giant. Starbucks pledges a commitment to their over 172,000 partners (employees) and the community. “We realize our people are the cornerstone of our success, and we know that their ideas, commitment and connection to our customers are truly the essential elements in the Starbucks Experience” (Starbucks, 2008).
Starbucks not only shapes a defined importance on its product, the coffee, but also the relationships on its partners, its customers and its shareholders to create diversity, “to create a place where each of us can be ourselves” (Starbucks Coffee), to treat all related partners with dignity and respect at the greatest corporate level. In this sense, Starbucks involves its customers, its neighbors and is shareholders to participate in the community to “be a force for positive action—bringing together [its] partners, customers, and the community to contribute every day (Starbucks Coffee).
Schultz, Howard, and Joanne Gordon. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul. New York: Rodale, 2011. N. pag. Print.
With that store being there to help support new stores that would be entering the region. The goal was to have around 20 stores after two years of entering a market and have those stores expand even further into smaller cities and suburban locations. They also started to add drive-through because it made it more convenient for parents with small children. Some of the drawbacks of drive-through were that it took away from impulse buys and sometimes created bottlenecks in the line. Licensing the brand was also a great way that they expanded their business; by putting Starbucks in airports in malls they create a lot of foot traffic lead to successful stores. Starbucks carefully considered their image and the image they wanted to uphold when choosing licensees. The international market is now where Starbucks has the most potential to grow. As of right now Starbucks has plans to open 1,400 new stores in China. That’s more than half of the store it already has in China. The growth technique that I was most impressed with was that having two locations so close to each other would not saturate the market. The first store would see a drop in sales at first but would bounce back and the new store would grow. I notice we have that here, at Target in uptown you can actually see the Starbucks across the street while you are in line. Both seem pretty busy most of the time too.
Overall, how satisfied are you , with [PRODUCT/SERVICE]? Please answer using the rating scale where (5) means "extremely satisfied" and (1) means "very unsatisfied."
In 2003, Starbucks was listed as one of the Fortune 500. Despite the ongoing recession, the company had managed a 31% increase in net revenues for the year. This was reasonable, considering they only spent about 1% of total sales on marketing. All of this, coupled with the fact that they were popular with customers and employees, was a sure recipe for success.
Starbucks is a worldwide company, known for is delicious brews of coffee and seasonal varieties of tasty drinks for any occasion. Starbucks opened with two main goals, sharing great coffee with friends and to help make the world a little better. It originated in the historic Pike Place Market of Seattle, Washington in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker. The creation of Starbucks’ name came from the seafaring tradition of early coffee traders and the romance evoked from Moby Dick. At the time, this individual shop specialized in the towering quality of coffee over competitors and other brewing services enabling its growth to becoming the largest coffee chain in Washington with numerous locations. In the early 1980s, the current CEO Schultz saw an opportunity for growth in the niche market. After a trip to Italy he brought back the idea of a café style environment of leisure and social meetings to the United States we now see in Starbucks locations today. Schultz ultimately left Starbucks to open his own coffee shop, Il Giornale which turned out to be a tremendous success. Fast forward a year later, Schultz got wind that Starbucks was going to sell all their components of Starbucks including their stores and factories, he immediately acquired the funds to buy Starbucks and linked both operations. Within five years he was able to open more than 125 stores starting in New England, Boston, Chicago, and gradually entered California. He wanted Starbucks to be a franchise system based on the mission of telling the truth and emphasize the quality,
For this organizational analysis, I decided to analyze Starbucks. I chose Starbucks because they are the leading innovators in socially impactful business activities and personally, I love Starbucks coffee! Obviously, the point of this paper is not to talk about how good their products are, but to analyze how their organization is structured and identify potential for improvement. I have never worked at a Starbucks, but I have two friends that work at the location inside of Hy-Vee in Cedar Falls. After countless hours of research, talking to my friends about day-to-day activities, and actually going to Starbucks on numerous occasions over the past few years, I knew this was the organization that I would love to analyze.
Once the action plan is in effect, the plan then relies on the implementation and the communication strategy for the idea to work. Communication objectives are obtained and the strategic tactics on how to communicate and disseminate the communication objectives formally and informally.
Starbucks is an international coffee house and it was created in 1971 when they opened the first store in Seattle, Newcastle. Currently, they own 21,000 stores in 65 different countries of the world, and their passion for the great coffee, excellent service and community interaction exceeds cultures and languages (Starbucks, 2014). This company is the number 1 brand coffeehouse chain in the world due to the best roaster, marketer and seller of speciality coffee. Its main slogan: “Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighbourhood at a time” (Jurevicius, 2013).
In addition to being best-known supplier of the finest coffee and promising only the highest quality products, Starbucks emphasizes firm values, provides guidelines to enhance employee self-esteem. This is to ensure continued customer satisfaction. Moreover, diversity has become a priority to providing an inviting environment to all consumers. Starbucks continues to abide by a strict, slow growth policy in which they set out to dominate a market before moving on to expand, thus history has shown this strategy to be successful for Starbucks, making them one the fastest growing companies nationwide.
With clear core values towards providing quality coffee, the best service, and atmosphere, Starbucks has enjoyed great success since it was founded 30 years ago. The company has being doing very well for last 11 years with 5% or more store sales increase, even with the rest economy still reeling from the post-9/11 recession. However recent research, conducted to Starbucks, have showed some concerns regarding company’s problem meeting customers’ expectations.
Millions of Americans these days depend on the glorious caffeine rich nectar provided to them daily by the local Starbucks chain store. With it’s humble roots firmly planted in Seattle Washington, this little coffee shop has turned from a novel idea, into a veritable necessity for Americans on the go. The amazing success of Starbucks can be attributed, in part, to tactical planning. It was through tactical planning that the management team behind Starbucks was able to be so wildly successful. By utilizing their strengths, and capitalizing on trends, as well as periodically evaluating weaknesses and threats, this little coffee joint has become America’s most enjoyable place to get coffee.