Starbucks: A business model for success now and in the future

Organizational Culture In the text, Organizational Behavior, Stephen P. Robbins defines organizational culture as, "a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations" (2005). Starbucks has a very strong organizational culture and strives to maintain it. Everything centers on the organizational culture within Starbucks. While being a customer service-based company and understanding that the customer satisfaction and loyalty are what will make the company profitable, Starbucks takes a different approach to customer service than other companies. By hiring employees that fit in the organizational culture (ICFAI, 2005) and treating their employees well (Lefevere, n.d.), Starbucks brings in and retains customers through their happy employees.

4. Kembell, Brent. Catching the Starbucks Fever: Starbucks Marketing Strategy. Missouri State University. (April, 2002).

From only a handful of stores in 1987 to a billion dollar franchise today, the success of Starbucks is due in great deal to their corporate culture, specifically how employees, or as Starbucks calls them, partners are treated. Joseph Michelli (2007) echoes this sentiment, “A great cup of coffee is only part of the Starbucks success equation” (p. 767). The Starbucks corporate culture is not easily summed up because it is multidimensional. However, Starbucks leadership reiterates several key words regularly; “everything matters”, “playful”, “human connection”, “respect”, “dignity”, and “care”. In fact, many of these words can be found in their mission statement.

Management Style “Before you can have an emotional connection with your customers, you have to have an emotional connection with your people.” (Ouchi A1). The success of Starbucks is partly due to Smith’s strong emphasis on relationships between management and lower ranked employees (also called partners). Similar to JetBlue’s CEO David Neeleman, Smith believes that a good relationship between management and employees will translate into a good relationship between the employees and the customers. In the past, both CEOs have been known to practice a ‘hands-on’ approach by stepping onto the ‘front lines’ of the business. Every quarter, Smith spends at least a couple of days behind the counter as part of their ‘Adopt a Store’ program for the senior executives.

They believe in serving the best coffee by growing the coffee under quality standards. Starbucks believes rendering good services to customers is very significant to the success of the company. From just a narrow storefront, Starbucks now has more than 20,000 stores in over 60 countries and they offer some of the world’s finest fresh-roasted whole bean coffees. Their coffee houses have become a beacon for coffee lovers everywhere. Starbucks believe that they can elevate their customers, partners, suppliers and neighbours to create positive change.

Morning Star. Retrieved May 21, 2014 from http://financials.morningstar.com/ratios/r.html?t=SBUX Starbucks Corporation [SC]. (2014). Our Company. Retrieved May 21, 2014 from http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information Thompson, A., Peteraf, M., Gamble, J., & Strickland III, A. J.

Starbucks had a firm tradition in providing generous employee benefits, outstanding customer service and also valued the importance of being socially responsible. The next steps of the process involved a SWOT analysis to examine the internal and external aspects of the company (Robbins & Coulter, 2009). An internal analysis would reveal that the company’s strengths included its commitment to its employees and customers. Also, Starbucks’ use of vertical integration allow... ... middle of paper ... ...-03-23-starbucks-annual-meeting.htm Join Us in Supporting Relief Efforts in Japan. (2011, March 16).

investor.reuters.com/data/files/Company.pdf SWOT Analysis. (2006) Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Retrieved April 1, 2014, from http://eventuring.kauffman.org/eShip/appmanager/eVenturing.com/ Wikinvest (2008). Starbucks (SBUX). Retrieved May 27, 2008, from www.wikinvest.com/stock/Starbucks (SBUX) - 154k Yahoo Finance.

Statement | Starbucks Coffee Company. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information/mission-statement 4. Quality Control At Starbucks: A Team Of 7 Decides On 400 Million Pounds Of Coffee Year. (n.d.).

With careful planning, and dedication to its products Starbucks now leads the pack, and remains #1 to coffee consumer?s nation wide. By staying in touch with the public, and their changing tastes, the Management team at Starbucks was able to capitalize on trends. Pair this with the ability to recognize possible weaknesses, and work around them, Starbucks was able to avoid failure. Now caffeine- seeking consumers no longer wonder where to go for that morning kick, but instead ponder, tall or Grande at the counter of their neighborhood Starbucks.