Starbucks Corporation Overview and Analysis: 1347587

Introduction

Starbucks Corporation is a global chain of roaster reserves and coffeehouses that has its headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks has also been able to gain the position of biggest coffeehouse chain in the world with respect to the number of stores and the amounts of revenues that are earned as well. Starbucks has thereby represented the second wave of the coffee culture of the United States and has been able to form a different place in the industry as well. The firm has targeted by the coffee-drinkers who are quality minded in nature and have also demanded different types of products that are offered in the stores. The analysis will be built on the case study of Starbucks and different aspects that are a part of its operations in the industry. Different functional areas that are taken into consideration for analysis of the case study include management, accounting, marketing, business ethics and finance and accounting.

Analysis of the case study

• Resources – Starbucks is considered to be the leading brand that manufactures coffee based products that are provided to customers in various parts of the world. The human resources or employees of the firm are able to play a key part in offering enhanced levels of services and experiences to the consumers who visit the stores. The financial resources and strength of Starbucks have supported the organization so that it is able to provide high quality based products to the consumers. The intangible resources of Starbucks on the other hand include the procurement based process that is applied by the firm in order to manufacture the products and offering them to the customers as well. The brand value and logo Starbucks are also considered to be a major resources that have an impact on the position that is developed by the organization in the industry.

• Capabilities – The brand equity of Starbucks is a huge strength of the organization that is helpful in differentiating the organization from its competitors in the industry. The strong equity of the brand has been able to play a key part in improving the customer centric nature of the operations of Starbucks. The extensive levels of global presence that Starbucks has been able to develop is helpful in enhancing the revenues gained by the firm. Customer loyalty levels of Starbucks are based on the investments that have been made by the organization in manufacturing the high quality based products. The supply chain of Starbucks has been able to help the organization so that the products can reach the customers faster and fulfil their needs as well. The high quality of the products offered by Starbucks are considered to be a major aspect related to its attraction in fulfilling the needs of consumers. Customer services that are offered by Starbucks are mainly based on customer centric nature of the organization and the quality of services as well.

• Core Competencies – The core competencies of Starbucks are based on the unwavering focus that the organization has on outstanding levels of customer services, continuous advancement of products and quality levels as well. Schultz has mainly focused on offering the freshly roasted coffee based products to customers in various parts of the world. The company has aimed at enhancing and further maintaining the core competencies in various stores that are located in different national and international locations as well. The support that is provided by Starbucks to the employees has been displayed in the stock options that are offered by the organization. The proper training and education of the workforce of Starbucks have an impact on the growth of the firm.

• Discussion and describing the business strategy currently being used by the company – The major aspect that is related to the strategy implemented by Starbucks is based on enhancing the differentiation levels of the products that are provided to the customers. The aspects that are related to proper enhancement of product differentiation levels include locations, coffee beverages based reputation, supreme levels of customer services and premium mix of products as well. The strategy of developing the smart acquisitions and strategic alliances has been implemented by the firm in order to maintain its processes in various countries and enhancing the customer base as well. Geographical diversification of Starbucks has been a major part of the strategy that is implemented by the organization. The strategies have also played a key part in the methods by which Starbucks has gained a competitive advantage in comparison to the other organizations that are a part of the industry.

Providing a total of four findings of fact, one from the following four functional areas of business:

• Management – Starbucks has aimed taking huge care in implementing the recruitment and selection based process of the organization. Howard Schultz has provided importance to the respect that can be provided to the employees and motivating them in an effective manner as well. The democratic style of leadership has been applied by the firm in order to maintain the work process of the employees and the services that are offered to the customers as well. The recommendation that can be provided to Starbucks based on its management style is mainly related to the ways by which leaders can enhance their relationship with the employees and improving the organizational operations as well.

• Marketing – The core principles that are a part of the marketing strategy of Starbucks have an impact on the customer base of the organization. Starbucks has also offered major levels of commitment to the consistent branding related activities of the organization and the success that is gained in the industry as well. Social media has been the most important part of the promotional and marketing related activities performed by Starbucks. The brand value of the organization has also been improved in an effective way with the support that is mainly offered by the promotional activities. The web page of Starbucks has also helped the organization to enhance awareness of the products in the minds of consumers. The videos that have been uploaded by the organization are also able to provide information related to the products and the services of Starbucks to the customers. The YouTube platform has been used by the organization for uploading different types of videos offering messages to the consumers and enhancing the image of Starbucks as well. The recommendation that can be offered to Starbucks based on this factor is that the organization can use the social media platforms in an extensive manner for the purpose of improving the awareness related to its products and the experiences that are offered in the stores as well.

• Finance or Accounting – Starbucks been able to develop the strategic priorities in order to regain the earnings and the revenues by enhancing the growth levels in China and the United States. The organization has targeted the long term growth based markets by leveraging the international reach of the brand. The recommendation that can be provided to Starbucks is based on investments that are made by the organization in forming strategic alliances.

• Business Ethics – Starbucks has enhanced its focus on the ethic related aspects in different areas and has improved its supply chain in an effective manner as well. The suppliers of the firm are treated in an equal manner and they are also empowered by strengthening the relationships. The sustainable sourcing of raw materials that are used by Starbucks to develop the coffee based products is also based on the importance that is offered to implementation of ethics. The commitment of Starbucks towards corporate citizenship leads to improvement of supply chain. The organization can thereby be recommended to improve its operations and relationships with suppliers to maintain its operations in an ethical manner.

Conclusion

The case study analysis can be concluded by stating that the resources, capabilities and core competencies gained by Starbucks are able to support the operations of the firm and helped in maintaining its place in the industry as well. The differentiating business strategy of Starbucks is also an important aspect of the operations and competitive edge of the organization as well. Different aspects of the organizational operations including management, marketing, finance or accounting and business ethics have been influenced by the activities that are performed by Starbucks.

References

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Krishna, Chethana G. “Starbucks Communication Strategies–More Than Just a Cup of Coffee.” IUP Journal of Soft Skills 12.3 (2018): 23-53.

Starbucks.com. “Starbucks Coffee Company”. Starbucks.Com, 2020, https://www.starbucks.com/.

Voigt, Kai-Ingo, Oana Buliga, and Kathrin Michl. “Globalizing Coffee Culture: The Case of Starbucks.” Business Model Pioneers. Springer, Cham, 2017. 41-53.

Xin, Ooi Wei, et al. “Gamification effect of loyalty program and its assessment using game refinement measure: Case study on starbucks.” International Conference on Computational Science and Technology. Springer, Singapore, 2017.