Starbucks Company Management Strategies - Research Paper Example

Starbucks Company The history of Starbucks Company traces way back to 1971. During its humble beginnings, the company was recognized as a retailer and a roaster of ground coffee and whole bean, spices and tea with just a single store located in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Currently, the company boasts of exponential growth realized over the years, attracting millions of consumers in more 17000 locations in more than fifty countries across the globe. The company’s logo gets its inspiration from the sea. The logo features a twin-tailed siren from the mythology of the Greeks. The Company’s mission is to “inspire and nature the human spirit-one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” The company has dedicated itself to serving people with the best coffee that the prevailing market can possibly offer. Starbucks’ main goal is to ensure that all their coffee is grown and natured under high quality standards, which they realize through the use of ethical sourcing practices. The intended suppliers of the company’s coffee personally tour its coffee firms in Africa, Asia and Latin America in order to select arabica beans of highest quality. Once the buyers have selected the beans, they are brought to the company’s roasting plants where experts bring out the rich flavor and balance of the beans via Starbucks Roast TM signature. Starbucks is committed to conducting its business responsibly and conducting themselves in ways that earn their partners, customers and neighbors respect and trust (“Starbucks Company Profile”). The purpose of this paper is to describe how Starbucks Company uses the four management functions: Planning, organizing, influencing and controlling to achieve its goals. Starbucks Planning function Effective planning helps an organization in achieving its goals and objectives. The process often commences with the reviewing of the organization’s current operations and identifying the loopholes that need to be operationally improved. As such, planning encompasses the envisioning of the outcomes to be achieved by the organization and the necessary steps for achieving desired success. Success is often measured in terms of goals or financial terms including high rating of the organization based on the satisfaction of their customers. All businesses including Starbucks require a plan in order to grow and survive in their respective industries. Plans are significant in guiding Starbucks to accomplish its desired goals and objectives. The planning process is an essential element of an organization’s performance as it helps a business and its managers in determining processes needed to achieve the goals of the company. In any competitive industry, it is difficult to encounter businesses as frequently as is the case with Starbucks. The Starbucks Company has retails located in each and every street corner, a factor that places its retail shops right at the doorsteps of its customers. This makes it extremely convenient for consumers to buy a cup of coffee at a premium price while home, at the office or out for a fun day. The company’s functional plan organized along with its business plan has helped it to achieve a near monopoly in the coffee industry. Executive managers and company employees work hand in hand to ensure their customers are satisfied. Starbucks does not only train its employees on the hard production skills, but also on the soft skills on how best to interact with the customers and other stakeholders. Soft skills are such as donning an inviting smile or creating a friendly eye contact with the potential customers. In terms of legendary service, the Company remembers its regular customers and their preferred drinks. Starbucks is a service oriented companies that ensures a high degree of customer contact and visibility. It is of great significance for the company to continue training their employees with the sole aim of perfecting their service to both casual and regular customers since it is strongly dependent good customer relationship to continue attracting large sales volumes (Richard San Juan 1). In summary planning is an essential management function that can be used by Starbucks to address its short-term goals and in realizing overreaching, long-term visions. Starbuck business planning can be done by business owners and managers or with the support of informed stakeholders and frontline employees (Ingram 1). Starbucks Organizing Function The organizing function is an integral aspect of any profitable organization. Improper implementation of the management’s organizing function can cause the ultimate failure of an otherwise vibrant company. Organizing concerns itself with the organization’s internal organization structure. The major focus of this function is on the division of duties and jobs, various job activities coordination, task control, information flow within the organization and staffing. Managers are responsible for distributing authority and responsibility to the various job holders within the organization’s hierarchy. The organizing function helps in addressing issues such as, interaction of people within the organization, lines of authority and organizational chart. In this line Starbucks has succeeded in assigning specifically defined roles to its employees with regards to their expertise area. The company has perfected this function by allocating various roles to the top management and other employees as well. For example, the company’s top management creates financial reports for purposes of making decisions to the frontline employees who are tasked with the preparation of Starbucks’ variety of coffee drinks. Starbucks as a company puts much emphasis on innovation and top quality output. As a result, the company has gained a considerable competitive advantage over its competitors in the coffee industry. Their large customer base and expansive market share enjoyed by Starbucks is a clear indication of perfect and well organized business operations system. The company‘s hourly waged employees perform routine activities such as monetary transactions and taking of orders in order to maximize the company’s revenue. As a step towards delivering high quality service, Starbuck should ensure that its workforce is contented. A contented workface keeps the corporation partners and customers intact. Less partner turnover increases the stability of the management, which makes the company to perform better by providing personalized services to its regular and prospective customers. In addition, the company should use incentives like promotions and continuous training to achieve its core goals and maintain its stability in the volatile coffee industry. Additionally, the company should strive to retain its hourly employees (baristas) and managers as they are more familiar with the stores regular customers and how they wish their drinks to be prepared. In conclusion, business organizations management teams must be equipped with adequate knowledge regarding theoretical and practical functions of organizing as without them the organization can be left in crisis and chaos. The Influencing Function at Starbucks Influencing also referred to as directing entails an attempt to persuade other people towards achieving common objectives set by an organization. The management has the responsibility of motivating employees to attain specific organizational goals and objectives (Anthony 67). Through sufficient directing mechanisms, the Starbucks management is in a position to oversee the staff behavior in their effort to achieve the organization goals. Influencing also helps the employees to achieve their personal career goals. Organization influence can be achieved through quality leadership in an organization, motivation, department dynamic and effective communication. Influencing is applicable in individual situations as well as in a team and group scenario. Managers should ensure that, people assigned with specific responsibilities share common organizational goals by working towards achieving the set goals. Influencing has continued to be a critical part of Starbucks management. Being a world class coffee retailer with over 17000 outlets in more than fifty countries, the employment of effective directing measures is extremely critical. The organization’s goal is to increase its stores in the United States of America up to 15, 000 and an additional 15,000 stores in other major markets across the globe. To achieve these goals, Starbucks must have very consistent plans to motivate and boost the morale of its employees. In this realization, the organization has come up with several initiatives to facilitate community social responsibility and enhance favorable treatment of its employees (Stanley 91). For starters, Starbucks has focused on providing equal opportunities to people with disabilities. The organization is currently reaching out to people with disability both as customers and as employees. Currently, the organization is recruiting disabled employees in all its branches all across the world. The organization is also encouraging other employees to support these initiatives and accommodate disabled employees in the various workplaces. To ensure adequate motivation for disabled employees and customers, the company has embarked on changing the tables and label for tables designed for disabled people, reducing the height of the counters to ease access to people using wheel chairs, building entrances that can be accessed by disabled people and offering training to employees on the most appropriate ways of working with disabled people. Additionally, the company has employed component management personnel to assist it in achieving its organizational goals. The recruited managers are also trained on the most appropriate means of influencing employees towards achieving the organizational goals. To motivate the employees most effectively, the company has developed effective mechanisms for adequate remuneration of the employees. Reward for best performers is also necessary to motivate and raise the employees’ morale. The company has come up with a mechanism which will enhance free and fair selection and rewarding of the best performers in the organization. The organization has also developed a mechanism of influencing customers toward buying its brands. Its initiative to influence customers led to a significant increase in the number of customers who relied on the organization’s brands in the early 1990’s. The organization has a core goal of influencing its customers towards adopting the most appropriate means of boosting a healthier lifestyle through encouraging people to replace alcohol with coffee. Through this plan, the organization has offered meeting places in its coffee bars. Starbucks stores are also corporately controlled and owned. To influence more customers into the business, Starbucks retail stores have advanced their appearance through the installation of music systems and lighting to produce a unique ambience. In general well motivated employees and customers’ play a very crucial role in necessitating the achievement of organization goals. As a result of this, the Starbucks managers need to focus more on motivating their employees toward working toward the planned goals. The organization should also come up with incentive programs aimed at achieving employees’ and customers’ needs. The current global status of Starbucks is also motivated by effective communication in the organization. Effective communication is very critical in influencing the achievement of dynamic working environment, emergence of effective mechanism of solving emerging problem as well as in the development of constructive interpersonal relationship necessary for achieving the organization goals. The managers in Starbucks are also aware of the most effective communication process in the organization. Controlling Controlling in an organization has to do with the establishment of performance standards. The established performance standards should be based on the wider organizational goals and objectives. Controlling also includes the evaluation and reporting of real job performances. After evaluation and reporting of actual performance standards, the management should also make the necessary changes and corrective actions where a drop in performance is recorded. In Starbucks, the control is an ongoing exercise. The organization management utilizes control mechanisms in identifying any emerging problem in the organization as well as in taking the necessary precaution measures. The problems that require collective action are also identified through the organization’s control mechanism. Starbucks examines their controlling function through social responsibility, growth, and culture. The Starbucks control mechanism has provided the stores with remarkable competitive advantages over its competitors. Regarding the organization’s cultural control, Starbucks stocks have very unique customers and company culture. To develop and sustain this culture, the store has developed very specific control measures. Culture generally focuses on traditions, norms, language, behaviors, and attitude inherent among the various stakeholders of an organization. Cultural controls assists in maintaining organizational attitudes. The company has adopted “normative controls” which help customers and employees to behave in a manner that preserves the organization’s culture. For normative control to be effective, the store has come up with an internal environment which compels employees and customers to be considerate on the impact of their behavior toward the organization culture. The store has a unique procedure defining how customers should make their orders. Customers select among a variety the most pleasing flavors, sizes, and preparation technology. To facilitate the efficiency and accuracy in filling orders, Starbucks has offered adequate training to the counter clerks on the most suitable ways of calling out orders to beverage makers in a specific and appropriate sequence. The organization has also trained its customers on the most effective protocol of ordering their preferred beverages. Employees are also trained adequately on the coffee making nuances such as flavor, acidity, body and aroma. Customers who show loyalty to the organization’s culture are also rewarded through reduction of the cost of their orders. As result, Starbucks customers are always willing to pay more to store’s brands. This unwavering devotion towards the store’s brands is not only motivated by its unique appeal but also by the positive experiences and associations they have to the organization’s outlets. Moreover, the stores quality hiring practices have assisted in hiring of the most effective employees. The form of social control exercised by Starbucks stores is based on its basic foundation set in 1997 (Hammers 101). In 1997, Starbucks was the largest cooperate in North America in offering relief to sponsor education, health, and other humanitarian aids to vulnerable people in the society. The organization has constituted an environmental committee aimed at looking on best ways of recycling, reusing and reduction of wastes in the environment. To facilitate proper utilization of the resources directed towards corporate social responsibility, the organization has developed very specific social control measures to ensure proper accountability of all funds set aside for the organization’s corporate social responsibility plan. The organization ensures that, only competent managers control all its social investments. Conclusion For an organization to achieve its ultimate goals, the management ought to utilize effectively the four main functions of management. Any management team is only considered successful by the extent to which it achieves the organization’s planned objectives and goals. This requires a great measure of efficiency, effectiveness and accountability on the part of management and employees. In the last two decades, Starbucks has employed its effective communication systems, functional organizational structures, organizational goals, and its team oriented decision making process in maintaining its current status as a market leader in the very competitive coffee industry. In communicating its goals, the organization uses a matrix structure, necessitating communication to customers and other employees. The organization communication methods offer an opportunity for an open communication environment which promotes information sharing, teamwork and innovation. The study has also revealed how Starbucks achieves its ultimate goals. The organization’s goals are similar to its basic practices and values. In achieving its goals, the organization promotes a favorable environment to its customers and employees. It equally assists in invention and innovation while facilitating the development of productive teams. The company realizes its objectives by prioritizing ethical behaviors as well as using effective communication to retain and attract customers and facilitate employees’ satisfaction in all its stores across the world. In general, the success of the Starbucks is mostly based on innovative structures, cooperate policies and quality services to its customers. Works Cited Anthony, Gales. Organization Theory: A Strategic Approach (6th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. 2003. Print. Hammers, Gray. “Starbucks is Pleasing Employees and Pouring Profits.” Journals of Workforce Management (2010), Vol. 89, no. 23, pp. 97-113. Ingram, David. Planning in the Contemporary organization. Web.July.2012. SanJuan, Richard. The Starbucks Business Plan- Howard Schultz and Starbucks. Web.July.2012. Stanley, Hitt. Starbucks Coffee Company. (Case study) Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. 2002. Web.July.2012. Read More