Starbucks Corporation. SWOT Analysis - Research Paper Example

In keeping with the case study, it can be ascertained that the employees in Starbucks used to follow the trend of informal dress-code. The casual dress-code fosters a stress-free environment within the organization. Furthermore, Howard Schultz, the vice president of the company perceived a vision of making Starbucks a national company. He wanted to incorporate values and policies, which will ensure goodwill and trust of the customers along with the employees. The new Starbucks established by Howard Schultz operated 9 stores.

However, the newly formed management lacked experience, which stands to be the weakness of the new establishment. In order to overcome the challenges pertaining to management issues, Lawrence Maltz was appointed as the executive vice-president. His skills and strategies provided a new edge to the company (Shah et al., 2006). Correspondingly, the strategy of the company to expand its business in Chicago resulted in challenges. According to the case study, the Chicagoans did not prefer ‘Dark Roasted’ Coffee, which was a major weakness of the management strategy.

Furthermore, the expenses incurred in the product processing in Chicago were much higher as compared to that of Seattle. Furthermore, the rent was also very high along with the wage rate. Starbucks expenses increased in Chicago store. In this regard, the advanced strategies taken by the company’s management included increasing labor costs and maintaining higher rents. This strategy ensured higher profits for the company in Chicago. Another key strength area of the Starbucks was its workplace environment.

The management of the company endured a strong belief that the employees higher pay scale and fringe benefits act as a mechanism to attract the skilled and motivated individuals as the workforce. The strategies formulated to attract the human capital acts as one of the major strengths of the company. After acquiring a better position in the homeland, Starbucks decided to expand its operations beyond national boundaries. It had planned two differentiated strategies, i.e. either to establish a company owned and operated store or to provide license to a local company to promote the Starbuck’s products.

Uncontrolled expansion of the Starbucks operating store can be termed as a decisive weakness. It has been observed that the company plans for the expansion at the cost of their being different from others. It earned profit in the international market based on its premium coffee brand that has differentiated characteristics, which can be termed as one of the company’s weaknesses (Shah et al., 2006). Starbucks expansion plan to operate its stores internationally can be regarded as a major opportunity for the company.

This strategy of the company provides it an opportunity to gain advantage over the international competitors. Moreover, the product line expansion of Starbucks also renders it major growth opportunities. The continuous innovation and commitment of the company had been rewarded in the internatio