The Characteristics of a Sovereign State - Assignment Example

1. Steps involves in research
a. Problem definition
b. Research design determination
c. Preparation of the research instrument
d. Data sample and collection
e. Data analysis
f. Evaluation
2. What is economic development?
Economic development is the progress of an economy, usually measured qualitatively. It involves adopting new technologies that result in improved living standards for individuals.

3. Briefly explain the concept of a multinational market region
The concept of multinational regional markets involves a group of countries merging and reducing the trade and tariff barriers to providing mutual economic benefits. The concept helps the countries reduce the time and money spent trading among countries.
4. Questions from the Starbucks Case Study
Controllable and Uncontrollable elements challenging Starbuck's international market
• Controllable elements
Price: In Italy, they face challenges in areas where competitors serve more than coffee. For instance, Italian coffee costs less making it difficult for Starbucks to compete with Italian espresso.
• Uncontrollable
Competition: In Japan, they face competition from rival shops and encounter economic depression
Regulations: In France, they face legal and political regulations that reduce their profit margin.
The risks facing Starbucks and the potential solutions

Starbucks faced three major risks in the competitive market. The first was the saturated market condition in the USA. The company started with 17 coffee locations in Seattle and over 5000 outlets in more than 20 countries. Seattle has a population of over 9000 people, which the company considers as the upper limit of market saturation. The second risk is the loss of customers due to few product options. The risk of global expansion poses risks for Starbucks due to increased competition (Graham, Cateora, and Gilly 300).

Potential solutions

Starbucks can reduce employee destruction to improve the quality of service. Product repositioning will help Starbucks win back its lost customers. Since coffee is its primary product, Starbucks should focus on improving the quality of the product.

A critique of the strategy of Starbucks
Starbuck's overall corporate strategy is facing challenges due to a mismatch between consumer expectations and company strategies. They believe that having more outlets increases sales volume. Starbucks concentrates on increasing the number of outlets without analyzing consumer satisfaction levels. The company does not apply the use of a price differentiation strategy making it difficult to attract the younger generation.

Improving profitability for Starbucks in Japan
Product and service repositioning will aid Starbucks to improve its profits in Japan. The Japanese people are less conscious of the price and look for quality. Even though they hesitate to spend, they do so only for high-quality products. The Japanese are culturally oriented hence the marketing strategies of Starbucks should relate to the cultural aspects to gain more audience (Graham, Cateor, and Gilly 300). Read More