Strategic Management and Corporate Social Responsibilities - Essay Example

The original Starbucks was started as a small outlet in Seattle, by the three academicians (Baldwin, Siegel, and Bowker). They had fallen in love with the coffee drink and were particularly inspired and motivated by their mentor Alfred Peet, a Dutch immigrant, who had started importing Arabica coffee in America, for his small store called ‘Peet’s Coffee and Tea’ in Berkeley, California in 1966. They loved the exotic tastes of coffee and wanted to educate people regarding the merits of good coffee. Their core business was retailing of high quality, freshly roasted coffee beans and only provided sample drinks to their customers. Their beliefs were not misplaced and the huge success of the Starbucks in Seattle resulted in the opening of three more shops that also became popular.

     In 1981, when Howard Shultz, joined Starbucks and admired the philosophy of the founders who had established the business to promote the merits of coffee and wanted to educate the public about its qualities and fine techniques of roasting coffee beans to generate the distinct aroma. While Shultz saw the great potential for the business and wanted to expand the core business and take it across the world, he was opposed by the three entrepreneurs. In 1985, he opened his own coffee café called Giornale’ in 1986, a partnership with his friend Greenberg who was a corporate lawyer, and within six months, he had three outlets across the state. In 1987, the original Starbucks founders sold their company and logo to Shultz and Giornale became Starbucks and Shultz was on his way to realizing his dreams of making Starbucks a global entity and a leading coffee café across the world.

Shultz believed staunchly that Starbucks, as a brand has vast potential that can be popularized across the globe. His long-term vision and intrinsic confidence in the merits of his concepts helped him to popularize unique Starbuck coffee drinks in the new format of an espresso bar and other beverages that were prepared to satisfy the tastes of their customers.