Mission of Starbucks: Coffee Manufacturing and Marketing Companies - Assignment Example

?Business Environment Table of Contents Task 4 a)i. Mission of Starbucks 4 a)ii. Practical Objectives of Starbucks 5 b)i. Comprehensive StakeholderMap 6 b)ii. Efficiency of Starbucks in Recognising the Needs of its Stakeholders 8 c)Starbuck’s Social Responsibilities 9 Task 2 10 a)i. The Concept of Emerging Economies 10 a)ii. Advantages and Disadvantages of Emerging Economies in Comparison to Command Economies 11 b)i. Current Economic Climate of the UK through the Implication of Business Cycle Model as an Analysis Framework 13 b) ii. Steps to be Considered by the UK Government 18 c)Balancing Policy Requirements in the UK 18 Task 3 19 a)Advantages Gained by McDonald’s due to the Barriers to New Entrants in the UK Fast Food Industry 19 b)i. Meaning of Perfect Competition 20 b)ii. Perfect Competition in the UK Fast Food Industry 21 c)i. Three Regulatory Mechanisms Currently in Force in the UK Fast Food Industry 22 c)ii. Compliance of Regulations by McDonald’s 23 Task 4 25 a)Role of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Globalisation 25 b)Advantages and Disadvantages of Price Intervention in the EU Agricultural Sector 26 c)Benefits and Disadvantages Gained By UK Businesses from Entry into the European Monetary Union 28 References 30 Task 1 a) i. Mission of Starbucks Starbucks is recognised as one of the most famous coffee manufacturing and marketing companies. The company was established in 1971 and till date it continues with a broad distribution of channel of 1600 shops in almost 50 countries. The company has also been recognised for its significant consideration to the quality maintenance in serving its customers, partners and the community at large (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2010). In order to maintain its focus on the quality aspect along with the overall organisational development, the company considers a mission statement. This mission statement tends to direct the organisational strategies and the strategic objectives of the company as well. The mission statement developed by the company depicts its concern regarding the quality of the products’ served with due consideration to its partners’ interest and the requirements of its targeted customers. The company also concentrates on the aspect of customer satisfaction in terms of efficient services through its retail outlets and restaurants. One of the most significant aspects of the mission statement considered by Starbucks is its concern regarding the environment. It is worth mentioning that the mission statement of the company reflects that Starbucks implement environment friendly strategies in its supply chain management to a significant level (Starbucks Corporation, 2011). a) ii. Practical Objectives of Starbucks Considering the defined mission statement, Starbucks has determined its objectives for the current fiscal year 2011-2012 as follows. To attain a profitable growth in the international industry To emerge as a leader in the single-cup coffee product segment To expand its customer base and its market share globally To accelerate the growth in the retail segment of the company in the US To attain stimulated growth in the Chinese market To be more focussed on the partners interest To repay the community through efficient service (Starbucks Corporation, 2010) It can be apparently witnessed from the above description of Starbucks’ mission and objectives that a rational link exists between the organisational objectives and its mission. b) i. Comprehensive Stakeholder Map Stakeholders have emerged to be one of the significant facets of the modern day phenomenon of business management. Stakeholders are often defined as “persons, groups, neighbourhoods, organizations, institutions, societies, and even the natural environment are generally thought to qualify as actual or potential stakeholders” (Mitchel & Et. Al., 1997). Based on this definition, the stakeholders of Starbucks can be identified as follows: Employees Business Partners Customers Suppliers Shareholders Community members (Starbucks Corporation, 2010) With due consideration to the interests of the stakeholders on the organisational goal from the overall perspective, a stakeholder map has been developed below: Figure: 1 Starbucks’ Stakeholder Map b) ii. Efficiency of Starbucks in Recognising the Needs of its Stakeholders In its strategic directions, Starbucks have provided significant consideration to the interests of its stakeholders. For instance, in the company’s strategic decisions, Starbucks has considered a transparent description of the risks associated with its current strategic position in relation to its stance in the global market. It is worth mentioning that the risks addressed by the company relate to various dimensions of the business environment, such as the currency fluctuation risks, economic risks, regulatory risks and various other quantitative and qualitative risks (Starbucks Corporation, 2010). An apparent knowledge to the risks faced by the organisation in implementing its strategies and attaining its determined goal enhances the reliability of the company from the stakeholders’ point of view including the shareholders, employees, business partners and suppliers directly. On the similar context, the consideration provided by the company to the aspect of quality and environmental hazards also signifies the interests of community members and customers as the stakeholders of the company. Considering the fact, it can be stated that the company possesses an in-depth understanding of the business environment as well as the views and expectations of its stakeholders. The company also tends to comply with its corporate social responsibilities with efficiency in relation to the aspect of stakeholders’ interests and expectations. However, its efficiency to satisfy the needs and demands of its stakeholders are subject to the affectivity of its organisational operations and efficient execution of its corporate social responsibility strategies. c) Starbuck’s Social Responsibilities Starbucks provides significant consideration to the interests of its stakeholders irrespective of their involvement in the organisational strategic decisions. To deal with the interests of its community, the company maintains environmental policies to reduce the rate of carbon emissions. Furthermore, the company also initiates various other policy measures to control its operations in a socially responsible approach. For instance, the company considers strict policy measures to control its operations in relation to supply chain management. With the purpose of regulating the suppliers’ operations in an ethical and socially responsible way, the company has structured supplier code of conduct policies that the suppliers of the company are liable to agree through a mutual contract. The contract also addresses various other issues that in turn intend to enhance the suppliers’ role in an ethical manner. To be illustrated, the policy measures undertaken signify the adherence to the local regulations and legislative responsibilities from the end of the suppliers. In this regard the suppliers need to adhere to the human right laws, safety rules and regulations for the workforce along with significant compensation policies for the workers in the suppliers’ firm. Moreover, the company also takes into account the carbon footprints caused by its suppliers and intends to reduce the environmental impact all through its supply chain (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2004). The prime objective of implementing these strategies can be identified as the attainment of ultimate organisational goals. For example, the company aims at 100% ethical sourcing of coffee by the fiscal year 2015 due to which a significant consideration is provided to strict policy measures. Other corporate social responsibilities undertaken by Starbucks include farmer loans at a lower interest rate intending to facilitate the product quality and environment protection, strengthen community service, energy efficient strategies, effective waste management strategies, and reduction in water consumption, as few of the major concerns (Starbucks, 2010). Task 2 a) i. The Concept of Emerging Economies The concept of Emerging Economies is stated to have a broad meaning in the current day phenomenon. The term is commonly used to describe the markets which have potential for rapid development in relation to the business environment. Emerging economies are identified to be fundamentally less developed and thus are also referred to as developing economies. It is in this context that various experts have defined the term in different manners. For instance, the definition provided by Khanna & Palepu (2010) states that the term emerging economies refer to the market that is developing at a rapid pace offering both opportunities and threats to the businesses and is recognised to be widely different from the developed economies in terms of business environment. On the similar context, the definition suggested in the glossary of Charles Schwab & Co (2011) states that the term emerging economies refer to as “a sector within international stocks made up of developing countries, such as Kenya and China, where economic and political conditions may be more volatile”. Considering these definitions it can be stated that the concept of emerging economies are widely used by economists and business firms to demonstrate the markets that are expected to possess fair growth prospects. In most cases, these emerging markets are expected to grow consistently at a higher margin than the developed or command economies (Mody, 2004). a) ii. Advantages and Disadvantages of Emerging Economies in Comparison to Command Economies Command economies are defined to be the “one in which the coordination of economic activity, so essential to the viability and functioning of a complex social economy, is undertaken through administrative means — commands, directives, targets and regulations — rather than by a market mechanism” (Ericson, 2005). With due consideration to the aforementioned definitions of emerging economies it can be apparently witnessed that both the economic groups, i.e. economic and command economies differ largely in terms of characteristics. It is in this context that both advantages as well as disadvantages can be recognised as offered by emerging economies to the business concerns in comparison to the command economies or developed markets. Few of the advantages which are apparently identifiable as offered by the emerging economies are capital mobility, comparatively less complex socio-economic structure, accelerated growth in terms of demand, and various other business opportunities to national as well as international industry players. A major advantage offered by emerging economies is its ability to attract increasing foreign investment through liberalised trade policies that in turn facilitates capital mobility and thus supports the overall growth of business firms (Edwards, 2001; Pradhan & Lazaroiu, 2011). There are also few disadvantages caused by the emerging economies. For instance, free trade policies adopted by the emerging markets are most likely to increase the competition in the market developing the socio-economic environment to be complex. Moreover, the growth of emerging economies in comparison to the commanding economies is stated to be highly fluctuating and thus creates a constraint on the stable growth of business environment. As stated by Edwards (2001), “..........there is no evidence supporting the view that a higher degree of capital mobility has a positive impact on economic growth in the emerging economies”. b) i. Current Economic Climate of the UK through the Implication of Business Cycle Model as an Analysis Framework Business cycle is also referred to as the economic cycle. It is comprehensively termed as “deviations of macroeconomic data from an underlying trend which, however, is not observable in general” (Schenk–Hoppe, 2001). With reference to the definition it can be stated that business cycle is the study of the economic trend in relation to the performance of a specific economy. The economy considered in this context is the UK and thus the further discussion will be based on the study of the economic climate in the UK region. As stated by Schenk–Hoppe (2001), business cycles are based on economic theories that in turn signify the inclusion of various microeconomic concepts in the analysis framework. With this concern, the discussion will emphasise on the micro-economic theories, such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and inflation as a procyclical economic indicator and unemployment and population as countercyclical indicators (Ramadan, 2005). Based on this theory the GDP rate of the UK can be recognised to be quite unstable in providing a strong support to the earnings of the producers and expenditure of the ultimate customers in the economy. For instance, the GDP rate in the UK economy was recorded to be around 3%, - 6% and 2% for the years 2007, 2009 and 2010 respectively (Office of National Statistics, 2011). This can be well observed from the represented diagram below. Figure 2: GDP Growth of UK for the Consecutive Five Years Source: (Office of National Statistics, 2011) Furthermore, the inflation rates of the UK economy can be identified to rise at a significant pace since the past three years. This can be well represented with the assistance of the diagram below. Figure 3: Inflation Rate of UK for the Consecutive Three Years Source: (Office of National Statistics, 2011) Employment and unemployment rates are also termed to be quite significant in influencing the climate of an economy. It is due to the fact that employment and unemployment signifies the gross earning of the nation and thus contributes to the GDP of the economy (Samuelson, 1986). In this context, the employment rate in the UK economy can be observed to grow sustainably supported by a significant downfall in the unemployment rate for the consecutive three fiscal years. The diagram below shall prove to be quite beneficial in revealing the employment and unemployment rates in the economy. Figure 4: Employment and Unemployment Rate of UK for the Consecutive Three Years Source: (Office of National Statistics, 2011) Another countercyclical factor considered in this context, i.e. population is also noted to be quite significant in reflecting the health of an economy. It is worth mentioning that the population growth in the UK is recorded to rise at a sustainable rate depicting the efficient social health of the economy. With reference to the diagram represented below it can be stated that the population growth in the UK as on 2010 was recorded to be 62.3 mn (Office of National Statistics, 2011). Figure 5: Population in the UK Source: (Office of National Statistics, 2011) In a nutshell, it can be stated that the economic climate of the UK is quite moderate to support the overall and efficient growth of the economy. For instance, the climate can be recorded to be healthy in its countercyclical business cycle but is in an unstable position in relation to the procyclical business cycle. b) ii. Steps to be Considered by the UK Government With due consideration to the current economic climate of the UK, it can be stated that the government is likely to consider policies with an intention to control the inflationary rates that in turn shall aim at supporting the sustainable GDP growth of the economy. With this intention the government is likely to consider fair pricing regulations and effective employment opportunities for the overall economic development. Furthermore, the economy can also consider foreign investments to support the GDP growth. c) Balancing Policy Requirements in the UK The UK considers the aspects of social welfare, industrial and trade development to be equally significant for the overall benefit of the economy. It can be apparently observed from the three philosophies considered by the government in the current day context to develop policy regimes in the economy. The three policy directions or philosophies considered by the government in the UK are corporatist regimes, social democratic regimes, and liberal regimes. It is worth mentioning that all these three regimes are strategically oriented towards the social development of the economy as well as sustainable enhancement of industries and trade in the economy (Spicker, n.d.). Task 3 a) Advantages Gained by McDonald’s due to the Barriers to New Entrants in the UK Fast Food Industry Fast food industry in the UK is considered to be highly competitive with increasing customer demand and influences of industry leaders such as McDonald’s, Pret A Manger and Domino’s among others (Kuhn, 2009). Intense competition in the market and strong influences of industry leaders create a significant impact on the readiness of the fresh entrants in the industry. To be specific, intense competition indicates an increased requirement of aggressive competitive strategies and thus signifies greater capital to instigate a business in the industry. This in turn acts as a strong barrier to the entrant of fresh industry players. Moreover, in the recent phenomenon the industry was also affected by a significant downfall in the overall sales volume. For instance, according to the market report, earnings of the UK fast food industry, decreased by 3.4% in the fiscal year 2010 whereas, consumer spending was recorded to grow by 7.7% in the fiscal year that can be considered as a barrier as well as opportunity for the new entrants, respectively (Goodman, 2011). With due consideration to this fact, it can be stated that McDonald’s has gained a significant competitive advantage in the UK fast food industry in its recent performance being supported by the strong and effective barriers to new entrants. b) i. Meaning of Perfect Competition The concept of market competition relates to the number of buyers and the total numbers of sellers existing in the industry. Webster (2003) defines perfect competition as a market structure comprising of numerous ‘utility-maximising’ buyers along with numerous ‘profit-maximising’ sellers. Another attribute of the concept of perfect competition signifies the assumption that the buyers and sellers of a ‘perfectly competitive market’ deals with a homogeneous good and/or service. Moreover, in a ‘perfectly competitive market’ the factors have perfect mobility in terms of production. The buyers and sellers of the market also possess sufficient information regarding the conditions of the market. A ‘perfectly competitive market’ further comprises of meagre barriers to entry and exit in the market (Webster, 2003; Baumol & Blinder, 2008). Therefore, the meaning of perfect competition defines that existence of numerous buyers and sellers of homogeneous products or services is required to confirm an industry to be perfectly competitive. It is in this context that the buyers tend to be ‘utility maximisers’ and sellers tend to be ‘profit-maximisers’ without any influence on the price of the homogeneous products or services rendered in the industry. Thus, perfect competition signifies that sellers can only influence their profit through output maximisation or minimisation but are unable to change the market price of the goods and/or services. Subsequently, the pricing of one perfectly competitive firm (the market player of a perfectly competitive industry) is indistinguishable from that of the other players in the industry. These characteristics are further supported by the knowledge of buyers and freedom of the sellers to enter as well as exit from the market (Stigler, 1957). b) ii. Perfect Competition in the UK Fast Food Industry In relation to the theory of perfect competition, the UK fast food industry can be identified to possess few attributes that signifies the industry to be a perfectly competitive market. However, few other attributes of the UK fast food industry also indicates the industry to be competitive but not perfectly competitive. For instance, the industry can be witnessed to possess the characteristics mentioned below. Large number of buyers and large number of sellers dealing with products and services which are perfectly homogeneous, i.e. majority of the players serve with similar kinds of products in few particular segments such as pizza, burger, Indian and Chinese cuisines, chicken and few other vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian snacks Consumers in the industry have sufficient knowledge regarding the products served by the industry Significant mobility of factors such as raw materials and resources can also be witnessed in the industry Market players have limited or no power to influence the pricing of the products and services rendered by the industry There exists strong barriers to entry and exit in the industry Market prices are significantly influenced by the major industry players such as McDonald’s and Domino’s Market leaders are also recorded to influence the homogeneity of the industry, e.g. the inclusion of McDonald’s in the UK fast food industry encouraged a significant change in the market prospect of the industry (Live and Breathe, 2010) To be summarised, it can be stated that the UK fast food industry and McDonald’s as a major market player in the industry comprises of contradictory attributes in relation to the concept of perfect competition and thus the industry cannot be referred to as perfectly competitive (Toivanen & Waterson, 1999). c) i. Three Regulatory Mechanisms Currently in Force in the UK Fast Food Industry There are various regulatory mechanisms currently in force in the UK fast food industry sector that tends to create a significant impact on the operations of the industry players. In relation to the competitive stance of the industry three particular regulations can be identified that has been introduced recently and tends to regulate the competitive strategies adopted by the firms. These are as follows. Schools are prohibited to provided fast foods to the pupils that are mainly rendered by the fast food companies such as burgers, pizzas, sweets, chocolates, crisps, sausages among others Fast food companies are also prohibited to use cartoon characters to attract children as their targeted customers Regulations were also imposed on mass media channels to discourage the advertising initiated by fast food companies targeted towards the children (Clark, 2010) c) ii. Compliance of Regulations by McDonald’s The aforementioned regulatory mechanisms enforced on the fast food companies on the UK economy mostly tend to regulate their promotional activities with concern to the children and adolescents. The market segment comprising of children and adolescents are termed to be one of the most significant market segments of McDonald’s targeted market. With this concern, it can be stated that compliance to these regulations shall create noteworthy constraint to its competency as a leading marketer of fast food products. However, the company can till date be recorded to consider cartoon characters with an intention to promote its products and services to the targeted adolescents and children market segments. For instance, brand promotion of ‘Happy Meal’ through the assistance of the cartoon character Kung Fu panda in the recent day context is likely to cause legal obligations to the company in the UK (McDonald's Corporation, 2011). Therefore, it can be stated that the company should intensify its attention to comply with the regulations prescribed in the UK economy. Task 4 a) Role of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Globalisation In the current day context, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is stated to be one of the major drivers of globalisation. Especially, in the case of developing countries, FDI has been recorded to be quite significant in enhancing the economic growth along with creating a noteworthy impact on the aspects of modernisation and globalisation in the economy. Evidences have revealed that FDI not only creates a wide impact on the industry sector of an economy but also influences the social, technological, political as well as legal environment of the economy. With this concern, Singh (2005) states that “multinational companies are normally the vehicles for FDI and are central to the current globalisation processes”. The study of Mirza & Giroud (2003) also noted that FDI had a significant impact on the regionalisation, poverty reduction, and employment generation of the developing countries from the perspective of ASEAN economies. Another aspect that has been identified to be influenced strongly by the intensification of FDIs is the educational sector of an economy. According to Velde (2005), FDI enhances the scope of migration of students to other countries for educational purpose along with the stimulation of the educational standards in the economy. It is worth mentioning that education, trade and poverty reduction are significant drivers of globalisation which is witnessed to be significantly influenced by FDI (Velde, 2005). Therefore, it can be stated that the role of FDI in globalisation is that of an effective driver in the modern day phenomenon. b) Advantages and Disadvantages of Price Intervention in the EU Agricultural Sector With an intention to support the agricultural sector in terms of monetary subsidies and sustainable pricing policies, the EU had enforced price intervention in the agricultural sector. The advantages and disadvantages of the price intervention in the agricultural sector are discussed below. The advantages of price intervention in the EU agricultural sector are, Enhancement of global competency in the agricultural sector with sufficient knowledge regarding the volatility of agricultural products in the world market that in turn stimulates the linkage between world agricultural policies and EU agricultural sector Price intervention in the agricultural sector also substituted direct payment with the purpose of rendering price support to the industry participants The strategy also considered the income problem faced by the producers in the industry and thus played a vital role in supporting the overall GDP growth of the union (Ferrer & Kaditi, 2006; Moss & Et. Al., 2011) Along with the advantages, price intervention also comprised of few significant disadvantages that are termed to be quite significant in creating an impact on the ultimate objective of the strategy. They are, Stimulated threat for the EU in relation to the fluctuation of prices in the world market due to the intensified linkage of the pricing structure of EU agricultural sector and the world market Only price intervention has been noted as insignificant to support the pricing structure of the EU agricultural sector with the given attributes of increase in the amount of land rent, oil prices, input costs and other similar factors that in turn hampered the sole objective of the strategy to support the income of the producers Price intervention also raised the constraint of overproduction that in turn was termed to create significant impact on the environment of the world market in relation to fair competition (Ferrer & Kaditi, 2006; Moss & Et. Al., 2011) Conclusively, it can be stated that price intervention in the EU agricultural sector was somewhat insignificant in attaining the ultimate objective to render price support to the industry participants. It was apparently due to the avoidance of other related factors in the reform strategy such as input costs faced by the producers and similar factors influencing their earnings from the sector. Thus, the authorities should provide significant consideration to these aspects in order to attain the ultimate objective determined in this strategic change. c) Benefits and Disadvantages Gained By UK Businesses from Entry into the European Monetary Union Various benefits are stated to be gained by UK business due to their inclusion in the European Monetary Union (EMU). A few of these benefits are as follows. The trade between EU nations is forecasted to grow by around 5% to the highest of 50% in the imminent 30 years due to the EMU inclusion of the UK businesses rewarding better growth opportunity for the UK based companies Governments are likely to assist the companies in entering the EMU which in turn is likely to provide competitive and sustainability benefits to the UK businesses Another significant benefit of the EMU inclusion gained by the UK business is probably the minimisation of foreign exchange risks and reduction in the costs incurred by the producers (Sharman, 2002) The probable disadvantages for the UK businesses in this context are, Increased dependence on the business cycles and the compatibility of the euro zone and thus largely depends on the economic factors of the nations Governmental and political inclusions are also likely to cause barriers to the overall growth of the UK businesses with the minimisation of risks related to exchange rates Inclusion to EMU are further subject to ‘high quality financial investment’ by the UK businesses that would assist the companies to attain most of the opportunities in the extended market (Weber, 2003) References Baumol, W. 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