Starbucks culture analysis

It can be difficult for a large company such as Starbucks to create a universal culture which can be instituted from the top executives to the workers in the retail stores; considering that culture also varies across different states and countries. Nonetheless, Starbucks is considered to be Fortune's top companies to work for according to Forbes. The value brand of Starbucks is demonstrated by the mindset of putting people first, which is positively shared and illuminated in the company's mission statement: "To inspire and nurture the human spirit-One person, one cup and one neighbourhood at a time" (Farfan, 2017). The success of Starbucks is undebatable because of it profound control of supply chains and vertical integration. The financial profits and revenues have facilitated business operations in thousands of retail stores (“Starbucks Company Statistics”, 2018).

When interviewed by Carmine Gallo in 2011, Howard insisted that Starbucks success was purely based on passion, not coffee. He insisted that Starbucks was a quintessential brand because of the people. The competitive advantage is as a result of the relationship among employees and between employees and customers (Gallo, 2011). The interpersonal relationship among employees is dependent on persistent teamwork, effective management and leadership, efficient customer service, collaboration and partnership. Starbucks policy and procedures provide store managers with an opportunity to be more than employees; to be partners. One of the most important rituals valued by Starbucks employees is Coffee Tasting. The ritual cements the bond among employees and allows employees to develop new passions for coffee as well as identify new product introductions.

The passion acquired through the rituals allows employees to share and communicate it with customers (Shasteen, 2013). The initial dress code for Starbucks employees was a complete set of uniform consisting of black or white-collar shirts, khaki or black pants and black shoes. Employees with tattoos were also expected to cover them at all time and those with pierced ears could not wear more than two earrings on each ear. Thus, managers must constantly communicate with employees in order to address any concerns or issues in the workplace (Bosmeny et al. , n. d. High-quality service delivery is still the goal of every store despite the traffic location. The underlying assumption is that quality varies depending on employees and store location, but, policy guidelines ensure that there is uniform standardization across all stores.

Therefore, solutions ought to be based on needs and problems of the individual store. Leadership Transformation Howard Schultz has been the architect since he acquired the coffee shop in 1982 and grew it into a multi-billion-dollar chain corporation. Starbucks is an iconic brand and has overperformed changes in the dynamic business market. Unfortunately, for a while now, Starbucks stocks have declined by nearly 12% because the chain corporation has been struggling to revitalize same-store sales. The company image has been tainted after recent arrests of black men in a few stores across the states, raising issues of biasness and racism by Starbucks employees. About 75% of Italy’s coffee is consumed at home. Most Italians prefer making their own coffee at the comfort of their home and while they are out, they only consume espresso shots and inexpensive cappuccinos at the bar.

According to the Euromonitor report on Cafes in Italy, 89% are independent cafes. Italians do not like chain corporations. In fact, there are about 60,336 independent café and only 919 chain café (Euromonitor). Even though Starbucks has been able to improve revenues, market share and brand recognition, there is still much to be done because the business market is dynamic. Starbucks should invest in research, training and promotional practices to maintain competitive advantage and remedy the weaknesses that exist. Promotion of free flow of information will enable the company to thrive at all levels of management. Schultz responded, “We are not in the coffee business. It is what we sell as a product but we are in the people business,” (Gallo, 2011).  [eBook]. Starbucks. Retrieved from http://globalassets.