Case Study: Starbucks’ Structure
Review the case study below and write a paper that answers the four case study questions listed below in narrative form using APA format. Provide supporting rationale into your responses to the case study questions. Infuse vocabulary learned from the course in your case study analysis. The case analysis should be three pages long, excluding title and reference pages, with at least two references.
Case Study: Starbucks’ Structure
What happens when a highly successful business formula begins to run out of steam? For more than two decades, Starbucks had reconfigured the coffee marketplace by changing the way people viewed the product. Until the company entered the market, coffee was often perceived as a rather banal item consumers purchased as needed. Price often determined which brand someone would buy at the store.
Howard Schultz became convinced that he could turn coffee drinking into a cultural experience. He had traveled to Italy and watched with interest as city dwellers would stop to begin the day at a coffee bar. Using the same type of model, Schultz purchased and opened his first location as Il Giornale. The company evolved into Starbucks, where multitudes of consumers began purchasing designer coffees, such as espresso, cappuccino, and coffee mocha. Store interiors encouraged lounging and relaxing with a newspaper, magazine, laptop, or friends. Each cafe featured enticements such as jazz music in the background, additional merchandise to examine, and comfortable seating.
The original Starbucks chain emphasized location. Cafes were placed on commuter routes and in other places where people were likely to gather and socialize. Over time, units expanded into other major traffic routes, including airports.
Starbucks employs people who enjoy coffee. They are retrained using motivation programs that include buy-in options. They are known as baristas, or bar persons, rather than servers, who become experts in coffee…