Executive Report on Starbucks
Introduction
Since its inception in 1971, the people who work for Starbucks have been providing us with great coffee, and a relaxing atmosphere to enjoy it in. But how did this company develop from a single store in 1971, to a multi-national giant with more than 17,000 stores in 55 countries? Of course there are many aspects of the company, which were responsible for this massive success, one of the most important being the creativity and determination of Howard Schultz, the CEO. His experience and determination came from working for a Swedish coffee maker HammerPlast in the late 70s. Along with his determination, Howard brought an atmosphere foreign to the coffee establishments of that time. He took his inspiration from the Italians, who used coffee houses as a place to socialize and catch up with friends, and began to open up unique stores, which aimed to create the same atmosphere. Over the next decade, the company became one of the most successful in the world.
Our team has conducted extensive research about three main aspects of the company, which we believe are of the highest contribution to this success. These aspects include cultural diversity, work environment, and customer service. We believe that cultural diversity is very important to analyze because there are many benefits to having multicultural teams. Some of these include better analysis of information, unique perspectives, and distinctive regional expertise. The work environment is a very important aspect to analyze because it helps us understand how the company operates. The work environment is one of the most important reasons a person remains with or chooses to leave their job. This environment is responsible for the satisfaction and comfort of the employees at work. Finally, we decided to examine customer service because both previous aspects ultimately boil down to how satisfied the clients are. If Starbucks is not “the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world”, then the company is not living up to its reputation (Starbucks Coffee Company).
In order to complete our research, our team has done three things to gather information primary data. First, we set up interviews with several employees of the company and talked to them about their job. We asked them questions regarding their work environments, cultural diversity, and their opinions of the company. Second, several group members attended an informational meeting at Van Munching Hall in College Park. Here we were able to get in touch with several people who work in the upper rungs of the company, and ask them questions about the managerial aspects of the business. Finally, we created a survey which we distributed to several stores and asked the employees to provide us with confidential feedback. The data we gathered was then analyzed in terms of the key aspects our group was interested in. In this reports, you will be presented with the analysis and findings of our group.
Analysis
Customer Services
Delivering excellent customer service is of utmost importance to a reputable company like Starbucks as its success and reputation is based on the level of customer satisfaction. Since Starbucks is operating in a service industry, fulfilling the needs of customers is a top notch priority of the company. Therefore, not only it is significant for all Starbucks employees to possess warm personality when attending their customers, but also the quality of the services rendered to the specific needs of each customer. Each and every employee must exhibit enthusiasm when asking what the customers would like to order, as well as portray their passion when making the products. In short, Starbucks values the customers and deliver their services to best satisfy the customers needs.
Customer service is an essential factor to reflect the success of an organization. According to Turban et al. (2002), "Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the
