Midterm Exam Essays

Submitted By stmere1944
Words: 871
Pages: 4

Question # 1(Response):
“A mission statement defines what an organization is, why it exists, and its reason for being. At a minimum, your mission statement should define who your primary customers are, identify the products and services you produce, and describe the geographical location in which you operate” (entrepreneur.com) Bonnie and Stacy, the co-owners of Custom Coffee & Chocolate, have given thorough consideration to envision how their small business can succeed, and now have a well thought out and agreed upon vision for their cafe. Now that they have the vision for their business in place, and their unique position within the community established, Custom Coffee & Chocolate must take the next step to determine their mission and develop a mission statement to articulate their business’s mission. “Once you have designed a niche for your business, you're ready to create a mission statement” (entrepreneur.com) My many years of experience as an Army Officer leads me to believe that Custom Coffee & Chocolates mission is simple: Sell coffee and chocolate to make a profit. The mission statement for the business is much more in-depth and explains how this is to be achieved. In my opinion, the mission statement for Custom Coffee & Chocolate that defines who they are is: Custom Coffee & Chocolate is a purveyor of fine coffees and chocolates, that provides fine fair trade coffee and chocolates at an affordable price in a comfortable and open minded café setting to the intellectual coffee and chocolate lover within the Seattle University community. It is my opinion that this is the mission and mission statement that will lead Custom Coffee and Chocolate to victory on the coffee shop battlefield.
Question # 2(Response):
SWOT analysis will assist Bonnie and Stacy to make Custom Coffee & Chocolate a more competitive business by analyzing their business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats through the utilization of the SWOT matrix. This matrix will determine what makes them different and attractive to their business’s potential customers. “A SWOT analysis of you and your competitors help you identify these differentiators. It will help you to say the right thing to different people and help you to answer those very important questions, what makes you different and Why Should I Choose You?” (Silva p.1)
Strengths:

Location near University

Knowledge of customer base

Relaxing atmosphere

High quality products

Word of mouth advertising

Weaknesses

Product pricing

Limited Advertising

Small size of cafe

Lack of funding
Opportunities

Late hours of operation

Availability of students for part time employees

Menu expansion

Campus delivery

Threats

Competitors on or near campus

Rise in expense to acquire inventory

Too great of an increase in demand

Loss of lease
The completed SWOT analysis matrix provides Bonnie and Stacy the tool for Custom Coffee & Chocolate to discover new strategies, new opportunities, and provides their business with the insight to better position itself in the market and be a profitable success. Their next step will be to use this analysis to develop a strategy for the business.
Question # 3(Response): “Companies often compete through innovation, quality, service, and cost” (Brasfield p.56) Now that the proper analysis has been completed by Bonnie and Stacy, they must develop their strategy and implement a tactical plan to specifically lay out the course of action for their strategy to achieve the growth that they envision. However, they must ensure that they understand the difference between strategy and planning to be successful. “One of the biggest challenges in