Vision, Mission, and Strategy at Starbucks

1493 Words3 Pages

Starbucks was bought out by current CEO Howard Schultz in 1987. Since then, Andrew Harrer (2012) reports the company has grown to operate over “17,244 stores worldwide” (para. 1). Fortune (n.d.) reports in its yearly 100 Best Companies to Work for that Starbucks employs “some 95,000 employees”. From only a handful of stores in 1987 to a billion dollar franchise today, the success of Starbucks is due in great deal to their corporate culture, specifically how employees, or as Starbucks calls them, partners are treated. Joseph Michelli (2007) echoes this sentiment, “A great cup of coffee is only part of the Starbucks success equation” (p. 767).

The Starbucks corporate culture is not easily summed up because it is multidimensional. However, Starbucks leadership reiterates several key words regularly; “everything matters”, “playful”, “human connection”, “respect”, “dignity”, and “care”. In fact, many of these words can be found in their mission statement. Starbucks partner mission statement reads:

We’re called partners, because it’s not just a job, it’s our passion. Together, we embrace diversity to create a place where each of us can be ourselves. We always treat each other with respect and dignity. And we hold each other to that standard. (Starbucks.com, n.d., para. 2).

Starbucks strives to be the place between work and home for its customers, and strives to create a place to work where productivity shines above any differences between colleagues. The hiring process begins with the interview. Online forums often reveal the same types of questions asked at interviews. These questions generally refer to how an individual handles conflict with colleagues, requests for information on how they might have disappointed a customer, why...

... middle of paper ...

...leadership and a fair performance appraisal system.

Works Cited

Aguins, H. (2009). Performance Management (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

CNN Money (2012). 100 Best Companies to Work For. Fortune Magazine. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2012/snapshots/73.html

Harrer, A (2012, January 26). Starbucks Corporation. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/starbucks_corporation/index.html

Michelli, J.A. (2007). The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Kindle Edition.

Schultz, H. (2011). Onward. New York, NY: Rodale. Kindle Edition.

Weber, G. (2005, February 1). Preserving the Starbucks Counter Culture. Workforce.com. Retrieved from http://www.workforce.com/article/20050201/NEWS02/302019989

More about Vision, Mission, and Strategy at Starbucks

Open Document