Starbucks case study: Its current situation

MARGARET K.

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Starbucks case study: Its current situation

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Abstract

This paper looks at the history of Starbucks as well as the current situation of the company. The focus of the paper is on the principles on which the company was created and this is tackled in the background section of this paper. Besides the background, this paper identifies that Starbucks has had many problems relating to service operations. These problems are summarized in the statement of the problem section and they are dealt with in detail under the analysis section. As will be identified in this section, the service operations problems of the Starbucks relate to cultural, labor as well as machine issues which have not been solved by the company. In the recommendations section, the issues discussed and problems identified find their solutions as the paper in this section provides the potential way-out for the company to curb the problems discussed. Under the section of conclusion, the paper is summarized by looking at all issues discussed.
Background

Starbucks was founded in 1971 in Seattle, Washington. The founding of the company was by friends Jerry Baldwine, Siegal Zev as well as Gordon Bowker. The principle founding of the company was an answer to the romantic stories of a person's love for coffee. Built on this round, people immediately loved and associated with the company as one which provides an experience with coffee. It did not take so long for the company to build six more locations. These locations were also in Seattle. Overall, the momentum for expansion by the company has been kept for a long time.

Executive summary
1. The paper deals with history of Starbucks
2. It deals with present state of service operations
3. It identifies recommendations for problems identified
Background
1. Customer experience was the core objective
2. Problem statement
3. Customer experience and interpersonal skills are lacking
Analysis
1. Employees lack interpersonal skills
2. Focus on efficiency has led to the loss of customer experience
Recommendations
Conclusion

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[...] This was indeed the height of the operations service changes towards efficiency but away from customer experience. Within time, customers were already complaining on the lack of experience (Zimmerman, 2007). They pointed out that the stores had departed from the heritage of the country. According to these complaints, the tradition North America is one where there is a rich experience and a sensational contact when food is to be consumed. As they stated, the store was critically lacking of this at the present moment (Zimmerman, 2007). [...]

[...] Starbucks case study: Its current situation Outline A. Executive summary * The paper deals with history of Starbucks * It deals with present state of service operations * It identifies recommendations for problems identified B. Background * Customer experience was the core objective * Problem statement * Customer experience and interpersonal skills are lacking C. Analysis * Employees lack interpersonal skills * Focus on efficiency has led to the loss of customer experience D. Recommendations Employee training Employment of locals E. [...]

[...] Analysis Starbucks has faced many problems relating to service operations. These problems are domestic as well as international. The emergence of these problems has been because of the operating environment of the company which has had considerably expanded. With the increasing expansion, management of the service operations became a challenge. This is because entering the global market affected the resource base as well as questioned on the adaptability of the company to work on unfamiliar grounds. With such expansion, labor, capital and such become increasingly scarce and presented the challenge of being fulfilled (Burks-Busing, 2009). [...]

[...] This has in the end been followed by actions such as introduction of efficient machines. According to the discussion, though the objective of efficiency has been achieved, many other objectives including that of customer experience have been abandoned. According to the discussion, besides the customer experience, interpersonal skills are another service operation presenting a problem to Starbucks. As has been identified in the paper, the problem of interpersonal communication in inadequacies is also caused by cultural diversity in the operational environments. The paper does propose solutions. [...]

[...] According to the paper, first, the company needs to employ locals as a way of offsetting the cultural problems. Besides, the paper proposes that the company trains the employees on the interpersonal skills as another strategy to alleviate the problems experienced. References Burks-Busing, M. (2009). Starbucks. New York: ABC-CLIO Zimmerman, A. (2007). Starbucks corp.: Clouds in your coffee. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Darden. [...]

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