A Resource Based Analysis of Starbucks
A Resource Based Analysis of Starbucks
The current economic situation has required that organizations rethink the way that they do business. With people losing jobs and salaries being cut, people are spending money on essentials and opting less and less to spend on the extras. Groceries, rent, housing, transportation, education are of value while grooming, meals out, movies and cups of coffee or considered frivolous expenses. One organization that banks on Americans need to feed their self focused desires is Starbucks Coffee. Starbucks. Starbuck’s leadership, well aware of the effect that the crisis could have on the company, outlined a plan that included “increased store and operating efficiencies, additional cost reductions and long-term growth” (Starbucks, 2010). As we look well at the assets, skills, capabilities, and intangibles of the company we will develop a better understanding of whether or not their current management and planning approaches are indeed strategic. Starbucks aims to “inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time”. The company’s strategy seems to have this in mind as they move forward in the spirit of innovation and community responsibility. This paper will attempt to look at the organization from a resource based point of view in an attempt to determine whether the practices have served to profit their company through these difficult economic times.
In order to understand the strategies of the company it is important to understand its history. According to the Starbucks website, the first Starbucks store opened in 1971 and was located in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Starbucks stores offered a choice of regular or decaffeinated coffee beverages, a special coffee of the day, and a broad selection of Italian-style espresso drinks. In addition, customers could choose from a wide selection of fresh-roasted whole-bean coffees (which could be ground on the premises and carried
The current economic situation has required that organizations rethink the way that they do business. With people losing jobs and salaries being cut, people are spending money on essentials and opting less and less to spend on the extras. Groceries, rent, housing, transportation, education are of value while grooming, meals out, movies and cups of coffee or considered frivolous expenses. One organization that banks on Americans need to feed their self focused desires is Starbucks Coffee. Starbucks. Starbuck’s leadership, well aware of the effect that the crisis could have on the company, outlined a plan that included “increased store and operating efficiencies, additional cost reductions and long-term growth” (Starbucks, 2010). As we look well at the assets, skills, capabilities, and intangibles of the company we will develop a better understanding of whether or not their current management and planning approaches are indeed strategic. Starbucks aims to “inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time”. The company’s strategy seems to have this in mind as they move forward in the spirit of innovation and community responsibility. This paper will attempt to look at the organization from a resource based point of view in an attempt to determine whether the practices have served to profit their company through these difficult economic times.
In order to understand the strategies of the company it is important to understand its history. According to the Starbucks website, the first Starbucks store opened in 1971 and was located in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Starbucks stores offered a choice of regular or decaffeinated coffee beverages, a special coffee of the day, and a broad selection of Italian-style espresso drinks. In addition, customers could choose from a wide selection of fresh-roasted whole-bean coffees (which could be ground on the premises and carried
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