Original Strategic

1. What was Howard Schultz's original strategic vision for Starbucks? Is his 2010 Strategic Vision for Starbucks different from the one he had in the 1980s? How many times has his strategic vision changed? Is his Present strategic vision likely to undergo further evolution?

The original strategic vision for Starbucks was for them to be a leader in quality drinks and customer service. He took a trip to Milan, Italy and he feel in love with how their Espresso Bars were. When you walked in Schultz described of a place that was practically a third home. Everyone knew each other names, the employees conversed with the customers and it just was as if the place was a social event and not a place to grab a coffee and go. Also they had cool drinks, Cappuccino, that he thought would be a big hit if he brought it back to America to be sold at the Starbucks. Schultz had a vision that he could turn Starbucks into a world class business where everyone and the world would get to experience what the store was offering. No one the at least in his eyes knew as much about the grade of coffee beans, how they should be brewed, and what the finest coffee tasted like. So with that on his side he thought that he could expand the business after only a year of working there and his plan didn't work. Later down the line Schultz soon became the CEO of Starbucks and he did exactly what he said he expanded the business, had the best employees, introduced new drinks, and etc. his dream was finally coming true. In comparing his 1980 strategic vision to his 2010 strategic vision I don't see much of a difference. As a company your goal is to keep adding new ventures so that your company is doing its very best to keep alive in this dog eat dog world. What I will say is that he reintroduced is old vision since by that time he was considered the third CEO of the company. The second CEO of the company, Jim Donald, only cared about profits, and doing so he drove down customer Satisfaction and revenue. Employees weren't being treated as the once were and the end of the day the employees at the bottom-line are the ones that keep the business open if they weren't there to sell the products then what would be left of Starbucks, nothing. So in concluded I didn't see the vision as changing just improving the values were still the same I the end it was just that new things were incorporated into what he was doing.

2. Has Starbucks's strategy evolved as the strategic vision has evolved?

I would have to say yes. As the Strategic vision evolved the strategy had to evolve. For example when Starbucks went public and sold stocks they had to change their strategy because the company was no longer private they had to incorporate all of the stakeholders into the strategy of what they were trying to do. It is only common sense that when the vision is enhanced, changed, or destroyed that the strategy would indeed change as well.

3. Which one of the five generic competitive strategies discussed in chapter 5 most closely approximates the competitive approach that Starbucks is employing?

I would have to say that they fall into the category of Broad differentiation Strategy and somewhat of a best cost provider strategy. I say that they are a best cost provider because for their price, which isn't considered low, customers get the best for their money. I also think that they are in a broad differentiation category because no one can easily come and do what they are doing. It takes years to start a business such as Starbucks because you have to know the history of how to brew the coffee beans and how to get the best out of the beans. And I had to say broad instead of focused because the company has become so big the only focus is just not on the process of how to make coffee but everything they are involved form ice cream to sandwiches, down to ready to drink on the go Frappuccino/

4. What are the key policies, practices, business principles, and procedures that underlie how Howard Schultz and Starbucks' management have implemented and executed the company's strategy?

5. What "values" does Starbucks have? How well do they connect to the strategy and to the manner in which the company conducts its business?

The Cornerstone value in their effort "to build a company with soul" was that the company would never stop pursuing the perfect cup of coffee by buying the best bean and roasting them to perfection. Schultz was adamant about controlling the quality of Starbucks products and building a culture common to all stores. He was rigidly opposed to selling artificially flavored coffee beans, saying that "we will not pollute our high quality beans with chemicals"; if a customer wanted hazelnut-flavored coffee, Starbucks would provide it by adding hazelnut syrup to the drink rather that by adding hazelnut flavoring to the beans during roasting. Running favored beans through the grinders would result in chemical residues being left behind to alter the flavor of beans ground afterward; plus, the chemical smell given off by artificially flavored beans was absorbed by the other beans in the store. If this doesn't speak for their values at Starbucks I don't know what does and as far as I know they haven't made a change in the practice of roasting beans to perfection.

6. What is your evaluation of Starbucks social responsibility? Is it sincere or just something the company does and talks about to create a good public image?

Howard Schultz's effort to "build a company with soul" included a long history of doing business in ways that were socially and environmentally responsible. A commitment to do the right thing had been central to how Starbucks operated as a company since Howard Schultz first became CEO in 1987. The specific actions comprising Starbucks' social responsibility had varied over the years, but the intent of the strategy was consistently on the contributing positively to the communities in which Starbucks has stores, being a good environmental steward, and conducting its business in ways that earned the trust and respect of customers, partners/employees, suppliers, and the general public. In 2008-2010, Starbucks' corporate social responsibility strategy had four main elements ethically sourcing all of the company's products, community involvement, environmental stewardship, and farmer loans. Based on this information I placed above my evaluation of Starbucks social responsibility is that it is different from anything I have ever heard before. Personally I like the fact that they incorporated a neat way to recycled and it given their customers the incentive to recycle because they are awarded a slight discount if they bring their own mugs in to get coffee. I think this whole social