Starbucks Coffee has a mission statement and vision statement that reflects the emphasis the company puts on leadership in the coffee shop industry. The company’s mission statement serves as a basis to what the company wants to achieve at the core of its business. On the other hand, Starbucks’ vision statement indicates what the company wishes to achieve in the future. In regards to its mission statement and vision statement, Starbucks Coffee guides employees and shows customers what its business is all about.
Starbucks Coffee’s website reveals that the company’s vision statement is “to establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow.” Starbucks puts emphasis on achieving leadership in providing its services and products, especially quality coffee. The company has already achieved its goal as the premier purveyor as it is now considered the largest coffee and coffee shop company in the world. The quality of Starbucks’ coffee is superior compared to many competitors, however it is not yet the finest coffee in the world as mentioned in the vision statement. Other coffee shop chains such as McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts may have better coffee than Starbucks in some aspects. Nonetheless, the company continues to expand globally as Starbucks Coffee currently has more than 26,500 stores around the world.
Also found in its website, Starbucks’ mission statement is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” Such a mission statement reflects the methods the company uses to keep its business running. Starbucks places great importance in inspiring and nurturing its employees, as well as its customers. Even after becoming the biggest coffeeshop company in the world, Starbucks maintains a small company culture, emphasising a positive and friendly relationship among its employees and customers.
Starbucks’ strategy differs from most other organizations that tend to view culture and strategy as two different concepts. The coffee shop chain positions itself not only as a coffee seller but also as an experience provider. If you walk into a Starbucks anywhere in the world, you will find a cozy and welcoming environment which makes customers feel comfortable and invites them to hang around. Starbucks has a strong positive culture because it is closely linked to the company’s distinctive potential and strategy. Over the years, Starbucks Coffee has encouraged a relationship-oriented, employees-first approach, that encourages its workers to create close bonds with each other and enjoy their work. Starbucks employees understand how their work is linked to a common purpose and how they can accomplish great things by working in harmony. The company also understands the importance of diversity and inclusivity. Starbucks works with a staff of diverse backgrounds in order to provide a welcoming environment for its customers of diverse backgrounds as well.
Starbucks Coffee’s stakeholder management approaches are based on corporate social responsibility movements. The main stakeholders in Starbucks Coffee business are employees, customers, suppliers, environments, investors, and governments. The company needs to account for the interests and demands of all its stakeholders in order to maintain a strong corporate image, valuable for its business. Starbucks prioritizes its employees, who typically demand for better work conditions, higher wages and job security. It also prioritizes customers in its corporate social responsibility efforts, who are mostly interested in high quality products and service.
Starbucks is a multinational enterprise that has a significant foothold in every continent. As a result, its organizational structure is quite complex. Like many companies its size, Starbucks has a large board of directors. However, in a slightly more unusual organizational choice, the Board has three different committees, all with committee chairpersons who report to the chairperson of the board. These committees are the Audit and Compliance Committee, chaired by Mellody Hobson, the Compensation and Management Development Committee, chaired by Myron E. Ullman, and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, chaired by Craig Weatherup. By separating the board this way, it allows individual board members to be more personally involved in the everyday running of the company, and it is almost a necessity for a multinational enterprise like Starbucks.
Starbucks uses a hybrid structure with departments headed by Executive Vice Presidents who report to the CEO, Howard Schultz. These EVPs are reported to by Senior Vice Presidents, who have much more specific duties. The organizational chart is divided both geographically and functionally. Some of the sections of the company are far more independent, owing to either their geographic circumstances or the specificity of their departments. For example, the Asia Pacific region has a President, Mark Ring, and under him, there are CEOs of specific countries – Leo Tsoi for China and Takafumi Minaguchi for Japan being the two most major. However, there are also managers at the same level as Mark Ring that are not geographic, but functionally separated. Marketing and Human Resources, for example, both have executives on the President level. In the photo below, taken from Starbucks’ internal presentation on corporate organization, the larger positions are outlined.