English: Starbucks at Selfridges – London (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: A Starbucks Frappuccino. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, book discussion for “Onward” at Borders on State Street Chicago, IL, USA on April 12, 2011. Photo by Adam Bielawski (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Redesigned logo used from 2011-present. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS
1. What was Howard Schultz’s original strategic vision for Starbucks? How many times has his strategic vision changed or evolved into something different? Is his strategic vision for Starbucks in 2011-2012 likely to undergo further evolution?
2. Has Starbuck’s strategy evolved as the strategic vision has evolved?
3. Which one of the five generic competitive strategies discussed in Chapter 5 most closely approximates the competitive approach that Starbucks is employing?
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 evolving strategy?
5. What “values” does Starbucks have? How well do they connect to the present strategy and to the manner in which the company conducts its business?
6. What is your evaluation of Starbucks social responsibility strategy? Is it sincere or just something the company does and talks about to create a good public image?
7. What is your assessment of Starbucks’ financial performance?
8. Has Howard Schultz done a good job as Starbucks’ CEO? Why or why not? What evidence can you cite in support of your position?
9. What issues confront the company as of mid-2012? What should Starbuck’s management be worried about?
10. What recommendations would you make to Howard Schultz to sustain the company’s growth and support continued strong financial performance in the years ahead?