Starbucks Case Study

Starbucks Structure

MGT 330 Management for Organizations

Christopher T Holmes

Instructor: Willetra Brittian

June 30, 2014

When you start your day, it usually is started with a cup of coffee that is brewed and purchased from your local supermarket. Coffee is the most drink beverage after tea around the world. In most places, coffee is drink in a social environment and is shared amongst friends and family. Here in America coffee was a beverage that was used in the starting of your day. Coffee was mostly consumed by the average worker in the mornings to start off their day and purchased at local supermarkets. This coffee was mostly inexpensive and of premium grade. Howard Schultz after his travels from Italy saw how city dwellers would start their day at a local Coffee bar. Howard foresaw Starbucks as an experience more than just a place to get coffee. He wanted to offer more than just coffee but offered to masses designer coffee such as espresso, cappuccino and coffee mocha. (“Case Study: Starbucks’ Structure”) “Store interiors encouraged lounging and relaxing with a newspaper, magazine, laptop, or friends. Each café featured enticement such as jazz music in the background, additional merchandise to examine, and comfortable seating” (para. 2). Howard Schultz started and opened II Giornale coffee shop in Seattle, Washington which was later renamed Starbucks and has taken off like a rocket. Stores have opened around the United States and world and have become a stable in the American culture. We will look at completing a job description and job specification for a Starbucks employee. What form of departmentalization should Starbucks use? Should the form be changed in stores offering food products and lunch? Why or Why not? When the company began to experience financial problems, should the leadership try to centralize power and decision-making or decentralize the operation? And what form of organizational configuration best fits Starbucks?...