Running Head: MISSION, VISION and VALUES PAPER

MMPBL/590 - Strategies for Competitive Advantage

Mission, Vision and Values Paper

Starbucks is known to be the leading coffee retailer in the world. Since its
introduction in 1971 Starbucks has expanded its operations from one location to
over 15,000 stores in 44 countries at the end of 2007. In July 2008 Starbucks
announced the closure of 600 stores in the U.S. which is a result of expanding too
quickly and the fledgling economy. Even though Starbucks plans to close stores in
the U.S., it still plans on expanding internationally. The strategic plan I will work on
for this class will focus on Starbucks expansion globally.

In 1971 Starbucks opens it first operation in the Seattle’s Pike Place Market. It was
opened by three owners; an English teacher Jerry Baldwin, a History teacher Zev
Siegel and a writer Gordon Bowker. The commitment of the owner’s was to offer
world-class coffee and was dedicated to educating its customers, one on one, about
what great coffee can be ( Schultz & Yang, 1997). In 1982 Howard Schultz joined
the company as a director of retail operations and marketing. During this time
Starbucks begins providing coffee to fine restaurants and espresso bars
(Starbucks.com, 2008). Up until this point Starbucks only sells specialty coffee
beans, it wasn’t until after Howard Schultz comes back from a trip from Milan, Italy
and experience the craze of espresso bars and wants to capture that same feeling
in the US with coffee bars. In 1984 the first coffee bar is opened in downtown
Seattle with great success and the Starbucks as we know it is born. Starbucks sells
more that 30 blends and single-origin coffees. Hand crafted beverages are sold at
Starbucks such as; Fresh-brewed coffee, hot and iced espresso beverages, coffee
and non-coffee blended beverages, and Tazo tea bags (Starbucks.com, 2008).
Starbucks also sells various merchandise from coffee mugs to home espresso
machines. Baked pastries are also sold at Starbuck locations along with salads and
sandwiches. Starbucks also sells music and books which adds to the artsy
atmosphere of the store.

Starbucks mission is, “To inspire and nurture the human spirit— one person, one
cup, and one neighborhood at a time “(Starbucks, 2008). The mission statement is
very clear and concise but due the heavy expansion achieving that one on one
connection with the company has been lost. By building so many store locations in
close proximity to another, that takes away from the mission statement.

Starbucks was once this very intimate type of coffee shop which grew into an
conglomerate and has lost that boutique feeling it once had. Reaching the end state
goals of the mission will take some scaling back for the company to give the
customer that initial experience that drew them in originally. It was more than just
great coffee, it was the atmosphere and the boutique feeling of the shop and the
quality of services that helped the organization follow through with its mission.

Being able to successful expand even further internationally with losing cite of the
company’s mission statement will be key in the strategic planning process. The
mission statement describes the firm's product, market, and technological areas of
emphasis, and it does so in a way that reflects the values and priorities of the firm's
strategic decision makers (Pearce & Robinson, 2004).

Starbucks mission reflects the intimate relationship between the company and
consumer. Due to heavy expansion in the U.S. there has been disconnect between
the relationship. So the end result was that the company needed to close some
locations in order to regain that connection. Although the expansion has ceased in
the US, globally the company still wants to forge ahead and open more stores. The
strategy will be how to expand globally with out making the same mistakes as those
in U.S. With the new strategy the company will successfully fulfill the company’s
mission of nurturing the human spirit. Leadership will be effected by the outcome of
the new strategy in the success of the organization. The culture of the organization
will be strong due to the outcomes of the new strategy and stakeholders will rebuild
their relationship with the company.

Reference

Pearce, J., & Robinson , R. (2004). Strategic Management: Formulation,

Implementation, and Control, 9e. McGraw Hill Companies.

Schultz, H., & Yang, D. J. (1997). Pour Your Heart Into It. New York, NY: Hyperion.

Unknown (Starbucks, 2008). Company Fact Sheet. Retrieved November 30, 2008,
from : http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/Company_Factsheet.pdf