Management of Starbucks - Essay Example

Starbucks is a leading corporation that offers cafe services and coffee products around the globe. Since the company operates on a global level, it has an extensive management department that occasionally evolves to ensure its continued operation all over the world. The management style of Starbucks is based on the relationship between the employees and the customers. Since its establishment, Starbucks has changed the method of their management style to ensure its ability to maintain a competitive advantage in the business environment. At the same time, its management style has gradually conformed with its key strategic measures and plans that aim at growth and service delivery. Recently, the management style of the company depended on the relationship that exists between the staffs and the clients to ensure they are satisfied by the quality of coffee they buy from the chain stores.

Thus, the company keeps changing the styles applied in management to operate the company since its inception period. Starbucks has developed objectives and visions over the years that guides the daily operations of the business. For the management division to ensure that the proposed visions have been accomplished the business engages with the employees to implement its strategic plans. The employees represent the company objectives through working to achieve the set goals. The management style of involving the employees in the implementation of the proposed approaches resulted in an improved relationship of the business with the employees (Schultz & Gordon, 2011). Thus, the management change ensured that the customers could receive satisfactory services at various Starbucks chain stores

The management style of Starbucks is participative and transformational. The second change that has taken place in Starbucks is the leadership team managing the operations on a daily basis. It has strategized on the idea of hiring the most qualified leaders to represent the interests of the organization. The new leadership team that has been adopted to ensures that it is conservant to any changes within the company that will ensure they can maintain the competitive advantage. The company has been built through the sharing of ideas from the junior level to the senior management. The kind of leadership that has been adopted by the Starbucks is democratic. Thus, it ensures that the employees can maintain cohesiveness within the team. Also, it encouraged all the employees to get involved in the achieving of the companies goals and met the set objectives. The changes have ensured that the company is appropriately managed over the years due to its ability to maintain the competitive advantage in the business environment.

The senior management of Starbucks has played a major role to ensure that the organization has been able to adapt to the recent changes that have taken place in the organization. The management team has been able to develop an approach that will enhance the companies organizational culture that will emphasize on the support of the whole business by the employees. The staffs are the key members of the organization who ensures that the organizational culture is implemented on an employee-first approach. The approach will ensure that the employees are driven by the need ensure that the customer's needs are satisfied to help maintain the competitive advantage. The feature of the company that is based on the employee-first approach will be extended to the customers to ensure that they have a well-developed relationship that will ensure the Starbucks coffee is at high consumer demand.

Senior management of the company over time have been able to ensure that the changes in the organization are achieved without any form of hindrance. The management is always determined to ensure that these strategies are implemented to fulfill the companys objective. The success of the changes is viewed by the improved productivity in the organization that has been influenced by the relationship between the management and employees. Changes within the company are aimed at ensuring that the employees-first approach is followed will translate to an enhanced relationship with the customers who are crucial to these changes. The customers will be satisfied with the services they will receive from the staffs which will ensure their loyalty to the Starbucks coffee.

The changes in the management level were seen in 2008 when the company closed more than 7000 of its chain stores to enhance nationwide training session of the employees on how to improve delivery of high-quality coffee to the consumers (Schultz & Gordon, 2011). The national training day of the Starbucks employees was a goal by the management to implement various changes that will help to improve the services offered to the customers. From the management point of view, the closure facilitated the business with a platform to engage with the employees which increased their value of proposition to connect with the customers. Also, it improved their marketing strategy since the chain stores around the U.S were close to focus on improving the quality of coffee at the Starbucks.

The Starbucks decision to use vendors and spokespersons is to enrich the diversity of its products to ensure it can keep up with the competition in the business. The use of vendors by the management will help the company to improve its customers experience by offering products and services that are of high quality (Wu, 2013). Also, the use of vendors by the management enables the company to improve its service efficiency and sustainability of its products. Thus, they enable the company to create a supply chain system that is centralized to manage and operate on the global distribution of its products. Also, the spokespersons ensure the business can maintain a competitive advantage in the business. The impact of the decision will enable the company to improve its productivity while it maximizes its profits.

As a manager at Starbucks, an innovative idea that I could develop is to ensure it has an impact on both the employees and the customers of the company is establishing a diverse workplace that has a democratic form of leadership. The approach will ensure that the employees are motivated by the management strategy to have views that are opposing to increase the productivity of the company. A business that has an autocratic form of leadership will have alienated employees who are not well motivated to serve the customers to their expectations (Greene, 2012). A democratic form of leadership will lead to the implementation of strategies that will ensure cohesiveness of the team is maintained. Thus, it will ensure that the employees have a close relationship with the customers due to efficient services they will receive. Hence, the company will be able to maintain customer loyalty that will maximize the profitability of the business.

The approach that I will take to implement the idea of diversity in the business is developing a style of leadership that allows the management to be personalized. Hence, it will be able to suit the provision of services to the customers based on their desires and expectations. Customers who are satisfied by the services offered to them can maintain their brand loyalty to ensure they continue receiving the same services (Greene, 2012). Hence, the customer loyalty will ensure improved performance of the Starbucks coffee brand.

Starbucks ability to adapt to the changing needs of the customers and market environment is based on its use of modern technologies. For instance, the Starbucks business crowdsourcing website will enable the company to have customer engagement through the use of social media. Engaging in the social media with the customers will enable the company to evaluate the customer's needs and the improvements to be carried out to ensure the services offered are efficient and effective. Also, through engagement with the customers on the social media will enable the company to conduct market research on the ways to improve their services and make them more desirable.

Open communication channels are essential to implementing the changes in the organization successfully since it will enable sharing of information and ideas. The sharing of ideas will lead to innovation that will result in the development of enhancing strategies that will ensure the business can maintain its competitive advantage. An organization that adapts to open communication can coordinate with various departments in the organization to ensure effectiveness. Also, it creates a platform where the innovative ideas can be scrutinized by different staffs in the company.

References

Greene, C. L. (2012). Entrepreneurship: Ideas in action. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Schultz, H., & Gordon, J. (2011). Onward: How Starbucks fought for its life without losing its soul. West Sussex [England: Wiley & Sons.

Wu, B. (2013). New theory of leadership management science. Oxford: Chartridge Books Oxford.