Discussion Questions
1. What proof is there that Starbucks has achieved competitive advantage in the industry?Total
Quality Management: pg. 97
Customer driven organization: pg. 95
Organic vs. mechanistic – keeps improving and settling to new change
most recognized brand in the world
- provides best possible coffee experience to its customers
most admired company
- best employer
- emotional connection with customers
- Bean Stock
- exceeds customers expectations
- develops a sense of community in each store
- total quality management
- inspires customers in legendary ways through “Five ways of Being”
- company-wide commitment to excellence
started off as a small coffee bean roasting company and grew to a multi-national company by paying
attention to trends and complanints + requests from both internal and external customers
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matrix structure: the employees from each location take advantage of the company
advantages, has paid dividends for the company as a whole.
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The company has been named as one of the 100 best companies to work for by Fortune
for the last 11 of 12 years,
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one of the most admired companies in America for the last 7 years.
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Their ethical behaviour and their pro-equality behaviour has also been praised, being
named as one of the best places to work for LGBT equality in 2009,
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one of the 100 best corporate citizens by Corporate Responsibility Officer/Business
Ethics for the last 10 years, and
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one of the most ethical companies by Ethisphere in the last 3 years. Starbucks is a model
company for any organization looking to improve both economically, socially, and
ethically.
2. Explain how Starbucks is viewed as an upside-down pyramid?
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Top managers
o believe that the company creates an emotional connection with customers
o believe in the guiding principles of the company, which supports
x Store managers
o listen to and act upon input from employees
o are encouraged and empowered to create a sense of community in the
store, which supports
x Store partners
o who are governed by the “Green Apron” book that provides guidelines by
which they deliver quality service
o participate in the Coffee Passport Program, and Coffee Masters
designation, which serves
x Customers
o are provided with the best coffee experience
3. Discuss how Starbucks is committed to TQM, specifically addressing the “4 absolutes” of
management for total quality control, as identified by consultant Phillip Crosby.
The four absolutes state that to enforce good total quality management, managers and workers much
meet conformance standards, prevent defects, continuously be perfect, and save money by doing things
once.
- Starbucks has continued to meet conformance standards by being involved with its customers and
community, providing its customers what they want, and continuing to be loyal and committed to
providing them with genuine and good quality products.
- Starbucks provides goods which are quality goods from the start, not products which are corrected.
This is done by Starbucks’ initiatives to work alongside coffee growing nations to obtain the best
materials possible, and as well, have programs for training workers to provide defect free goods by
providing proper leadership, training, and discipline.
- To ensure that all work is defect-free, Starbucks continuously obtains feedback from everyone and
from everywhere they can to ensure that every product they sell is at the highest quality possible. This
includes communicating with workers, managers, partners, and consumers in order to better processes
and final products to obtain the perfect coffee product each time.
- By not making mistakes and defective products, Starbucks is able to save money on defect correction
by working with its employees and customers. This money is used to fund better resources and produce
even higher quality products, and ultimately help contribute to the growing value of the company.
x Quality means conformance to standards:
o be welcoming
o be genuine
o be considerate
o be knowledgeable
o be involved
x Quality comes from defect prevention, not defect correction:
o programs with coffee-growing nations
o partnership training programs
x Quality as a performance standard must mean defect free work:
o feedback from leaders, partners, and customers used in continuous
improvement for processes and in developing quality standards
(eliminating the potential for mistakes)
x Quality Saves money:
o connections between contributions of employees and the growing value of
the company
You Do Your Research
1. Visit a Starbucks store to receive the full Starbucks experience. Collect literature available and
bring it back to class.
2. Discuss how Starbucks meets its need of its stakeholders.