Why Do You Do What You Do?
An organization’s goals, mission, vision, and core values are fundamental elements of strategic management and planning. According to Carpenter et al. (2013), the organizational board of directors must approve these elements before they are collectively shared, understood and clearly communicated to the employees and other key stakeholders. The vision is a future-based statement that sets out the organization’s aspirations and purpose for existence. The vision statement is incredibly brief, but a very inspiring statement. The mission statement outlines what the organization does to serve its key stakeholders and to accomplish its vision. It practically clarifies what the organization actually does and is conveyed as a dream. Carter & Roebuck (2006) observe that the core values, also called the shared values, influence the organizational relationship with other stakeholders. Everything that the organization does is influenced by its shared values, which are conveyed as beliefs, rules, or guidelines. They are often stipulated in the organizational code of conduct. The organizational goals relate to strategic objectives that are established by the organizational management outlining the expected results. The organizational goals influence the employees’ efforts because they relate to a specific period and have limits. This paper analyzes Starbuck’s goals and objectives, its mission statement, the vision, and its shared values. Moreover, the paper evaluates how the information is clearly availed to the employees while developing an organizational chart. Finally, it discusses the roles of various stakeholders and how their work relates to the organizational goals, vison, mission, and its shared values.
Starbuck’s vision statement illustrates what the organization intends to achieve in the coming years. Through the vision, Starbucks shows its customers what it is capable of achieving. Starbucks widely presents its vison in the organization’s official website, which is ‘to establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow’ (Simon, 2011). Being the premier purveyor implies that Starbucks intends to become the business leader in the coffee industry. Arguably, Starbucks has accomplished the premier purveyance status because it is currently the largest coffeehouse in the entire world, offering the finest coffee to its customers. The uncompromising principles include the Company’s warm culture and the ethical conduct held in every Starbuck coffee shop. Today, Starbucks runs over 22,500 coffee shops in the world. Therefore, it has effectively addressed its vision statement. Starbuck’s mission is ‘to inspire and nurture the human spirit-one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time’ (Simon 2011). The mission clearly sets out what Starbucks does to maintain its business. The mission is not only inspiring but also nurturing, even in its wording. Moreover, the statement implies that Starbucks is a progressive company that is gradually and continually growing. The mission statement meaningfully impacts every customer and employee at Starbucks. Other than being effectively stated on the company’s website, the mission and the vision statements effectively communicated to the employees through Starbucks’ strategic plan.
Starbucks’ shared values play a key role in the achievement of the organizational objectives. The core values are at the heart of Starbucks and they support it in every action. According to Behar (2009), creating a culture of belonging and warmth is a major core value of Starbucks. Starbucks constantly acts with courage, always exploring new ways of doing business to challenge the status quo. Starbucks believes in respecting everyone, maintaining dignity, and transparency in all transactions with key stakeholders. Providing the best quality to customers while being accountable for everything are key values that help the Starbucks community to keep on growing the company. The culture of collaboration ensures that everyone at Starbucks feels welcome. Goals and objectives are crucial as they give the organization some sense of purpose and direction. One of the main goals of Starbucks is to maintain its status as the most respected and recognized brands worldwide. Behar (2009) reveals that to achieve this objective, Starbucks main strategy is to keep expanding the store base to as many locations in the world as possible. The other major goal of Starbucks is to continue providing customers with new coffee products in various forms, in a variety of categories through wide channels. The two main objectives serve as the foundation upon which Starbucks controls and measures the performance of its employees. Furthermore, the goals give Starbucks some sense of direction as well as acknowledging the significance of innovation. While the core values are contained in the code of conduct, the goals and objectives form part of Starbucks strategic plan. This way, they effectively communicate to employees.
Starbucks has a decentralized organizational structure comprising of all the functional departments that an organization needs to provide services to customers. According to Simon (2011), the various functional managers ensure customers are satisfied by coordination the activities and staff in every Starbucks shop. The responsibilities of the key departmental managers include managing the human capital, checking the quality of Starbucks products and services, monitoring and controlling the financial performance of the entity and ensuring that safety is maintained. The corporate social responsibility department was recently launched to oversee the organization’s partnership with the community. Each department has its set of goals to accomplish every financial year which is in line with the organization’s vision, mission, and shared values. The accomplishment of the goals ensures that Starbucks remain committed to fulfilling its mission and vision. The departmental managers use the shared values as the guiding principles to accomplish the set goals and objectives.
In conclusion, the importance of a powerful mission statement, a brief but inspiring vision statement, realistic and achievable objectives, and a set of strong shared values cannot be underestimated. Starbucks’ ability to properly address each of these key elements has enabled it to retain its business leadership status for a relatively long time. In conclusion, the company’s vision, mission, core values, and the objectives meaningfully impact its overall performance. However, Starbucks can improve on these key elements by adding more innovative information that indicates how the organization nurtures and inspires the human spirit.
Starbucks Organizational Chart
| CEO |
| Supply Chain Operations President |
| Finance CFO |
| Legal & Corporation Affairs President |
| International Retail President |
| North America Retail President |
| Marketing Senior Vice President |
| Human Resources Senior Vice President |
| CSR Senior Vice President |
| Legal Affairs Vice President |
| Worldwide public Affairs Senior Vice President |
| Coffee Senior Vice President |
References
Behar, H. (2009). It’s not about the coffee: Leadership principles from a life at Starbucks. London: Penguin.
Carpenter, M. A., Bauer, T., Erdogan, B., & Short, J. (2013). Principles of management. Washington, DC: Flat World Knowledge.
Carter, H., & Roebuck, K. (2006). Vision and mission statements. Edenbridge, Kent: Wiremill.
Simon, B. (2011). Everything but the coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.