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The Starbucks Foundation supports thriving communities through grants to nonprofit organizations, from coffee and tea-growing communities around the world to our hometown in Seattle and neighborhoods across the country. We strive to create a positive impact for people - from the first ten feet to the last ten feet of coffee - by supporting nonprofit organizations in partnership with Starbucks partners, licensee partners and others with a shared commitment and belief in stronger, more equitable communities.
Origin Grants
Starbucks has a long history of working with coffee and tea origin communities to address their most critical needs such as access to water, sanitation, health and education. Since 2005, The Starbucks Foundation has invested more than $25 million in programs that strengthen coffee and tea-growing communities.

On International Women's Day 2022, The Starbucks Foundation set a goal to positively impact 1 million women and girls in coffee-, tea- and cocoa-growing communities by 2030.

The Starbucks Foundation Origin Grants make a difference in the lives of women, their families and their communities through programs that promote women's leadership, create economic opportunities and expand access to clean water and sanitation (WASH) for women and girls across Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Neighborhood Grants
Neighborhood Grants are investments that help build sustained local impact and inspire increased partner (employee) volunteerism with nonprofit organizations that serve our communities. Through this unique program, The Starbucks Foundation invited Starbucks partners (employees) to nominate a local organization in their community, leveraging insights from partners (employees) who know their neighborhoods best.

Since 2019, The Starbucks Foundation has received more than 80,000 nominations from Starbucks partners (employees) advocating for organizations in their communities, resulting in Neighborhood Grants totaling more than $15 million to 10,000 organizations across the U.S. and Canada.

The Neighborhood Grants program is part of The Starbucks Foundation's goal to reach 25,000 local nonprofits by 2030, helping to support grassroots, community-led organizations and initiatives that directly serve communities where our partners (employees) live and work.
Global Community Impact Grants
The Starbucks Foundation has a global footprint, investing in initiatives around the world that drive locally-relevant impact and catalyze longer-term community outcomes and engagement, often in close collaboration with our business partners.

Launched in 2022, The Starbucks Foundation's Global Community Impact Grants program focuses on local impact in the communities where Starbucks operates around the world. Grants support causes including youth empowerment, inclusion & diversity, social services, hunger relief, economic opportunity, and coffee-, tea- and cocoa-growing communities. As part of the initiative, Starbucks international licensees and business partners join The Starbucks Foundation in investing in local nonprofits, providing in-kind donations and engaging volunteers for greater impact in addition to the grants.

To date, over $3.2 million in grants have been awarded to nearly 90 nonprofits across more than 40 countries, representing more than half of all Starbucks global markets. These grants support communities from helping to build resilience in the Dominican Republic to fighting hunger in the Philippines.
Disaster Response
The Starbucks Foundation strengthens communities affected by disaster by investing in preparedness, response and resilience programs around the world.

We do this through partnerships such as the American Red Cross and World Central Kitchen, which allows for quick response to provide relief and comfort to people affected by disasters big and small, as well as support to help our grantees serve and meet the unexpected needs of local communities. The Starbucks Foundation also invites Starbucks partners (employees) and customers to join in supporting relief efforts, such as donating coffee to first responders or making a donation via the Starbucks mobile app in support of our nonprofit partners.

Together, we have helped to uplift communities, from wildfires and hurricanes across the U.S. to flooding in Brazil and earthquakes in Indonesia.
About The Starbucks Foundation
The Starbucks Foundation strengthens humanity by transforming lives across the world, with a focus on enabling community resiliency and prosperity and uplifting communities affected by disaster. Established in 1997, The Starbucks Foundation is a Section 501(c)(3) charitable organization under U.S. law.

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The Starbucks Foundation - Starbucks Stories

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The Starbucks Foundation's mission is to strengthen humanity by transforming lives across the world.

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Striving for Environmentally Friendly Products

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Striving for Environmentally Friendly Products

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In support of the company's goal to reduce waste by 50% by 2030, Starbucks is shifting away from single-use plastics, championing the use of recycled content, and promoting reusability, driven by a broader shift towards a circular economy.

To learn more, read on for an at-a-glance look at Starbucks Greener Cup milestones:

Starbucks Coffee Korea commits to the full discontinuation of disposable cups nationwide by 2025.

Completes rollout of strawless lids in the U.S. and Canada.

Starbucks markets across Asia begin the new year by phasing out plastic straws, including Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand.

Announces new sustainability commitment to be resource positive, including goals of reducing carbon, water, and waste 50 percent by 2030; signs the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy Global Commitment

Announces the winners of the NextGen Cup Challenge and a commitment to conduct market tests with the cup technologies in select stores.

Conducts the first ever airport reusable cup trial at London's Gatwick Airport to drive consumer behavior around reusables.

Introduces improved strawless lid made with 9 percent less plastic in several markets in the U.S. and Canada with plans for a full roll out by the end of 2020.

Launches The Cup Fund recycling program in the UK with environmental charity, Hubbub.

Eliminates straws in all Starbucks stores in Korea through strawless lids and paper straw alternatives.

Rolls out 5p Paper Cup Charge in Starbucks stores in the UK and Germany.

Co-founds the NextGen Consortium, a partnership convened by Closed Loop Partners to improve recycling infrastructure and launch the NextGen Cup Challenge to develop a widely recyclable, compostable and/or resuable cup.

Announces commitment to eliminate plastic straws globally by 2020 and launches innovative strawless lid for cold beverages.

Completes global rollout of new cup sleeves, which are made from less paper and more post-consumer fiber.

Offers a $1 reusable cup in the U.S. and Canada, and a £1 cup in the United Kingdom to help reduce cup waste.

Rolls out cup sleeves made from less paper and more post-consumer content, saving nearly 100,000 trees each year.

Hosts second Cup Summit in Boston and announces Paper Recovery Alliance with the Foodservice Packaging Institute.

Hosts first Cup Summit in Seattle, inviting local governments, cup manufacturers, recyclers, and stakeholders to find a comprehensive recyclable cup solution.

Introduces a new polypropylene plastic cup that uses 15 percent less plastic than previous cups and emits 45 percent less greenhouse gas during production.

Launches the retail industry's first hot beverage paper cup with 10 percent post-consumer recycled fiber (PCF).

Develops a cup sleeve made from recycled content to help eliminate the practice of double cupping.

Establishes a relationship with the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund to explore ways to reduce the environmental impact of its cups.

Offers 10 cent reusable cup discount.

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In support of the company's goal to reduce waste by 50% by 2030, Starbucks is shifting away from single-use plastics, championing the use of recycled content, and promoting reusability, driven by a broader shift towards a circular economy.

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Expect more than coffee.

From the beginning, Starbucks set out to be a different kind of company. One that not only celebrated coffee but also connection. We're a neighborhood gathering place, a part of your daily routine. Get to know us and you'll see: we are so much more than what we brew. We call our employees partners because we are all partners in shared success. We make sure everything we do is through the lens of humanity-from our commitment to the highest-quality coffee in the world, to the way we engage with our customers and communities to do business responsibly.

OUR MISSION

To inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.

OUR VALUES

With our partners, our coffee and our customers at our core, we live these values:

Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome.

Delivering our very best in all we do, holding ourselves accountable for results.

Acting with courage, challenging the status quo and finding new ways to grow our company and each other.

Being present, connecting with transparency, dignity and respect.

We are performance driven, through the lens of humanity.

A culture of inclusion

We're committed to upholding a culture where inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility are valued and respected. Your entire experience-starting with your application-is designed to be the beginning of an inspirational journey, where you are treated warmly and with transparency, dignity and respect.

We actively hire individuals with disabilities and provide reasonable accommodations and assistive technologies that enable people to do their jobs. Starbucks is committed to offering reasonable accommodation for job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 206-318-0660 or via email at applicantaccommodation@starbucks.com.

Our many Partner Networks (also referred to as employee resource groups) work to create an inclusive environment across Starbucks representing the broad spectrum of our partner backgrounds.

CORPORATE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Opportunity for all

As a leader in hiring great talent, Starbucks has and will always look to create opportunities for our partners and customers in the communities we serve. Our goals are focused on hiring more Opportunity Youth, refugees, veterans and military spouses. To date, we have hired over 25,000 veterans and military spouses and look to hire 5,000 more each year.

Sustainable coffee

Starbucks® coffee is verified 99% ethically sourced. We are working with other industry leaders to make coffee the first sustainable agricultural product. We plan to invest in training and financing for coffee farmers, and providing 100 million coffee trees by 2025.

Greener retail

Starbucks is building and operating stores with an aim to minimize our environmental footprint with ambitious goals for 2020 and beyond. We plan to build and operate 10,000 greener retail stores, improve the recyclability of our cup and invest in 100% renewable energy.

Strengthening communities

Each Starbucks® store is a part of a community, and we're committed to strengthening neighborhoods wherever we do business. We plan to rescue 100% of food available to donate by 2020 in U.S. company-owned stores and have 100% of our stores worldwide participating in community service annually by 2020.

Training and development

At Starbucks, we are devoted to supporting, engaging and investing in the development of our partners. Our people are one of our most valuable assets and we provide learning opportunities to develop skills, further careers and help partners achieve their personal and professional goals. As a partner (employee) who is curious, collaborative and a continuous learner, you'll have limitless opportunities to make an impact and thrive, all while becoming your personal best and being recognized for it. We reward partners who achieve results, live our mission and values and help others succeed.

Creating better accessibility

"I work to foster deeper roots of accessibility in the Starbucks culture, to promote and accelerate the hiring of more people with disabilities and with the help of all the incredible partners, to make Starbucks the most inclusive company in the world. Starbucks is committed to including people with disabilities in the company and getting accommodations to perform my job is a given here. I use a screen reader, Braille typewriter and even have an accessible Cisco phone with key identifiers."

Mark, Human Resources

ACCESSIBILITY SUPPORT

Starbucks Corporation is committed to offering reasonable accommodation to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to disability, please contact us at: 206-318-0660 or applicantaccommodation@starbucks.com

STARBUCKS IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

All partners and applicants will be treated fairly, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, gender identity and expression, genetic information, or any other factor protected by law.

© 2021 Starbucks Coffee Company. All rights reserved.

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Culture and Values: Starbucks Coffee Company

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Expect more than coffee. From the beginning, Starbucks set out to be a different kind of company. One that not only celebrated coffee but also connection. We're a neighborhood gathering place, a part of your daily routine. Get to know us and you'll see: we are so much more than what we brew.

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The 2008 Financial Crisis Response and Founder Howard Schultz

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The 2008 Financial Crisis Response and Founder Howard Schultz

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AP
On January 8, 2008, the second day Howard Schultz was the newly-reinstated CEO of Starbucks Corp., its stock jumped 8 percent.

A few days later, Schultz read a MarketWatch article about turnaround CEOs. Its author advised that Schultz follow the lead of CEOs like Steve Jobs and Charles Schwab, who led successful turnarounds and "recognize what they had built isn't a religion."

During his eight year hiatus -- when Schultz served as chairman -- the company grew from approximately 5,000 stores to 15,000. But it was all too fast. In 2007, Starbucks' stock dropped 42 percent.

"The damage was slow and quiet, incremental, like a single loose thread that unravels a sweater inch by inch," Schultz says in his book, Onward.

In early 2007, Schultz wrote a memo to then-CEO Jim Donald about the company's slow demise, which was later leaked to the media. A few months later, the board ousted Donald and brought Schultz back in.

Beginning in the depths of the , the turnaround took two years. Today, Starbucks has more than $10 billion in revenue and employs 150,000.

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19 Amazing Ways CEO Howard Schultz Saved Starbucks

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On January 8, 2008, the second day Howard Schultz was the newly-reinstated CEO of Starbucks Corp., its stock jumped 8 percent. A few days later, Schultz read a MarketWatch article about turnaround CEOs. Its author advised that Schultz follow the lead of CEOs like Steve Jobs and Charles Schwab, who led successful turnarounds and "recognize what they had built isn't a religion."

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Kevin Johnson is president and chief executive officer for Starbucks. A passionate servant leader, he proudly carries on Starbucks legacy of human connection, driving the company's core strategies for growth, and being of service to the more than 330,000 partners who wear the green apron around the world.

Kevin first joined the company in 2009, serving on the company's board of directors during a period of record-setting transformation and growth. In March 2015, Kevin took on the role of president and chief operating officer, leading the company's global operating businesses across all geographies, as well as the core support functions of Starbucks supply chain, marketing, human resources, technology and mobile and digital platforms. He assumed the role of president and ceo in April 2017, as Howard Schultz transitioned into the role of executive chairman.

His career spans more than 30 years, scaling global businesses, including 16 years at Microsoft and five years as CEO of Juniper Networks. In 2008, he was appointed to the National Security Telecommunication Advisory Committee where he served presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Kevin's commitment to innovation and following his heart extends beyond the world of business. He was a founding board member of NPower, an organization that provides nonprofits with access to technology and the skills needed to fulfill their social missions. He is involved with Catalyst, a leading nonprofit focused on expanding opportunities for women in business. Kevin also supports Youth Eastside Services, one of the largest providers of youth and family counseling in the Seattle area. At Starbucks, Kevin is passionate about continuing to nurture what's at the heart of the company's success: human connection - the tens of millions of interactions large and small that happen between partners and customers every week, and make a meaningful difference in the communities around the world where Starbucks does business.

He graduated from New Mexico State University with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration.

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Kevin Johnson is president and chief operating officer for Starbucks Corporation, leading the company's global operating businesses across the Americas, EMEA (Europe Middle East and Africa), and China/Asia Pacific, as well as Starbucks supply chain, information technology, and mobile and digital platforms across more than 21,000 stores worldwide.

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Starbucks Corp. ( SBUX) has grown into one of the world's biggest coffeehouse chains by selling an ever-growing selection of products. It's a retailer, roaster, and provider of its own brand of specialty coffee. It also sells hot and cold beverage products, baked goods and other food items, as well as coffee-related merchandise like mugs, scoops, and presses.

The first Starbucks opened in 1971 at Seattle's historic Pike Place Market and went public two decades later in 1992. From its beginning as a single storefront serving fresh-roasted whole bean coffees, the company now has 32,000 stores in scores of countries.﻿﻿ Starbucks earned net income of $3.4 billion on annual revenue of $26.7 billion in the most recent 12-month trailing period. It has a total market capitalization of $88.7 billion.﻿﻿

Below, we'll look at the top five shareholders in Starbucks based on the number of shares owned. As of this writing, four of these shareholders are investment management companies and one is Starbucks' former Chief Executive Officer ( CEO) Howard Schultz. The four management companies reported their stakes for the period ending March 31. We estimated the value of Schultz's reported stake based on the price of the stock at the close of trading on March 31, which was $65.37.﻿﻿

Vanguard Inc.

Vanguard is one of the world's largest investment management companies with about 425 low-cost traditional funds and exchange-traded funds ( ETFs).﻿﻿ The firm has about $6.2 trillion in global assets under management ( AUM).﻿﻿ Vanguard's funds hold approximately 90.5 million shares of Starbucks, comprising about 7.7% of the total number of shares outstanding with a market value of nearly $6.0 billion.﻿﻿ The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF ( VTI) is one of the company's largest ETFs with about $138.7 billion in AUM.﻿﻿ As much as 0.30% of VTI's holdings are allocated to shares of Starbucks.﻿﻿﻿

BlackRock Inc.

BlackRock is one of the world's leading asset and investment management firms with approximately $6.47 trillion in AUM.﻿﻿ The firm offers a wide range of mutual funds, iShares ETFs and closed-end funds.﻿﻿ BlackRock's funds hold approximately 84.3 million shares of Starbucks, comprising about 7.2% of the total number of shares outstanding with a market value of $5.5 billion.﻿﻿ The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF ( IVV) is one of BlackRock's largest ETFs with about $185.8 billion in AUM.﻿﻿ As much as 0.35% of IVV's holdings are shares of Starbucks.﻿﻿

State Street Corp.

State Street is a leading asset and investment management company with approximately $3.1 trillion in AUM.﻿﻿ The firm provides a range of financial products and services to institutional investors around the world. State Street's funds hold approximately 51.4 million shares of Starbucks, comprising about 4.4% of total shares outstanding with a market value of $3.4 billion.﻿﻿ The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( SPY) is one of State Street's largest ETFs with about $270.3 billion in AUM.﻿﻿ As much as 0.34% of SPY's holdings are allocated to shares of Starbucks.﻿﻿

Magellan Asset Management Ltd.

Magellan Asset Management is an Australia-based asset and investment management company offering a range of financial products and services including, asset management, equities, ETFs, investment strategies, financial planning, and more. Magellan's funds hold approximately 31.5 million shares of Starbucks, comprising about 2.7% of the total number of shares outstanding with a market value of $2.1 billion.﻿﻿ One of Magellan's biggest funds, at $11.9 billion in assets, is the Magellan Global Fund. Shares of Starbucks are among the fund's top ten holdings.﻿﻿

Howard Schultz

Howard Schultz is an American billionaire and one of Starbucks' biggest shareholders. He remains chairman emeritus of Starbucks after stepping down in 2018 from his roles as executive chairman and board member of the company.﻿﻿ But his relationship to the company goes all the way back to the early 1980s when he first met Starbucks owners Gerald Baldwin and Gordon Bowker. Impressed by their passion for coffee, Schultz persuaded Baldwin to hire him on as the company's director of retail operations and marketing.﻿﻿ In 1983, Schultz made a trip to Italy and became inspired by the popularity of espresso bars in Milan. When he returned, he convinced Starbucks' owners to create a similar coffeehouse culture in Seattle. Several years later, Schultz would begin his first stint as CEO, expanding the company from 17 stores in 1987 to more than 3,500 stores in 2000. He then stepped down and became chairman.﻿﻿ But when the company began to founder, he resumed the role of CEO in 2008 and continued in that position until 2017.﻿﻿ Schultz owns about 33.0 million shares of Starbucks directly and 1.7 million indirectly through trusts, which comprise about 2.9% of the company's total shares outstanding. The value of his shares is estimated at nearly $2.3 billion as of March 31, the period for which other large shareholders reported.﻿﻿

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Starbucks Corp. ( SBUX) has grown into one of the world's biggest coffeehouse chains by selling an ever-growing selection of products. It's a retailer, roaster, and provider of its own brand of specialty coffee. It also sells hot and cold beverage products, baked goods and other food items, as well as coffee-related merchandise like mugs, scoops, and presses.

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Buyer Psychology and Customer Value: Why Do People Buy Starbucks Coffee?

Hint: it is probably not because of the quality of the coffee.

This post was inspired by a question on Quora that asked if Starbucks coffee was really superior and how the company made it addictive. What i found very interesting about this question is that the quality of the coffee is not really that important. There are other psychological and emotional reasons why Starbucks is so successful worldwide.

After all, contrary to what most people believe, we all make purchase decisions emotionally and then (sometimes) justify them rationally. This is true in B2B and B2C, it is true for $1 or for $1 Billion purchases. And it is critical for all marketers to understand.

Is Starbucks Coffee of Better Quality?
When Starbucks launched, there were not very many places in the US where you could get espresso-based coffee like Lattes or Cappuccinos. this was a big part of Starbucks' novelty.

Starbucks takes pride in their own roast, which is darker than most coffee shops - in between normal roast and French (espresso) roast which results of more of the oils coming out of the bean and caramelizing but also slightly more bitter taste. Just recently Starbucks started selling its blond roast, which offers a more traditional flavor.

Given the company size, it would be difficult to maintain top quality, even if they tried. In general, most people who know about coffee would agree Starbucks is never as good as fresh roasted premium coffee you can get at many small coffee shops. One exception is the coffee you can find at certain Starbucks locations that use the Clover brewing machine, which is quite good.

Blind taste tests have shown the average American prefers Dunkin Donuts or McDonald's coffee to Starbucks coffee.

So why are so many people addicted to Starbucks? There is nothing extraordinary in their coffee beans, and no special coffee or extra ingredients that that produce addition aside from caffeine. Their success, and customers' addiction with the brand does not come from the coffee...
Coffee Experience is more Important than Actual Coffee Quality.
Three main factors contribute:

1. Coffee Buying Experience. Howard Shultz (Starbucks Founder) spent a lot of effort not only in the beverage itself but in the entire coffee buying experience.

This is why Starbucks locations around the world consistently have a good atmosphere, indirect lighting, relaxing music in the background, great aromas, and friendly ' baristas '.

This is also why their coffee has unique names. At Starbucks you don't order a simple black coffee, you order a Pike Place blend venti. Rites, names and processes are important part of customer experience.

2. Personal Reward . Psychologists believe a big part of Starbucks' success comes from the desire to reward yourself. Before a long day of work, you deserve to treat yourself to a nice Grande Cappucino. It's a little daily splurge that most people can afford.

Behavioral psychologist Dan Ariely has proven how our brain tricks us into enjoying things more if we believe they are better. This means that even if the coffee at Starbucks is not actually scientifically better than the average coffee, the combination of the brand, the experience and your belief that it is probably better makes your brain actually taste it as better coffee and enjoy it more than an average coffee. This is why blind tests are important, because your taste buds will go with your brain bias.

In other words, perception is reality.

3. Familiarity - When you are running to work, and you need your morning Joe, it is hard to think about multiple coffee shops, evaluate them and decide on one. The default answer to 'morning coffee' is 'Starbucks'. This is the power of branding and positioning.

When you are in a different city, going to Starbucks is lower risk: you know the coffee is OK (at least, or at least you think that), you know what to expect, you know they probably also have pastries and other items you may be looking for. It is a decision with lower risk than going to an unknown place that may or may not have good coffee.

So no, Starbucks does not have better coffee, but it will taste better for you if you believe it. I drive an extra 5 minutes to get to the best coffee I can find, but I am as susceptible to my brain driving and my emotions driving my buying decisions as anyone else.
Commodities and Differentiation
Before Starbucks, Coffee was a commodity. Most restaurants or diners would sell a cup for about a buck. It was a commodity. Coffee was just coffee. After all, coffee beans are traded in commodities markets around the world with fairly standard pricing.

And yet, Starbucks charges $2, #3 up to $6 for a cup of coffee that has the same basic commodity ingredients. The genius of Howard Shultz was looking at emotions and experience to create value for customers.

A commodities market is one where marketers have run out of ideas to create value for customers.

The most important lesson is that marketing, brands and experiences create real value for customers beyond the intrinsic value of the product. Marketing should be the value engine of your company.

CMOs and Marketing Leaders should ask themselves: Do I understand how my products make your customer feel? Have I explored all the emotional and experiental ways to create differentiated value around our products and services?
Enjoy your next cup!

This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: Buyer Psychology and Customer Value: Why Do People Buy Starbucks Coffee?
More Business articles from Business 2 Community:

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Buyer Psychology and Customer Value: Why Do People Buy Starbucks Coffee? - Business Resource Center

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AuthorGerardo A. Dada Typearticle ProviderBusiness 2 Community Image https://s1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/ymdDLaz3cT_EHWbNT1PXkw-/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/sbs/sbc/Business2Community/Why-do-we-Buy-Starbucks-600×419.jpg Buyer Psychology and Customer Value: Why Do People Buy Starbucks Coffee? Hint: it is probably not because of the quality of the coffee. This post was inspired by a question on Quora that asked if Starbucks coffee was really superior and how the company made it ...

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© 2021 Starbucks Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Starbucks Coffee Company's stakeholder management approaches are based on different programs for corporate social responsibility (CSR). The company is an advocate of CSR movements, especially those pertaining to sustainability in business. In the context of corporate social responsibility, Starbucks needs to account for the demands or interests of stakeholders, because the company is viewed not just as an organization for profit, but also as a citizen of society. Thus, the firm must contribute to the improvement of society. Starbucks has already implemented various corporate social responsibility programs for its stakeholders. The current strong brand and corporate image of Starbucks indicates the firm's efforts to include stakeholders in its strategies and success.
Starbucks is effective in its corporate social responsibility efforts, although more effort is needed with regard to the stakeholder group of coffee farmers, as well as the issues of youth rates and tax avoidance in some regions.
Starbucks Coffee's Stakeholder Groups

Starbucks continues to improve its corporate social responsibility practices to address the concerns of different stakeholder groups. The following are the main stakeholders in Starbucks Coffee's business:

1. Employees (baristas, partners)

2. Customers

3. Suppliers (supply firms, coffee farmers)

4. Environment

5. Investors

6. Governments

Employees. Starbucks prioritizes employees in its corporate social responsibility efforts. As stakeholders, employees typically demand for better working conditions, job security and higher wages. Starbucks' organizational culture emphasizes the employees-first attitude. Employees are also given wages above the legally mandated minimum wage. In 2014, Starbucks boosted its CSR performance for this stakeholder group by giving scholarships to employees based on a partnership with Arizona State University. In this partnership, Starbucks pays for 56% of tuition fees for employees' junior and senior years at the University. However, the company's performance in addressing employees as stakeholders has room for improvement. In some countries like New Zealand, Starbucks gives very low wages to juvenile workers (youth rates). These youth rates are often criticized. The firm can improve its corporate social responsibility performance by addressing such issue in this stakeholder group.

Customers. Starbucks considers customers as among its top stakeholders. The interests of this stakeholder group are high quality service and products, such as coffee and related beverages. As the world's most popular specialty coffeehouse chain, Starbucks effectively addresses this interest. The company also includes customers as major stakeholders by extending the Starbucks culture to customers at its cafés. For example, warm and friendly relations are emphasized within the company and in how baristas interact with customers. Thus, Starbucks Coffee's corporate social responsibility efforts fulfill the interests of this stakeholder group.

Suppliers. Starbucks suppliers are composed of wholesale supply firms and coffee farmers. The main interest of this stakeholder group is compensation and a growing demand from Starbucks. Farmers aim to increase coffee yield to generate more revenues. Starbucks addresses the interests of these stakeholders through a number of corporate social responsibility programs. For example, the firm's supplier diversity program ensures that more suppliers from around the world are included in the supply chain. In addition, Starbucks' Coffee and Farmer Equity (CAFE) program requires transparency among wholesale suppliers to ensure that coffee farmers are properly paid. Thus, Starbucks' corporate social responsibility efforts comprehensively address the interests of this stakeholder group.

Environment. Starbucks has corporate social responsibility programs for environmentally sound business. The company's CAFE program has led to higher biodiversity and shade quality in certified coffee farms. Currently, 90% of Starbucks' supply is from CAFE-certified farms. This significant figure shows that Starbucks is effective in addressing its corporate social responsibility to this stakeholder group, although there is room for improvement.

Investors. As in any business, Starbucks must address investors as stakeholders. Investors have interests in high financial performance of the company. Starbucks' global expansion and continued dominance in the coffeehouse industry indicates high financial performance. Even though it suffered considerable decline in 2007, Starbucks has recovered and is on a growth path once more. Thus, the firm satisfies this stakeholder group's interests.

Governments. Starbucks must address the interests of numerous governments as stakeholders, considering the company's global presence. In general, Starbucks complies with rules and regulations. However, the company has been criticized for tax evasion in Europe. Starbucks uses a network of locations in different European countries to exploit tax advantages. At present, much of this system remains, with Starbucks paying unexpectedly low taxes in the U.K. Thus, the company's comprehensive corporate social responsibility efforts can be improved to address this stakeholder group.

Analysis of Starbucks' CSR Performance for Stakeholders

Starbucks has high corporate social responsibility performance in addressing the interests of most of its stakeholders. The company satisfies most of the concerns of stakeholder groups like customers, employees, suppliers, the environment, and investors. However, Starbucks needs to improve its CSR performance to reach a 100% CAFE-certified supply chain to maximize environmental benefits. Starbucks can also improve its CSR performance in addressing governments around the world by improving its tax compliance. In addition, the firm can improve youth rates/wages to ensure satisfaction of youth workers in some markets like New Zealand. These are the three main areas where Starbucks can change to boost its corporate social responsibility performance to satisfy stakeholders.

References

Bryson, J. M. (2004). What to do when stakeholders matter: stakeholder identification and analysis techniques. Public Management Review, 6(1), 21-53.

Koehn, N. F. (2002). Howard Schultz and Starbucks Coffee Company. Harvard Business School.

Peloza, J., & Shang, J. (2011). How can corporate social responsibility activities create value for stakeholders? A systematic review. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39(1), 117-135.

Responsibly Grown and Fair Trade Coffee - Starbucks Coffee Company.

Shaoul, J. (1998). Critical financial analysis and accounting for stakeholders. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 9(2), 235-249.

Smith, M. D. (1996). The empire filters back: consumption, production, and the politics of Starbucks Coffee. Urban Geography, 17(6), 502-525.

Werther, W. B., & Chandler, D. (2010). Strategic corporate social responsibility: Stakeholders in a global environment. Sage Publications.

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Starbucks Coffee's Stakeholders: A CSR Analysis - Panmore Institute

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Starbucks Coffee Company's stakeholder management approaches are based on different programs for corporate social responsibility (CSR). The company is an advocate of CSR movements, especially those pertaining to sustainability in business. In the context of corporate social responsibility, Starbucks needs to account for the demands or interests of stakeholders, because the company is viewed not just as an organization for profit, but also as a citizen of society.

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Starbucks Corporation's organizational culture is one of the most distinct characteristics of the firm. A company's organizational or corporate culture widely influences employees and business performance through values, customs, traditions, and related behavioral expectations in the business organization's context. In Starbucks Coffee's case, the organizational culture permeates all aspects of the business, including the operations of franchisees and licensees. However, company-owned stores are where Starbucks Coffee's organizational culture is most easily observable. The way café employees work with each other and how they interact with customers are indicators of the company's corporate culture. The warm and friendly ambiance in these coffee shops is part of the company's cultural distinction from competitors, which include Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's McCafé. Starbucks has an organizational culture that relates with the company's strategies for successful brand development and the global growth of the franchise and licensing network, despite challenges tied to economic fluctuations and industry-specific trends.

Starbucks Coffee's organizational culture is a key success factor in the business, considering that the company sells not just its coffee and other food and beverage products, but also the experience of buying and consuming these products. In this way, the firm uses its corporate culture as a distinction in the coffeehouse chain market. Starbucks Coffee's corporate structure enables optimal application and observance of this culture throughout the business and its subsidiaries, such as Ethos Water, Seattle's Best Coffee, and Teavana, despite differential managerial approaches used among franchisee and licensee locations.

Starbucks Coffee's Organizational Culture Type and Features

Starbucks Coffee's organizational culture is a culture of belonging, inclusion and diversity. The combination of the company's key cultural characteristics is unique and specific to the nature of its coffeehouse chain business. The internal cultural situation is reflected through the company's human resource development programs and baristas' interactions with customers. In this regard, the main features of Starbucks' corporate culture are:

1. Servant leadership ("employees first")

2. Relationship-driven approach

3. Collaboration and communication

4. Openness

5. Inclusion and diversity

Servant Leadership. Starbucks Corporation has a servant leadership approach, which characterizes the behavioral manifestation of the company's organizational culture among leaders, including corporate leaders and team leaders. In this approach, leaders, managers and supervisors emphasize support for subordinates to ensure that every employee grows in the company. This feature of Starbucks' corporate culture translates to the employees-first approach. The company highlights the importance of caring for employees as a way of optimizing employee morale and customer satisfaction. Former Starbucks President Howard Behar developed this feature of the firm's organizational culture because he believed that employees who are cared for are the ones who care about customers.

Relationship-driven Approach. Starbucks also has an organizational culture that supports warm and friendly relationships. For instance, at the company's cafés, baristas exhibit warm and friendly bonds with each other. This feature of the company's corporate culture extends to customers, who are also treated with warmth. Through this cultural emphasis on relationships, Starbucks develops the global coffee culture that drives consumer demand for the company's specialty coffee products.

Collaboration and Communication. The corporate culture of Starbucks encourages collaborative efforts through effective communication. At the cafés, baristas clearly communicate with each other to fulfill orders. Also, they collaborate as teams to make the order fulfillment process efficient. Thus, Starbucks Corporation's organizational culture supports efficiency in business processes, which contributes to quality of service, positive customer experience, and business cost-effectiveness.

Openness. Openness is another major characteristic of Starbucks Coffee's organizational culture. In the company's early years, employees had a traditional and old-fashioned culture of fear in speaking up to their superiors. To address this issue, former President Behar introduced open forums to encourage employees to ask questions and communicate with superiors. A culture of openness developed as a result. Through this cultural feature, Starbucks empowers employees and facilitates innovation in product development and service provision.

Inclusion and Diversity. Starbucks has an anti-discrimination policy that shapes its organizational culture. This policy prohibits any form of discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, age, cultural backgrounds, life experiences, thoughts, and ideas. Through this feature of the corporate culture, Starbucks facilitates information sharing and positive rapport among employees, as well as innovation based on diverse ideas. This cultural facilitation supports employee motivation and helps minimize turnover. This aspect of the company's organizational culture also makes customers feel welcome at Starbucks cafés.

Note on Starbucks Coffee Company's Corporate Culture

Starbucks has gone through significant changes in its organizational culture. These changes are based on issues and problems leaders like Howard Schultz and Howard Behar identified, especially in the early years of the specialty coffeehouse chain business. As a way of enhancing business performance, Starbucks instituted reforms in its corporate culture. Today, the company's organizational culture is a distinct characteristic that builds competitive advantage and develops a consumer population of loyal Starbucks fans from which the business derives stable financial performance. The main corporate strategic management challenge lies in the effective implementation of this culture in the human resources of franchisees and licensees, as these business partners arguably have their own approaches to human resource management and associated organizational culture development.

References

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Burack, E. H. (1991). Changing the company culture - the role of human resource development. Long Range Planning, 24(1), 88-95.

Denison, D. R. (1990). Corporate culture and organizational effectiveness. John Wiley & Sons.

Guiso, L., Sapienza, P., & Zingales, L. (2015). The value of corporate culture. Journal of Financial Economics, 117(1), 60-76.

Koehn, N. F. (2002). Howard Schultz and Starbucks Coffee Company. Harvard Business School.

Marques, J., Camillo, A. A., & Holt, S. (2015). The Starbucks culture: responsible, radical innovation in an irresponsible, incremental world. In Handbook of Research on Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibilities (pp. 302-312). IGI Global.

Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership (Vol. 2). John Wiley & Sons.

Starbucks Coffee Company - Diversity and Inclusion.

Starbucks Coffee Company - Our Culture of Inclusion.

Starbucks Corporation - Form 10-K.

U.S. Department of Agriculture - Economic Research Service - Food Service Industry - Market Segments.

Voigt, K. I., Buliga, O., & Michl, K. (2017). Globalizing Coffee Culture: The Case of Starbucks. In Business Model Pioneers (pp. 41-53). Springer, Cham.

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Starbucks Corporation's Organizational Culture & Its Characteristics - Panmore Institute

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Starbucks Corporation's organizational culture is one of the most distinct characteristics of the firm. A company's organizational or corporate culture widely influences employees and business performance through values, customs, traditions, and related behavioral expectations in the business organization's context. In Starbucks Coffee's case, the organizational culture permeates all aspects of the business, including the operations of franchisees and licensees.