Starbucks Corporation.

Essay by AmberEyesUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, November 2005

download word file, 12 pages 4.8

Starbucks Corporation is the world's number one specialty coffee retailer. It operates more than 8,700 coffee shops in more than 30 countries. The company is committed to offering the highest quality coffee and "The Starbucks Experience" while conducting its business in ways that produce social, environmental and economic benefits for communities in which it does business. "Starbucks purchases and roasts high-quality whole bean coffees and sells them along with fresh, rich-brewed, Italian style espresso beverages, a variety of pastries and confections, and coffee-related accessories and equipment -- primarily through its company-operated retail stores." (starbucks.com) Starbucks Corporation purchases and roasts whole bean coffees and sells them along with brewed coffees, Italian-style espresso beverages, cold-blended beverages, a variety of food items, a selection of teas and even a line of compact discs. "The original Starbucks, founded in 1971, was a company passionately committed to world-class coffee and dedicated to educating its customers, one on one, about what great coffee can be."

(Schultz, 1997, p. 11.)

"You get more than the finest coffee when you visit Starbucks. You get great people, first-rate music, a comfortable and upbeat meeting place, and sound advice on brewing excellent coffee at home. At home you are part of a family. At work, you are part of a company. And somewhere in between there is a place where you can sit back and be yourself. That is what a Starbucks store is to many of its customers - a kind of "third place" where they can escape, reflect, read, chat or listen." (1995 Annual Report, Starbucks Corporation.)

The Starbucks Corporation believes their employees are one of their most important assets in that their only true advantage is the quality of their workforce. By creating prideful workforce, by offering excellent benefits and employee stock ownership programs,