STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Strategic Management



Strategic Management

Introduction

The corporate strategy of a company defines the business that it engages in on basis of the level and direction it takes in order to achieve its goals. It is therefore the model of the main objectives, goals and the relevant policies for attaining the goals outlined in a way to define the business of the company. Strategic management on the other hand constitutes the decisions, activities and assessments that the company undertakes in order to develop and maintain a competitive edge above other companies. It analyzes the strategic objectives of the company, picks out from alternatives the industries to venture into as well as the techniques to be used (Dess, 2005). In addition, strategic management involves taking action to adopt the chosen strategies through adequate resource allocation. The process of strategic management takes into account elements of strategic history and the current strategy that is composed of an analysis of the organizational and the environment it is operating in. The objective of this research is to examine the corporate strategy and strategic management by carrying out a case study of Starbucks Corporation.

Company Overview

Starbucks Corporation is a company that deals in coffee retail with an approximate 16,850 coffee shops spread in 40 countries. Its stores specialize in offering drinks, food coffee and tea as well as roasted beans. In the US, the company runs shops that are owned while other shops are spread in airports and shopping centers owned as franchises constituting 8,000 of their units. In addition, the company controls the Torrefazione Italia and Seattle's Best coffee brands. The company was founded in 1971 by Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Zev Siegel in Seattle. In 1982 Howard Schultz joined the company as the head of market and retail with a vision of expanding to open more stores in the United States and Canada. The March of 1987 saw to the sale of Starbucks to Howard by Gordon Bowker and Jerry Baldwin. Over the years, the company has experienced exceptional growth to become one of the best retail businesses dealing in coffee, roasted beans and coffee equipment for customers' own brewing. It has established itself as one of the major brands in the American market (Clearly, 1997).

Since its transfer to Howard Schultz, the company has implements various strategies aimed at improving the performance of the company. The company culture is guided by various principles including quality and customer satisfaction. Moreover, the company is guided by a mission statement that encompasses the goals and objectives of the company besides the strategies of attaining them. The mission statement entails a goal to become the best coffee stores in the world through observation of various guidelines including appreciating diversity, social responsibility and suitable work environment. The company is also geared towards customer satisfaction profitability and excellence in service and product delivery.

Strategic History

Core Competences

Core competences help to provide firms with a competitive advantage. They are used to achieve a strategic advantage through activities, skills or know-how, and basically a general ...