Business Project Teams
Starbucks values its internal resources, especially its employees, and works to empower individual people while enabling teamwork. Communication is also a major factor that is promoted by the company, as well as innovative thinking. Furthermore, the organizational culture is well-developed and focuses on quality, customers, and some other key aspects of Starbucks’ philosophy (Qian and Xing 30). It would be recommended for Starbucks to preserve its human resource management approach to engage employees and ensure effective and efficient teamwork that would produce the best results possible.
Communication
There is not much negative information about the brand. The main drawback that was found during the analysis is that Starbucks does not seem to use the mass media extensively. However, the media are a major opportunity for communication (Strausbaugh 252-253). Starbucks has a good marketing strategy, and its target audience is already well-defined. Also, Starbucks effectively customizes its services and products (Qian and Xing 31), which implies that it can do the same with messages. The company should use these assets and enhance its current communication strategy by engaging a variety of media channels for improved management of its public image, as well as any conflicts or negative information.
Solution
Currently, Starbucks has multiple opportunities for expansion, including the African market, but this option may have its problems. The right place is extremely important for marketing (Strausbaugh 9). Therefore, Starbucks should be careful with its next steps and test the African market’s ability to be profitable. In particular, Starbucks should check the opportunities in specific countries and regions and open a small number of stores or cafes in the most suitable ones. If they are successful and the demand for the product grows, expansion is possible. From the perspective of politics, the solution requires additional attention to the governmental activities in the region, which can foster or hinder the company’s expansion. Starbucks has some experience with managing governmental claims and restrictions, so it is prepared for the task.
Political Influence
Starbucks can be a major political player due to its size and revenues, which affect the welfare of the regions where the company opens its shops and cafes. As a result, Starbucks can have some political leverage, which it has demonstrated, for instance, by expressing its support of refugees in response to President Trump’s suspension of refugee admission (Boak par. 1). However, the same example also shows that such actions can result in the company being boycotted by some of its supporters and partners if they have different perspectives.
Starbucks needs to manage its external resources carefully and avoid antagonizing important partners, but it should uphold its brand and reputation as a socially responsible organization. Therefore, the company should proceed to employ its power to advocate for and promote agendas that are in line with its values. The advocacy needs to be strategically aligned: it should be designed to strengthen the brand and attract loyal customers with similar values (Tingchi et al. 187-189). The engagement of additional stakeholders and external resources will help the company to support its agendas. The problems that can arise should be managed in accordance with the above-discussed communication strategies.
Conclusion
Based on the prior analysis, the following recommendations can be offered to Starbucks. As a largely successful company, it needs to preserve many of its methods, including its attitude to organizational culture, human resource management, most of the elements of its marketing strategy, and its approach to advocacy. However, it can also benefit from engaging more mass media channels. Regarding the current situation, the company’s expansion into the African market needs to be executed with caution and attention to the political implications.
Works Cited
Boak, Josh. ” Starbucks to Hire 10,000 Refugees in Response to Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban’.” Independent. 2017. Web.
Qian, Yang, and Tu Xing. “Starbucks VS Chinese Tea—Starbucks Brand Management Strategy Analysis in China.” International Business and Management, vol. 12, no. 1, 2016, pp. 29-32.
Strausbaugh, Kirsten. Advertising Campaign Strategy. 5th ed., Cengage Learning, 2014.
Tingchi, Matthew, et al. “The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Performance and Perceived Brand Quality on Customer-Based Brand Preference”. Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 28, no. 3, 2014, pp. 181-194.