Thursday, August 30, 2012

Chapter 1: Mission Statement & History

Starbucks' mission is "to inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time."  

Starbucks has the help of their coffee, partners, customers, stores, neighborhood, and shareholders to fulfill this mission.  When one thinks of Starbucks coffee, they think of the quality. Starbucks uses the "finest coffee beans, roasting them with great care, and improving the lives of people who grow them."  

People who work within the Starbucks corporation call themselves partners because they embrace diversity throughout the employees.  This way, everyone has a chance to be themselves and be treated with "respect and dignity."

Personally, I don't think I've ever been to a Starbucks and received unsatisfactory customer service.  Therefore, I agree that Starbucks employees are "fully engaged" and even though they may be only making your morning beverage, they feel "it's really about human connection."

Starbucks stores have produced around the world rather rapidly and continue today.  They take pride in a place where their customers can "feel a sense of belonging."

Employees/employers of the Starbucks corporation take being a good neighbor seriously.  Whether it's engaging with partners, customers, or just the community in general, they want to be invited wherever business is taken care of and share being a neighbor with someone else.  This will help them contribute to the community.

The last part of the Starbucks mission is their shareholders.  As Starbucks succeeds, they enjoy the "kind of success that rewards their shareholders."  Starbucks makes sure that they take care of everyone around them and hopefully "everyone it touches - can endure and thrive."
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The History of Starbucks
Being a New Yorker, as I walk down any street in Manhattan, a Starbucks is nearby if not right on that same block.  It is hard to believe, with that said, the first Starbucks was opened in 1971.  It feels like they must have been around longer than that because of how rapidly the company has grown.  The first store was located in Seattle's famous Pike Place Market.  The name was inspired by Moby Dick and "evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders."  In 1981, Howard Schultz (present day Starbucks Chairman, President, and CEO) had walked into a Starbucks store for the first time and joined the company a year later.  In 1983, Schultz traveled to Italy and became mesmerized by the passion of the coffee experience and was inspired to bring the tradition back to the United States.  He envisioned it becoming a place to gather with others and a "third place between work and home."  He wound up leaving Starbucks for a short period of time to begin his own Il Giornale coffeehouses, but returned to the company in August 1987 to purchase Starbucks with help of local investors.  From the start, Starbucks' goal was to be a different kind of coffeehouse with a different type of coffee experience.  Now, "with more than 17,000 stores in 55 countries, Starbucks is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world."  I say they have lived out their mission and continue to everyday.

Quotes used from Starbucks website