Real Choices at Starbucks Free Essays

Real Choices at Starbucks Starbucks started as small coffee shop in a tourist area called Pikes Place Market in Seattle. The three unknown pioneer of Starbucks wanted to share their passion for brewed coffee and tea. During their first year in the business, they experimented with all sorts of coffee blend until they came up with their own flavor. We will write a custom essay sample on Real Choices at Starbucks or any similar topic only for you Order Now Their business became an instant success using the word of mouth selling brewed coffee cup by cup. This is what inspired them to open a second store to target the wider market. By the early 1980’s, Starbucks expanded to four new stores in Seattle area. Since then, they became the largest retail company in the world. This coffee company grew from four Starbucks store to having currently 16,635 stores globally including 11,068 in the United States, 1000 stores in Canada, and more than 800 in Japan (Salomon 271). This amazing expansion can be attributed to Howard Shultz’s dedication to brewing coffee who bought the coffee’s trademark twenty five years ago. The main reason Starbucks has done so well for four decades can be attributed to their commitment to high quality products and passion for educating customers to appreciate the qualities of fine coffees. Strength Starbucks has become a popular company for selling the best tasting coffee products around the world. As a result, everyone saw Starbucks as the biggest and best in the business (Higbee 6). They acquired a solid brand reputation and have a world renowned company logo. There are no other national coffee bar competitors in the same scale as Starbucks. They are the only competitor in the coffee business that has a recognized brand image. They also own trademarks, copyrights, domain names, patents. The current SEC filing of Starbucks shows that the company is in a positive financial condition. The company’s total revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 had increased sixteen percent and the net income was up more than ten percent (Smith, http://wallstcheatsheet. com/). This result was primarily driven by increase revenues from company-operated stores, licensed stores, and CPG foodservice contributing to approximately $3. 44 billion (http://investing. businessweek. com/). The overall areas of Starbucks business, from domestic and international retail operations to the company’s specialty businesses delivered strong financial performance, and innovation was the reason for the success of the company’s operations. The statement below shows the current financial status of the company as of January 1, 2012. Financial Statements Results of Operations (in millions) Revenues Quarter Ended ___________________________ Jan 1, Jan 2 % 2012 2011 Change _________ ________ ________ Company-operated stores $ 2,731. 8 $ 2,451. 3 11. 4% Licensed stores 306. 6 254. 3 20. 6 CPG, foodservice and other 397. 245. 3 62. 0 Total net revenues $ 3,435. 9 $ 2,950. 8 16. 4% Weakness Even though Starbucks has strength to stay in the business, it also has a few weaknesses. Starbucks must deal with these weaknesses in order to remain as a competitor in the retail market. One of the company’s most prevalent obstacles is the price they charge for a cup of coffee. While most people consider Starbucks coffee as a luxury and would pay whatever price is set, there is an increasing opinion that Starbucks charges too much (Higbee 7). Sometimes it is difficult for a company to penetrate the mass market with the prices above market averages. While this weakness may not come to reality in the short term, it is possible that this company is somewhat maturing since they have grown so rapidly penetrating the U. S. market. Opportunities Opportunities present themselves when it comes to Starbucks business strategy which provided the options to strengthen its retail market. Starbucks would not be able to effectively compete with its competitors if it not with these opportunities. They continued their quest by expanding its retail operations and sales. They pursued other opportunities by introducing new products and develop new channels to stay on top. Starbucks is in great position to expand its global business more that they already have. Since they expanded to Europe, Canada, and Japan, they enjoyed much success in these countries and their future plan is to open more Starbucks in Asia, Latin America, and the Far East. Starbucks also created numerous partnerships that will ensure its longevity for a long time. Formed a partnership with Pepsi Company and created a coffee type bottled drink called Frappucino. These Frappucino bottles were currently being sold in shops, grocery stores, and convenient stores. This drink has grown in popularity in the past that it was labeled by the consumers as â€Å"the coffee on the go† (Higbee 6). In addition, Starbucks also partnered with Target that pave the way to opening a coffee shop inside the shopping center. Threats One of the major threats to Starbucks is their competition with other coffee chain, such as Coffee Bean and Peet’s Coffee. Other companies, such as McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, and Burger King already have the infrastructure in place and are instead adding quality coffee to their menu to compete with Starbucks (Higbee 8). But for one thing, many people enjoy buying coffee even though it is pricey because of the environment and experience that allow people to enjoy, relax, and mingle while sipping a cup of coffee. Other threats to Starbucks are the gas station and restaurants industry. Many people are in the habit of buying breakfast and coffee at the local gas stations such as 7 Eleven. This practice is done mostly out of habit, but also for convenience especially for morning paper paired with a cup of coffee before going to work. Many consumers are also attracted by the convenience and the economics of the big mug cup of coffee they can obtain. Other consumer concerns are the trend towards more healthy ways. More and more people are becoming aware of the risk in consumption of caffeine. Too much caffeine can produce restlessness, nausea, headache, tense muscles, sleep disturbances, and irregular heartbeats. Caffeine can also increase the production of stomach acid that causes acid reflux. And finally, the price of coffee is so volatile that it remained as the biggest complaint by its customers. Recommendation Starbucks has created such a strong corporate culture and strong work values that it allows a company to successfully engage in product diversification. However, amongst the first thing that Starbucks needs to have is to define their brand image by lowering the coffee prices. It needs to be conveyed to the market in a precise manner, so that there would be no confusion amid Starbucks customer complaints. This is vital if Starbucks wanted to maintain its domestic market share competing with the likes of McDonald, Dunkin Donut, and Burger King. They must resolve all the consumer concerns so that they can embark on another project with smooth transition. Conclusion Overall, as long as Starbucks maintains and promotes a strong quality product without deterring from its corporate-level strategy, it will always have number of opportunities ahead. There is a very strong base for this company which will allow it to pursue desired avenues with aggressiveness and confidence. Works Cited Salomon M, Marshall G, Stuart E, Marketing: Real People Real Choice 7th Ed. P. cm. Higbee J, Liaw Z, Ting C, Tjho K, Ton M, The Future of Starbucks, http://www. mcafee. cc/Classes/BEM106/Papers/2008/Starbucks. pdf Smith G, Cost of Coffee Could Squeeze Starbucks, http://wallstcheatsheet. com/stocks/cost-of-coffee-could-squeeze-starbucks. html/ United States Securities and Exchange Commission, FORM 10-Q, http://investing. businessweek. com/research/stocks/financials/drawFiling. asp? docKey=137-000119312512032427-56VATRT3JVABGO7FIGIBD5RTCJdocFormat=HTMformType=10-Q#D270627D10Q_HTM_TX270627_3 How to cite Real Choices at Starbucks, Essay examples

Jack Shaefer Essay Example For Students

Jack Shaefer Essay These four short stories are all set in America and show the diversity of Culture in the United States compared to the UK and other countries. I will illustrate the main cultural features shown in these four stories. Jeremy Rodock, by Jack Shaefer This story is about a pioneer who owns a ranch in the uncharted Wild West of the United States in the mid nineteenth century. He is extremely fond of his horses, which are the main feature in his life. One day, he goes to see his mares and foals in his pasture, but discovers they have been stolen. He and the author of the story track the horses and locate them in a valley, but they had been roped and thrown and their front hooves rasped almost to the quick, so that they could barely put their weight on them. Rodock leaves the horses in the valley, planning to return to try and capture the thieves and make them pay. He does this and manages to capture the thieves, but instead of hanging them, which is his usual practice, he makes them walk fifty miles over rocky land without shoes, but then he decided to let them go. This story features a pioneer, a man who explored and settled in unknown territory in the Wild West of America in the mid nineteenth century. Pioneers are a very important feature of American culture, and are not featured in many other countries cultures, except other New World countries like Australia. Pioneers rode on their horse into the unknown, founding settlements. In this story, Jeremy Rodock, the pioneer, has started up a ranch in some unknown territory. Pioneers were very important to American culture in the nineteenth and early twentieth century as they expanded American territory from the East to the far Wild West. Without them, the western areas of the USA would not be part of the country. Jeremy Rodock was a typical pioneer of his time, a tough strong man. The story is set in the Wild West, which is also very important to American culture. The Wild West is an informal term for the unexplored southwestern states of the USA, where law did not exist. Pioneers, or settlers who followed them inhabited the Wild West. As there was no law; people took the law into their own hands, as shown in Jeremy Rodock. He has a reputation (which he deserves) of hanging rustlers who stole his horses, Jeremy Rodock was a hanging man when it came to horse thieves (page 1). Modern America appears to be intrigued by the Wild West, as they have made a countless number of films and series set in the Wild West, as have many other countries showing that it is not just the Americans who are fascinated with the Wild West. The main culture demonstrated in Jeremy Rodock is the horse culture. The story is set in a horse ranch. There is nothing else at the ranch but horses and ranch hands to look after the horses. The whole story is about horses, tracking down horse thieves who have stolen and harmed Jeremy Rodocks horses, and getting revenge for this. The Horse culture was very important to the pioneers, as back then this was their only mode of transport. In the barren land, where this story are set, there are no women, no nearby settlements, nothing but open landscape. This horse culture could be described as primitive or restricted. The horse culture is so important as the ranch is isolated, and no settlers have followed Rodock into this area. The language used in the culture shown above is different to modern English. .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2 , .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2 .postImageUrl , .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2 , .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2:hover , .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2:visited , .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2:active { border:0!important; } .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2:active , .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2 .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u285e3b55ffa282d5f97951f9f1b68db2:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: John Keats uses often uses pain EssayThey have many slang words, and correct American vocabulary. The slang that they use is commonly associated with America; some was absorbed into the American language as correct vocabulary at a later date. Examples: critters (pg5), mosey (pg5), look see (pg5), hobbles (pg4) and hitching (pg4). These are but few of the many slang examples in this story. They give an insight to the language used in the mid nineteenth century, which is a very important part of the culture. Words in this story that are part of the American language but not the English are: hustling, (pg6) and rustling (pg2). There are many more examples of correct American words in the story. The difference in language illustrates the difference between the American culture and the English culture at the time. Jeremy Rodock sheds light on the life of a pioneer in the mid nineteenth century. My father by Damon Runyon This story is about a man whose father used to be a pioneer and who has a pioneers reunion in the same town where his wife is to give a speech for her society in dedication to a new museum for Spanish explorers. But his father tries to re-enact his earlier years and starts running riots in the town with his gun and violent ways.

Mountain Biking Essays - Mountain Biking, Cycling, Trail, Freeride

Mountain Biking If you want the rush of going downhill at thirty miles an hour on two wheels with wind blowing dirt in your eyes and mud flinging all over you, then mountain biking is for you. However it isn't for the faint of heart. When you fall, you fall hard, and if you ride hard, you go through parts like a runner goes through water. Also keep in mind that mountain biking isn't for everyone. You have to want to live on the edge. The thrill is the reward for all of your efforts. So let's take a walk through a day at the course. The sun is shinning in my room as I wake up on another beautiful Saturday morning. The one thing that excites me as I rise is the fact that today I am going mountain biking. So I get dressed and call my friend Sean. Sean is the person who I go mountain biking with the most. We normally go to a place in Barrington. It is a forest reserve that has great trails. After Sean arrives at my house we do a little pre-ride bike check. We make sure that all of the components are securely on the bike and that the tires are properly inflated. With water bottles filled and bikes ready to go, we are off. Not long after we arrive at our destination we see others just like us who are out to enjoy a great day at the trails. With bikes ready to go so are we. Usually we start off with the small trails that have some hills to them. After we are tired of the small stuff we get into downhill chutes, cross-country riding and all the hard riding that mountain biking is all about. Occasionally, we have a spill or two but nothing to serious. In my case however, the only time I go mountain biking by myself, I fall and break my collar bone. So after a few hours of riding all our energy on the course, we decide it is time to go home. You know that you rode hard if you are covered in mud and dirt. And after another successful ride, we go home to plan our next day at the course.

Comparing LBJ AND JFK essays

Comparing LBJ AND JFK essays John F. Kennedy and Lindon B. Johnson were two of the united states presidents during the cold war although neither was is office very long each had lasting impact on the United States. John was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Mass., the second of nine children. As an infant he lived in a comfortable but modest frame house in that suburb of Boston. As the family grew and the father's fortune increased, the Kennedys moved to larger, more impressive homes, first in Brookline, then in suburbs of New York City. John had a happy childhood, full of family games and sports. He attended private elementary schools, none of them parochial. He later spent a year at Canterbury School in New Milford, Conn., where he was taught by Roman Catholic laymen, and four years at Choate School in Wallingford, Conn. John seemed to grow up in the shadow of his oldebrother Joseph, who dominated family competitions and was a better student in school. Encouraged by his father to take part in school athletics, John, wiry but thin, played in half a dozen sports without making the varsity. When John graduated from Choate in 1935, he ranked only 64th in a class of 112. His classmates, howev er, voted him "most likely to succeed." And its a good thing they did because in 1960. During his presidency he had to dal with many foreing problem retaining to the cold war. The first was the By of Pigs. This plan wasnt even Kennedys it was Eisenhowers but Kennedy was forced to go through with it. This pan was for the U.S. to train the Cuban rebels how to fight and to help them revotlt against castro but when it came time to invaid Castro was ready and it turned out to be a huge blounder. Kennedy also had to deal with one of the most scary incidents of the Cold war this incident was when the Soviets sent Cuba nuclear warheads to point at the U.S. for finacial aid. Kennedy however dealt with this well and got the soviets to remove the we ...

Discovery of the Higgs Field Behind the God Particle

Discovery of the Higgs Field Behind the God Particle The Higgs field is the theoretical field of energy that permeates the universe, according to the theory put forth in 1964 by Scottish theoretical physicist Peter Higgs. Higgs suggested the field as a possible explanation for how the fundamental particles of the universe came to have mass, because in the 1960s the Standard Model of quantum physics actually couldnt explain the reason for mass itself. He proposed that this field existed throughout all of space and that particles gained their mass by interacting with it. Discovery of the Higgs Field Though there was initially no experimental confirmation for the theory, over time it came to be seen as the only explanation for mass that was widely viewed as consistent with the rest of the Standard Model. As strange as it seemed, the Higgs mechanism (as the Higgs field was sometimes called) was generally accepted widely among physicists, along with the rest of the Standard Model. One consequence of the theory was that the Higgs field could manifest as a particle, much in the way that other fields in quantum physics manifest as particles. This particle is called the Higgs boson. Detecting the Higgs boson became a major goal of experimental physics, but the problem is that the theory didnt actually predict the mass of the Higgs boson. If you caused particle collisions in a particle accelerator with enough energy, the Higgs boson should manifest, but without knowing the mass that they were looking for, physicists werent sure how much energy would need to go into the collisions. One of the driving hopes was that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) would have sufficient energy to generate Higgs bosons experimentally since it was more powerful than any other particle accelerators that had been built before. On July 4, 2012, physicists from the LHC announced that they found experimental results consistent with the Higgs boson, though further observations are needed to confirm this and to determine the various physical properties of the Higgs boson. The evidence in support of this has grown, to the extent that the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Peter Higgs and Francois Englert. As physicists determine the properties of the Higgs boson, it will help them more fully understand the physical properties of the Higgs field itself. Brian Greene on the Higgs Field One of the best explanations of the Higgs field is this one from Brian Greene, presented on the July 9 episode of PBS Charlie Rose Show, when he appeared on the program with experimental physicist Michael Tufts to discuss the announced discovery of the Higgs boson: Mass is the resistance an object offers to having its speed changed. You take a baseball. When you throw it, your arm feels resistance. A shotput, you feel that resistance. The same way for particles. Where does the resistance come from? And the theory was put forward that perhaps space was filled with an invisible stuff, an invisible molasses-like stuff, and when the particles try to move through the molasses, they feel a resistance, a stickiness. Its that stickiness which is where their mass comes from. ... That creates the mass.... ... its an elusive invisible stuff. You dont see it. You have to find some way to access it. And the proposal, which now seems to bear fruit, is if you slam protons together, other particles, at very, very high speeds, which is what happens at the Large Hadron Collider... you slam the particles together at very high speeds, you can sometimes jiggle the molasses and sometimes flick out a little speck of the molasses, which would be a Higgs particle. So people have looked for that little speck of a particle and now it looks like its been found. The Future of the Higgs Field If the results from the LHC pan out, then as we determine the nature of the Higgs field, well get a more complete picture of how quantum physics manifests in our universe. Specifically, well gain a better understanding of mass, which may, in turn, give us a better understanding of gravity. Currently, the Standard Model of quantum physics does not account for gravity (though it fully explains the other ​fundamental forces of physics). This experimental guidance may help theoretical physicists hone in on a theory of quantum gravity that applies to our universe. It may even help physicists understand the mysterious matter in our universe, called dark matter, that cannot be observed except through gravitational influence. Or, potentially, a greater understanding of the Higgs field may provide some insights into the repulsive gravity demonstrated by the dark energy that seems to permeate our observable universe.

Americal Labor Issues (as it relates to unionized labor) Essay

Americal Labor Issues (as it relates to unionized labor) - Essay Example It will also emphasize on the fact that this influence is often felt in a radical sense in many working environments. The paper will give the function of unions and how unions are lawfully the employee's only representatives, which represent both union and non-union members. The only method an employee has for manipulating important decisions such as strike votes, contract approval, or strategies of negotiation is to join the union. As a result employees have to join so that they can be represented in the negotiations of union regarding wages and working conditions (Tait 2005). It will portray how for a lot of American employees, union membership may be their only choice as union members have authority over non union members when it comes to working conditions as well as wages. In the analysis section of the paper in order to portray the authority union members have over non union members a few cases, of union's mishandlings of workplace affairs that have hurt non-union workers will be given .

Organizational theory Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Organizational theory - Coursework Example 45) For the best implementation of change towards this model, first, there should be personal and team education, this would help in the proper understanding of the challenges presented and the possible methods to deal with these challenges, for this to go as required the process must start with a self-assessment test. They should then highlight the concepts and the approaches, and then conduct the training sessions (Moretz, 2012, p. 107) The second step towards moving to this model is educating others, in that those who understand the concepts of this model and have enough knowledge regarding strategies and programs can share this information with other staff members and their colleagues. As the information spreads, even the families come to join the process. This may be through professional and personal stories, organizational leadership staff and even peer mentors The third step for the implementation of the model is the development of infrastructure, this helps in sustaining and creating improvements in many institutions. Infrastructure development may be through staff liaison, integration of patient and family advisors and development of action plans (Moretz, 2012, p.