Describe and evaluate starbucks innovation, motivation, and people

Describe and evaluate starbucks innovation, motivation, and people Describe and evaluate starbucks innovation, motivation, and people strategy. YOU MUST ALSO Includes publicly available information including Securities and Exchange Commission filings and introducing new products or services â€" Essay Example > Analysis of Starbucks’s Innovation, Motivation, and People Strategy Case Study Strengthening its core and, at the same time, innovating its product portfolio, Starbucks launched a healthy and complementary array of products between 2008 and 2010. Some of these products are the Mastrenaâ€"an improved espresso machine that sped up and simplify the making of espressos while leaving quality unchangedâ€"and the Pike Place Roastâ€"a more moderate mix of coffee as an outcome of customer suggestions (Aiello Dickinson, 2014). Starbucks also engaged in building a new kind of Starbucks store, known as the Mercantile Stores. These Mercantile Stores offer wine and beer and include new coffee preparation methods and a proletarian structural design. Apparently, Starbucks is moving beyond its regular coffee shop and espresso bar to provide greater customer experience (Barth, 2012). However, the major problems confronting Starbucks were its efforts to expand drastically and launch new innovatio ns. The desire to expand may make the company more vulnerable to risks. In the meantime, motivation, just like innovation, is a vital part of Starbucks’s success. Howard Schultz, Starbucks’s CEO, acknowledges that the determining factor for Starbucks’s success is not its products but its people. He absolutely believes that the life-force of the organization is its employees and feels proud about the importance and worth of its people (Schultz, 2011). The company develops an interactive system that highly motivates its employees. Other major strategies employed by the company to raise employee motivation are the following: (1) appropriate welfare policies (medical insurance, commodity discounts, vacations); (2) Starbucks’s manager treat all employees equally; and (3) the company has a highly open and efficient communication system for employees (Plog, 2005). When it comes to people strategy or raising not just employee skills, Starbucks has a broad range of techniques to offer. For instance, Schultz closed down all Starbucks shop in the U. S. for a day so as to “perfect their espresso making ability” (Schultz, 2011, 5-6). This move costs Starbucks $6 million, yet Schultz response was “How could it be wrong to invest in our people? ” (Schultz, 2011, 6). This commitment to career training and development has been perfected by the company. It continuously offers complete healthcare compensation for full-time and part-time employees, as well as equity through stock options for all employees. According to the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (2007), all of these policies are undertaken by Starbucks in order to enhance its brand recognition all over the world. To attain this objective, the company aims to expand its retail activities, to magnify its Specialty Operations, and to launch new products and create new distrib ution channels (USEC, 2007, 3). A prime example of Starbucks’s persistent commitment to innovation is it Verismo coffeemaker. The company has been on the edge in the past few years, trying to expand its sources of revenue. Several product innovations were made; some successful, others miserably failed (Barth, 2012). Even though it is still uncertain whether customers will get the hang of the Verismo pods, Jeff Hansberry, head of Starbucks’s emerging brands and channel development, reported to The New York Times that one-cup coffee sales increased by 143 per cent in 2011 (Barth, 2012, para 3). Apparently, Starbucks is still facing major challenges in its goal to innovate, motivate, and gain greater competitive advantage. References Aiello, G. Dickinson, G. (2014). Beyond authenticity: A visual-material analysis of locality in the global redesign of Starbucks stores. Visual Communication, 13(3), 303-321. Barth, C. (2012, September 20). Starbucks’s New Verismo Sinks Green Mountain. Will You Buy It? Retrieved from: http: //www. forbes. com/sites/chrisbarth/2012/09/20/starbucks-new-verismo-machine-sinks-green-mountain-will-you-buy-it/ Plog, S. (2005). Starbucks: More than a Cup of Coffee. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration, 46(2), 284-287. Schultz, H. (2011). Onward: How Starbucks Fought for its Life without Losing its Soul. UK: John Wiley Sons. U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2007). Starbucks Corporation. Retrieved from: http: //media. corporate-ir. net/media_files/irol/99/99518/200710K. pdf