Leadership Assignment
Case Study: Challenge to Change at Starbucks
From 2008 to 2010, Starbucks was faced with a challenge: Reduce spending by 500 million. This required closing 600 stores and canceling the planned opening of 348 others. Those stores represented 8 percent of U.S. company-owned operations and 12,000 partners (employee) positions. It was a bitter medicine traced to company misreads and missteps. CEO Howard Schultz told Starbucks employees, "I am sorry, and I apologize if anyone feels that we have fractured the culture and values of the company."
A challenge to change faced Starbucks. Operationally, changes to jobs and roles shifted rapidly. On one afternoon in 2008, Starbucks closed the doors to every store in the company to retrain 135,000 baristas on how to correctly pour a shot of espresso. These closures cost an estimated $6 million.
Other changes followed, including a standard six-step process to brew coffee, setting up a pastry case in 25 minutes rather than 45 (saving $60 million in less than three months), and having employees slow down to focus on quality-making no more than two drinks at the same time and ending the practice of reheating milk.
For Starbucks, the challenge of change continues, especially in a global economy.
Coffee drinking tends to reflect economic growth, so as the middle class of other countries such as China grows, so will coffee consumption-something Starbucks is betting on.
Objective:
The analysis of company success metrics can cause an organization to undergo dramatic changes in their vision and place the leader in a role to initiate the needed changes in order to survive and succeed against the competition.
Summary:
Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz accepted the mantle of change leadership in order to stem the loss of profits. He practiced effective leadership as he apologized to the employees that his leadership affected the culture and vision of the organization. Fortunately, he became an excellent "change" leader by focusing on Starbucks 1) structure, 2) tasks, 3) technology, and 4) the people - employees and customers. In practicing effective "change" procedures, Starbucks rebounded, but they must continue to foresee necessary changes to continue as a global force in the coffee consumption market.
Task:
• What would you do if you were leading Starbucks today?
• What policies and practices would you change?
• What policies and practices would you keep?
Format your assignment according to the give formatting requirements:
1. The answer must be double spaced, typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the course title, the student's name, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.