Communication and Culture in Starbucks

944 Words4 Pages
Communication and Culture in Starbucks The Starbucks Corporation is a coffeehouse chain operating in over 50 countries, boasting over 17,000 locations and over 137,000 employees worldwide. It is a rapidly expanding business at a time when most other large corporations are downsizing, both in human relations and services offered. Starbucks culture, values and communication. Starbucks’ main goal is to keep the look and feel of a small town coffeehouse or boutique while still incorporating modern coffee making technologies and creating a family-like community for its employees and patrons. To date, they seem to have accomplished this. Gradually, Starbucks has added semi-automatic espresso machines, dispensing machines and new blends of coffees yearly. Ovens were added to each store to incorporate fresh pastries so patrons wouldn’t have to go to another store for their coffee cake. Breakfast sandwiches were added to the menu to expand to the breakfast food market. For employees, Starbucks has created a partnership attitude and a “Special Blend” (Working at Starbucks, 2011) of benefits. Workdays routinely start with coffee tastings with your partners while having an open forum for any questions, issues or new idea suggestions. All efficiency ideas are presented to the management for feasibility. The corporate philosophy is that the best decisions are made in each individual store; focus groups at the corporate level are discouraged. Employees can create their own “special blend” of benefits including retirement plans, stock purchase plan, adoption assistance, a free pound of coffee each week, paid time off and bonuses. The corporation also boasts a “work/life program” (Working at Starbucks, 2011) for employees. They partner with local businesses to provide discounts for employees. Starbucks offers wellness programs to educate its partners about

More about Communication and Culture in Starbucks

Open Document