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Strategic Issues Analysis of a Global Company

In 1971, one of the founders of a coffee shop in Seattle, Washington, wanted to name the company Pequod after the ill-fated whaling ship in Herman Melville's classic 19th century novel, Moby-Dick. The two other partners prevailed and, instead, the store was named for the sober-minded first mate of the Moby Dickwhaling ship, Starbuck. For their logo, the partners chose a two-tailed mermaid to evoke the sirens that were said to lure sailors to Starbuck Island in the South Pacific. They could not have anticipated how prescient that symbol would become. Today, millions of consumers are lured to one of more than 19,000 Starbucks retail outlets in more than 60 countries around the world, where they purchase an estimated 10 million beverages every day (Starbucks, 2013).

With such a large footprint, Starbucks is a frequent target for concerns about its environmental impact, fair trade practices, tax haven strategies, employment strategies and impact on the local communities where it operates. While the company's leadership has acknowledged these concerns and worked to address them, they also remain committed to an aggressive growth strategy, which includes launching new products, new stores and new markets.

Consider the range of issues facing a global retailing operation such as Starbucks. To begin to analyse these issues, the management team needs to engage in strategic issues diagnosis. Issue diagnosis is of paramount importance for large corporations, such as Starbucks. Consider the strategies this company has adopted and also consider your personal reactions to these strategies. Consider the decisions that leadership has made in achieving its goals.

Reference

Starbucks, (2013) Starbucks Newsroom: Fast Facts, Available at: https://news.starbucks.com/facts, (accessed: 15/11/13)

To prepare for this Shared Activity:
- Review the Readings.
- Review the Starbucks website.
- Search the UoRL Library, the business press and scholarly sources for information about Starbucks Corporation.

To complete this Shared Activity:
- Briefly describe one of the major strategic issues that Starbucks currently faces.
- Describe what the company has done to address the issue.
- Describe the leadership's role in this issue.
- Critically analyse this issue facing the company.
- Explain whether you support Starbucks' actions and why (or why not).
- Support your position with examples from the Learning Resources and your own research.
- Provide citations in the appropriate format.