Howard Schultz Essay

I. Introduction Starbucks today is widely recognized as the megabrand for coffee, and there clearly are no close competitors that have its international recognition and scope. Starbucks has grown to employ over â€Å"160,000 people and generates about 13.6 billion dollars annually† (Forbes). Much of Starbuck’s success is attributed to a man with a clear vision and drive: Howard Schultz. Howard Schultz’s passion for delivering quality coffee along with a positive cafà © experience has given him the motivational determination to demonstrate exceptional leadership traits. This paper will give a brief overview of the history of Starbucks, and will then investigate the changes that were made after Schultz stepped in. Furthermore, problems that Schultz encountered throughout his time as CEO will also be discussed, along with the key steps he took to bring Starbucks back on to a road of recovery. As a concluding remark, Schultz’s leadership style and abilities w ill be analyzed in terms of effectiveness. II. A Brief History of Starbucks  Looking at the Starbucks company today, it is difficult to imagine that a company that has over twenty thousand locations in sixty-one countries (Starbucks) was once a single small retailer that had only three employees. In 1971, three academics, Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel, and Gordon Bowker, opened a small store at Pikes Place Market based on their collective love for fine coffee-making. Baldwin, Siegel, and Bowker’s initial goals were to expose Seattle to bring a refined coffee culture that existed in the San Francisco Bay Area. The three looked to Alfred Peet, an expert coffee roaster from Berkeley, CA, who taught them the art of dark-coffee roasting. Baldwin, Seagel, and Bowker took on that knowledge to produce their own roasts and blends that were then distributed in their stores. Ten years later, Howard Schultz, then the vice president and general manager for a Swedish kitchen and housewares, visited Starbucks to see why they were placing such large orders for a particular coffee maker. Schultz was immediately captivated by the aromas and quality of coffee that was offered by the store. He, gained as much insight as possible from Baldwin and Bowker about the entire coffee production process, and later convinced them to join their team. It was not until Schultz took a trip to Italy, when he began to envision a new Starbucks. Schultz visited many espresso bars and was exposed to a new culture of coffee drinking that we wanted to bring to the United States. Upon his return, Schultz did all he could to convince the managers at Starbucks to get a full espresso bar and begin serving lattes and drinks at Starbucks. Due to many disagreements with the managers on the values and culture that Starbucks should have, Schultz mad a decision to leave and start his own cafà ©: Il Giornale. With this venture, Schultz had the executive freedom to create a culture that he passionately envisioned. Schultz’s business plan was widely successful, and within two years, he opened up â€Å"three cafes that generated 1.5 million dollars annually† (McGrawhill). With his success, Schultz acquired Starbucks to gain wider reach and growth. III. New Era for Starbucks and Problems Arising Now as the new CEO of Starbucks, Schultz faced many difficulties and challenges. The biggest problem that Schultz faced was making sure that Starbucks retained its â€Å"soul† in spite of growing into a large corporation. The biggest issues that played into Starbucks maintaining its soul was hiring the right managers and executives on his team, having consistent quality products and in-store experience for all Starbucks stores, and lastly- establishing a positive company culture for both the employees and customers. At the start of his career as the CEO for Starbucks, Schultz was faced with many obstacles to overcome. The first issue he tackled was getting the right people on his team. Lack of a Strong Core Executive Team With nine stores open, Schultz saw that Starbucks lacked professional management skills to control all the processes to grow to his plan of adding â€Å"125 stores in the next five years† [McGrawHill]. He made sure to add â€Å"A players† to his team: roasters and cafà © owners with decades of experience, a president of a profitable beverage company, and a CFO with eighteen years of management consulting experience at Deloitte and Touche. Schultz was able to see the need to recruit strong players with a lot of experience in the coffee and management industry. Early on, Schultz addressed the lack of organization management that was crucial for Starbucks to accelerate forward. Employee Enthusiasm and Commitment Another problem that Schultz faced was the issue of building a strong core of employees throughout the company. Schultz found that as the company grew, it lacked strong dedication from its employees. Starbucks had a high turnover rate, just like many other entry-level service jobs at McDonalds or retail stores. Schultz saw this as a huge problem for not only the money Starbucks lost through losing an employee and having to pay more to hire and train new ones, but also losing team members. Schultz wanted to create an environment for Starbucks employees in which they would want to stay in. Schultz had difficulties convincing Starbuck’s Board of Directors to invest in constant training, higher salaries, and rewards based on merit. He even went far enough for wanting baristas to become invested in building Starbucks into a great company, and thus offered them stock options. The biggest action step he took to really show that he wanted to show that Starbucks had a heart for their employees was fighting for providing health care coverage to all its employees. Schultz’s father recently battled cancer, and he knew that it would not only add tremendous value to the lives of Starbucks’ employees, but also allow them to have an incentive to stay. Through a particular story about the impact that Starbucks was having on its employees lives, I learned that Schultz had high emotional intelligence and the ability to put himself in others’ shoes. Schultz recalled, â€Å"I had known Jim was gay but had no idea he was sick. His disease had entered a new phase, he explained that he wouldn’t be able to work any longer. We sat together and cried, for I could not find meaningful words to console him I could not compose myself. I hugged him†. [McGrawhill] Schultz built his career from the bottom up from nothing, and his ability to demonstrate sympathy to others clearly showed great leadership skills. Having adept emotional skills is incredibly valuable for a leader because it gains the trust and approval of many people. Maintaining Consistent Product Quality and Customer Experience The last problem that will be discussed in this paper is how Schultz ensured product quality and positive store experience throughout all the Starbucks locations. Schultz could not emphasize enough how important it was to maintain the integrity of the coffee bean and the quality of the coffee throughout the stores. In order to do so, he made strict guidelines on preserving the heart of Starbucks’ history: getting good coffee to all customers. Starbucks had the option of chemically flavoring the beans, but Schultz made the executive decision to never add any chemicals to their core products. If customers wanted flavoring in their coffee, the source of additional flavoring could not come from the bean, but rather from a syrup mixed into the coffee. Another example is that he stressed the exact temperature that the milk for lattes needed to be heated to, the amount of time coffee can sit in a pot, and always compensating dissatisfied customers with a free drink. Schultz’s stringent standards on delivering consistent experiences also let him to scrapping a popular breakfast sandwich because it interfered with the coffee aroma in the Starbucks stores. III. Schultz’s Leadership Style Without Schultz trailblazing leadership styles, Starbucks would not have nearly achieved the success that it has today. The passion that Schultz exudes in terms of implementing the true Italian coffee house experience on an international scale has definitely shown through in his time as CEO. Schultz’s leadership style shows a commitment to keeping soul despite the large size of the company. Schultz’s standards for quality have never been compromised, and he continually makes the effort to ensure that his entire company is on board with delivering his goals. Aside from delivering quality to customers, Schultz’s leadership style also emphasizes treating all of his employees with respect and individuality. He guarantees that when working at Starbucks, an employee will be treated with fairness and dignity. Schultz more than anything emphasizes improving quality in terms of any experiences for whoever comes in contact with the St arbucks name. IV. Opinion on Leadership Style and Takeaway Schultz’s strong vision and keen awareness for what the Starbucks brand was very telling when he came back to Starbucks after stepping down. Schultz saw many problems, such as too many stores and below-par customer service. Schultz made a very bold move to close down Starbucks stores for three hours for mandatory training that cost the company millions of dollars. Schultz also closed down many locations. Schultz is very serious when it comes to giving a positive customer experience, and drives his motivation and actions off of that. I believe that Schultz’s ability to isolate and deliver the needs of Starbucks’ customers is his strong point. He has always been convincing Starbucks partners and board of directors to also see his standards for quality and having Starbucks retain its â€Å"soul†. His leadership style has definitely proved to be effective in building Starbucks into the behemoth of a company that it is today. Personally, I hope to be as passionate about delivering something to consumers when I take on a leadership position. To be cognizant of what exactly needs to get done to deliver a quality experience without losing focus is an important trait that can be learned through Howard Schultz’s leadership style.

Anticipitory Socialization

The shaping of my role as being the future leader for the Hawaii Papua Riders has been an anticipatory colonization experience during early onset of my life-span development. â€Å"Anticipatory colonization,† Is the process by which knowledge and skills are learned for future roles. The pungent smell of morning dew fills my lungs up with the essence of the earth, the cool breeze that gently touches my face, and the neighing of horses has been embedded in my fond memories as a young girl.Growing up on our ranch in Womanly, my grandparents were the one's who instilled a passion of tending and riding horses. I would be at our family ranch before the sun came up and TLD leave until sunset during my summers as a child. My grandfather John M. Cook and grandmother Lit L. Cook were the founders of the Hawaii Papua Riders in 1982, until the year of 2003 of my grandmother's passing. Currently my mother Leila K. Cook carries on the legacy my grandmother upheld, and is now the head of Haw aii Papua Riders as its second generation.Being my mothers daughter I will someday need to carry on these duties as the third enervation equestrian chairperson of the Hall Papua Riders. The Hawaii Papua Riders participate In yearly events that mark an Importance In Hawaiian culture. Events which include the Aloha Festival Parade, Jackhammer Day Parade, and other engagements that the community associates their reverence and respect for the Papua tradition. Hawaii Papua riding is a sense and practice of Hawaiian tradition fitted for Alit, or royalty, which is a lengthy piece of fabric worn to protect their wardrobe while riding on horseback held by Just six UK' nuts.The practice of preparing the horse or each rider, and the wrapping of fabric around the Papua rider has been the focal point Into the art of the royal Hawaiian tradition. Now days, Pap Rolling symbolizes horsemanship, aloha, and beauty of each Hawaiian island, for each island has its own specific color, flower, and repres entation. My grandparents taught me how to saddle the horses properly and securely while maintaining the comfort level for the horse.The preparation of saddling ones horse is a complex process, yet also a crucial one, as It ensures the safety for not only the horse, but for the Papua rider and bystanders. My grandmother would tell me often that safety comes first: no matter what the instance is, because an issue can stir in the midst of a parade ride at a moment's haste, so taking precaution to the welfare of the horse and it's rider is top priority before, during, and after each Papua event. The importance in the relationship between the Papua rider and their horse is also crucial to the accordance of each parade or event.The rider must be confident and comfortable riding their horse, as to avoid Injury to the rider or bystanders. The horse must be confident and imposture through a chaotic environment that a typical parade or event encompasses. Greeting and portraying a Papua rider appearance at all times during the course of the event is a daunting task, as there is a certain procedure to seating position, body posture, and gestures while keeping the Papua fabric taut and the floral arrangement on the Papua rider's neck and head from disarray.I would spend hours practicing to perfect the Papua rider appearance, so that one day I can teach prospective Papua riders the correct and traditional way that has been handed down since the early beginnings of the Papua tradition. Learning from a young age about the necessary responsibilities and comprehensive knowledge of the Hawaii Papua Riders, as well as refining my horsemanship skills, gives me confidence in my ability to uphold my future role within the Papua community.My mother has devoted herself in continuing the perpetuation of the Hawaii Pap equestrian tradition, and I too will continue to keep the Papua tradition alive, being the successor to my mother as a third generation Cook leading the Hawaii Papua Rid ers. But until that time comes, I will continue on this anticipatory colonization path right beside my mother, as a constant minder to myself that someday soon, all this responsibility and task will be the roles as well as standers I will have to uphold someday.From a symbolic interactions perspective, having the opportunity to be able to interact with horses, and family members who are accustomed to Papua riding tradition, has culturally assimilated me to the lifestyle of a Papua rider. With Symbolic interactions, reality is seen as social developed interaction with others. My family members are one's that I could trust, and as a young girl, I was engaged in mirroring their actions, beliefs, and aloes, because I wanted to make my family, and on a broader perspective, the Papua community see the elegance of Papua.The interaction with my family members who have the passion for horseback riding, and also the dedication to perpetuating a royal Hawaiian tradition in respect to the cultu re I identify myself as is the symbolism to my predisposition to my future role as being a third generation Cook family member to one day lead the Hawaii Papua Riders. Most symbolic interactions believe a physical reality does indeed exist by an individual's social definitions, and that social definitions do develop in part or relation to something â€Å"real. As my grandparents and mother interacted with me by teaching me how to ride a horse, how to saddle a horse, listening to stories about their own Papua riding experience has shaped my reality in being accustomed to those ways as my way of living within my own family dynamic. The emphasis on symbols, negotiated meaning, and social construction of society brought on attention to the roles people play. As a child, I did not see the connection of my horsemanship interactions would lead me to being competent in my future role as head of the Hawaii Papua Riders.Role-taking is a key mechanism that permits people to see another person 's perspective to understand what an action might mean to another person. Through the symbolic interactions perspective, it is clear that my everyday involvement with the horses and my primary support group affiliated with the Papua community would have a major impact to who I am, how I see myself, and who I identify myself as within my own family and community on a systems level. So as I continue to stand beside my mother, I know my time will someday come and I will be the third generation of leading and Chairperson of the â€Å"Hawaii Papua Riders†.

Hamlet Gray or Dorian Hamlet

Throughout the play Hamlet we see the themes of obsession and good vs. evil, Hamlet struggles with his inner demons until his tragic and untimely death. In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray we meet a character that is very similar to Hamlet in his continuous struggles with his good vs. evil persona and obsession with youth. Many character is Oscar Wilde’s, Dorian Gray represent those of Hamlet. Both Dorian Gray and Hamlet who have love interest that both happen to die in the midst of Hamlet and Gray’s battle within them selves. All though not all characters are represented you see a pattern with the minor character that help show the tragic hero’s true intentions. Both Hamlet and Dorian Gray struggle with obsession through their lives. While Hamlet’s is more of an obsession with avenging his father’s death while Dorian Gray obsesses over youth and beauty. Hamlet is obviously the more likable character but is makes you wonder how did Oscar Wilde m ake his audience able relate to Dorian, a greedy, evil and selfish human being?Although Hamlet had a peculiar way of showing his love and devotion to his father the reader can still understand why he would seek revenge and obsess over his death, Shakespeare show’s us Hamlet’s true intentions with his famous and lengthy soliloquys. Dorian Gray’s entire philosophy is based off selfishness. Hamlet, unlike Dorian feels guilt for is crimes until the death of Claudius while Dorian Gray puts himself in a false sense of security, while his conscience often thinks about repenting he slowly falls deeper and deeper into evil with the help of The Yellow Book and Lord Henry.Good vs. Evil is large contrast in both novels; both characters suffer with their Evil side but only Hamlet makes an attempt to redeem himself. Towards the end of his life Hamlet attempts to apologize for the deaths of Laertes father and sister, Ophelia and Polonius, He is even upset about the death of La ertes whom he didn’t mean to kill. Dorian Gray on the other hand hardly mourns for the death of his ex-fiancà © Sybil, and take’s great relief in the  deaths of James, Sybil’s brother who comes to avenge her death, his admirer Basil and former friend Alan.While he tries to hide his hypocrisy by constantly false repenting his portrait continues to grow in horror and eventually shows the transformation of what an evil soul he has become. Hamlet, the tragic character who finally realizes toward the end of the play all the pain and suffering he has caused apologizes, dying and noble and honorable death. Dorian Gray on the other hand dies by his own hand, killing himself by stabbing, a death that is neither honorable nor noble.Although the reader could see that Dorian Gray’s last action before death is his way of showing guilt. He can no longer stand the stain on his empty and black soul and kill’s himself, finally showing the true Dorian Gray. Doria n and Hamlet both resemble the obsessive and even murderous side but where they differ is that Hamlet has a conscious unlike his counterpart, Dorian Gray

Daniel Boone and Kit Carson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Daniel Boone and Kit Carson - Essay Example From a relationships point of view, both Daniel Boone and Kit Carson had a rocky relationship with the natives, always getting in war with the American Indians. Boone for instance gives various accounts of his escapades with the Indians who once captured him and later killed his brother and tried to kill him. Carson made numerous expeditions which made him more experienced and skilled in the trade and also earned him problems with the natives. He was a general of war during the Mexican-American war where many American Indians were killed, and their land confiscated. These two frontiersmen had to contend with unhappy natives who were not happy with the new people acquiring their land. However, while both of them had problems with the natives, they had differing attitudes towards the natives.Ironically, despite the bad relationship with the local natives who were a risk to his life, Boone seemed to have a better attitude towards the local natives (Early America chapter 3). He sure had bad times with them, but from his text, the reader cannot detect any contempt for the natives. His writing of the American Indians is just descriptions of the events which took place. He gives an account of the various wars and battles that were fought between him and the Indians or between the Indians and other frontiers. In giving his account of the time he was in captivity with the Indians, he never seems to show any contempt. In fact, booms own problem with the other settlers was his increased.... His writing of the American Indians is just descriptions of the events which took place. He gives an account of the various wars and battles that were fought between him and the Indians or between the Indians and other frontiers. In giving his account of the time he was in captivity with the Indians, he never seems to show any contempt. In fact, booms own problem with the other settlers was his increased honest and his expectations that they would also be honest too, leading to him being cheated (Bakeless 342). During this time when he was in captivity, his wife thought him dead because she did not believe that the natives could have kept him alive. Yet, Boone came out of captivity alive and well, and managed to resettle his family again in the Kentucky region at a time and place where there were continual infighting between the natives and the settler frontiers who in the Maryland, Kentucky and Miami (great Miami) regions. While Boones account indicates a positive attitude towards t he natives despite the rocky relationship with the natives, the same cannot be said of Carson who actually helped other settler armies in fighting the local natives. Carson was involved in a number of wars where natives were massively killed, displaced from their native land and other crimes committed against them (Boraas 15). He seemed to pledge allegiance to the union. Basically, he was more of a military guy, than he was a settler. His military wrecked havoc wherever he went and participated on war. He did not have mercy towards the local natives and never hesitated on going to fights with these local natives. This was very unlike Boone, who beneath his conflicts with the natives always seemed to understand that the

Swallows and Amazons, or the Sporting Exception to the Gender Case Study

Swallows and Amazons, or the Sporting Exception to the Gender Rcognition Act - Case Study Example In that regard, the Gender Recognition Act 2004 therefore maintained that transgendered individuals be denied the opportunity to take part in sporting activities if their involvement is not encouraging to either ‘safety’ or ‘competitive fairness’. This paper reflects on the rights of the transgendered personalities, and specifically what the United Kingdom’s Gender recognition Act 2004 purports in regard to sports’, and the law’s, obscurity in obliging their participation in sports. This paper will therefore focus on the Section 19 of the Act. The s.19 of the Act facilitates various sporting bodies in prohibiting transgendered people of participation on the grounds of their ‘safety’ or ‘competitive fairness’ (Jack, 2006). This will be supported by the fact that neither ground can be established in the light of both the existing case law in transgender rights accompanied by the existing position of therapeutic ac quaintance. The possibility that s. 19 otiose is in part a consequence of being a hastily drafted provision and lately inserted to appease the sports lobby and its mouthpieces in the House of Lords. This paper is thus, a social and legal study on the Swallows and Amazons, Or the Sporting Exception to the Gender Recognition Act. ... re scrutinized, labeled and categorized in preparedness for their own, ‘Special’, Olympics at a particular moment when the informed harmony has undeniably moved away from the medical model of disability (Peter, 2005). The individuals whose bodies are outside the norms of sex gender due to their innate biology or due to the fact that they eschew the paradigm of normal manliness or femininity. Also the heterosexuality imperative that are faced with unique challenges: struggles over the sporting body which led to litigation by for instance, pregnant participations or female boxers with the aim of determining and relation of an acceptable level of the male hormone amongst female athletes. This has really aggravated the attention of the judicial field. Another area is the aspect of gay men or lesbians women who remain marginalized, in order to allow the International Olympic Committee would sanction of the use of the word ‘Olympic’ at the Gay Games. This is happe ning while the ‘Canine Olympics’, ‘Scout Olympic’, and ‘Police Olympic’ have been tolerated in the past twenty years (Jack, 2006). Sex chromatin screening was also added to the testers’ arsenal in an implicit acknowledgement in 1967 since the governing bodies did not have an interest in male imposters but instead they had an interest in females who had unusual chromosomal compositions producing testosterone not normal in women (Aileen, 2006). Various high profile athletes who had unusual chromosomal compositions had to justify through testing to their rivals who felt threatened. This is because they were viewed to have an unfair advantage to their rivals who subsequently resented their success in sporting activities (Aileen, 2006). This proved very controversial since unusual chromosomal

A macroeconomic Theory of the Open Economy, Supply and demand for Essay

A macroeconomic Theory of the Open Economy, Supply and demand for Loanable Funds and for Foreign-Currency Exchange - Essay Example To balance the condition and allow the exchange, there is demand for the funds by the borrowers when they sell the bond that they have to the savers. An exchange in any market can only occur if there are demanders and suppliers. The funds consist of the loans from the banks and savings saved by the consumers foregoing consumption. Therefore to save involves a sacrifice and the savers in exchange demand for compensation for the best alternative foregone had they consumed the funds instead of saving them. The concept of compensation and incurring a cost is, therefore, is very important for the sustainability of the funds market (McConnell, Campbell, Brue and Stanley 92). The loanable funds are usually used for investment in new capital goods bringing about the concept of the supply and demand for the funds. The lenders bring about the supply curve that is upward sloping from left to right while the borrowers bring about the demand curve that is downward sloping from the left to the right. The curves are guided by the principle of demand and supply which states that, supply increases with the increase in the price while demand increases with a decrease in price. The conflicting ideologies calls for an equilibrium where the two intersect and those to make a decision agree. The interest rate is the sacrifice or cost of borrowing the loanable funds from the suppliers and it is the value of money that a person pays for using the dollar for one year. It is also the benefit or compensation to the person or entity supplying the funds. The rate of interest is usually expressed as a percentage of annual funds spend or borrowed. When dealing with the loanable funds one considers the interest rate which is adjusted for inflation to take care of the price changes. It is essential to ponder on the rate of interest that is real than a nominal one that has

Technology has increased ticket prices Assignment

Technology has increased ticket prices - Assignment Example The report can be associated with the many huge make-over of respective stadiums. Most of them no longer use the old school systems; rather, they have adapted new technologies such as modified digitalized stadiums among others. A simple family of four attending a ball game is estimated to use, on average, a total of $207.68. On average, the total cost for attending a major baseball league is about $50. A National Hockey League usually charge on average $57.10. All together, it seems like all major sports have had their prices increased for the last couple of years (Dwyer, Drayer &Shapiro, 2013). It is, however, linked, in some ways, to the changes in technology. For example, sports managers not only have to worry about paying their players heftily, they also have to consider the increased expenses that have increased with the new inventions in the stadiums. The expenses may include, increased electricity bills, due to ever on bill boards, lit-up stadiums, and radio stations among oth ers. In another way, increased awareness through social sites and other advertising media that did not exist before contributes towards this (Rishe & Mondello, 2004). Therefore, all these costs and expenses are taken down to the viewers through ticketing. In conclusion, technology can be said to be playing a major part in the heightened ticket prices. However, it would be advisable if other alternatives for dealing with the expenses could be considered, otherwise, the current trend in fans opting to view the match from home could lead to a negative