7-3-1 Milestone Three: Company and Key Personnel - Starbucks Alcoholic Drink / Adult Beverages

RUNNING HEAD: COMPANY AND KEY PERSONAL

COMPANY AND KEY PERSONAL 9

COMPANY & KEY PERSONAL

Carmen Hendrickson

Southern New Hampshire University

Core Competencies.

Core competencies are the unique and collective capabilities that contribute to the success of organizations (Mintzberg, 2010). In most cases, the competencies make a significant contribution to the end product and cannot be easily imitated by competitors. The uniqueness of core competencies is usually applied to attain sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore, the association between success and core competencies implies that a concept/business idea that’s aligned with the competencies is likely to succeed.

For Starbucks, the unwavering focus on quality is considered a core competence (Tripod, n.d.). From inception, the founders of Starbucks envisioned a future in which customers would enjoy high-quality coffee in a relaxed environment. The goal is; once tasted, Starbucks freshly roasted coffee, one would not be willing to drink anything else of lesser quality. This ability to produce high quality coffee is supported by Starbucks’ Coffee and Farmer Equity (CAFE) program which allows the management to carefully choose its suppliers and ensure that they adhere to sustainable farming practices.

The high-quality coffee paired with curated alcohol selections with the Starbucks brand will definitely boost the reputation of alcoholic coffee (in the introduction of the alcohol to the after-hours menu at Starbucks). Customers will trust the premium alcoholic drinks owing to the belief that similar quality standards will be applied in alcoholic production and service.

The outstanding customer service associated with Starbucks is also a core competence. Starbucks’ management not only focuses on getting the product to customers but also improving their experiences. The look and feel at every Starbucks location is always the same.

Baristas serve your coffee to you by name and are fast to apologize for any misunderstanding in the delivery of orders (Tripod, n.d.). They constantly ask customers how they can make their experiences better. In this context, the introduction of alcoholic drinks within the Starbucks menu will count on excellent customer service to attract customers from pubs and bars.

Starbucks also cares for its employees. The company’s top management refers to employees as partners. Starbucks believes that everyone in the company is a partner in shared success. To this effect, the company maintains a bean stock program to award annual grants of the company’s stock to the partners for their contribution in success (Starbucks Stories & News, 2013). This reflects a great value of respect for employees which is regarded as a core competence

A strong relationship with employees who feel valued and respected means that the executive management is not likely to encounter resistance in the implementation of projects and will have the support of the employees. For Starbucks’ alcoholic coffee, which is being introduced as a new product, employees are likely to support the idea based on their loyalty and partnership with the employer.

Corporate Culture

The collaborative/clan culture will work for the introduction of alcohol to the after-hours menu at Starbucks. This culture promises greater gains in handling human resource concerns and sustaining employee morale (Cameron & Freeman,1991). It is characterized by good relationships between the company and employees/partners. It also focuses on a team centered approach where cohesion and collaboration between tasks are crucial. In this culture, the project team involved in implementation works as a cohesive unit in an environment where loyalty and commitment are key characteristics. The project manager also empowers team members to execute their tasks and promotes teamwork.

The collaborative culture thrives on respect relationships between coworkers, managers, customers, suppliers, customers and other stakeholders. For Starbucks, the culture will allow baristas to develop friendly relations with customers which will in turn make them feel comfortable at the Starbucks premises. The friendly nature of the interactions will ultimately promote customer loyalty and word of mouth marketing to boost alcoholic coffee sales. The collaborative culture will also allow customers to report their experiences while enjoying their drinks on the coffee brew houses and suggest improvements in the service delivery.

Starbucks executive leadership will play a key role in sustaining the collaborative culture. According to Craig (2018), leaders have a greater responsibility of demonstrating and reinforcing the behaviors that reflect the corporate culture. They achieve this by walking the talk (leading by example). For Starbucks alcoholic drinks menu, the success of the project will only be possible if leaders support the underlying corporate culture (Battilana et. al, 2010). This means that the leaders assigned to the project implementation must have the necessary skills needed to establish collaborative relationships between tasks and individuals. The same collaborative skills/behaviors should be used down the hierarchy as employees interact with their colleagues and customers

Cross-functional Business Implementation Team

A project manager will lead the cross-functional business implementation team. The individual assigned to this role is required to have prior management experience as an addition to engineering expertise. In this regard, the knowledge of engineering applies to the construction of the production facility and partitioning of flagship Starbucks cafes to design spaces where alcoholic coffee will be served.

The project manager will be involved in creating a collaborative environment and nurturing the type of corporate culture that promotes implementation of the new idea. In the initial stages, he will recruit engineers and technicians to design, run and maintain the production facility. He will also come up with a project plan, develop a project schedule, and manage deliverables according to the plan. The project manager will also assign duties and responsibilities to team members and dictate the direction to be followed by the team. In case of any changes, he will launch review and improvement processes in the course of project implementation. The project manager will also work towards averting problems and keeping the process of implementation moving (Laufer, et.al, 2015). He will constantly update the upper management on the progress of the team.

My role for the introduction of alcohol to the after-hours menu at Starbucks will be Project Coordinator, as the coordinator, I will manage the project from initiation to completion. My core functions will be to thoroughly analyze project data obtained from the customer, market studies and investor feedback to make ensure the implantation is productive and cost-efficient. As Project Coordinator, I will be the driving force responsible for creating milestone schedules and confirming that my team has the tools it needs to meet project milestones. I will take on the responsibility of drafting project schedules that include materials estimates vendor delivery policies and coming up with accurate workforce estimates along with preparing technical summary reports for the management team, with the goal that each phase of the project is completed on time and at or under budget. It is critical for success that I am able to build a strong team by way of cultivating relationships between each crew and illustrating how individual team members affect the success of the entire project.

The team will also have a business analyst. He will define the project with reference to the value it adds to the organization. He will also gather and analyze the business requirements related to the project. The business analyst will also document the requirements from various business units and discuss them with the team. In due course, he will recommend a set of solutions that can make the business idea implement strategies to expand over time. The project has also included a role for an Executive Sponsor, whose primary focus is to maneuver through the bureaucratic hurdles that can slow down the implementation process. The sponsor will have direct contact with a person in the top management to allow the team make paramount decisions.

Project team members will provide expertise in various disciplines. They include; marketing experts, accountants, customer service strategists and sales experts. Marketing experts will be involved in initial market research to validate the need for the new service. They will interpret the market data collected via surveys and make recommendations on the key qualities of the product that guarantee a competitive advantage.

On the other hand, accountants in the team will ensure that the implementation process adheres to the budget. They will monitor the implementation of monetary resources to ensure that the budget is not exceeded. Before the process of implementation actually begins, the accountants will create a forecast of the costs and revenues associated with the project. This forecast will be discussed with the team and moderated by the project coordinator.

Customer service strategists will monitor the experiences of customers by analyzing their feedback and buying habits. They will recommend changes in service provision to adjust to the actual needs of the customer. The input of provided by this group of experts will keep the project implementation relevant to the actual needs of the customers.

OContingency Plans

The cross-functional team discussed above will be trusted with the entire implementation of the new idea. However, in the event that team encounters a critical difficulty in the process of implementation or the project is threatened to a halt here is a contingency plan in place that would require partnership with Constellation Brands that bring the entire process to a halt. For instance, brewing technologies and expertise may be inadequate given that Starbucks has only operated in the non-alcoholic beverage industry. To address such a shortcoming, Starbucks could partner with Constellation Brands- a brewing company based in the United States to facilitate the introduction of alcohol to the after-hours menu at Starbucks.

By collaborating with Constellation Brands, Starbucks will be better positioned to understand and maneuver through the dynamics of alcohol market in the United States. The relationship with Constellation is not our preference, rather availed as a merger that was designed only to be instigated should we encounter push back in the form of bureaucracy processes and social pressure from the communities. The merger if implemented will afford our employees and teams additional resources in the management of sustainable brewing practices. Starbucks will also be able to share the financial risk involved in the investment with the partnering company.

In case existing team members leave the project team by either default or by choice, the project manager will announce their dismissal from the team and subsequent replacement. The project team will fill such positions with individuals from the same lines of profession as those who left. The new members will be inducted into the team and assigned specific roles that adhere to their experiences.

References

Battilana, J., Gilmartin, M., Segul, M., Pache, A. C., & Alexander, J. A. (2010). Leadership competencies for implementing planned organizational change. The Leadership Quarterly, 21(3), 422–438. doi:10.1016/j.leaqua.2010.03.007

Cameron, K., & Freeman, S. (1991). Cultural congruence, strength, and type: relationships to effectiveness. Research In Organizational Change And Development, 5(1), 81-105.

Craig, W. (2018). The Role Leadership Has In Company Culture. Retrieved 24 August 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamcraig/2018/09/05/the-role-leadership-has-in-company-culture/#2343dada16b6

Laufer, A., Hoffman, E., Russell, J., & Cameron, S. (2015, Spring). What successful project managers do. MIT Sloan Review. Retrieved from http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/what-successful-project-managers-do/

Mintzberg, H. (2010). Managing. [Concordville, Pa.]: Soundview Executive Book Summaries.

Starbucks Inc. (2018). Starbucks Reports Q4 and Full Year Fiscal 2018 Results. Retrieved from https://stories.starbucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Starbucks_Q4_FY18_Earnings_Release.pdf

Starbucks Stories & News. (2013). Facts About Starbucks and Our Partners (Employees). Retrieved 21 August 2019, from https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2013/facts-about-starbucks-and-our-partners-employees/

Tripod. Core Competencies. Retrieved 24 August 2019, from http://projectman2.tripod.com/id6.htm