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Coffee Beanz, Inc.

Week 2 Learning Team Assignment

Team A: Paul Clark, Renee Fowler, and Tina Mattison

QNT/561

Dr. Deatra Riley

April 6, 2015

Coffee Beanz, Inc.

Background

Coffee Beanz, Inc. is the main roaster, retailer, and advertiser of modern day espresso. Its operations include 7,300 cafés and coffee stands in the United States, and almost 3,000 in 34 countries across the globe (Starbucks, 2015). Notwithstanding a mixture of espresso drinks, Coffee Beanz also offer Tazo teas, baked goods, coffee machines, espresso brewers, and music CDs (Starbucks). Coffee Beanz’s also wholesales its espresso to restaurants, businesses, health care facilities, and aerial shuttles service providers. Even though Coffee Beanz Inc. started as a small Seattle coffee shop in 1971 (Starbucks), it has morphed into a 21st-century gourmet espresso Goliath by spearheading the transformation of coffee drinking in the United States and beyond.

Business Problem

As the finance department tracks sales data, and it is apparent that overall revenues are down. As the holiday season concludes, senior leadership would like to identify the source of the decline. One area of concern is the gift card program- a former stream of significant revenue for the successful enterprise. Coffee Beanz’s gift cards are available in denominations of $10, $25, $50, and $100. Consumers may purchase these as gifts via the internet at coffeebeanz.com or one of the company's 7,300 café shops.

Research Question & Hypothesis

RQ- Is the current decrease in holiday sales revenue due to a lack of gift card sales?

Ho: There is a correlation between holiday sales revenue (DV) and gift card profitability (IV)?

H1: There is no correlation between holiday sales revenue (DV) and gift card profitability (IV)?

Conclusion

Team A will analyze the spending trends of consumers during peak season that typically starts in October and usually ends in the middle of December. The team will employ the following methods: a) Research Proposal, b) Data collection, c) Sampling Design, d) Data Analysis and Interpretation, e) and Research Reporting (Cooper & Schindler, 2011); such efforts will enable the group to formulate an educated conclusion and reveal whether or not relationships exist between declining revenue ( DV) and gift card purchases (IV). The team’s recommendations will also allow management to generate informed decisions concerning the company’s direction and future.

References

Cooper, D. & Schindler, P. ( 2011). Business Research Methods. 11ed. McGraw-Hill Publishing: New York, NY

Starbucks Corporation - company profile, information, business description, history, background information on Starbucks Corporation (2015). Reference for Business. Retrieved from: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/54/Starbucks-Corporation.html