Starbucks Corp

PURPOSE:  This assignment will assess writing skills related to constructing an introduction and conclusion, editing, APA formatting, and following instructions with attention to detail.  It will also assess your ability to use critical thinking in analyzing and discussing an organization’s strategy.  Also, you will gain experience in searching data bases to find related peer-reviewed academic research and studies. These instructions include the assignment, the Bloomberg article, and the Grading Rubric for this Writing Assignment. 
INSTRUCTIONS:
Read the article “Starbucks Corporation” by Andrew Harrer attached below.  After reading the article, respond to the following questions in an “essay style” format. Be sure to use at least 5 KEY TERMS from your readings in Chapter 4. Bold these terms and list them at the end of your paper. Also, you should use two or more peer reviewed sources (from the databases) to support your main ideas. This paper should be approximately 2-3 pages in length. This assignment will be graded against the writing rubric posted in MOODLE. 
Paragraph 1: Introduction: What will your essay discuss?  Briefly summarize the key topics a reader can expect to learn about in your essay.  
Paragraph 2: What was a primary concern for Starbucks in 2008? Why were they concerned?  What major move did the company make in January 2008? In your opinion why did the company make this decision?
Paragraph 3: Which concepts discussed in Chapter 4 might help us understand Starbuck’s strategy? Which corporate strategy did Starbucks resort to? Discuss the strategy and explain why you think the corporation used that strategy?
Paragraph 4: Conduct research in the Trinity library databases to identify at least two peer-reviewed articles that discuss potential competitors for Starbucks. Why are they considered competitors?  Which corporate strategy may help the competitors win customers from Starbucks?
Paragraph 5 Conclusion: Putting it all together… Discuss your insights (what you have learned) from completing this assignment.  In conclusion:  Briefly summarize your paper, using a few sentences to inform your reader about the main points you have discussed in your essay. 
DON’T FORGET TO ADD YOUR REFERENCE LIST THAT SHOULD INCLUDE THE TWO PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES AND YOUR TEXTBOOK IN APA FORMAT. 

Starbucks CorporationAndrew Harrer/Bloomberg News – May 25, 2010
Starbucks is an international chain of coffeehouses. The man who built the chain, Howard D. Schultz, retook the reins in an effort to revive the corporation during a global economic crisis in 2008. He focused his efforts on the customer experience, recapturing some of the magic of the chain’s early years, when employees — who had heard the term barista before Starbucks came along? — made the drinks by hand and customers were excited by top-notch coffee.
It was a painful period for the company — in early 2009, Starbucks announced it would cut thousands of jobs and close 300 stores — but the fortunes of the chain and Mr. Schultz have improved greatly since then. Thanks to more traffic in the stores and renewed earnings growth, shares of Starbucks have risen above $24 a share.
In the spring of 2010, Starbucks announced its first dividend to be paid in cash to investors. In April, the company said its profit rose more than eightfold in the second quarter, as more customers visited its stores and spent more.
In 2008, Mr. Schultz faced a difficult task: He had to slow down the company to make stores feel more like hip neighborhood coffeehouses while also delivering the steady growth that investors have come to expect from Starbucks.
It was not too long ago that the arrival of a Starbucks was a major event, a recognition that a town or neighborhood was worthy of the chic Seattle-based chain. But in the last several years, every street corner, airport concourse and roadside rest stop in America seemed to attract a Starbucks.
As the company grew and customer traffic increased, Starbucks expanded its food offerings while introducing efficiencies like those automated espresso machines. Gradually, complaints surfaced that Starbucks felt more like a fast-food restaurant than a coffeehouse. In five years, Starbucks nearly tripled the number of stores worldwide, from 5,886 in 2002 to 15,011 in 2007.
But as good times vanished in the Great Recession of 2008, Starbucks found itself in an economic climate that had most people reassessing their daily spending habits on luxury items. The company’s revenues and profit tumbled as a result. Starbucks was hurt by rising costs, the cannibalizing effects of years of overexpansion, and stiff competition in espresso drinks from the likes of McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts. In the summer of 2007, its customer traffic declined for the first time since the company went public, sending the stock tumbling. By the end of its fiscal 2008, Starbucks stock, once seemingly invincible, had declined by over 50 percent.
In January 2008, Starbucks ousted its chief executive, James L. Donald, and brought back Mr. Schultz to try to invigorate the company. Mr. Schultz laid off 1,000 employees and closed 600 underperforming locations in the United States, while scaling back the rate of store openings domestically. At the same time, Starbucks moved aggressively to open stores overseas, where business remained robust. It also introduced new discount programs like its $25 Gold Card, which offers 10 percent off on all items.
The strategy sparked a comeback for the coffee powerhouse. In 2010, Starbucks said its profit increased more than eightfold in the second quarter, as more customers visited its stores and spent more. Its international arm and sales outside its own stores both helped increase profits to $217.3 million.
With the success of the turnaround, Mr. Schultz’s compensation has come under fire. As the stock market dived in late 2008, Starbucks shares neared lows not seen since the beginning of the decade, and Mr. Schultz received options to buy 2.7 million shares at $8.64 as part of his 2009 compensation, in an award the company estimated would eventually be worth $12.4 million..
While the subsequent rally has benefited nearly all investors, Mr. Schultz’s gain was luckier than most: his options package is now worth $42.3 million.

BADM Writing Assignment Grading Rubric:
This rubric addresses the areas in your writing assignments that will be assessed.
INTRO/ ISSUE (15)
Provides context and purpose of issue to be discussed. 
15- CAPSTONE -Context and issue are stated clearly and provide reader with direction of argument;
10- MILESTONE -issue is stated and described with some background;
  5- BENCHMARKS -issue is noted; 
EVIDENCE (20)
Examples and/or other sources of evidence support the concepts discussed.
20- CAPSTONE – Information is selected from source(s) with solid analysis; 
15- MILESTONE – Information is cited from source with some interpretation 
10- BENCHMARK – Information is cited from source
ARGUMENT (30)
Develops position
30- CAPSTONE-States specific position; suggests complexities of issue; Uses evidence to support argument. 
20- MILESTONE-States a specific position/ perspective and notes different aspects of the argument 
10- BENCHMARK- States a specific position/ perspective
CONCLUSION (15)
Links evidence and argument
15- CAPSTONE -Logical links to argument; evidence & new insights; Research suggests limits of discussion 
10- MILESTONE -Conclusion links points of arguments to evidence presented 
  5- BENCHMARK – Concluding section simply “ends” paper but is not linked to discussion
FORMAT/STRUCTURE (10) 
Body of the paper is logically organized; follows instructions 
10- CAPSTONE -Paper has been written from an outline; APA formatting is used throughout paper;  
  8- MILESTONE -Paper has used writing prompts as a basis for developing a general direction; Some attempt at APA citations has been made and a reference list has been included. 
  5- BENCHMARK -Paper responds to writing prompts in a “question/answer” format; APA is not used for in-text citations or the reference list.