Starbucks is at this point a household name in many countries. This small Pike Place; Seattle, WA partnership founded in 1971 has gone from a retail coffee bean and equipment store to a huge publicly traded company that has set sites that rival that of McDonald's. However, the Starbucks' Grande mocha latte was a long transition in the making. The original partnership of three; English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and writer Gordon Bowker, were in the business of roasting coffee beans and selling the equipment to turn those beans into high-end coffee, not that of biscotti and mocha.
Starbucks as we know it was originally the passion of one Howard Schultz, which came on board as the head of marketing in September of 1982. The process of making the company into his true vision would required great persistence on Schultz's part, however he would eventually prevail.
After researching Starbucks I have come to have an appreciation for the company that I did not before, I could also write a small book on the details regarding the rise of that company from the 70's until present, yet what we are really here to discuss is how this company operates ethically and how that in itself can be attributed to the company's success. Howard Schultz has been awarded for his zealous pursuit of fairness in regards to the company's employees, customers, suppliers and the like. I'll start with company's mission statement and finish with a couple of the acts of good corporate citizenship that Starbucks has involved itself in.
Starbucks' Mission Statement: In early 1990, the senior executive team at Starbucks went to an off-site retreat to debate the company's values and beliefs and draft a mission statement. Schultz wanted the mission statement to convey ...