Part1 -A brief discussion of the central topics introduced in Chapter 13(i.e., Strategic Control and the different types of strategic andoperational control systems used by .
Strategiccontrol aims at achieving an organization’s objectives by makingcalculated moves. The four types of strategic controls are premisecontrol, strategic surveillance, special alert, and implementationcontrol. Premise control entails monitoring the assumptions of theexternal environment and industry factors in line with the executionprocess to ensure that the assumptions are consistent (StrategicControl).
Afterdominating the American market, Company has utilizedpremise control in its approach of venturing into the Asian markets.The growth potential of the Asian market has enhanced the interest ofthe company to establish its business in the region. Consequently, has aligned itself strategically with the Asian market byhighlighting Asian designs as well as collaborating with AsianArtists to inspire the development of its products (How CoffeeCulture Has Evolved in Asia, 2015).
InTaiwan and Hong Kong, the design of stores resembles a mixof historical culture and new designs. In May 2014, the companyopened a store in a traditional building that was built for the Linfamily in the year 1932. The building combines the architecturaldesigns of the East and the West. It is a landmark revealing the pastof the Banka community (A Winning Combination of Coffee andStore Design In Asia, 2016).
Besides,the company has entered into strategic partnerships with the Asiansto promote its designs that appeal to the Asian culture. In May2016, in Taiwan collaborated with Mechaly, a fashiondesigner, to provide insight on artwork for a new series of funproducts. Mechaly is the owner and founder of Pal & Joe- afashion design company. Her designs are young and colorful asdepicted in her designer clothes, shoes, and accessories frequentlyworn by both men and women. Besides, her designs such as theChinchilla Persian cat, the crab, and the fish are popular in Taiwan(Fashion Designer Collaborates with in Taiwan, 2016)
Part2. – A brief discussion of the central topics introduced in Chapter14 (i.e., Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the actions that is currently taking or has recently undertaken to make thefirm more innovative and entrepreneurial and, hence, morecompetitive.
Innovationis the commercial product of invention. It is the process of sellinga new product. There are various innovation models such as theConstructionof Cost Competitiveness for the 21st century(CCC21) used by the Toyota company and the Continued improvementmodel- Kaizen used by the Japanese. Entrepreneurship is the processof combining creative and original ideas, skills and management toidentify a need and create wealth (Innovation and Entrepreneurship).
InJapan, has demonstrated a great deal of operationalinnovation. The company has expanded the coffee shops industrydigital ecosystem after introducing a mobile application inJapan. The payment system provides the customers with a fast andconvenient way to pay their bills via their mobile as well as monitortheir gifts from the company. Besides, the customers can pay theirin-store purchases by scanning barcodes linked to the company’sregistered card. Similarly, has opened an online store inChina located in T-mall-China’s e-commerce site ( ExpandsLeading Digital Portfolio with Mobile App Launch in Japan, 2016).
has demonstrated entrepreneurship through its ability to hire talentin design. The designers are behind the beautiful art that adornscups, shopping bags, gift boxes and other assorted merchandise. Thedevelopers can provide markings that represent festive seasons as astrategy to boost sales and the customer’s perception of theproducts. For example, in the year 2015, the company used specificpackaging during the festive season. Some of the packaging includedthe Dottie Tea tin that was made in Japan. The stackable Dottie redtea tins were festive containers designed to keep drinks fresh andmaintain their flavors. The designers have enhanced the developmentof brands such as the Cheer and revelry collection sampler. It is anassortment of four packets of each two ounces of loose tea. The twopackages also contain peppermint chocolate and Rooibos tea. Theability to create attractive designs contributes to the marketdominance of (A Whimsical Source Inspires Designers ofTeavana Merchandise, 2015)
Secondpaper part 1.A brief discussion of the central topics introduced inChapter 14 (i.e., Innovation and Entrepreneurship). Actionsundertaken by to make the firm more innovative andentrepreneurial and, hence, more competitive.
Ina period of eight years, has applied an entrepreneurialstrategy in the process of acquiring the Latin America market. Thecompany made its first move into the market in the year 2008. Overtime, the company has continued to identify profitable markets. Ithas managed to establish presence in five markets with Argentina asits sixth market. Specifically, the company has access to 15countries in Latin America where it has almost 1,000 stores. In May2016, opened the 100th store in Argentina ( Opens100th Store in Argentina, 2015).
has showcased its entrepreneurial capability in the process ofimplementation control. Specifically, the company has unfailinglynarrowed down its broad projects into smaller schemes that representa part of the overall goal. Such goals are called the strategicthrusts. The small goals provide information for the managers todetermine the progress in the overall strategy. Consequently, themanagers can make decisions on whether to continue with the originalplan or to make several changes to fast track the project (Innovationand entrepreneurship).
has operated in Argentina for eight years. It has used strategicthrusts by choosing to set its presence in Buenos Aires – the capitalcity of Argentina. Meanwhile, it aims to further its expansion beyondthe town of Cordoba and Mendoza ( Opens 100th Store inArgentina, 2015).
Furthermore,the entrepreneurial spirit of led to the opening of coffeestores in bustling business districts, leafy neighborhoods as well asentertainment centers. The company has also opened coffee stores inhistoric places such as the legendary Gran Rex theater that haveturned into gathering places that honor the past of the country( Opens 100th Store in Argentina, 2015).
Part2- Analysis of in the context of the ideas articulated inChapter has made a number of appropriate innovations and entrepreneurshipefforts. First, the organization has IT-based innovations in the U.S.where it offers free public access to Wi-Fi services in its more than2,000 coffee shops located in North America. The free Wi-Fi isprovided per session or on a subscription basis. In the U.K., five coffee shops provide open access to Wi-Fi. The innovationis effective since the Wi-Fi is used to train 50,000employees (Venkatraman, 2014).
Interms of Customer service, offers the click and connectservices for its clients in the U.K. The technology is appropriatesince customers can buy their items online and collect from the shopslater. The invention has significantly reduced coffee shop queues andincreased online purchases (Venkatraman, 2014).
has made a variety of effective entrepreneurship efforts. It sellsready-made chilled beverages through supermarket chains and loyaltycards. It also sells home products such as small coffee makingmachines and home recipes in its U.K. markets. The businessentrepreneurship efforts have proved appropriate at maintainingcompetitiveness due to the support from the robust technologicalinfrastructure of the company (Venkatraman, 2016).
Interms of products, innovated and introduced a new espressooffering in January 2015 to join the core line up menu of otherespresso beverages such as Caffe Americano, Latte, Cappuccino,Macchiato, and Doppio Espresso. The espresso drink launched togetherwith the Flat White handcrafted beverage produced in the U.S. andCanada. The Flat white espresso is made with two ristretto shotscombined with a thin layer of steamed whole milk and a latte art doton the top. Although it is hard to establish its effectiveness, theintroduction of the Ristretto shot is to enhance the sweetness andthe flavor of coffee (New Holiday Spice Flat White Now Available at, 2015).
Theentrepreneurial capability of the company’s products is boundless.The company utilizes opportunities presented by holidays to makeextra profits. For example, in November 2015, the company introduceda new holiday espresso beverage for its customers. The new HolidayFlat white espresso drink was for the vacation purposes. During theholidays, ’ customers enjoyed the drink together withother coffee drinks such as Peppermint mocha and eggnog latte. Indescribing the inspiration behind the drink, Michelle Sundquist, oneof the ’ product developers, said that the mulling ciderpractice inspired the product. Consequently, she came up with theMulling spice made of cinnamon, ginger, clove, sugar, nutmeg and atouch of tangerine (New Holiday Spice Flat White now Available at, 2015).
Part3 A recommendation of actions the organization should take to makethe firm more innovative and entrepreneurial and, hence, morecompetitive.
Constantinnovation is a major determinant of the survival of a company. InStarbuck’s case, the company has strived to improve its processesas well as the products. However, it is imperative for the managementto instill a culture of innovation within and without the company’senvironment (Innovation and Entrepreneurship).
Thefirst recommendation for the company for intensifying competitivenessis to foster self-selection. The company should enable its innovatorsto bring forth their ideas instead of assigning the duty ofinnovation to a selected few. Besides, the innovators should be giventhe chance for furthering their ideas to fruition instead of handingit over to someone else. To enhance entrepreneurship, the doer of theidea should be in a position to make decisions regarding thedevelopment of the idea as opposed to relying on a bureaucraticapproval system to make minor resolutions (Innovation andEntrepreneurship).
Thecreation of a corporate slack at can enhanceinnovativeness. The management should set aside money and time forits employees to display innovation. Besides, the management shouldmake calculated risks to overcome the failures associated withinnovation as well as reduce the damage associated with theircareers. The managers should interact with their juniors byeliminating turfness. The elimination of borders enhances thecross-fertilization of ideas within the organization by creatingcross-functional teams. Besides, the elimination of borders providemultiple options for innovators to consult and discuss inventiveideas (Innovation and Entrepreneurship).
can enhance competitiveness by designating entrepreneurship sponsors. management should identify a small group of employees whopossess influence and credibility to serve as the facilitators of newideas. The company should allocate discretionary funds to thesponsors for immediate allocations to innovators to develop theirideas (Innovation and Entrepreneurship).
References
Awhimsical source inspires designers of Teavana Merchandise, (2015,December 17). Newsroom .Retrievedon 28 May 2016 from https://news.starbucks.com/news/designers-of-teavana-holiday-merchandise
AWinning Combination of Coffee and Store Design in Asia,(2016, May 19). Newsroom .Retrieved on 25th May, 2016from https://news.starbucks.com/news/starbucks-coffee-and-store-design-in-asia
Fashiondesigner collaborates with in Taiwan, (2016, May 10).Newsroom.Retrievedon 28 May 2016from https://news.starbucks.com/news/paris-fashion-designer-collaborates-with-starbucks-in-taiwan
Howcoffee culture has evolved in Asia, (2015, October). Beanand Beyond.Retrieved on 28 May 2016from http://www.cafedecolombia.com/bb-fnc-en/index.php/comments/how_coffee_culture_has_evolved_in_asia/
Newholiday spice flat white now available at , (2015, November30). Newsroom .Retrievedon 28 May 2016from https://news.starbucks.com/news/holiday-spice-flat-white.
expands leading digital portfolio with mobile app launch in Japan,(2016, May 19). Newsroom.Retrievedon 28 May 2016from https://news.starbucks.com/news/starbucks-launches-mobile-app-in-japan
honors Coffee Artistry and Espresso Craft with new flat white, (2015,Jan. 06). Newsroom. Retrievedon 28 May 2016fromhttps://news.starbucks.com/news/starbucks-flat-white-espresso-beverage
opens 100th store in Argentina, (2015, November 20).Newsroom.Retrievedon 28 May 2016from https://news.starbucks.com/news/starbucks-100th-store-in-argentina
Venkatraman,A. (2014, march 06). uses cloud to manage innovation anddisruptive technologies. ComputerWeekly.Retrievedon 28 May 2016 fromhttp://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240232395/-uses-cloud-to-manage-innovation-and-disruptive-technologies