Founded in 1971 in Seattle, Starbucks had grown to become a respected global brand, present in 50 states in the US and 43 countries. However, its premium pricing was a considerable disadvantage during the economic slowdown. By March 2008, Starbucks had to close 600 underperforming stores, and its profit had plummeted by 28% compared to the same period in 2007. The following year saw another 300 store closures and 6,700 employees laid off. On January 8, 2008, Howard D. Schultz returned as CEO, taking over from Jim Donald. Schultz, who had been with Starbucks since 1982 and previously served as CEO from 1987 to 2000, found that rapid expansion had diverted the company’s focus from creating inviting cafes and developing new products. In 2007, several factors stood behind Starbucks’ decline, among which one might note a loss of human connection. Howard Schultz observed that the company steadily lost its connection Continue reading
Business Analysis Case
Case Study: Chrysler’s Merger With Fiat
Among the most attention-grabbing dramas to come out of the Great Recession was the marriage of Fiat and Chrysler. Financed and brokered by the United States government in an unmatched market intervention, the amalgamation brought two outstanding companies together whose histories were strangely similar but whose prospects had recently diverged. Chrysler is an American symbol one of Detroit has framed titanic three in the auto industry. Chrysler is a company with a turbulent history having experienced several cycles of booms and busts. The company fell on hard times and needed a government bailout in the year 1979. Chrysler managed to pay up the government loan and continued to be successful in the auto industry for a better part of the years. This improvement in its activities was under the leadership of the legendary Lee Lacocca. In the mid 1990s, Chrysler was a strong and growing company, and this aspect led it Continue reading
Case Study of Amazon: Management Information Systems for Business Growth
Globalization can be credited for causing significant alterations in the way business is conducted and the increasingly competitive and constantly changing business environment. In many large corporations, it is not easy to detect strategic issues that confront business operations. It is also difficult to develop sustainable programs that steer organizational success. However, the advent of computers and information technology makes it easy to prepare strategic plans that facilitate the growth and success of companies. An ‘MIS’ is a strategic system that aids in collecting, analyzing, disseminating, and storing organizational data in the mode of information required to implement management functions. Management Information Systems (MIS) are concerned with planning for, development, management, and use of information technology tools to help people perform all tasks related to information processing and management. MIS aids in planning by offering the necessary information that assists in firm decision-making, especially in large organizations where the managers Continue reading
Case Study: Amazon’s Innovative Business Model Using Information Technology
Nowadays, Amazon is the largest and most popular online retailer. It is known for being the second-largest e-commerce company in the world being outperformed only by Google. During two decades on the market, the firm managed to reach the position of the retailer with the Earth’s Biggest Selection, thus growing extremely popular among customers and enjoying customer loyalty. Amazon is an international corporation employing more than 150,000 people around the globe. Launched as an online bookstore in 1994, the company diversified its assortment so that now it offers a wide variety of products, including video games, software, furniture, electronics, apparel, jewelry, toys, and food. More than that, cloud services and infrastructure, as well as video gaming and music streaming, are provided to its customers.The specificity of the company is the fact that it has several different websites launched and operating in different countries around the globe – the United States, Continue reading
Case Study: Critical Success Factors of Tesco
Tesco PLC is a British merchandise retailer that was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen. It has operations in 12 countries around the world. It is the largest retailer in the U.K. with more than 530,000 employees. Currently, Tesco serves more than 75 million customers every week. Tesco is present in Malaysia, India, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, and China. The retailer is the third largest in the world in terms of revenues and a market capitalization of more than £20.5 billion in 2013. After its founding, Tesco operated for many years selling grocery only in the U.K. Today, the multinational retailer has diversified its operations into other areas that include electronics, furniture, software, clothing, books, internet services, and financial services. The company has good online presence and makes great sales through its website. The success of Tesco has been studied for a very long time because of its size and Continue reading
Case Study of Starbucks: Influence of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction
Starbucks Company is a multinational corporation found across the globe, providing high-quality coffee products to its customers worldwide. The organization is an American company whose capital is located in Seattle in Washington DC. The company is very successful and ranks as the best provider of coffee worldwide. This is attributed to how it invented the best experience for customers that transformed their thinking about coffee shops, making them want to use more coffee in their daily lives. The company brags about a very competitive advantage over the rest of the coffee providers across the world. Its brand is regarded as the best, with most coffee drinkers choosing to purchase from Starbucks compared to other providers. The service operations functions for Starbucks are numerous, ranging from the strategic location, quality management, proper management of inventory, and quality designs for services and goods. Service quality management is verifying that the core operations Continue reading