Communication of Values and Ethics in Strategic Organizational Communication

Starbucks organizational structure has been rearranged to better accommodate customer satisfaction. Schultz, CEO of Starbucks announced the expansion of their matrix organization structure. They will operate under four U.S. divisions: Western/Pacific, Southeast/Plains, Northeast/Atlantic and Northwest/Mountain (Schultz, 2008). There are some major advantages for this kind of organizational structure which include maximized communication channels. Once the appropriate adjustments are made, Schultz believes that Starbucks will be able to develop products specifically to market appeal. The continual support in the Starbucks organizational structure support functions operating being their own department and supporting shared visions and goals for each of the U.S. divisions and the international circuit (Schultz, 2008). In 1995, Starbucks opened its first coffee house internationally in Tokyo, Japan (Starbucks, 2008). Successful partnership allowed the company its footing inside foreign country. The large population and high disposable income from the consumers is what initially drawn the company and its executives to Japanese market. In adapting Japanese culture, extensive researches motivated Starbucks in changing their business model by catering to 40 year old businessmen and provide a smoking environment to enjoy their coffee. The Japanese locations included U.S. menus which the founder of the international segment for Starbucks ignored the advice stated previously. The complication of working in the East and West was understood by a Starbucks business partner, Sazaby. Japans’ attraction towards the kinds of products contributed to the understanding of the global market and leading Starbucks a success (Japan External Trade Organization, 2006). Unilever has another common organizational structure; the hybrid form. It operates with three divisional regions, two product segments, and five functional segments. It developed and implemented this

References: Ball, D., McCulloch Jr., W., Geringer, J., Minor, M., & McNett, J. (2005) (11th ed.) International Business: The Challenge of Global Competition. McGraw-Hill. The Express Online. (n.d.) Corporate Report: Unilever goes all out in Tanzania. Retrieved August 18, 2012, from http://www.theexpress.com/express155/business/corporate_report.htm Japan External Trade Organization. (2006). Starbucks ' green tea success with Japanese consumers leads to worldwide popularity. Retrieved August 19, 2012, from http://www.jetro.org/content/353 Shultz, H. (2008) Starbucks makes organizational changes to enhance customer experience. Retrieved August 18, 2008, from, http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=831 Starbucks. (2008) Starbucks Coffee International. Retrieved August 19, 2012, from http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/international.asp Starbucks Company Profile: Mission Statement http://news.starbucks.com/images/10041/AboutUs-CompanyProfile-Q3-2012-8_1_12-FINAL.pdf Starbucks Newsroom: Starbucks support of the Troops/Military January 11, 2005 (Updated May 2012) Retrieved August 19, 2012 http://news.starbucks.com/about+starbucks/myths+facts/militarydonations.htm