Planning

Business Planning Introduction Strategic planning is critical for company success , for growth , and for operation . Planned growth is specifically important to company survival . Companies must consider growth strategies to avoid the gradual decline and loss of the business , to develop continuity and company unity , and to save jobs and produce wealth . However , companies face many hindrances to growth , including an unwillingness to plan for it . This study presents analyses of the management planning practices of Starbucks , a multinational coffee and coffeehouse chain company . The examines the role of the management activities in the development , implementation , and communication of

the plan . Finally , the study suggests leading planning practices which may be valuable to Starbucks as the company faces growth issues Starbucks Starbucks began its business in 1971 by three coffee aficionados . By 1998 Starbucks had become the leading coffeehouse chain in the United States . Today Starbucks has more than sixteen hundred locations . The examination of Starbucks coffeehouse chain illustrates the nature of the entrepreneurial effort and genius involved in using marketing and distribution strategies . Starbucks key management initiative is to start with the aspirations . Starbucks focuses on looking to the future and dreaming about how the company can set and achieve its goals that will produce benefits to its consumers , its organization and its employees Managing a Living Organization Manager in Starbucks responds readily to changes in its environment . He does not wait for somebody to point out what is happening to start the reaction . Starbucks manages its environment and responds in such a way as to maintain stable condition and take advantage of opportunities for growth . Of course , as part of the organization manager is expected to do his part of the organizing and controlling , but he shouldn 't have to do it all . Management is mostly a matter of maintaining the health of the company through proper planning and controlling Role of Managers in Starbucks The vision that managers have of a company determines how they see their own role . Starbucks is simply a means to an end managers look at it in terms of its efficiency and effectiveness . They are concerned about devising good structures and systems and maintaining flowing operations . The management is like mechanics that is trying to keep the machine in good working Burack , Hochwarter , and Mathys (1997 ) claim that managers should consider the company as a living entity . These managers tend to regard their role as being a parent . As parents they make an effort to organize and control the organization in right paths . These managers seek to preserve the company and help it to achieve its potential . As parents they monitor the health of the company , attempting to evaluate and treat its ills in to keep it in a healthy state Burack , Hochwarter , and Mathys (1997 ) adhere to the view that companies should be separate living entities . The role of the manager is , first , to provide a good planning for the company . The planning must provide a list of values...