Proposal: A study of corporate social responsibility and its benefits in Starbucks.

Advisor: Grace T.R. Lin By: -Manik Kumar Id: -0153521

Introduction (Company Background)

Starbucks started operations in 1971 by opening its first retail store in Seattle, Washington and by 2003 had grown to be the worlds leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee. Michelli (2007) documented that today; Starbucks has stores in over 37 countries, averages more than 35 million customers visits each week, and has loyal patrons who typically return 18 times a month. Starbucks is famous for its coffee, lattes and espresso. The firms objective was to establish Starbucks as the most recognized and respected brand in the word. This was achieved by its rigorous financial and marketing strategies. It also pursued opportunities to leverage the Starbucks brand through introduction of new products and the development of new distribution channels. It also devised strategies to attract new customers to its retail stores and retain the existing customers. This was done by: starting in store wireless Wi-fi hot spots; introducing re-loadable stored value Starbucks Card; introducing the all in one Starbucks Card with Visa credit card. Now since Starbucks was expanding globally as well as locally, it had to devise strategies to organize funds. It had recently announced an extension and expansion of its stock buyback. The main purpose of this act was to offset dilution from the firms long standing employee compensation plan

Literature Review
CSR is one of the most popular issues in companies today. It not only affects society but also the company in a positive way. Most top companies practice some sort of CSR. CSR can be practiced in a variety of ways and we will look into these different methods in this project. There are a few definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR henceforth. So I introduce corporate social responsibility by concept of Carroll, which will help us to answer the purpose and define how it can make us to understand how Starbucks succeeds with CSR. There are different views regarding the relationship between CSR and business. The concept of CSR is still unclear because there are many institutions that focus only on business to make and increase profits while other businesses are interested in adopting a good sense of CSR.

According to Carroll (1983), corporate social responsibility involves the conduct of a business so that it is economically profitable, law abiding, ethical and socially supportive. To be socially responsible then means that profitability and obedience to the law are foremost conditions when discussing the firms ethics and the extent to which it supports the society in which it exists with contributions of money, time and talent From the above definition, CSR entails that companies should give back the benefits to the consumers and other stakeholders. This means that companies should not only be concerned with their profit but they need to help socially and environmenta lly. If the company doesnt have responsibility with the society, the people or non-government organizations (NGOs) will criticize the company. Thus, companies have to be responsible with other stakeholders and the social environment. From the above definition, CSR entails that companies should give back the benefits to the consumers and other stakeholders. This means that companies should not only be concerned with their profit but they need to help socially and environmentally. If the company doesnt have responsibility with the society, the people or non-government organizations (NGOs) will criticize the company. Thus, companies have to be responsible with other stakeholders and the social environment.

Research Questions
A. To identify the role of CSR in the corporate environment today. B. To examine the CSR input of Starbucks and how it has affected Starbucks popularity. C. To consider what more can be done by Starbucks in order to improve its CSR

Methodology
In the content and design of this research the study was thoughtful to conduct in the exploratory manner through a quality case study in which an in-depth examination of the case was conducted. We will focus on secondary data base on the information from the company such as announce report. The guide by Vaus.D (2001:233) the explanatory account produced by intensive research focuses on the particular events, or case, and seeks to develop complete explanation of each case. The case study was conducted over 2 months. The qualitative approach of conducting the research was carried out using in-depth secondary collected information (Cronbach L. 1971). The case study in this research will choose as the tool address the research questions and research purpose. It was further motivated by its ability to illustrate relationships and it also identifies the details of interactive processes.