Starbucks was founded in 1971 in Seattle, WA by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker. These men launched the company by selling coffee beans and coffee brewing equipment, instead of actually selling pumpkin spice latees. In the early 1980s Howard Shultz was hired as the director and he soon came up with the idea of selling already made coffee by the cup. The original owners didn't see that happening and Shultz went on to open his own company. By 1987 Baldwin, Siegl, and Bowker decided it was best to move on, so they sold Starbucks to Howard Shultz. (coffee.org, 2014).
Today Starbucks has around 20,000 locations around the world and they're continuing to grow. In fact, many people began mocking the chain restaurant in the late 1990s because a lot of Starbucks locations were walking distance from each other. After the 2008 stock market crash, hundreds of stores around the country closed their doors and the company decided to focus more on international markets. .
Starbucks is known for treating its employees and customers as their main priorities. The company has done three things to help the mission of "people first and profits last" remain true. First, they encourage feedback by providing comment cards to all new partners during orientation. Next, all decisions must be a direct reflection of their ethical reputation. Lastly, the restaurant implemented a "Mission Review" system so partners can state their opinions on a decision or action, as it relates to any of the six principals. (Ferrell et al, 2013) I believe that the company is so concerned with social responsibility in its overall corporate strategy because Howard Schultz has instilled those values. He truly understands the importance of ethics and awareness in business. Shultz knows that ethical companies are more successful overall. Crime and sleazy behavior only pay well for a short period of time, because what happens in the dark will always come to light.