The Starbucks Corporation is a global organization that uses its effective organizational structure to facilitate the world's coffee business. The company uses its effective worldwide leadership through its appropriate matrix structure in the organization. If a company's corporate organization is efficient, it can influence all parts of a business, such as management and communication. Since its foundation in 1971, the company has managed to penetrate to more countries globally, where they are also personalizing their brands to the consumers ( Azriuddin et al., 2020) . By acquiring other firms such as Ethos Water, Starbucks has adjusted its structure to ensure that all its operations are smooth and properly managed. Starbucks effective communication structure has supported its competitive advantage over other small and large coffeehouses such as McDonald's, to reach the customers by selling merchandise such as grinders, coffee brewers, coffee mugs, chocolates, salads, and yogurt, to name a few ( Tu et al., 2012) . Starbuck organization has dedicated much effort to the communication strategies to optimize the available resources, upgrade and harmonize the working environment between the management and the employees ( Tikson, 2018) . Starbuck organization has always emphasized not only what is to be communicated but also how it is communicated. Since the company has many employees from different cultures, internal communication must be laid well to enable smooth flow ( Belasen & Belasen, 2018) . The most effective communication strategy is the necessity to envision, strategize and plan. Once the plan is in a purposed effect, it relies on formal communication.
Internal Communication Strategy in Starbucks
Corporate communication is defined as the reminders that a company bids internally through communication strategies, symbols, and behavior. Also, effective internal communications prepare all employees and the company for the benefits in the competitive markets. The employees act as the company's important cogs since they act as the connection between the company and the consumers ( Tu et al., 2012) . Therefore, internal communication strategies are meant to build a strong employee relationship. Starbucks corporation has opened up lines and networks for communication between its employees and the management by giving them exposure to the steady movement of information through an open communication mechanism ( Tikson, 2018) . The employees can communicate directly to the management and frequently discuss the workforce. This open communication has enabled the employees to air their grievances, and opinions which are responded to immediately ( Belasen & Belasen, 2018) . Therefore, in the company, decisions are made faster, making the employees feel appreciated and more productive. Starbucks has also realized that frequent training, team building, and training have improved its internal communication. Also, the company has incorporated three working tools and platforms to effectuate their internal communication.
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The Leadership Style as a Communication Tool in Starbucks
The first tool is the style of leadership in Starbucks is based on simplicity, where it is run through well-structured management. The CEO is at the top management who is Kevin Johnson, and he allows the shareholders to meet every year to confirm the implementation of the company’s visions ( Azriuddin et al., 2020) . There is a harmonized leadership where the CEO reports to the chairman of the board, who acts as the company's watchdog. After the CEO are the vice presidents, the managers manage the company's outlets in the whole world ( Tikson, 2018) . With effective leadership, the company can implement its policies at a stipulated time by communicating with them.
The Starbucks’s Institutional Framework as a Communication Tool
The company's framework is very simple since its main vision is to acquire and rebrand stores worldwide through expansion. Since its foundation, the company has grown to over thirty thousand retail shops globally, as they incorporate other famous stores such as Peet's ( Azriuddin et al., 2020) . To set a retail shop through Starbucks, an entrepreneur must adhere to strict codes that defined the company. The company allows all the shop to brew their coffee from the most quality grade to avoid compromising its quality. As the company expands throughout the world, it improves the economy through competition ( Azriuddin et al., 2020) . The Starbucks framework has made the company lead in the execution of internal corporate communication tactics. The effective adherence to the company's framework has enabled the company to produce regular and quality coffee globally.
Branding as a Communication Tool in Starbucks
Branding allows a company to have the capabilities of fast exposure. The purpose of a brand is to get noticed; hence the company is communicated well. Starbucks has ensured that its products and services are felt and recognized everywhere by branding in all its outlets ( Tu et al., 2012) . Starbucks has used the company logo, which is an image of a twin-tailed mermaid, unique and recognized worldwide. Also, the consistency of quality has enabled the brand to be accepted in many countries, where it runs trial cafes when a new product has been innovated ( Tu et al., 2012) . For instance, if the company has some skeptics about a new product, it will try to sell the product without the brand, but if the product is accepted, it is rebranded and incorporated into the company ( Chang, 2014) . The trials are a good strategy since the company may want to protect the best image for many years. The company's last platform incorporated well in its internal communication strategies is the technology ( Chang, 2014) . The company has used intranet and mobile intranet applications to enhance internal communications. The intranet is used to communicate to the employees by using documents, charts, and articles in multiple locations across the globe ( Belasen & Belasen, 2018) . The effectiveness of branding and intranet use is evident when the employees feel proud to be associated with the company.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Starbucks’s Communication Strategies.
There are many advantages of Starbucks' communication strategies. First the open communication strategy has helped in the geographical cafes across the globe. The employees from all parts of the world can communicate their opinions to the central headquarters within no time. Also, the encouragement of team working among the employees has created a sense of belonging and ownership which has led to more productive restaurants. Also, since the employees are divided functionally into different specializations, the chances of mistakes are minimal, which encourages faster workforce ( Azriuddin et al., 2020) . Besides, the frame work and the branding strategies affect the employees directly, which enables the company to connect to the consumers' needs.
The disadvantages entail the employees having to answer to two leaders simultaneously since there is an open communication structure. This communication can confuse the employee, as they have to choose which instructions to effectuate first. Lack of proper coordination while communicating can bring a significant loss to the company ( Belasen & Belasen, 2018) . Also, since there is distinct management at all different geographical retails, there might be competition for consumers, policies, and leadership, affecting decision-making. The employees are advised not to jump to conclusions while making the decision but rather focus on calmness as they await to communicate to the leaders.
Recommendation for Employee’s Communication Initiatives
A successful company will advocate their employee for their success. They will refer to their employees as ambassadors since they directly connect the product and the consumers. Therefore, there are some recommendations that the Starbucks Company should follow for their continuous success in communication strategies ( Belasen & Belasen, 2018) . First, the company should train the employees on communicating the company's brand since the employees are their ambassadors. When the employees are trained to relate with leadership and the customers, its vision of expansion will be visualized. The company should be creative when training the employees on effective communication. Training should also be regular to encourage participation. The company will benefit from the trained employee by recording more sales and profit ( Chang, 2014) . Another recommendation to the communication initiative is making each retail store a separate business. By individualizing the retail stores, communication will be effective hence more profit ( Tikson, 2018) . The company should prioritize on connected all global shops to get in touch with all individual concerns. Here, the employees can be allowed to create their branding themes without interference from their leaders. This communicative branding increases the employee’s morale, hence more productivity.
The above discussion has brought Starbucks' internal corporate communication strategies to the limelight. It is now evident that internal communication strategies are very important to a company. When a company implements internal communication strategies, it gains numerous benefits. A huge company such as Starbucks has to screen all the strategies before implementation to enable expansion worldwide. The company has incorporated its organizational framework, leadership, and branding to effectuate internal communication. Besides, Starbucks has enabled a smooth movement of communication by accepting a reliable interaction between the management and the employees. Although the company might experience some challenges during the communication strategies' execution, it has still emerged as an employee-focused company. Some of the recommendations to make Starbucks remain one of the best organizations with effective internal communication are regular employee training and individualizing the global stores for better communication. Also, other companies can adopt the concept of internal corporate communication to take their organization to better communication levels.
References
Azriuddin, M., Kee, D. M. H., Hafizzudin, M., Fitri, M., Zakwan, M. A., AlSanousi, D., ... & Kurniawan, O. (2020). Becoming an International Brand: A Case Study of Starbucks. Journal of the community development in Asia , 3 (1), 33-43. https://doi:10.32535
Belasen, A. T., & Belasen, A. R. (2018). Integrated Corporate Communication: A Competing Values Perspective. Available at SSRN 3096046 . https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3096046
Chang, C. Y. (2014). Visualizing brand personality and personal branding: case analysis on Starbucks and Nike's brand value co-creation on Instagram. https://doi.10.17077/etd.8y3v071r .
Tikson, S. D. S. (2018). Human Resource Policies and Work Culture: A Case of Starbucks. JBMI (Jurnal Bisnis, Manajemen, dan Informatika) , 15 (1), 1-12. htps://dx.doi.org/10.26487/ibmi.v15i1.1773.
Tu, Y. T., & Chang, H. C. (2012). Corporate brand image and customer satisfaction on loyalty: An empirical study of Starbucks coffee in Taiwan. Journal of Social and Development Sciences , 3 (1), 24-32. hhtps://doi.org/10.22610/jsds.v3i1.682.
