Most organizations operate in an environment that consists of many shareholders, which calls for the practice of strategic public relations that should involve the segmentation of important components. This means that they need to invest their resources selectively to build trust and fruitful relationships with those external components in their respective environments. In the stakeholder stage, companies need to scan the external environment to identify stakeholders who will greatly influence the organization and who will also be influenced by organizational behavior (Page and Parnell). The components of consequences and resources are inherent in this stage. There are positive and negative consequences that need to be managed effectively using the available resources.
Starbucks is one such organization that has leveraged strategic public relations by segmenting important components in its environment by prudently investing its resources to build healthy relationships with its shareholders. It is a company that is run in a responsible manner giving it respect and trust from its customers and its employees, and other stakeholders. The company lays much emphasis on environmental stewardship, ethical sourcing, and community involvement (YouTube). Furthermore, it believes in providing a good working environment to its employees and partners and encourages ethical business practices, including maintaining good corporate governance, public policy, and legal compliance.
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To improve its relationships with coffee producers, the company has engaged in initiatives aimed at improving the lives of coffee farmers. Owing to the flexible nature of coffee prices in the world market, the company helps coffee farmers to buy coffee by using an integrated and sustainable model. It pays premium prices to coffee farmers to help them make more profits and sustain their families. Through its Coffee and Farmer Equity policy (CAFE), the company has been able to show responsibility towards the environmental, moral, and quality aspects of coffee processing and sale.
The company also has high regard for its employees and treats them as partners in the business because they are the keys to success for the organization. The company always aims at creating a good working environment for its employees and its customers by valuing and recognizing their capabilities. Its stores are well designed to suit the needs of its customers, who are treated with respect. Additionally, the company also makes many contributions and social projects to the localities in which it operates and helps in their development. The company, therefore, has managed to segment the public using cross-situational approaches based on the concepts of consequences and resources.
In the public stage of segmentation many companies use their resources to achieve communication goals with shareholders. At the issue stage, the public will often raise issues that they believe need to be resolved or rectified by organizations for their interest. Therefore, such organizations need to make use of effective communication methods. Successful organizations will use adaptive methods to maximize strategic opportunities and minimize threats. In this stage, both the organization and the shareholders are attempting to deal with a problem that has arisen due to certain consequences. Consequently, shareholders will approach organizations hoping for a resolution of those problems. If organizations fail to resolve the problem, shareholders revert to alternative sources of resources and authority for solutions.
In this regard, Starbuck has always attempted to address the concerns of its shareholders using various means. It is an organization that not only recognizes the rights of its shareholders but also that the resolution of their concerns can give them success and benefits, which will help it maintain its reputation. For example, the company held a shareholders meeting in 2010 at the Starbucks annual meeting of shareholders at Marion Oliver Mccaw at Seattle Centre to review its performance and address shareholder concerns. It can, therefore, be said that Starbucks is a company that has managed to effectively segment its organizational shareholders in an effective manner, a fact that has led to its good reputation and business success.
References
Page, J. T. and Parnell, L. J. Chapter 5: Introduction to Strategic Public Relations
Forbes. (2016, May 1). Why Starbucks' Billionaire CEO Pushes Social Responsibility | Forbes [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj9MX4RPDhw
