21st Century Leadership Theories and Starbucks Case Study Report

This report delves into the effectiveness of various leadership theories, specifically focusing on Transactional, Transformational, and Path-goal leadership models within the context of the 21st century. The study utilizes Starbucks as a case study, examining its organizational structure, the leadership style of its CEO, and the company's key components such as market position, employee motivation, and competitive edge. The report contrasts pre-millennial leadership approaches with contemporary methods, highlighting the shift from group-oriented to individually centered management. Qualitative and data analysis techniques are proposed to assess leadership effectiveness, followed by a discussion of challenges and recommendations for Starbucks, including maintaining high-quality customer service, optimizing leadership styles across all levels, and expanding in key markets. The conclusion emphasizes the enduring influence of leadership theories on organizational growth and positioning.

Effectiveness of leadership
theories
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

Introdu
ctionThe leadership theories that are being chosen effective for
leadership in this 21st century are –
•Transactional- here the focus is on the exchanges that take
place among the leaders and their followers.
•Transformational- in this type of leadership the leaders
engage with the team in such a way that boosts the morality
and motivation in both.
•Path-goal- here the leaders motivate their followers to
achieve the identified aims.

st with pre-millennial approach
For decades the source of leadership has been numerous. Be it
pre-millennial or in this current century the three theories are
always prevailing. Today there have been certain changes that
are visible in leadership techniques (Franklin, 2015).
In the past leadership was much more group oriented. But
today things are more individually centered which is focused
on management that is directive and autocratic.

ption of the organization chosen
The organization that has been chosen here
is Starbucks coffee company. It was
established in 1971 when it was only one
single store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market,
being the roaster and retailer for whole
bean, ground coffee, tea and spices (Table,
2014).
The current CEO of Starbucks Kevin
Johnson is an authentic leader who is not
afraid of taking chances; always prioritize
his employees and feels technology to be an
important part of business.

The reason behind choosing
this particular organization
This company has been chosen because of its following key
components it has –
•Market position
•Motivated employees
•Effective leadership
•Maintaining competitive edge

Organizational structure
and roll of the leader
Starbucks follows a matrix organizational structure which is
actually a hybrid mixture of various attributes from the
fundamental type of organizational structure. Its main features
are –
•The structure which is functional
•Geographic divisions
•Divisions that are product based
•The teams

Qualitative and data
analytics
assessment
techniquesThe qualitative and data analysis techniques that can
be used are as follows –
•One-one interviews
•Expert consultations
•Self report survey

Rationale
The problem here is thus –
•the lack of focus in supplying higher customer service
•leadership style that is not reaching the managers
•growing price of coffee beans
•changes and emergence in markets trends and competitors

Recomm
endation
The present scenario of the company is important and so
must be taken into consideration. After the
recommendations that has been suggested it has to be seen
how effective they will be in the future for the company.
Firstly, high quality service to customers should not get
compromised which is getting affected for cost-saving
purposes.

ontinuation……
Secondly, the leadership style which is followed by the leader
of Starbucks was not reaching all the levels and so this new
recommended style will achieve greater efficiently among all
levels of the organization
Third, owning its own plantation can benefit the company in
many ways
Lastly, there are only few stores in china and India but they
must increase it because the standard of life is increasing in a
faster rate and so is the demand for western style houses of
coffee.

Conclu
sionThus it be concluded that leadership theories has high
influence from the pre-millennial to this 21st century and thus
their contributions are huge to any organization in enhancing
their growth and positioning. The chosen company taken here
is Starbucks and has been studied thoroughly keeping in mind
its current leader and his leadership theory that actually help it
for future development.

Referenc
es
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Lupton, N., & Beamish, P. (2014). Organizational structure and knowledge-
practice diffusion in the MNC. Journal of Knowledge Management, 18(4), 710-
727.
Mohamed, R. K. M. H., & Nor, C. S. M. (2013). The relationship between
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