The class text (on page 338) describes that a big part of this is giving promising employees tasks and assignments that stretch their boundaries and horizons as this helps them grow and, as mentioned before, incentivizes them to do more (Thompson, 2012). Conclusion

In short, Starbucks has had its challenges and has things it needs to address. The stock crashing in 2008/2009 was not a good time but it was absolutely at least part of the shared pain that the entire stock market underwent during the "Great Recession." As long as Starbucks follows the strategy execution steps listed in the Thompson text, they'll be fine. However, keeping all relevant parties happy, especially when it comes to things like depressed wages and health care, can be rather hard to tamp down (Thompson, 2012).

Appendix I -- Key Statistics

Source: Yahoo Finance - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=SBUX+Key+Statistics

Appendix II -- Competitor Info

Source: Yahoo - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s=SBUX+Competitors

Appendix III - Historical Stock Price

References

Bogardus, a.M. (2009). PHR/SPHR: Professional in Human Resources certification study guide (3rd ed.). Indianapolis, Ind.: Wiley Pub..

NYTimes....

(2012, December 5). Analysis Tools - Historical Chart - NYTimes.com. Markets Overview - NYTimes.com. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://markets.on.nytimes.com/research/stocks/tools/analysis_tools.asp?symbol=SBUX
PFANNER, E. (2012, December 5). Starbucks Corporation News - the New York Times. Times Topics - the New York Times. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/starbucks_corporation/index.html

Starbucks. (2012, December 5). Starbucks Coffee Company. Starbucks Coffee Company. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://www.starbucks.com/

Thompson, a.A. (2012). Crafting and executing strategy: the quest for competitive advantage: concepts and cases. (18th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Yahoo. (2012, December 5). SBUX Key Statistics | Starbucks Corporation Stock - Yahoo! Finance. Yahoo! Finance - Business Finance, Stock Market, Quotes, News. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=SBUX+Key+Statistics

Yahoo. (2012, December 5). SBUX Competitors | Starbucks Corporation Stock - Yahoo! Finance. Yahoo! Finance - Business Finance, Stock Market, Quotes, News. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s=SBUX+Competitors