I have chosen the Starbucks Corporation to do my assigned case for the session. I first became interested in Starbucks while working on a paper for a previous marketing course. I was intrigued by the entrepreneurial spirit that such a large company had managed to maintain throughout its massive expansion. The Starbucks company, unlike many of its now-defunct rivals, has done an exceptional job since its meager beginnings in 1970 with implementing its strategic process; with the result that it currently owns 40% of the specialty coffee market and has grown annual sales to over $7 billion according to Burt Helm. Historic successes and recent turbulence within the company, including a nearly 40% drop in profits in 2007 (Sullivan 1), have once again piqued my interest in this American company. For this first assignment, our tasks begin with identifying the need for diagnosis, moving on to evaluating different organizational models that are being used and that were developed for this analysis, and finally determining whether these models would be effective if used by Starbucks to determine your path forward. The Importance of Diagnosis In conducting research I found an interesting quote that I believe summarizes the importance of essential task analysis. "Knowing yourself is one of the most challenging and important tasks of your life. If you know who you are and what you want, you will have a better chance of understanding how to achieve your success, happiness and personal fulfillment" (Berkeley .edu, 1 ). You can easily replace all personal references with a business perspective and see the importance of the analysis. If a company doesn't know who they are, they won't know what changes they need to make to... middle of paper......Inst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1184944744&clientId= 29440&aid=1Sullivan, Todd. January 9, 2008. Schultz, CEO of Starbucks: too little, too late? Retrieved January 19, 2008, from http://seekingalpha.com/article/59481-starbucks-ceo-schultz-too-little-too-lateKnow Thyself. (n.d.). Berkeley.edu. Retrieved January 20, 2008, from http://atdpweb.soe.berkeley.edu/quest/knowthyself/KnowThyself.htmlFalletta, SV (2005) Organizational diagnostic models: a review and synthesis. Retrieved January 20, 2008, from http://www.leadersphere.com/img/Orgmodels.pdfA5 Consulting Group. January 26, 2004. Starbucks: "The Non-Coffee Surprise." Fortune. Retrieved January 20, 2008, from www.carmean.net/papers/Starbucks%20Marketing.docArdoin, Beth. April 15, 2000. A circulation analysis of Howard Schultz's Pour Your Heart Into It. Retrieved January 20, 2008, from www.start-at-zero.com/papers/schultz.htm