Starbucks Coffee Company was founded in 1971 by three people. They opened their first store at Seattle's Pike Place Market. The name “Starbucks” actually comes from Herman Melvin’s classic novel Moby Dick. This nautical name seems appropriate for a store that imports the world's finest coffees to the cold, thirsty residents of Seattle. Then came Howard Schultz. He joined Starbucks in 1982. During a business trip to Italy, he visited the famous espresso bars of Milan. Impressed by their popularity and culture, he saw their potential in Seattle. It's been proven that once people start trying lattes and mochas, Seattle quickly goes coffee crazy. Today, Howard Schultz is the president and chief philosopher of the world's best coffee retail company. At Starbucks, their employees are called “partners.” This was to avoid any form of discrimination between employees. Another reason is that Starbucks also offers stock options, even to part-time “partners.” Starbucks Coffee “harvests” its coffee beans primarily from three regions; Latin America, Africa/Arabia and Asia-Pacific. In Malaysia, they also have the same coffee bean allowance (it is standardized nationally). In Malaysia, Starbucks Coffee is a joint venture between BERJAYA GROUP of Malaysia and Starbucks Coffee International. All operations are carried out by BERJAYA, which includes cultural adaptability, local customs, store development and strategic management plans. Starbucks Coffee International is responsible for maintaining standards regarding the term “Starbucks”. They provide quality assurance and conduct business visits from time to time. The first Starbucks Coffee store in Malaysia was opened in KL Plaza in 1998. Now, in 2006, there are already 68 stores nationwide. One of their strategy or “culture” is to open a store in every corner of the city. Their mission is to provide a second home or “third place” for people. In this way, there will be a Starbucks Coffee store available everywhere to meet customer needs, hence the term “Starbucks follows you wherever you go”. SECTION B(i) Explain the key factors you would consider when carrying out a PEST analysis of the environment. Illustrate your answer by providing supporting examples. “PEST analysis examines the general environment in which the organization operates” (Johnson, 1999). “The marketing environment of a company is made up of all the factors external to its own marketing system and which impact the success of the exchange process with its customers” (Hannagan, 2005). There are four key areas to consider how current and future changes may affect Starbucks Coffee's business..