Introduction With globalization and advancement in information technology, enterprises have expanded their operations beyond national borders. Business firms no longer operate in the same geographical regions. As a result, competition in the global markets has intensified. Businesses have been forced to define better ways of responding more quickly to this change in the business environment. The type of structure adopted by an organization has far-reaching effects on its success in the competitive environment. In order to stay put in business, a business firm must adopt and implement organizational structure that would enable it quickly respond and adapt to the market changes. Case Study: Starbucks Corporation Brief History and Background Starbucks is an international company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Since its inception in 1971, the company has realized significant growth. It has been expanding its business operations to many countries of the world. Currently, Starbucks Corporation is the largest coffee company in the world. It is estimated to have more than 19,000 stores in 60 countries. The significant achievements of the company are attributed to effective leadership and appropriate organizational structure. Starbucks’ Organizational Structure (Matrix Structure) Intense competition has forced the company to adopt and implement organizational structure to allow it respond more quickly to rapid changes in the business environment. Starbucks has embraced matrix organizational structure which facilitated grouping of employees by both product and function. Employees in the organization are grouped into teams so that they can take advantages of each other when accomplishing duties. The structure is flat and differentiated according to functions needed to achieve specific goals. Similarities and Differences between Matrix Structure and Functional Structure Functional structure has also been widely adopted by numerous companies around the world. Notably, functional structure has features similar to those of matrix structure. In both cases, an organization classifies its employees into divisions and allows functions to be integrated. Despite these similarities, they are distinct differences between the two. A matrix structure is more complicated than a functional structure. With a matrix structure, an organization is divided according to products and functions. Therefore, every employee serves two divisions i.e. a product and functional division. By contrast, functional structure requires an organization to divide its employees basing on their abilities and qualifications. Unlike functional structure, matrix structure encourages employees to share knowledge. Similarities and differences between Matrix and Bureaucratic Structure Both structures are better suited for typically but not large scale organizations. In both structures, employees’ undertakings are intertwined hence they are jointly responsible for outputs of the organization. Organizations which have adopted bureaucratic structures are not differentiated whereas firms which have matrix structure are highly differentiated. Bureaucratic structures are highly standardized while matrix organizations have low standardization. A matrix structure gives an organization a flat structure while bureaucratic structure makes the entire structure of an entity flat. Matrix is a highly decentralized whereas bureaucratic is highly centralized. How Organizational Functions Influence and Determine Organizational Structure of Starbucks Corporation Basically, an organizational structure defines how tasks are undertak