HISTORY
The very first Starbucks store opened in 1971 in Seattle, Washington. The founders of Starbucks originally wanted to name the company Pequod after the ship in the classic story, Moby Dick, but the name was shot down by some of the co-founders, so they settled on the name Starbucks after the chief mate Starbuck in Moby Dick. By 1996, Starbucks had opened it's first store out of the United States, in Tokyo, Japan. This store made Starbucks into an International Corporation. In 2008 the Starbucks Loyalty Program was introduced.
CURRENT PRODUCTS
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GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS, PRODUCTION & SALESStarbucks is now an international corporation. The first international Starbucks store that was ever opened is located in Tokyo, Japan in 1996. Now there are over 5,500 Starbucks Coffeehouses in over 50 countries worldwide.
The video clip above shows the director of Starbucks' CSR department. In the clip, Hans says that Starbucks started buying fair trade coffee in 2000. Fair trade coffee is coffee that is sourced ethically. By the year 2009, Starbucks doubled its purchases of ethically sourced fair trade coffee making it the largest purchaser of fair trade coffee in the world.
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CULTURE
Starbucks goes to great lengths to provide a fun, healthy, safe and diverse environment in their stores and operations. On the Starbucks official website, they have designated a page to explain their culture and what they value most as a company in their stores and operations. One of the most mentioned values is diversity. On their webpage designated to explaining their culture, Starbucks stated "At Starbucks, we strive to create a culture that values and respects diversity and inclusion. We expect to be a leader in diversity and inclusion, from our partners in the field to our senior leadership teams." This is clearly demonstrated in their Business Ethics and Compliance packet.
I also spoke with a few Starbucks Barista's at my local Starbucks, asking them questions regarding the culture of the company and the environment they work in. They described Starbucks as a fun and interesting place to work. One barista said "When I have a problem, with a machine or with a certain rule or procedure that was put into place by upper management, I can tell my supervisor at the store I'm working at and I know that I will get a solution to my problem or at least a decent explanation as for why that procedure was implemented." The baristas I spoke with all agreed that they have been trained specifically to encourage inclusion and create an accepting and uplifting atmosphere in each store.
I also spoke with a few Starbucks Barista's at my local Starbucks, asking them questions regarding the culture of the company and the environment they work in. They described Starbucks as a fun and interesting place to work. One barista said "When I have a problem, with a machine or with a certain rule or procedure that was put into place by upper management, I can tell my supervisor at the store I'm working at and I know that I will get a solution to my problem or at least a decent explanation as for why that procedure was implemented." The baristas I spoke with all agreed that they have been trained specifically to encourage inclusion and create an accepting and uplifting atmosphere in each store.
Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stages of Ethical ReasoningLawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development is mainly concerned with moral thinking. There are six stages of ethical reasoning within Kohlberg's theory. Starbucks would be categorized in the post conventional stage as a stage six company. Stage six is Kohlbergs final level of ethical reasoning. Individuals or groups who demonstrate stage six follow laws or regulations that, to them, are based on justice and are reasonable.
Starbucks demonstrates this stage of Kohlbergs theory by promoting ethical behaviors by all communities and individuals. Starbucks put great amounts of money and effort into providing ethical products and conducting their operations and operating their stores ethically. Although laws do expect some amount of ethical and environmental consciousness of companies, Starbucks works hard to exceed these expectations for the communities it serves. |
CODE OF ETHICSStarbucks has dedicated multiple sections of their official website to thoroughly explain their code of ethics, entitled Business Ethics and Compliance. This web page includes an overview of how Starbucks conducts their business ethically and how it encourages and expects ethical behavior and decision-making within their stores and operations. Within the overview, there are multiple links to documents that explain each key point in detail. This provides a clear idea of how Starbucks runs their stores and operations. An example of the Starbucks code of ethics is clearly illustrated in their mission statement which reads “Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” The documentation attached to the webpage goes further into detail about the behavior they expect of all employees and partners based on their code of ethics and how Starbucks enforces their guidelines for ethical behavior and operations.
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THE THREE LEVELS
There are three ¨Levels¨ discussed in the textbook. These levels are: ethical behavior, corporate social responsibility, and corporate government. As a result of the research I have conducted I have concluded that Starbucks emphasizes their focus on ethical behavior. I came to this conclusion because Starbucks encourages all of it's customers and members of the communities they serve to participate in their efforts to better the communities, the environment and the world. Starbucks also works hard to practice what they preach to all of us. They put millions of dollars and hundreds of hours towards community and global events to benefit the earth and social programs, and also towards making their products and operations environmentally green, socially conscious, and economy friendly. This could also be considered as their corporate social responsibilities.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTThe definition of a conflict of interest is when a person or company is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt their motivation.
In the Starbucks Business Ethics and Compliance webpage includes a PDF document specifically explaining how to recognize a conflict of interest, QuickTips on how to handle any conflict of interests that you might be concerned about and where to report such conflicts. This document also states “Starbucks does not tolerate retaliation against or the victimization of any partner who raises concerns or questions regarding a potential violation of Starbucks policy that he or she reasonably believes to have occurred.”
From the research I have conducted, I do not see any conflicts of interest within the company and I have not come across any media publications that say otherwise. |
TRIPLE BOTTOM LINEThe definition of a triple bottom line is the separate financial, environmental and social bottom lines of companies. It measures the company's value, social responsibilities, and their environmental consciousness.
Although Starbucks does not specifically talk about its triple bottom line, it does talk specifically about its efforts to improve and preserve the environment, maintain an ethical environment for it's business and create an atmosphere for their operations to prosper.
HUMAN RESOURCESThere is not many media publications or company literature discussing the human resource department within Starbucks. Although the company suggests that all matters regarding human resources are handled with a ¨partnership¨ approach, there is nothing specific written within the Starbucks official website or any of the company reports.
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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
I would classify Starbucks as an ethical company. Starbucks is an ethical company because they have well-documented social consciousness and work hard to help the environment and local and global communities.
Starbucks not only continuously helps the environment and communities in which it's stores operate in, but they make it their goal to encourage others to give back to the environment and their communities. They also help other countries around the world. An example of their global philanthropic activities is Starbucks' partnership with Give2Asia, an organization that helps identify qualified and reputable charities throughout Asia. With Give2Asia, Starbucks has helped teachers in rural China by donating resources. Give2Asia is helping Starbucks expand its philanthropic footprint. |
Above is a video taken from Starbucks' Official YouTube channel. This video was uploaded to thank Starbucks customers for their participation in their Global Month of Service.
Starbucks encourages everyone to participate in saving the environment. Starbucks is tirelessly working to reduce it's carbon footprint in each store by selling reusable cups called tumblers, that are specially made to the specific sizes and types of Starbucks drinks. Starbucks also uses recycled materials to make their disposable cups, lids, napkins, straws, cup holders, cup sleeves, top stoppers, food bags and containers.
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Starbucks is also working on reducing their water consumption and energy consumption by 25% and by 2015.
EVOLUTION OF STARBUCKS
Starbucks has always made it their primary goal to be a company that radiates positive energy and operated ethically. Of course, preserving the environment by using green materials, reducing your carbon footprint, and creating less waste was not a priority back when the first Starbucks store opened, because there was little to no knowledge of a need to do so. From the start Starbucks has strived to produce a quality product for its customers. Now Starbucks works tirelessly to produce ethically sourced and environmentally conscious product as well as high quality.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Starbucks has an extensive amount of regulations and guidelines that help outline their corporate governance. Starbucks corporate governance is well documented in their annual corporate social responsibility reports and appears to be very effective based on the twenty-two questions used to evaluate and judge the effectiveness of a company's board. Their board has a total of thirteen board members, including Howard Schultz who is the CEO of Starbucks. Having the CEO of the company on the board has not seemed to cause any problems or conflicts based on the research I have conducted.