CULTURAL APPROACHES

Starbucks Coffee

Starbucks Background

Opened in 1971Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market1981 Howard Schultz, current CEO, visits

Starbucks for the first time, joins a year later.On the 2015 World’s Most Ethical Company

list for the nine year in a row

What Makes a Culture?

According to the book Values Symbols Rites and rituals Daily life

Two ways of thinking about culture Culture is something an organization has Culture is something an organization is

Starbucks Culture

Servant Leadership (“employees first”) Believe in treating partners with respect and dignity. Encouraging others to be the best they can be behind

the counter and beyond. Believe that if they care about each other, they will

care for their customers.Relationship-driven approach

Mission: To inspire and nurture the human spirit- one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.

Baristas creating friendships with their coworkers and customers.

Starbucks Culture

Collaboration and communication Accommodating demographics, tastes, handcrafted

beverages, utilities and products, food, and lifestyles. Finding and creating the best beverage for the

customer. Increase efficiency in communication and café

operations.Inclusion and diversity

22,519 stores as of June 28, 2015 in over 65 countries. Prohibits any form of discrimination. Creating a sense of belonging.

Starbucks Culture

Openness “Our stores are a neighborhood gathering place for

meeting friends and family. Our customers enjoy quality service, an inviting atmosphere and an exceptional beverage.”

How employees and customers interact. How employees and their fellow partners interact. Everyone is encouraged to ask questions.

Deal and Kennedy’s “Strong Culture”

Strong culture consists of four parts: Values: beliefs and visions that members hold for an

organization. Heroes: individuals who come to exemplify an

organization’s values. Rites and Rituals: ceremonies through which an

organization celebrates its values Cultural Network: system through which cultural

values are instituted and reinforced.

Starbucks’ “Strong Culture”

Values (as stated on their website) “Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where

everyone is welcome. Acting with courage, challenging the status quo and

finding new ways to grow our company and each other.

Being present, connecting with transparency, dignity and respect.

Delivering our very best in all we do, holding ourselves accountable for results.

We are performance driven, through the lens of humanity.”

Starbucks’ “Strong Culture”

Heroes CEO, Howard Schultz Partners One tree for every bag commitment

Distribute coffee trees to farmers whose farms have been infected with a coffee plant fungus.

In a sense Starbucks creates a hero in every aspect of their company all the way from the top CEO down to the coffee farmers.

Starbucks’ “Strong Culture”

Rites and Rituals Embroidered aprons after 3 months Official barista certification Partner of the quarter

Voted by partners for their store. Coffee Master black apron

Granted to those who take thejourney of discovering the history of coffee.

Starbucks’ “Strong Culture”

Cultural network Partner Hub

Allows employees to connect with one another and find all the latest news within the company.

Access to education, grants, 401K plans, and stocks. Coffee Passport

Helps the partner explore different coffees and what they taste best with.

Allows for more efficient networking with customers when they want to find their perfect coffee fit.

Connecting with each other through face-to-face.

Peters and Waterman’s “Excellent Culture”

8 themes to create an excellent culture: A bias for action Close relations to the customer Autonomy and entrepreneurship Productivity through people Hands-on, value driven Stick to the knitting Simple form, lean staff Simultaneous loose-tight properties

Starbucks’ “Excellent Culture”

A bias for action Excellent organizations react quickly and do not

spend excess time planning and analyzing. Managers quickly assign tasks and manage breaks to

best fit a situation. Close relations to the customer

Excellent organizations gear decisions and actions to the need for the customers. Willing to explain different types of coffees and drinks to

customers to help them find their favorite drink. Partners are always willing to remake a drink if the customer doesn’t love it.

Remembering customer names and orders.

Starbucks’ “Excellent Culture”

Autonomy and entrepreneurship Excellent organizations encourage employees to take

risks in the development of new ideas. Creating new drinks and sharing them with partners. Latte art Encouraged to share ideas with mangers and each other.

Productivity through people Excellent organizations encourage positive and

respectful relationships among management and employees. Managers and fellow employees understand struggles

are always willing to help one another out.

Starbucks’ “Excellent Culture”

Hands-on, value driven Excellent organizations have employees and managers who

share the same core value of productivity and performance. Interview questions prior to hiring include situational questions

and evaluate whether or not a particular person holds the same values and passion for the products as the company does.

Stick to the knitting Excellent organizations stay focused on what they do best

and avoid radical diversification. Starbucks encourages partners to excel in their knowledge of

coffees, teas, and other industry related topics. Try to enrich each other for the soul purpose of creating a better experience for our customers.

Starbucks’ “Excellent Culture”

Simple form, lean staff Excellent organizations avoid complex structures and

divisions of labor. Starbucks does not follow this. There are certain jobs that

are assigned to partners (ex. Register, bar, drive through, and support) to increase the efficiency of the store. There is a division of labor but it is a simple structure.

Simultaneous loose-tight properties Excellent organizations exhibit both unity of purpose

and the diversity necessary for innovation. Baristas unite together to create consistent products for

customers but each have something different to contribute to the store’s culture and interactions with the customers.

Emergent Culture

“Created through the interaction of organizational members.”

Says that culture is created in the moment with the people we communicate with each other.

Starbucks’ culture is created when we engage with customers from the moment they walk in the door until the time that they leave.

It’s the little things that make a mark as to who Starbucks is.

What Culture Does for Starbucks

Competitive advantage against other coffee industry leaders.

Customer loyalty.Starbucks exemplifies both a “strong” and

“excellent” culture. They know who they are, how to interact with customer, and how to operate within their organization.

Questions

What are some ways that Starbucks could include their customers more into the culture? Through mobile apps?

Does Starbucks plan to do to expand their culture to people who are not educated in the coffee industry? Tea lovers who do not currently drink coffee?

Works Cited

Ferguson, E. (2015, September 13). Panmore: Starbucks Coffee Company’s

Organizational Culture. Retrieved February 8, 2016, from http://panmore.com/starbucks-coffee-company-organizational-culture

Mission Statement. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2016, from http://www.starbucks.com/about- us/company-information/mission-statement