Team 1:
Charley Lee
Taylor Valkenaar
Joyce Zhang
Kody Sammuels
Organization:
Starbucks Coffee Company
Overview: Starbucks is an American global coffee company that has millions of chains. It is by far one of the largest coffeehouse companies in the world even compared to the large UK rival Costa Coffee that has chains in 63 countries and territories. Starbucks offers hot and cold beverages, whole bean coffee, full-leaf teas, pastries, and snacks. Recently certain Starbucks locations have began to offer beer, wine, and appetizers after 4pm. The first Starbucks opened in Seattle, Washington, on March 30, 1971. It started as a partnership between three men: Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev Seigl, who met while they were students at University of San Francisco. As two teachers and a writer, they were inspired to expand their career horizons and start a company that would sell high-quality coffee beans and equipment. The founders were completely unaware that their simple business plan would become one of the largest American companies to hit the global market.
Organizational Behavior Related Issues:
The organizational behavioral issues we decided to focus on include lack of managerial feedback, counterproductive work behaviors or withdrawal behaviors, and pay dissatisfaction.
Analysis of Issues: With Starbucks being a global company, we found these behaviors as the most common grievances from current or past employees of the company. Because the company has multiple stores across the country, and many even within miles of each other, they require the employment of many people, some with less motivation and drive for the job than others. Because each store employs numerous people it is frequently expressed that the managers of each store often do not give enough feedback to employees because they share the mangers “face time” with many others. This also causes less supervision or less attention directed to just one person, creating more opportunities for counterproductive behaviors and slacking among the employees. With hiring people for manpower instead of using discrimination upon motivation to excel in the company, some employees stray from tasks, do not complete duties, socialize too much, are late/do not show up, and even steal. The pay being universally minimum wage it can also create financial tension among the workers, especially if they are not offered benefits for many hours worked or can receive tips within their store. Accurate pay compensation rules are often a huge complaint.
Recommendations for Problem Solving: For the issues revolving around the lack of managerial feedback, we suggest that every manager implements the use MBO, the management philosophy that “bases the employee’s evaluations on whether the employee achieves specific performance goals” (Organizational behavior, 47). With the manager assessing and paying attention to the work accomplished by each employee,