Starbucks Organizational Culture Analysis

THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE OF STARBUCKS

Organizational Culture is “the values and assumptions shared within an organization” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2014, p. 252). The general consensus many scholars have when discussing and studying organizational culture, is that the subject is one that has not been definitively defined. In general, culture embodies the behaviors, values, and way of life people and societies throughout the world. It consists of people who share an inherent understanding of the norms by which they operate. With this in mind, it would make sense for camaraderie within cultures to be genuine, and conducive to productivity and the establishment of strong teams.

In many cases, employees who share the same values and beliefs tend to be more productive and the company’s success and productivity tends to be more successful. However, there are certain circumstances that must occur to improve the effectiveness of organizational culture within companies. There are three contingencies that must be considered: "whether the culture context is aligned with the environment,

whether the culture is moderately strong, not cutlike, and whether the culture incorporates an adaptive culture" (McShane & Von Glinow, 2014, p. 259).
The company that will be examined is Starbucks Coffee Company, or simply Starbucks. Starbucks’ mission is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” (“Starbucks Company Profile”, 2015). Starbucks first opened in 1971 with one store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington. Over the past 44 years, the company has found homes in sixty-seven countries, with over 22,500 stores. Starbucks strives to serve its customers with the best coffee their coffee buyers can find and purchase. The company abides by Coffee and Farmer Practices, or C.A.F.E. Practices, to stay on track with their commitment of ethically sourcing high quality coffee ("Ethical Sourcing: Coffee", 2015).
Last year, the leaders of Starbucks discussed its five-year strategic plan during the biennial 2014 Investor Day. Starbucks anticipates annual revenue growth of nearly $30 billion over the next 5 years. The company’s growth strategies consist of the following: “Be the Employer of Choice, Lead in Coffee, Growth the Store Portfolio, Create New Occasions to Visit Stores, CPG Brand Growth, Build Teavana, and Extend Digital Engagement” (The Starbucks Newsroom, 2014). Starbucks is also growing its brand with Starbucks Reserve. This brand will be represented within the new Starbucks Reserve Roasteries that are geared toward providing customers with an experience that is new to the world of coffee and retail. Within these reserves, customers will be served with a rare type of coffee that will be roasted in-house. According to President and CEO Howard Schultz, Starbucks must “maintain the entrepreneurial DNA of the company” (The Starbucks Newsroom, 2014). The likelihood of maintaining the aforementioned DNA is great due to the company’s organizational culture which is considered to be an apparent quality of the organization (Ferguson, 2015).

References
Ferguson, E.

(2015, September 3). Starbucks Coffee Company’s Organizational Culture. Retrieved from http://panmore.com/starbucks-coffee-company-organizational-culture

McShane, S. L., & Von Glinow, M. A. (2014). Organizational Behavior (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Scholl, R. (2003). Organizational Culture. Retrieved from http://www.uri.edu/research/lrc/scholl/webnotes/Culture.htm

Ethical Sourcing: Coffee. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/sourcing/coffee

Starbucks Company Profile. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information/starbucks-company-profile

The Starbucks Newsroom. (2014, December 4). Starbucks Details Five-Year Plan to Accelerate Profitable Growth at Investor Conference. Retrieved from

https://news.starbucks.com/news/live-blog-starbucks-path-for-growth-outlined-at-2014-biennial-investor-day