The Organizational Culture at Starbucks
Starbucks is a coffee company based in the United States which operates a huge coffeehouse chain all over the world. The organization was established in the year 1971 in Seattle, Washington. The company has its current operations in more than 28,000 locations all over the world. Starbucks is also considered to be a major representative of the concept of “second wave coffee” which has been able to distinguish itself easily with the help quality, taste and the experience that is provided to the customers. The various locations of Starbucks are well-known all over the world for serving hot and cold beverages to the loyal customers of the organization (Starbucks Coffee Company., 2018).
The report will be mainly based on the detailed analysis of culture that is followed in the organization and the ways by which it affects the operations all over the world. The role that is played by the management in the successful establishment of Starbucks in the world is also a part of the entire analysis.
The organizational culture that has been established in Starbucks is considered to be one of the most significant features of the company in the modern competitive environment. The organizational culture is thereby able to influence the performance of the business and the employees as well. The culture of the company is thereby able to permeate all the important aspects of the business. The areas where the culture can be observed easily are the cafes of the organization all over the world (Alvesson & Sveningsson, 2015). The friendly and warm ambience that is provided to the customers is an important part of the ways by which Starbucks is able to distinguish itself from the other organizations in the industry. The key elements of the culture that has been established in Starbucks which have provided the company with the distinct image are as follows,
- Servant leadership– The servant leadership approach is an important part of the culture that has been established in Starbucks. The leaders of the organization mainly provide importance to the support that is provided to the employees so that growth can be ensured. This approach further relates to the employees-first strategy that has been followed in Starbucks. The company provides importance to the care that is taken of the employees (Anra & Yamin, 2017).
- Relationship-driven approach– The culture in Starbucks is mainly based on the friendly and warm relationships that are established among the management and the employees. The bonds that are effectively formed among the employees in the stores of the organization play an important part in the culture.
- Communication and collaboration– The culture that is followed in Starbucks is also related to the successful collaboration and effective levels of communication as well. The efficiency in different business processes are thereby related to the customer experience, quality of the services and cost effectiveness of the business (Bortolotti, Boscari & Danese, 2015).
- Openness– Another important feature of the organizational culture of Starbucks is based on the openness of its operations in the industry. The employees are thereby able to express their opinions easily to the managers and the supervisors. This helps in empowering the employees and further facilitates innovation as well.
- Diversity and inclusion– The anti-discrimination policy that is used by Starbucks plays an important in shaping its organizational culture. The policy thereby helps in including more employees from different backgrounds and areas as well (Hartnell et al., 2016).
The decentralised structure of Starbucks plays an important in the formation of the decision making process of the organization. The management of the organization thereby tries to collaborate with the employees for the purpose of ensuring the success of the organization in the industry. The matrix organizational structure is employed in Starbucks which has helped in the creation of an effective channel of communication. The customers are also served in a better way with the help of the organizational structure. The structure of the organization is mainly focussed on specific regions where the managers are supposed to take care of the operations. The employees are recruited based on the ways by which their values match those of the organization (Huhtala et al., 2015).
The innovative offerings that have been designed by Starbucks have been able to contribute to the success of the organization. The innovations are based on the products that they offer to the customers and the services as well. The stores serve as a place where the customers are able to meet and experience the ambience. The online space that is provided by Starbucks with the help of its app has also proved to be an effective decision made by the management. The coffee innovations that have been made by the organization have also provided Starbucks with an edge over the competition in the industry (Körner et al., 2015).
The Role of Innovation in Starbucks’ Success
The management competency of a manager appointed at Starbucks with respect to the culture of the organization is the ways by which he or she is able to handle the diversity levels. The major objective of the culture of Starbucks is thereby to respect the values and the diversity levels within the organization and the employees. The managers are thereby expected to treat all the employees who work under them in a similar manner. The managers also need to be aware of the diversity based efforts of the employees (O’Reilly III et al., 2014).
The leadership style that has been implemented by Howard Schultz is mainly transformational and charismatic in nature. Schultz has aimed at making Starbucks a global brand from the time of his appointment in the year 1987. The organization had thereby shown huge levels of growth under the successful leadership of Howard Schultz. The traits of transformational leadership are based on the ways by which the followers are able to take their independent decisions instead relying on the managers or the supervisors. The followers are thereby able to complete the tasks or the projects even if the leaders are not present to supervise them (O’Neill, Beauvais & Scholl, 2016). The followers of the transformational leaders are totally self-sufficient in nature. They are able to perform even on the absence of the leaders. However, in case of the leadership style that has been followed by Howard Schultz, the employees of Starbucks have not been able to become self-sufficient as the company had experienced a downfall soon after he left in the year 2000, which further led to his re-appointment. The most significant duty that is to be undertaken by Schultz is thereby to make the employees self-sufficient so that they are able to sustain even in his absence (Valmohammadi & Roshanzamir, 2015).
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that Starbucks has been able to create a sustainable position in the market with the help of its innovative strategies. The leader of the organization, Howard Schultz has also played an important part in the huge success of Starbucks in the industry. However, it has been found that Schultz was not able to show the leadership traits successfully as the organization was not able to sustain without him. The long-term sustainability of Starbucks without the leadership of Howard Schultz is therefore quite difficult in nature. The leader thereby needs to make the employees self-sufficient in nature for the future growth of Starbucks.
References
Alvesson, M., & Sveningsson, S. (2015). Changing organizational culture: Cultural change work in progress. Routledge.
Anra, Y., & Yamin, M. (2017). Relationships between lecturer performance, organizational culture, leadership, and achievement motivation. ???????, 11(2 (eng)).
Bortolotti, T., Boscari, S., & Danese, P. (2015). Successful lean implementation: Organizational culture and soft lean practices. International Journal of Production Economics, 160, 182-201.
Hartnell, C. A., Kinicki, A. J., Lambert, L. S., Fugate, M., & Doyle Corner, P. (2016). Do similarities or differences between CEO leadership and organizational culture have a more positive effect on firm performance? A test of competing predictions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 101(6), 846.
Huhtala, M., Tolvanen, A., Mauno, S., & Feldt, T. (2015). The associations between ethical organizational culture, burnout, and engagement: A multilevel study. Journal of Business and Psychology, 30(2), 399-414.
Körner, M., Wirtz, M. A., Bengel, J., & Göritz, A. S. (2015). Relationship of organizational culture, teamwork and job satisfaction in interprofessional teams. BMC health services research, 15(1), 243.
O’Reilly III, C. A., Caldwell, D. F., Chatman, J. A., & Doerr, B. (2014). The promise and problems of organizational culture: CEO personality, culture, and firm performance. Group & Organization Management, 39(6), 595-625.
O’Neill, J. W., Beauvais, L. L., & Scholl, R. W. (2016). The use of organizational culture and structure to guide strategic behavior: An information processing perspective. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 2(2), 816.
Starbucks Coffee Company. (2018). Company Information. [online] Available at: https://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information [Accessed 17 Jul. 2018].
Valmohammadi, C., & Roshanzamir, S. (2015). The guidelines of improvement: Relations among organizational culture, TQM and performance. International Journal of Production Economics, 164, 167-178.
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