OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Ethical Communities Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:

1. Describe the four ethical communities

2. Apply the ethical communities to your personal case situation

Complete the following making sure to support your ideas and cite from the textbook and other
course materials per APA guidelines. After the peer review, you have a chance to update this and
format for your Electronic Portfolio due in Module 6.

1) Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.

My situation that I am using for my PCA is the situations that led up to my manager
being fired. For months, as a shift supervisor in addition to other shift supervisors, were
running the store while our manager remained childish and only able to complete small
tasks at a time. The schedule would never be correct and he wouldn’t listen to workers’
requests and availability that he approved at the beginning of our time working there.
Over the course of a couple months, he was impossible to work with while also not
successfully running the store. He would show up late to every shift by more than thirty
minutes causing the shift supervisor responsible to be constantly put at a disadvantage for
the smoothness of the shift.

2) Describe how the ethics of the organization influenced the situation.

It is required to follow Starbucks policies and procedures to ensure that the shift runs
smoothly and the morale of the workers is kept at an all time high. When working for a
company as large as Starbucks, it is important to follow the specific standards with drink
preparation, accounting, food preparation, and uniform policies. Each person hired on
with Starbucks is now considered a partner and is expected to hold other to a higher
standard in addition to one’s self. We are expected to “coach in the moment” to help
alleviate any consistency issues that may arise throughout the shift.

Morally, it was difficult to keep specific instances to myself and not report them because
I wanted not to be a snitch but at the same time, it is important that the standards of
Starbucks be followed and adhered to. The previous manager would directly disobey
Starbucks policy causing much disturbance and inconsistency throughout multiple stores
in the area. He would keep petty cash for himself, offer free coffee as a tip to taxi drivers,
as well as completely disregard who the manager on duty was during the shifts he would

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 work. After many of these instances became to consistent, I had a moral obligation to
report.

3) Recommend how you would apply one of the ethical communities for an alternative
course of action regarding your case.

In regards to the ethical community that I would choose for the best alternative route for a
course of action is the Temple metaphor. Starbucks prides themselves on being a third
place for people to enjoy. After home and work, Starbucks tried to take the third spot and
provide a safe and controlled environment to foster peace and wellness. By sharing the
values of coffee and the morals of each other, Starbucks considers themselves the
common ground.

Although we are diverse in our political views, we can agree that we are partners of
Starbucks and are there to provide a good environment for all that walk through the
doors. Starbucks is considered to be the temple and as the partners we are the guides
through the beliefs. We try to make sure that everyone feels welcomed and wanted. With
the previous manager, he was almost too good at creating that third place. He pushed to
be a follower and not a guide.

4) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned
about ethics.

Ethically, I also did not follow procedures and report any of the instances that happened
throughout my time with him as a manager. As a shift supervisor, it was nice to have a
lenient manager but once it continued and added pressure to not only the shifts but also
the baristas, I knew it was time to change something. He would specifically not follow
availabilities for partners causing constant call outs and understaffing within the store.
After blatantly disregarding multiple baristas and shift supervisors and blowing the
situation over, some started to feel as if they were the issue not the manager.

What I would do differently is to report every instance as it happened where it hindered

my relationship with the manager. Having a lenient boss can be fun at times but during a
pandemic, it was not the best practices for us to continue. I would specifically ensure that
I followed the chain of command and focus on the specific needs that the store and
baristas need. By reporting the manager, it also took a massive weight off of my
shoulders knowing that I now felt that I was ethically correct.

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Reference or References