Angelica Mate

OGL345: Organizational Ethics

Professor Erwin

October 23, 2019

Module 1: Case Study

Section 1: What is Ethics?

Ethics refers to a “well-founded standards of what is right and wrong that

prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to

society, fairness, or specific virtues” (Velasquez, Andre, Shanks, S.J, & Meyer, 2010). I

really liked this particular definition because it can be applied to different aspects that

are based on well-founded reasons. In the article, it talked about how following the law

isn’t the same as being ethical or believing in something is correct because it is what

society accepts as “acceptablet”. I believe it’s important for individuals to constantly

reassess their ethical standards so that they are reasonable and have clarity on certain

areas on what is right and wrong.

Section 2: What is your chosen profession?

I’m not completely sure of what I want to go into after I graduate with an

Organizational Leadership degree. I was interested in being an HR Manager or an

Event Coordinator. As of right now, I am a Shift Supervisor at Starbucks and I do have

an interest in pursuing a Store Manager position, then eventually a District Manager

position. I chose this position because it is something that I was presented with; my

district manager had asked me if I was interested in becoming a store manager one day.

Section 3: Case Study 1

On April 12, 2018, a Starbucks Manager called the police to remove two black

men that were in the store waiting for a friend (Danziger, 2018). It was recorded and

went viral as the two men were handcuffed for not doing anything wrong. It sparked a

public relation crisis between the company, Kevin Johnson (CEO), and the public

(Danziger, 2018). The manager had the option to welcome the customers and “created a

culture of warmth and belonging”(Danziger, 2018), as stated on Starbucks’ mission

statement. But instead, the store manager called 911 to forcefully remove the two men

from the store. This decision was an ethical dilemma because the manager judged the

two men based on their color and went against the human right to enjoy their time

inside the coffee shop. The result of this decision caused people to protest the company

and a great mental impact on the two men. The CEO, Kevin Johnson traveled to

Philadelphia, where the incident happened, and met up with the two men involved to

address the situation head on (Danziger, 2018). It led to a nationwide store closing in

order to conduct a racial-bias education among employees and was added to train new

employees. I chose this ethical dilemma case study because I participated in the racial-

bias training program and our store dedicated the day to talk about this issue. It caught

my attention because it is something that we know not to do and I believe that people

forget that incidents like this happen. Racial-bias still exist everywhere and it’s

important to know this, so that leaders can continuously train team members to respond
in a way that is morally right. It’s necessary for leadership development because it

teaches leaders to recognize ethical issues that may come up and find solutions when it

does happen.

Section 4: Case Study 2

An incident happened between a customer, Juana Martinez, and a Starbucks

barista, in which Martinez caught the barista stealing her credit card information

(Inside Edition, 2016). A day after visiting Starbucks, she got a notification from her

bank regarding someone using her information to buy $212 worth of groceries (Inside

Edition, 2016). After finding this out, she went back to the store to confront the barista,

in which the barista confessed to stealing her credit card information. The barista had

the option to not steal the customer’s credit card information, but she had thought that

she would not get caught. The customer had suspicions of the young woman stealing

her information, because she had asked to take the card back and looked nervous as she

was giving it back (Inside Edition, 2016). This was an ethical dilemma because the

barista’s decision to steal Martinez’s information went against the customer’s right to

her privacy and the virtue of honesty. It resulted in her termination at the job and the

customer’s bad experience with the company. I chose this ethical dilemma case study

because I believe that stealing is something a store manager will have to deal with, at

least once in their career. This story caught my attention because it is somewhat similar

to what happened at my own store. We had an employee who recently got fired for

being caught stealing money, worth $8,000 over the course of the year. Unlike the

story, it took a year for them to catch the employee and terminate him. It’s important to
understand that this happens in my profession; even though we are taught to expect the

best in people, it’s significant to recognize that this can happen, even with the people

you least expect. It’s necessary for my leadership development to know this so that I can

learn to pay attention to details and have an awareness of what is happening within the

company.

Section 5: Case Study 3

On September 18, 2009, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a

lawsuit against King Soopers, Gabby Sedillos and Rachael Scott for repeated bullying a

mentally challenged employee (EEOC, 2009). The owners of the King Soopers

supermarket chain will have to pay $80,000 to an employee who was repeatedly

taunted because of his learning disability, that led to his termination (EEOC, 2009).

The service manager, Rachael, had the options to address the issue with the clerk,

Gabby, in regards to the bullying, but instead contributed to it. This decision was an

ethical dilemma because it went against the employee’s right to a discrimination free

workplace. This resulted in a loss of positive reputation from the company and money

from the monetary settlement (EEOC, 2009). Also, it led to a training program for

supervisors and managers about “how to properly treat employees with special needs”

(EEOC, 2009). I chose this ethical dilemma case study because it is something that we

don’t often hear about, but something that does happen in workplaces. It caught my

attention because I have a family member who has a learning disability, and it breaks

my heart to hear this story and wonder if it ever happened to my family member. It’s

important for my leadership development to know that this could happen in my

profession because it’ll teach me how to handle situations that involve bullying, and

learn how to emphasize the importance of respect and a discrimination-free workplace

between team members.

Reference:

● Velasquez, M., Andre, C., Shanks, T., S.J, & Meyer, M. (2010, January 1). What is

Ethics? Retrieved Oct 20, 2019, from Markkula Center for Applied Ethics:

https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/what-is-

ethics/

● Danziger, P. (2018, April 25). Starbucks Needs A Reputation Boost: Will

Closing for Racial-Bias Education Do It?. Retrieved October 21, 2019, from

Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2018/04/25/Starbucks-

needs-a-reputation-boost-will-closing-for-racial-bias-education-do-

it/#491c12db397e

● Inside Edition. (2016, January 5). Starbucks Worker For Stealing: ‘Everyone

Needs to Know What She Did’. Retrieved October 21, 2019, from Inside Edition:

https://www.insideedition.com/headlines/13907-mom-who-confronted-

starbucks-worker-for-stealing-everyone-needs-to-know-what-she-did

● U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2011, December 13). King

Soopers to Pay $80,000 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit.

Retrieved October 23, 2019, from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission: https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/12-13-11.cfm