OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Human Resource Frame Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the human resource frame
2. Apply the human resource frame to your personal case situation

Erin LaFollette

1/31/21

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.

Starbucks Coffee Company is a global organization, which focuses on the connection that
a cup of coffee can bring. They tailor their stores to the neighborhoods or areas they are
in. It has always been a very forward-thinking company, and had paved the way for good
treatment of employees as well as customers. I have been employed with Starbucks for
six years, and have spent four of those years as a shift supervisor.

In 2015 Starbucks launched a campaign called Race Together. It asked employees (called
partners) to start conversations with customers about racial inequality in the United
States. This campaign very quickly failed, with partners and customers alike feeling
uncomfortable and not understanding why Starbucks had decided to take this on. It did
not help that the campaign was lauinched by a mostly white Upper Leadership team. It is
to this day one of Starbucks’ biggest failures.

2) Describe how the human resources of the organization influenced the situation.

The human resources frame is built around the idea that an organization and people need
each other. Stabucks has a strong history of being reall good to people, and being trail
blazers. They were one of the first in their industry to offer health insurance for part time
employees who work a minimum of 20 hours a week, compared to other jobs where you
must work 40 hours to get those benefits. They also provide educationand mental health
benefits to their employees. This is in addition to the work that the company as a whole,
as well as neighborhood stores, put into community projects. Overall, a conversation like
what Starbucks was aiming for was within the norm for the mission of the company.

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 Race Together was clearly though out by upper management, as they had a clear idea of
how they wanted it to play out. There were stickers provided to put on customers’ cups
that said “Race Together.” There were lists of questions or conversation started provided
to all stores to help baristas try to start these conversations. The resources were certainly
there for the company to try to help baristas accomplish what they hoped they could.
However, it was clear that the leadership failed to get an understanding of how
comfortable baristas would be starting these conversations. Many felt that a minimum
wage job should not ask them to start conversations tht could really backfire on them.
Others feared their safety may be in question if they tried to press this issue with their
customer base. This was a wonderful idea in theory, but there was a failure in trying to
understand the willingness of partners to actually carry this out.

3) Recommend how you would use the human resources for an alternative course of
action regarding your case.

This campaign was all about starting conversation, and that is what it should have been.
However, instead of asking baristas to start this conversation with customers, it would
have been wise for Starbucks to instead try to start this conversation internally first.
“Organizations exist to suit human needs rather than the converse.” Upper management
should have dedicated more time to talking to baristas, shift supervisors and store
managers about race and racial inequaliry. This would have done two things, one is it
would allow Starbucks leadership to understand wny shortcomings within the
organization, and allow it to make suer that people of all races feel comfortable working
in their stores. Two, they would have been able to use these conversations to see if
partners would feel comfortable starting these conversations with the public, and what
resources they needed in order to be successful.

Had Starbucks focused on gaining insight before launching this, the campaign would
have been able to be handled differently. Talking to partners that work in store would
have given guidance to where this campaign would be most successful. It would have
allowed for the way this was approached to be tailored to suit the needs to each
community, rather than a universal plan in each store. The truth of the matter is that no
two Starbucks loacations are the same. They are each unique in the customer base as well
as local culture of the store. Tailoring this to match how unique each store is would have
allowed for better chances of success, thougn ti would not guarantee it.

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

When this campaign launched I was in my first year at Starbucks, and I was only working
part time as a barista. I was workin under a manager who did not entirely buy into the
mission of starbucks, and because of that I did not entirely buy into the idea that the

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 company was rally all about the treatment of employees as well as customers. Because I
was not ablw to be in line with the mission, I felt that I had no choice but to try to start
these tough conversations, or I feared being fired. This was not a good experience for me
or for anyone else in my store.
Now, with my new knowledge of the human resources frame, as well as my experience
having been a full time shift supervieor for four years, I would be way more confident in
being vocal. I would be sure to vocalize the discomfort, and I would have less fear about
pushing back and letting leadership know that if we are expected to try someihtng like
this, we need better support in place. A coffeeshop is a very natural place for big
conversations to happen, but it needed to be way more organic than what Race Together
tried to be. I would be much more inclined to be a part of big conversations, when it is
not as forced.

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 Reference:

Bolman, L. G. (2017). REFRAMING ORGANIZATIONS. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.