OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA- Ethical Communities Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Identify an organization and situation you want to study over the remainder of the course.

2. Describe the organization and the 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.

For this scenario I am working as a finance manager for Starbucks in their corporate
office. As a finance manager I am responsible for the financial health of the
organization by keeping track of financial reports, planning investment activities, and
planning long term financial goals for Starbucks. I will overlook all finances as I am
curious to learn what exactly Starbucks invests in and how much they truly bring into
the company. I have overlooked the structure, human resources, and pollical structure
of the company. The organization has taken a great approach to diversity and making
change within the company. They have taken steps to ensure all employees of
Starbucks have benefits and lots of support with the company no matter what position
they work for.
2) Describe how the ethics of the organization influenced the situation.

As mentioned in previous responses, Starbucks slogan is “Brewed for those who love
coffee”. When faced with the COVID-19 crisis, Starbucks leadership focused on the
client experience. They felt their main responsibility was to the end client and
whatever steps necessary must be taken to provide their world class service.
Unfortunately, these decisions resulted in the laying off over a thousand employees.
As the text states, the most important responsibility of leaders is not to answer every
question or get every decision right. They cannot escape their responsibility to track
budgets, respond to political pressure, and attend to culture but they serve a deeper
and more enduring role if they are models and catalysts for values like caring and
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 justice (Bolman & Deal, pg. 397). The Starbucks executives became hyper focused
on living up to Starbucks ethical standards in concern to the clients. They would do
whatever to ensure their service went uninterrupted and that unfortunately meant
making tough decisions relating to their internal teams.
3) Recommend how you would apply one of the ethical communities for
an alternative course of action regarding your case.

While the Starbucks executive leaders became hyper focused on the service they
provided to clientele, they forgot to focus on the soul and spirit of the organization. I
would recommend in the future that the organization extends the same care for the
ethics of their clients and as well as their internal employees. As stated in the text,
“many would scoff at the notion that organizations possess soul, but there is growing
evidence that a bedrock sense of values and identity is a critical element of long-term
success” (Bolman & Deal, pg. 389). In protecting their internal employees during a
global pandemic, Starbucks would have been an example of an organization
committed to their soul and spirit. After learning more about the importance of ethics
within an organization, I would suggest a difference course of action from the leaders.
I would push to keep all Starbucks employees working throughout the pandemic, and
in doing so create a new marketing campaign focused on their devotion to soul and
spirit. As Starbucks is responsible with staffing other companies, I feel it is doubly
important for them to treat their staff with the same ethical care. Companies would
have seen the care Starbucks places in treating their employees and partnered with
them to bring the same ethical care to their businesses.
4) Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you
have learned about ethics.

If I was in place of the Starbucks executive team, I would have managed the situation
differently now that I have studied Ethics within this module. Firstly, I would have
strived to do everything in my power to keep on all Starbucks employees. I would use
this decision to emphasize the care Starbucks has for organizational ethics and how
that some care would be translated to future employees hired for their business. I
would also focus future marketing campaigns around the soul and spirit that
Starbucks has, not only for their internal employees, but for external employees
placed with clients across the Country. I believe with this ethics centered focus;
clients would be more inclined to work with Starbucks. As Starbucks is a staffing
firm, we are tasked with hiring and employing contractors that work within the
client’s office spaces. If Starbucks treats its employees with respect, keeping in mind
the ethical mindset centered around spirit and soul, clients will feel their contractors
will be treated with the same ethical integrity.

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Source
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership
(6th ed.). San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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