OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Political Frame Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Describe the political frame
2. Apply the political frame 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.

The organization I chose to focus on is Starbucks Coffee Company, a world renowned and
highly praised coffee chain worth $101.67 Billion according to Macrotrends. Starbucks
began in 1971 in Seattle, Washington, founded by Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev
Siegl. (Britannica) My role in the organization of Starbucks is an external role as a former
employee (partner) as I analyze the situation from both internal and external perspective. As
a former employee I resonate with some of the struggles of existing employees and their
demands for more pay, secure labor hours, and increased benefits. From an external
perspective, it is hard to believe that a $100 billion company is failing to meet the
expectations of their employees and the livable wage they seek. It is apparent that Howard
Schultz has had some instabilities in his time as CEO and the employees and company as a
whole have been affected by this. Although the company has profited and grown immensely,
the morale of the company has seen better days since this all began in 2000. 

Starbucks employee’s are unionizing to secure higher pay, consistent hours, and improved
benefits. The official union workers site for Starbucks, (sbworkersunited.org) has said that
since their first store attempted to unionize in August 2021, “over 300 stores have followed
their lead and filed for their own union elections, and over 200 of those stores have won their
unions.” (sbworkersunited.org) Compared to their total corporate run stores in the United
States of 8,947 according to Statista.com, the 300 stores only account for about 3.3%,
however, the unionization has gained significant traction since its formation in August 2021.
The most important element of this situation is the welfare of the employees involved in the
unionizing efforts and to ensure that if their demands cannot be met entirely, they will be
given options to meet some of their expectations. The workers that are participating in the
unionization are hoping to have a voice in the rights and terms of their employment with the
company, and create a better future for themselves, as well as the company.

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

The politics of an organization are not only important for how an organization is
perceived, but also for how employees demands are met and incorporated into the
business structure. As described by the text, “politics is the realistic process of making
decisions and allocating resources in a context of scarcity and divergent interests.”
(Bolman, Deal) The political frame empowers us to make decisions in organizations, with
the understanding that the decision at hand should be beneficial to everyone involved. It
can be argued that not all decisions provide benefit to everyone, but keeping everyone’s
best interests in mind when decisions are made ensures that nobody is forgotten about.

In the situation with Starbucks employees unionizing for more stable hours, higher pay,
and better benefits, organizational politics played a large factor in how the unionization
came about. Profits and people are the main points highlighted in the topic of politics in
organizations. While Starbucks was prioritizing the profits they received over the welfare
of their employees, their employee satisfaction was dropping, especially during the
COVID-19 pandemic. The demand for higher profits, more stores, and the social
responsibility that Starbucks endured contributed to the workers feeling as if they didn’t
have a voice leading to the unionization efforts.

3) Recommend how you would use organizational politics for an alternative course of
action regarding your case.

Organizational politics are tricky to navigate for they need to satisfy both the needs of
their employees, stakeholders, and the organizational structure as a whole. While the
demand for Starbucks products is increasing and customer satisfaction is prioritized, they
aren’t considering the impact it has on their employees. In order for Starbucks to meet
everyone’s expectations, employees included, they must revisit their political frame
publicly. The main concern when it comes to organizational politics is how they will be
perceived by the company, stakeholders, and customers alike. In this case, they couldn’t
look worse than they already do, and if they publicly address their political frame as
faulted, they can begin to make changes.

The first thing I would do in this situation is bring in an external third party, who remains
neutral throughout the negotiation process of unionizing. Ultimately, if Starbucks wants
the best for their workers, they will meet the demands of the union and put an end to the
union busting they have already engaged in. Attempting to incorporate a bottom-up
approach rather than the top-down approach the company has built itself on can ensure
that the voices of the bottom are heard and reflected on. For the company that prides
itself on calling their employees partners, they ought to try out an approach where the
partners are building the future of the company. The CEO who has been in and out of his

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 position multiple times throughtout the companies history should know that he isn’t the
expert on what others need if he isn’t hearing out their feedback and experiences working
there.

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

What I would do differently given what I learned about this frame is firstly, re-evaluating
the political agenda of the company and where there are discrepancies in the framework
of the organization. Giving more power to their workers and attempting a bottom-up
approach could ensure the satisfaction of their workers, along with an increase in trust
from their customers. Although their stakeholders and executives may have to take a step
back and a loss in wages, it can ensure that the longevity of the company is solid and the
public will become more entrusting in their ability to lead the company to success.

What I would not do differently, or keep the same, is the planning and strategizing of the
goals for Starbucks. Leadership of Starbucks has been successful in growing the
company because of the strategic planning and achieving the goals set by leadership. The
goals have been successful because leadership understands how to make sure goals are
specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based and has proved successful.
However, what I would change in this is incorporating the bottom-up approach in their
goal setting. If they consider the unionizing efforts in how they set their goals for the
company, they can understand more of the relevancy of their goals for their employees.

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 Reference or References
(Choose appropriate Title if Applicable and Delete the Rest)