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.

The recent situation Starbucks has encountered “Since 2021, Starbucks workers

throughout the U.S. have been pushing to form unions” (Peek, 2023). This situation

stems from inconsistent schedules, poor management, poor compensation, and enduring

the poor treatment of customers. My role during this situation was a shift supervisor who

led and coached my baristas. I was responsible for ensuring the safety of the baristas and

the customers, along with money management, scheduling breaks and lunches, and

supporting my peers. I was a supervisor during the height of Starbucks employees

fighting to unionize and I found myself to be neutral on this position. Now that I no

longer work for Starbucks and I am now a part of a union, I can understand how

important unions are for workers, especially Starbucks employees. In this case I will

uncover Starbucks’s ethical communities and how it has made an impact on this situation.

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

“Ethics ultimately must be rooted in the soul: an organization’s commitment to deeply

rooted identity, beliefs, and values” (Bolman & Deal, 2021). The ethics of Starbucks

have played a significant role in influencing employees to push for unionization.

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 Starbucks has long marketed itself as a socially responsible company, emphasizing values

such as fairness, respect for partners (employees), and community engagement. Starbucks

lists on their website that “Our employees – who we call partners – are at the heart of the

Starbucks experience” (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2024) However, employees who

have been advocating for unionization often argue that there is a gap between the

company's ethical image and its actual treatment of workers. A lot of employees have not

felt heard by Starbucks Corporate on their struggles with schedules, poor compensation,

treatment, and poor management.

Starbucks ethics were questioned when information spread that Starbucks was

“blanketing employee communications with anti-union messaging, including in one-on-

one meetings, to announcing raises and benefits for nonunion stores only, to firing

workers identified as union leaders” (Hsu, 2022). It is clear that out of the four frames

that embody ethics in leadership, that the political frame of justice and power, has

influenced this situation and caused more issues in partners fighting to unionize (Bolman

& Deal, 2021). Not only has the political frame influenced employees fighting to

unionize, but also the human resource frame. The human resource frame of leadership

embodies an organizational culture that is caring and loving, along with this comes

listening, understanding, and accepting (Bolman & Deal, 2021). Since a lot of Starbucks

employees did not feel heard on their concerns and that Starbucks was not working to

acknowledge these issues, the employees had no choice but to unionize. The four frames

that embody ethics in leadership which are structural, human resource, political, and

symbolic all offer spiritual guidelines for the quest to be ethically successful within an

organization, as well as a leader (Bolman & Deal, 2021). Overall, the ethics of

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 Starbucks, as perceived by both the company and its employees, have influenced the push

for unionization by highlighting discrepancies between the company's stated values and

the actual experiences of workers.

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

Out of the four ethical communities, the human resource frame would be the best

alternative course of action with Starbucks employees fighting for unionization. The

human resource frame focuses on an organization's care and love for its employees and

its values. As mentioned before, the lack of this frame was one of the reasons why

employees wanted to unionize. If Starbucks applies more effort in the human resource

frame this would involve corporate actively listening to employees' grievances and

concerns regarding their working conditions, compensation, benefits, scheduling

practices, and any other issues driving the push for unionization. As a part of the human

resource frame the organization needs to care for one another which involves listening,

which was one of the main contributing factors that influenced this situation. This

alternative course of action would involve upper management conducting surveys from

employees and having one-on-one meetings to gather feedback from employees and gain

a better understanding of their needs and priorities.

Along with this Starbucks needs to show they care and love their partners by

implementing changes that demonstrate a commitment to fair treatment, transparency,

and employee well-being. Furthermore, Starbucks needs to align their values with their

employees, by showing they acknowledge and understand how important they are to the

organization. This means they foster a culture of inclusivity and employee empowerment

by involving employees in decision-making processes that affect their work and

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 livelihoods. In this organizational culture Starbucks encourages open dialogue,

collaboration, and participation in committees or forums where employees can voice their

opinions and contribute to problem-solving efforts. Southwest Airlines has woven the

word love in its organizational culture which has shown an ethical success for the last 50

years, which is an example of how Starbucks can update their values to align with their

employees (Bolman & Deal, 2021). By implementing a focus on the human resource

frame as alternative course of action this would help foster a positive and inclusive

organizational culture that may alleviate the need for unionization among Starbucks

employees

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

Given what I've learned about ethics, that soul and ethics are intertwined I would have

approached the situation of Starbucks employees fighting to unionize with an even stronger

commitment to listening and understanding, transparency, and empowering my peers (Bolman &

Deal). As someone who considers myself a transformational leader, I felt that I did not empower

my peers in their fight for unionization. During this time I was neutral on the situation, but now

that I understand how the organizational ethics of Starbucks were imbalanced, I would have put

more effort in empowering my peers for a stronger support from corporate. I also would have

joined them and advocated on their behalf, since there was no love or care for the employees. I

also have realized how Starbucks has used their politics and power by hiring lawyers to help

union bust, which does not align with their mission in which Starbucks partners are the heart of

the organization, when we were not involved in any decision making process.

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 As for transparency I would have ensured that employees were kept informed about

important decisions, changes, and initiatives that affect them directly. Since I was a supervisor I

had contact with regional and district managers which I could have advocated for more

transparency within the organization and the importance that transparency builds trust with one

another, which was severely lacking within the organization. Lastly, I would have prioritized

actively listening and understanding of employee concerns, ensuring that all voices are heard and

valued. This would involve me making more of an effort to educate myself of the situation by

recognizing and listening to their concerns to understand the need to unionize. Overall, in

retrospect I would have changed my approach on the situation of Starbucks employees fighting

to unionize by focusing on listening to my peers, educating myself on the situation, empowered

employees, and advocating for more transparency within the organization. I would strive to

create an organizational culture where ethical conduct is not only valued but actively practiced

by all members of the organization.

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 Refernces

About Us: Starbucks Coffee Company. (n.d.). About Us: Starbucks Coffee Company.
https://www.starbucks.com/about-us/

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership (7th ed.).San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass (ASU Bookstore Automatic Purchase-Perusall Version Only)

Hsu, A. (2022, October 2). Starbucks workers have unionized at record speed; many fear
retaliation now. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2022/10/02/1124680518/starbucks-union-
busting-howard-schultz-nlrb