OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Ethical Communities Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:
1. Understand the four ethical communities
2. Apply an ethical community 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.

I work for Starbucks in Colorado as a shift supervisor. I worked for the company for four
years, and I've been a supervisor for the last year. I was a barista at the time of this study, trying
to get promoted. I have been responsible for maintaining Starbucks' standards, supporting other
partners, and preserving its mission and values throughout this period. I've also taken on a lot of
leadership roles in the team, like coaching, because I've been so close to promotion.

We've just hired a new manager because of a promotion from our former boss. This new
management would be a big problem for the store. These problems continued for about three
months from his arrival until his departure. It was clear that the new manager did not have any
interest in this job, and his lack of interest spread throughout the team. There were also some
people who got better treatment. It's going to affect the team so much that we're going to have to
talk to the top management, which seems to take a lot of time. He left the company after all.

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

There were two ethical issues at hand in this situation: the lack of accountability and the trust
that was taken away because of the lack of accountability. One of the ways there was a lack of
accountability was the blatant time theft the manager committed during his time there. He would
put himself in the system as working but never show up for his shifts. Because of this, there was
a major disconnect between the team and management, and the frustration grew because of this.
The new SM created a very politically driven environment. I say this because it was like a
jungle; some would fall because of him, and some would rise to the occasion to find justice. This
environment had a massive influence on the situation because, for a time period, the manager
held all the power, and anyone under him was scared to speak up. The lack of accountability on
management's part trickled down throughout the team.

The next issue that arose was the lack of trust that came with this action. Many retail stores
have allotted hours each week based on sales and needs. In the summer, my store gets very slow,
and hours get cut, which is understandable. The new SM brought two different people from other

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stores and gave them our hours. This was hard because people were struggling with bills, and
people who didn't have that financial strain gave away hours so they could pay their bills. The
lack of trust comes in because we didn't trust the SM's intentions. Was it to give away our hours
to his friends or to lead the team? This influenced the situation because people were no longer
going to the person who was supposed to be leading but relying on those who stepped up to the
plate, like myself. Because others took over, the manager's actions were dismissed, and he was
allowed to continue those actions.

3) Recommend how you would apply one of the ethical community metaphors (see
Exhibit 20.1 in Bolman and Deal) for an alternative course of action regarding your
case.

In this situation, I don't believe that one ethical community metaphor would be the best
action, but utilizing two metaphors. The first metaphor I would use would be the human resource
metaphor. This is because these times were very stressful, and the workplace was very hostile as
well. When I'm stressed, I turn to my family. They are the ones who built me up and helped give
me some direction. The human resource metaphor relies on a family connection, which would
help a ton in this situation. This is because creating more of a family or community throughout
the store would have made it easier to approach the manager with these wrongdoings. Also, this
shows him that he will not rock the boat because we will stick together and will not stand
down. This would also help create a supportive environment for those who are directly affected
by the SM's actions.

“The key gift that leaders can offer in pursuit of justice is sharing power.” (Bolman & Deal, L., 2017)
While the human resource metaphor might be sufficient in this case, I believe that using the political
The metaphor that the SM came up with would be the best way to control this situation. This is because
many things occurred during this time that hurt people and affected them a great deal. The main reason
for the political metaphors would be to justify those who have been wronged. This could also even
Further, it enhances the human metaphor because it can drive home that we support each other and will
Not let him treat our team this way.

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

This situation forever changed me as a leader. It was a very delicate time for my store, and it
could either make or break the team. Something that I would do differently in this situation
would be to create the united form. As I discussed earlier, having that family or community
would have been emotionally beneficial to the situation because it would have helped build that
foundation. Creating a united front would help when we went to the DM because we would have
had more stories or experiences to demonstrate the issues that were going on and not just one
person's account of events. With this, I would also empower more people to go to the DM.
Empowering people helps create a sense of ownership and understanding, and in these times, we
need these skills.

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 With all this said, I believe that the situation was handled to the best of its ability. I believe that
the human resource and political metaphors were both used in this situation, but not in the way I
would have hoped they were. This is because I stood up for my community and the people in the
store while seeking justice for the manager's wrongdoings.

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 Reference

Bolman & Deal, L. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. John
Wiley & Sons.