OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Political Frame Worksheet

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.

In summer 2023, Starbucks launched the Oleato line of beverages in partnership with a

Sicilian olive oil brand (Starbucks Corporation, 2023). Although marketed and said to be

“the biggest thing to happen in your Starbucks career,” the launch met intense criticism

from both Starbucks employees (partners) and customers. Both parties felt it missed the

mark. Skeptical customers agreed to taste a sample and tired baristas tried their best to

sell a product most customers did not want. Only a few gung-ho coffee connoisseurs

dared to try the drinks and even fewer incorporated them as a part of their regular order.

As both a coffee enthusiast and a shift supervisor for Starbucks, I felt the disconnect

between the Starbucks company and two of their top stakeholders.

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

An essential proposition in the political frame is that coalitions (individuals or interest

groups) have different perspectives on reality (Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 191). The

different coalitions place their own values, beliefs, interests, resources, and information

as first priority in their decision making. Their own goals and experiences guide how they

operate and run a business. The Board of Directors and the CEO are the top contributors

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 to their company and their decisions cause the biggest changes to a company’s direction

and values. As CEO’s change within a company, the company will feel the ripples down

from the highest executives to the lowest employees on the ladder. I think the political

frame operates within the structural frame so the cause-and-effect the structural frame

causes will reflect in the political frame as well.

In reviewing Starbucks’ structural frame, the Oleato launch was the result of top-down

control from the former CEO, Howard Schultz, and the product development team

(Lewis-Kraus, 2023). When we review the political influences on Schultz in the early

concepts of Oleato, we can see how environment and his personal experience created a

subjective view on reality. As a coffee enthusiast, Schultz should be eager to try the next

new thing for the industry, it is his personal choice, but should he take those personal

choices and translate them into a global product for a multi-billion-dollar company?

Well, there are only subjective answers to that question. Although we can only speculate

exactly what happened in the contract between Partanna (the olive oil company) and

Starbucks, their partnership reflects political influences from all directions. Lewis-Kraus

speculates the move to launch Oleato may have even been a political ploy to distract from

Starbucks’ ongoing labor problems.

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

The political framework works best when used to further the goals and objectives of the

company. Companies can use political and personal influence to form partnerships,

contracts, and develop products that stakeholders want. Customers want these flavors of

syrups, stakeholders want this margin, employees ask for these work conditions, etc. As

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 leader in a large-scale company like Starbucks, it doesn’t make sense to spend millions

on developing and marketing a product outside the scope of your company brand.

Starbucks is known for their friendliness and consistency. No matter where you are or

what kind of store you visit, you expect a hello from the baristas and the same cup of

coffee as back home. Creativity is a new branch to the Starbucks brand as customers are

learning more about how to craft and customize their specific style of coffee. Olive oil

borders on the eccentric rather than creative. If I were given the choice to choose a

product to launch that reflects even the most creative side to a latte, olive oil would not be

the route.

Additionally, I would advocate the company commit more to developing their internal

relationships while pursuing external partnerships. The first step would be to set an

agenda with the employees for where the company is headed. Currently, I think

Starbucks employees work in the dark, working only on a day-to-day mindset. As a

result, I think they eventually lose motivation and trust in their employer. As a result,

Starbucks leadership may have to resort to more bargaining methods to meet the rising

unionization and general unrest in the company. The resulting conversations will reveal a

mixed-motive relationship between employees and employer. Both parties will have to

eventually reach a consensus where both parties create and claim value to their position

(Bolman & Deal, 2021, p. 222). Starbucks will be stronger because of this mutual

understanding and can have more freedom to branch out into the exotic coffee alchemy

around the world.

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

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 I think the big takeaway from the political framework is that it has the potential for both

good and bad. The company will inevitably face political influences no matter the stage

of its development. As a result of this influence, the company must choose how they

relate their own interests, and the various interests of the coalitions scattered throughout,

together with the needs of the stakeholders. If managed well, and with proper

governance, the various interests in the company will produce a diversity of opinions and

backgrounds covering the company’s basis in a variety of sectors and arenas. Great

leaders within a company connect with each of these interest groups to find areas of

growth and opportunities to pursue the goals and objectives of the organization.

On the other side of the political framework, conflict will also inevitably arise as the

various coalitions feel like the company does not meet their own group’s interests. This is

one of the more influential aspects of the framework because the consequences of these

conflicts force the strongest to take control as much as possible. They funnel money,

resources, and information to the organization with the caveat that the company moves

and acts in their interest rather than the interest of the organization. It’s resulted in these

major catastrophes we read this week in the textbook. I think this centralization of power

opens doors to major organizational unrest and a political game where the strongest win

and the weak leave with nothing. The powerful rejoice in their victory until someone

stronger, smarter, and with more money comes along to takeover. Thus, it’s important to

remain vigilant and monitor how political influences and coalitions are affecting your

organization.

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 References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2021). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership.

Jossey-Bass.

Lewis-Kraus, G. (2023, March 2). Did Starbucks really put olive oil in coffee? The New

Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/did-starbucks-really-put-

olive-oil-in-coffee

Starbucks Corporation (2023). Starbucks Oleato. Starbucks Stories & News.

https://stories.starbucks.com/starbucks-oleato-olive-oil-meets-coffee/