OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Ethical Communities 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.

The organization is Starbucks and my role in this organization is a Store Manager.

Specifically, I’m a new store manager being introduced to a store (Wilmington Pike) so

I’m able to assist the current Store Manager. Since this store is struggling in many areas,

deemed by the District Manager, I was instructed to move to this store and help alongside

the team.

This situation takes place over the span of three months (February 2023-April

2023). Once I arrived at Wilmington Pike in February, I was able to meet the current

Store Manager in the role. We discussed what the opportunities were in his store. He

identified to me that there was “not much” that needed fixing. Later after our

conversation, he mentions that he needs to go on a leave of absence, meaning I’m left

behind to manage Wilmington Pike by myself. It’s my first official week in my new store

and the previous store manager is now gone. As I got to work a few shifts there and

introduce myself to the partners, I started to unveil what’s been happening to the partners

at Wilmington Pike. One of the opportunities of this store was to get rid of the bug

problem. Ants were crawling all over the café. The previous manager had been notified

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 2 of this problem and nothing had been done. Secondly, there was a lot of broken

equipment in the store. Partners were forced to use broken pitchers, utensils, etc. Lastly, I

needed to hire more partners. The store was extremely understaffed. Partners were being

scheduled out of their availabilities due to poor staffing practices.

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

The ethics of the organization influenced the situation because Starbucks' culture

revolves around growth, innovation, and rising share price, rather than ethical practices.

This is unfortunately why a lot of store managers at Starbucks are more times than not

faced with moral dilemmas. I’m sure there were times when the previous store manager

wanted to call a maintenance ticket in but soon after would have to worry about the

profits and losses of his store. We were always reminded of how much money we were

spending on maintenance, even if all of it was absolutely necessary. I’m sure the store

manager knew his store was understaffed, but hearing your boss tell you that you're not

makes you think you’re the one in the wrong. “A company that loses track of any

redeeming moral purpose doesn’t provide credible ethical guardrails for its employees”

(Bolman & Deal, 2021). Unfortunately, Starbucks has lost the last bit of credibility it had

in my eyes and many other store managers' eyes.

Many managers are faced with these issues. You start off thinking it's great, and

you do what's right for yourself and your partners. Then suddenly you're made to feel like

doing what's “right” for your employees is wrong in the eyes of Starbucks. I think

Starbucks started the company on the right foot because when you hear about the stories

of the organization's past it sounded like it had a strong soul. Over the years, they have

lost that soul by trying to be the ones on top.

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

I would apply the ethical community of the temple to my case. I chose this

community because I feel like that is what Starbucks lacks. “A temple is a gathering

place for a community of people with shared traditions, values, and beliefs” (Bolman &

Deal, 2021). I became a manager at Starbucks because I always enjoyed working there

and I wanted to be a great manager who created a safe and positive working environment

for all partners. Many of those who started working at Starbucks have stayed because

they love coffee culture, and that is what Starbucks was founded on. I’d use this

community to get back to our roots.

To me, this looks like bringing back the human spirit and questioning why we do

what we do. Putting these words into action means that store managers would be allowed

to properly take care of their communities without having to feel like they can’t. This

would also mean getting back to a customer/partner focus rather than a shareholder focus.

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

Shortly after this whole situation happened at Wilmington Pike I stepped down

from my position. This is something I don’t regret and I wouldn’t do differently. The

reason for stepping down was because of the unethical practices Starbucks expects

managers to be a part of. Seeing the condition of the store I took over, and seeing how

burnt out the previous manager was, I just knew that the role was not a good fit for me. I

expressed to my boss (the district manager) that there were times when I felt as if I

couldn’t do what was right for my team. I also expressed that there were times when

managing that I didn’t feel good about the work I was doing. I don’t agree with a lot of

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 the expectations that the company sets on baristas, shift supervisors, etc, so having to be a

manager that enforces that was hard. I’m ultimately not the type of person who loses my

ethical conviction for a position or job.

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Reference

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

(7th ed).

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