Starbucks Organisational Culture

                                                                                 Starbucks coffee

The paradigm is basically the set of assumptions about the organisation which is held in common and taken for granted in the organisation. It is the core of the cultural web (appendix 1) used to understand what constitutes appropriate or inappropriate behaviour within your organisation. Gerry Johnson and kevan Scholes)

Stories

• Stories reflect core belief of delivering their best in all they do, in creating a place of belonging and warmth where everybody is welcome, belief in respecting and contributing positively to their community and environment, the belief that their business rely on the passion for coffee and the belief in providing a great work environment and treat each other with dignity and respect.
• Stories commonly told to new comers are related to the beginning of their legacy (first store in Seattle and progressive success), their logo and their guiding principles (values and core mission).
•  Starbucks mainly is known for offering some of the finest fresh coffee and for creating a “third place” for conversation, inspiration and friendship with a sense of community. They are also known for their commitment to coffee knowledge, product expertise and customer service and for treating their employees they call “partners” with respect and dignity. Starbucks is also known for its ethical sourcing, community involvement, and environment stewardship
• These stories reflect well Starbucks core assumption and beliefs
• There is a hero in their story: Howard Schultz and his trip to Italy(which reflect success of his discovery and his passion for coffee)

Symbols

• Starbucks main symbol : a is twin tailed mermaid
•  This symbol, in the history of Starbucks, relate to the strong seaport roots of Seattle, the love for the high seas and the early coffee trader seafaring traditions.
• Starbucks commitment to waste reduction and to the environment, reflected by their use of a green colour for their symbol is highlighted in publicity.
• Other symbols include employees titles: partners(to remind that rather than a job but it is a passion shared)
• Use of jargon to name beverage which refer to the Italian origin of Starbucks products.

Rituals / Routines

• Routines that are emphasised at Starbucks relate to the to the brewing coffee routine(which occur every 15 min).This is embedded in the history as it allow Starbucks to maintain their high standards of excellence regarding the delivery of fresh roasted coffee. This routine encourage a more responsible, autonomous behaviour of the employees towards product quality maintenance and therefore customer satisfaction.
• Key rituals at Starbucks mainly regards coffee tasting undertaken by new recruits and regularly undertaken by Starbucks executives. The assumption that it reflect is the passion for coffee as a core aspect to their business(Schultz assumed that to make good coffee passion is crucial)
• . Training programs at Starbucks emphasis mainly on customer service (baristas interaction with guest which need to be welcoming and friendly) on brewing coffee and handcrafting beverages.
• These rituals and routines are hard to change since the rituals reflect one of the core belief of their organisation (a required passion for coffee) and since their routines and training programs are also reflection of their core belief in delivering their best in all they do (which relate to customer service, product expertise and coffee knowledge) and in creating a warm , friendly and welcoming place.

Control systems

• The maintenance of high quality standards regarding the roasting and fresh delivery of their coffee is closely monitored at Starbucks.
• Employees performance is closely monitored at Starbucks and rely on clan control mechanism(emphasis placed on employees motivation and empowerment to increase performance).Thus emphasis is placed on reward rather than punishment(recognition rewards , team awards and bonuses)
• At Starbucks there are only few controls on employee’s performance.

Organisational structures

• The informal structure at Starbucks relate to an interactive structure that promote good relationship and communication as well as team work within their organisation. The formal structure relate to the communication of priorities such as essential control of quality standards.
• Structure at Starbucks are relatively flat as it promote upward, lateral, and downward communication.
• Therefore structure strongly encourage collaboration (essentially via team work) rather than competition.
• This organisational structure which is rather flat and informal therefore support a rather decentralised power structure.

Power structures

• Power is relatively equally distributed at Starbucks. To promote an equal treatment towards all members, employees are all referred as partner and managers and employees co-work in the frontline with the basic level of staff(which also help narrowing the gap of bureaucracy).In addition the listening of employees is essential(interviews carried to assess their needs, they have the right to make suggestions regarding policies and participate to decision making).This is based strongly held belief of Howard Schultz  that their employees are the key of a good Starbucks experience for customer and are the ambassador of their brand.
• Therefore every member of the organisation make things happen.

Starbucks paradigm

• Serving the finest, fresh and roasted coffee is important
• Employees consideration is crucial
• Customer service and satisfaction is essential
• Creating a third place of warmth, friendship and welcoming with a sense of community is important
• The passion for coffee is also essential
• Ethical sourcing , community involvement and respect of the environment is important

Cultural web elements interrelation

Stories interrelate quite well with the symbols and rituals since these all reflect their main belief and assumptions such as for instance a required passion shown for coffee, reflected in “partner” status, Schultz trip story, coffee tasting rituals.

Control systems relate quite well to organisational and power structure since their organisational structure has been significantly in formalised which support a rather decentralised power structure and is reflected by a control system that focus on clan control mechanism to drive employees performance.