Ethics and Sustainability of Starbucks

Running Head: Ethics 1
Ethics and Sustainability of Starbucks

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Contents
Ans. 1: overview of organization.....................................................................................................3
Ans. 2: Ethical business strategies...................................................................................................4
Ans. 3: Offensive or defensive strategy...........................................................................................5
Ans. 4: Effectiveness of TBL..........................................................................................................6
Ans. 5: Impact of foreign social norms and standards.....................................................................7
Ans. 6: Cradle to grave process.......................................................................................................8
Recommendations........................................................................................................................9
Ans. 7: Legal responsibilities..........................................................................................................9
Ethical issues................................................................................................................................9
Ans. 8: Business ethics strategy of organization...........................................................................10
Ans. 9: Improvement of organizations’ strategies.........................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11
List of Figures
Figure 1: Triple Bottom Line...........................................................................................................6

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Ans. 1: overview of organization
Company Starbucks started its operations in 1971 and now it is operating in more than 50
countries along with 16000 stores in all over the world. Main base of the business of Starbucks is
its retail stores. The description of the company in terms of structure, mission, vision, culture and
ethical practices are described below:
Mission-
Mission statement of Starbucks is to motivate and inspire the human spirit i.e. one
person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.
Vision-
According to the company’s website, vision statement of Starbucks is to establish itself as
the market leader in terms of good quality coffee in all over the world along with managing the
principles to grow in the market.
Structure-
The most important characteristics of the organizational structure of Starbucks are that it
includes decentralized decision making process. There are three separate districts of the
organization so that various operations can be done effectively and keep the customers satisfied
in the market. Starbucks has matrix organizational structure including various channels of
communications. This type of structure is very effective to utilize all the communication
channels. The matrix organizational structure of the company is helpful in serving the customers
in better way. The matrix organizational structure focuses on the particular region and managers
to oversee each and every region. Along with this, the current organizational structure of
Starbucks is hybrid also. It includes horizontal structure, functional and geographical structure
(Leinward & Davidson, 2016).
Culture-
The organizational culture of Starbucks is based on the principles and values of the
business. It should be noted that the culture of Starbucks is powerful as it is basically connected

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with the distinctive capabilities of the company. The culture of the company includes value of
the employees and their contributions, establish strong bond with the employees, culture of
inclusion and diversity and exceptional customer service. Company is focused on providing staff
training to the employees so that customers can be served in the better way (Dudovskiy, 2017).
Ethical practices-
Starbucks Company is working directly with the farmers to make sure that there is full
supply of quality coffee in the market. The company ensures that various ethical principles are
followed in the coffee growing communities. The company is focused on implementing various
measures to ensure the welfare of the farmers, employees and customers. Along with this,
company has also established social, economic, environment and quality principles that are
considered as the foundation of ethical sourcing. There are four key ethical coffee sourcing
principles including product quality, environmental leadership, social responsibility and
economic accountability (Kaptein, 2008).
Ans. 2: Ethical business strategies
Starbucks is the leading coffee company in all over the company. The success of the
company depends upon the strong ethical corporate culture. Company has implemented business
ethics and compliance program in order to help the partners to make ethical decisions in the
business. Along with this, the program is also helpful in facilitating legal compliance, providing
ethical training and providing mechanism for the stakeholders. Further, Starbucks is also
maintaining an audit line for the third parties like investors, vendors and customers to deal with
the irregularities. In terms of ethical business strategies, Starbucks has implemented business
ethics and compliance. The Starbucks business ethics and compliance includes Starbucks policy
office is the program which support the mission of the company. This program is helpful in
protecting the culture and reputation of the company by providing resources to the stakeholders
so that they can make ethical decisions in the business operations. Starbucks developed Coffee
and Farmer Equity (CAFÉ) and COCOA practices to ensure the long-term supply of high quality
and ethically sourced coffee (Erwin, 2011).
Starbucks is considered as one of the most ethical company in all over the world. The
company makes efforts to become a responsible company and conducts the business in an ethical