Leadership Management: Theories, Motivation, and Starbucks Report

This report delves into the core concepts of leadership, examining various theories and their practical applications within business contexts. It explores the importance of understanding leadership frameworks, motivation, and the development of effective leadership strategies. The report analyzes the significance of vision and mission statements, stakeholder contributions, and the critical evaluation of motivational theories for aspiring leaders. Furthermore, it presents a case study on Starbucks Corporation, focusing on the leadership style of CEO Kevin Johnson, particularly his emphasis on servant leadership, and how this approach navigates the challenges of a VUCA environment. The analysis covers Starbucks' approach to employee development through integrated learning programs and discusses the ethical challenges faced by the company, providing insights into the practical application of leadership principles in a real-world business setting.

Running head: LEADING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
LEADING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note

Running head: LEADING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
PART 1
Question 1
To understand leadership, its definition and frameworks are important for the leaders
because they motivate the leaders to achieve their vision, manage the delivery of their leadership,
and build strongest and most successful teams with best leadership approaches. Leadership
theories and concepts provide a clear, unprejudiced and detailed understanding of what
leadership actually is and what a leader should be. These theories and concepts provide a clear
picture of supervision to the leader and help him/ her get a clear idea of how he/ she can proceed
with his/ her team.
Reflection
a.
1. Is he/she there in the leadership periphery to serve or to be served? The respective
question would ensure the leader asks him/herself what motivates him/her to be a leader.
2. What can a leader do to motivate his/her team? Such question would ask the leader how
capable he/she can be in the leadership arena.
b. Transparency and Trust. When a leader leads a team, he/she should be transparent about
what he/she is preaching and whether he/she is completely honest towards the
subordinates or not. A leader should be trustworthy so that the subordinates can have
faith on what he preaches or assigns to them to achieve the team goals.
c. Leadership is an approach that explains how and why individuals become leaders and
what underlies in the philosophy and pragmatism of leadership.

Running head: LEADING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
d. For such business environment, Laissez Faire leadership style and Coach- style
leadership style would be beneficial.
e. People who aspire to become leaders should know about leadership approaches as it
would provide them with a clear idea about different types of leadership approaches that
exist in the managerial milieu. It would help them open their mind and inculcate different
ideas and thoughts about leadership, making them commendable leaders in future.
Question 2
The calculation, contribution and evaluation of the Vision- Mission of company is
important for would be leaders (aspiring or current) who might be working in the organization. It
is because mission and vision statement would provide them a path, a road and a clear idea about
what is expected from the workforce. With such clear ideas, a leader would be able to efficiently
and effectively lead his/ her team to the business goals and objectives.
Reflection
a. The vision statement of an organization talks about how the firm wants to shape itself in
the near future. The statement that holds mission of an organization states what the
organization is supposed to do now in the present to achieve the vision in the future.
b. Every individual (no matter how trivial or significant he is) working in an organization
has some contribution towards getting the desired vision and mission of the company.
The employees, staff and superintendents work together in various designations that add
to the strategic business goals and long term, short term business goals of the firm either
directly or indirectly.

Running head: LEADING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
c. The leaders, while carrying out activities for achieving mission and vision make efficient
and effective teams so that they can work for attainment of business goals and greater
objectives of the firm.
d. Stakeholders can be employees, customers, shareholders and the society as well. The
better the stakeholder realizes the vision- mission undertakings of the company, the better
the company would take up strategies and implement them. Therefore, stakeholders can
actively contribute to the mission and vision of the firm.
e. In the mission and vision statement evaluation, employers should include the contribution
of stakeholders of a firm because leaders should understand the capacity and capabilities
of the subordinates (employees) while assigning them tasks, commanding, directing and
controlling them.
Question 3
Various leadership strategies can be implemented in organizations to accelerate its growth
and development at various business contexts. A leader should be aware of all such dispositions
and abilities because since he/she would be the leader, he/ she should know what is the right kind
of leadership and in which business environment. A good leader would be able to drive
organizational performance for better results through his proper leadership and guidance.
a. When leadership activities are mated and aligned with the business goals and aspirations
to bring out certain practices that would make sure that the business goals of the
organization and/ or workplace is met with is called a leadership strategy.
b. The ability by which the leaders influence and manipulate the public through advocation
and a particular social vision to bring change in the establishments is called change

Running head: LEADING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
leadership. A successful leadership is the key to successful change in an organizational or
teamwork concept.
c. The definition of organizational potential is power or capabilities of an organization for
high productivity and an empowered and efficient workforce.
d. Business that is influenced through various perspectives, including what is the genre,
structure and dynamics of the business, how decisions of such businesses can be taken
and what can be the ultimate achievement of the business.
e. Leadership strategies need to be understood by the leaders to be because since he/she
would be the leader, he/ she should know what is the right kind of leadership and in
which business environment. A good leader would be able to drive organizational
performance for better results through his proper leadership and guidance.
Question 4
Critical evaluation of theories of motivation is important for the new and upcoming leaders
because a leader should understand the dynamics and statics of motivation. A leader who is a
good leader is also a motivator. The greatest leadership quality an aspiring leader can have is the
motivational and influential quality. So, critical analysis of the theories of motivation at a given
business arena is essential for leaders of the future
a. Motivational theory is a study of discovery about what factors drive people to work
towards a particular outcome.
b. Motivation theories help the businesses realize and introspect on what people want and
get motivated to increase/ enhance the productivity of the organizations.
c. Motivational theories are of two types: intrinsic and extrinsic in nature.

Running head: LEADING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
d. Employee engagement is another name of employee motivation.
Appreciative inquiry technique tries to find out what works good in an organization,
identifying why such factors have contributed to enhancing performance and doing more of
it. It tries to understand on whichever direction the organization might go and motivation
theories employees might take it to, and organizational dynamics are highly dependent upon
employees.
f. A leader should understand the dynamics and statics of motivation by studying
motivational theories analytically and critically. A leader who is a good leader is also a
motivator. The greatest leadership quality an aspiring leader can have is the motivational
and influential quality.
Question 5
Potential Leadership Style Questionnaire
a. My potential leadership style is “democratic” leadership as I believe in individual rights
and freedom.
b. My key strengths as a potential leader are: I have excellent interpersonal communication
skills and I am also a good motivator.
c. My key challenges as a potential leader are: I sometimes lack positive attitude and often
become pessimistic and I am sometimes skeptical regarding decision making.
d. For my personal development, I would require mindfulness activities and keep myself
well informed and prepared all the time with confidence so that I can take decisions
swiftly and promptly.

Running head: LEADING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
PART 2: LEADERSHIP MANAGEMENT REPORT: STARBUCKS
Introduction
Starbucks Corporation is a beverage company which is famous for its authentic flavored
coffee and different refreshing beverages and snacks all over the world. The company has
appointed Kevin Johnson who is the CEO of the company. With his leadership pattern, Starbucks
has reached a separate edge in the market (Starbucks.com.2020). The respective report is a
leadership management report of Starbucks leadership practices with special emphasis on
leadership introduced and practiced by Kevin Johnson.
Servant Leadership Style
A servant leader has the quintessential characteristics of sharing power, putting the needs
of the employees first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible. In a servant
leadership styled business organization, the leader puts the customer service associates as a main
priority. Servant Leadership style is highly unconventional and also empathetic that looks after
the employees and provides them with the amenities and importance they deserve (Parris and
Peachey 2013). Servant leadership can prove excellent in case of VUCA environment, which
means “volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous” environment which is a quintessential
characteristic of the twenty first century. However, servant leadership can be risky, often chaotic
and incompatible in VUCA environment. As the VUCA environment in a workplace creates a
chaotic atmosphere, leadership styles also need to be flexible in its code of conduct. Sometimes,
the leader might behave as a “servant leader” with empathetic bent and sometimes, he can
behave as an “autocratic leader” giving necessary commands to manage the chaotic situation.
Since servant leadership makes employees less motivated and the VUCA environment might add

Running head: LEADING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
to the injuries in some cases, therefore, servant leadership might face a big challenge in its course
of action (Rachmawati and Lantu 2014).
Kevin Johnson’s Leadership Style
The status quo of management leadership has been challenged by Johnson because he
believes that status quo issues in management system would not ensure complete freedom of the
employees and staff, thereby, the organization would also suffer. Kevin Johnson prioritizes his
employees first whenever he is in a leadership relationship in an organization (here, Starbucks).
Kevin Johnson’s leadership style has a quintessentially modern, unconventional and unique
approach. Kevin Johnson’s leadership style is “servant leadership style” where he proudly
stresses on the fact that a servant leader should prioritize those who follow him. A servant leader
has the quintessential characteristics of sharing power, putting the needs of the employees first
and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible (McNealy 2019). In a servant
leadership styled business organization, the leader puts the customer service associates as a main
priority. Servant Leadership style is highly unconventional and also empathetic that looks after
the employees and provides them with the amenities and importance they deserve. One of the
main reasons for the financial success of Starbucks in recent times is the leadership style
practices in the organization by Kevin Johnson. Generally, in the contemporary business world,
VUCA environment is a quintessential or atypical characteristic. VUCA environment include
volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous” environment which is a quintessential characteristic
of the twenty first century. Often, the twenty first century post- modern businesses and firms
often experience ups and downs in business which does not have any specific reasons; often the
reasons being ambiguous which can be blamed on to VUCA factor. Kevin Johnson is a leader
who has the capabilities and sharp intelligence to cope with the VUCA environment. The

Running head: LEADING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
leadership he practices is VUCA capable, such as, introducing and managing change, identifying
and understanding the behavior of the millennial staff and making directions according to such
dynamics, building an atmosphere of commitment, inspiring the staff towards a challenging
vision and mission and leading across generation (Liden et al. 2014). Generally, organizations
that are VUCA capable tend to perform well financially in the market. Secondly, Starbucks is a
company that focuses more on “integrated learning courses” rather than mainstream learning
courses for their employees. Starbucks has proudly opened Starbucks College Achievement Plan
where the company, partnering with Arizona State University, provides its part time and full time
employees various integrated academic and professional courses (online) to pursue. Through
such integrated learned professionals, Starbucks has benefitted from their professional skills and
capabilities in order to become a financial topper in the arena of beverage and snack industry.
However, Starbucks have also been facing certain ethical challenges as an incident of racism was
observed in one of the outlets of the company. The ethical challenge was met by the company
through ardent and most humble apologies through social media and mass media. In a press
release after the incident, the company clearly declared that they had plans to provide an implicit
racial bias training to its staff and employees that would be geared towards ending the
institutional discrimination under racial backgrounds that persists in the mind of the people
working in the company. The company had closed its stores for a few days for the sake of racial
bias training it had planned to give to its employees. Kevin Johnson has tackled such situation
well through servant leadership. In this style, the leader prioritizes the followers the most. In
such cases when the employees have shown an unexpected and undesirable attitude towards a
particular community which is highly disturbing for the reputation of a company, the servant
leader might take the stand of making the employees understand, with affection and compassion,

Running head: LEADING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
about why racism is not acceptable in a scientific, rational and a compassionate society. With the
one day lockout and anti bias training of the employees, they have tried to make the employees
realize their mistakes by prioritizing them and not “dictating” them. Therefore, it can be said that
the reputation of the company is sometimes saved by the new approach of servant leadership
taken up by the CEO Kevin Johnson. Through such leadership styles, the company has been able
to instill in the mind of the employees that Starbucks would never compromise with social good
when it comes to business and it is a company that focuses more on ethical practices rather than
rash and indecent profit oriented motives. However, there are certain criticisms too that
Starbucks has been gaining through its former and current employees. In certain cases,
employees talk about the poor salaries they have received/ receives, with special indication to the
millennial employees for whom it becomes difficult to afford rent and groceries with such
meager amount (according to them). They have praised the “free college” perks the company
gives to them but are always uncomfortable about the low pay they receive. Another current
employee has complained about the “overwhelming stress” the staff needs to go through as they
claim that the outlets are highly disorganized and they are in a constant pressure to organize and
carry out the day to day tasks which completely burns them of their energy. With a former
employee complaining that there is nothing unique in Starbucks management and leadership,
Kevin Johnson might take such criticisms in a positive light. To tackle such criticisms, Kevin
Johnson has integrated technologies in his leadership management where he is utilizing machine
learning to tackle the employees and the customers. Artificial Intelligence has played wonders in
management of Starbucks fueled by servant leadership, but still, it is believed that leadership of
Starbucks need to be flexible according to the demands of the situation (Hbr.org.2019).

Running head: LEADING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
Kevin Johnson: A global leader
Kevin Johnson is an unconventional and heretic leader; he is a bringer and bearer of
change. He has introduced a new kind of leadership which is “servant leadership”, almost alien
in the fiercely hierarchal, pro status quo and oppressive world of management. In a servant
leadership, the leaders learn to serve, rather than dictate which itself indicates that Johnson is a
carrier of heretic ideas in business. A good leader understands the intrinsic and extrinsic issues
the company/ workplace might be facing every day. Kevin Johnson is a leader who is concerned
about the welfare of the employees and the society over profit mongering and indecent money
making which makes him a class apart leader, very different from the other leaders who see
profit to be the only aim of any business which is devoid of any social or community good. He is
an empathetic leader who “listens to his employees” before speaking. It means that he is a good
leader who knows that conversing with the employees and listening to them actively would make
room for constructive interaction and exchanges of ideas/ thoughts/ approaches. It would further
be beneficial for the organization itself. As a servant leader, Johnson knows when to apologize
and when not. When a leader apologizes, the followers become overwhelmed at the humility of
the leader which is sometimes, completely unheard of. Taking a non- defensive and a non-
offensive attitude towards the employees and workplace would ensure that the employees are not
inhibited and coerced in any situation. It leaves the workplace with more democratic hues that
adds to the beauty of the workplace. Such practices have made Kevin Johnson a class apart
leader. Another important factor that needs to be considered is that Johnson has taken
meaningful actions that have not only created an impact in the workplace, but also in the greater
society as well. Lastly, analysis of the outcome of the leadership management by Kevin Johnson
is another strong point in his character as a leader that makes him an effective one. No matter

Running head: LEADING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
how good leadership one can give, the leader also has to assess he effectiveness of his leadership
through adequate performance indicators which is always carried out and preached by Kevin
Johnson that makes him a world renowned leader (Forbes.com.2019).
Recommendations
Two recommendations that Starbucks can implement in order to maintain its sustainability and
competitive advantage are provided hereafter.
1. Increase awareness of pro- society CSR that Starbucks does through effective leadership:
Many partners and customers who are regular at and fond of Starbucks do not know that
there are many community driven volunteering works and social activities that the
company does. Bringing in awareness of such activities through social media
campaigning, digital media promotion and other media portals would enhance the
reputation of Starbucks that had chances to get stained by the racial discriminatory
episode that disheartened few of its followers. Awareness of the numerous CSR
undertakings by Starbucks such as Recycling and waste management, ethnic tea
partnership and ethnic cocoa partnership would help the company rebuild its reputation
all over again. It would ensure the competitive advantage of the company remains intact
and at place (Icha and Agwu 2015).
2. Eco- friendly approach of the stores through effective leadership: Kevin Johnson can take
up sustainable initiatives in order to cut its waste, water usage and carbon emission to the
half by the year 2030. Starbucks can take up actions such as adding more menus of food
and beverages that are plant based, shifting from single use to re-usable packaging to
accelerate recycling, practicing water conservation in their business operations reducing