Academic and Professional Skills: Starbucks Ethical Dilemma Report

This report analyzes the ethical issues surrounding Starbucks' tax avoidance practices in the UK. The case study reveals how Starbucks allegedly manipulated financial reporting to minimize tax payments, misleading UK tax authorities while reporting profits to investors. The report examines the impact on stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, and the industry, highlighting the unethical nature of these practices and the potential consequences, such as legal action and damage to the brand's reputation. The analysis delves into the importance of ethical considerations, corporate responsibility, and the need for transparency in financial dealings. Recommendations include adherence to ethical codes of conduct, transparent financial reporting, and proactive communication with tax authorities. The report emphasizes the importance of ethical business practices for long-term sustainability and the avoidance of legal and reputational risks. The report also suggests that the UK authorities should enforce stricter regulations to ensure fair taxation and prevent future occurrences.

Academic and Professional
Skills

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
ANALYSIS .....................................................................................................................................3
Recommendation.........................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Ethics has now become regulatory measures for business firm to conduct its business and
operational activities to ensure level of performance. Ethical role has led business entities to get
business operation with an ethical development and sources of its development. Role of ethics in
business performance is responsible for its level of performance or building operation at an
optimised period (Kostromina, 2013). Ethics plays its part of role in success or demise of
business organisation, by changing a performance and functioning of business context at an
optimised basis. In current era of working, ethics is a major issues, which is completely going
into critical, if not have any type of control over its regulation or conducting organisational
functioning at a given norms or scenario. Ethical issues are rising day by day with effecting the
business condition or regulation on a greater stage. This assessment is based on case study of
Starbucks, which is part of industry belongs to category of hospitality and service. This case
study is based on situation of avoidance of tax by Starbucks by revealing false loss to authorities
of UK. As giving tax is a formal activity by every business firm in development of further
business profitability and also continuity of operations of business at an utilised period of time.
In contrast, this report will also put its major focus on analysis of this topic, with major
consideration of measures such as shareholders, revenue, customer and industry or sector at an
utilised period of time. After an analysis, report will go for deep conclusion and recommendation
on what has been discussed till now and also what are its expectancy to raise common level of
understanding on this topic to generate or ascertain relevant outcomes on topic of ethics going in
the business corporation.
ANALYSIS
In business role, ethics is major consideration, in which firm's needs to control their level
of business performance for conducting business based outcomes in definite period of time.
Also, this has been realised that ethical consideration such as code of conduct, ethical review
over activities and empowering of fair regulation is important for business firm's to continue its
business regulations for longer period of time (Sonnino, 2013). Ethics plays its major role on
major extent such as controlling of an employee's performance, behaviour and also an individual
development in business entity at a greater context. As a part of this report, Starbucks is a major
point of talking here, in which unethical or say informal business practices has been undertaken

of avoidance of taxation in order to hide level of profit earning which business entity was
making. In order to hide taxation, they were continuously showing loss making to tax authorities
and revealed profit making to investor, in response this has been revealed that tax authorities of
UK were got mislead while sharing of information by their investor's or Starbucks on matter of
tax disclosure. Hence, in that condition this is a part of unethical practices, on other hand,
business like KFC has earned same profit in comparison to Starbucks of 1.1 billion dollars, on
which they have paid approx. taxation of 36 millions dollar to tax authorities of UK (Priebe and
et. al., 2013). This is a part of high formal level of operating in any environment for business
functioning. Starbucks also indulged in critical cases such as misuse of any unproductive
resources such as expatriate coffee, because of which many customer has fallen ill. This is not a
way to operates in any environment, whether business or legal system on a basis of which
activities of these activities needs to have a control or any major solution of this situation. As,
this is a part of unethical behaviour or level of functioning on which business entity needs to
have major level of control. In current business context, ethics plays a major part in which
assuming on how business entities are doing or what are their level of management expectancy
to outcomes in given point of time. This is seriously high unethical practices in which
communication to different entities was issues in order to save any kind of monetary benefits for
longer period of time.
In this, unethical management can be an issue which needs to be overcome by structuring
of management level of practice. After 14 years of business operations, Starbucks has only paid
taxation of £8.6 million, which is very low, due to which legal cases or judiciary action can be
taken in response to act as lesson to giving tax as major right or responsibility for an individual
or business entity for not led it happen once again (Corrall, 2013). This is highly prominent for
Starbucks to continue performance with major role of ethical measures to led development of
business performance at an utilised or sustainable level of working. This is highly adjudication to
led development of norms and rules of policies in order to conduct or led major power of
business performance at an utilised period of time.
If still Starbucks still not paying taxes with given authoritative steps, in that situation, this
will be not be good for them to survive in business environment at an optimised period of time.
In this context structuring of policies by taxation to get proper revelation over profit generation
by business entities in order to recover tax from them. If in case, Starbucks will not follow

ethical consideration such as time to time paying of taxes, expenses or showing profit, this will
led any kind of judiciary action against Starbucks which is major threat for their survival in the
UK market. In response to this, authorities of UK must take suitable action such as quarterly
disclosure of profit making in case, if company will not follow ethics role or conduction into a
revelation of profits generated during business period or time (Cox, 2016). This is highly
prominent and also necessary to led its development over the period of time to enhance legal and
also ethical level of consideration over a period of time. If ethical is not followed by business
entities proper, this will be threat for them to exist in market for selling products or services.
This is a threat for shareholder's of Starbucks in major breakthrough of their common
level of interest or funds raised in company. Also, it majorly threat for them to loss their major
customer's or partners, if they are got this storyline for avoidance of tax to hide or non revealing
of profits. In coffee industry, this is a kind of black dot which has been put down on Starbucks
by doing this level of unethical practices. This is major necessary for Starbucks to conduct rules
or policies for paying taxes to authorities in order to enhances durability and suitability of profit
generation for longer period of time. This level of unethical practices is threat for continues grow
in their profitability or revenue after the selling of their coffee's products to led enhancing it for
longer period of time. In such industry of coffee, Starbucks is required to enhance development
of policies or code of conduct's by management to led generation of profit raising at an optimised
period of time. Starbucks is required to enhances ethical consideration such as code of conduct
for paying taxes to authorities for not doing such level of practice, after this consideration.
This is necessary for Starbucks to implement policies or legal consideration to ensure
effective paying of taxation to continue their business operation for longer period of time. Also,
this has been realised that Starbucks must follow policies such as disclosure of profitability to tax
authorities to retain and maintain positive image for longer period of time (Bryant, 2014). Also,
this is majorly prominent for management of this business entity to make separate units, whose
responsibility to create common relationship among shareholder's while informing them over
business role or performance to create one to on communication with authorities in case of
maintaining common relationship to led continuity of business operations. This will be proactive
action making by Starbucks to establish and build taste or flavour of ethical consideration, while
paying for taxation return to authorities to have common relationships with others.

In context with this, ethical norms such as business norms, rules or regulation will also be
taken into consideration to avoid such kind of presence such as avoidance of paying taxes and
also showing false generation of losses to authorities and reveals generation of profitability to
investor's and shareholder in order to retain their area of interest in business performances.
Starbucks is majorly specialised in am efforts to take decision making to get faulty people, who
were responsible for this level of act (Chittum, 2016). In response to this, authorities of UK must
fined Starbucks in doing such act which is unlawful and not comes under any pre-judiciary
works to enhance business functioning or performance of the business performance at an
optimised period of time. Starbucks boards of director's must focus on making productive
development of policies or rules in paying of the tax for longer period of time. To overcome this
cause, Starbucks must be penalised for this kind of act or level of activities. Also, Starbucks must
go for strategic planning for how to overcome issues related to effective working in an
organisation and also what are major suitability for business firm to bring transparency into
sharing of an information on an optimised basis.
Recommendation
From this level of analysis, it is recommendable that not only Starbucks, but every firms
which comes under legal or judicial implementation must be reinforced to pay amount of taxes in
order to enhance their positive for business operations for longer period of time. This is also
recommendable that ethical level of measurement is highly necessary for Starbucks to continue
business operations at an organised level to led carry on activities at a larger zone. Making an
effective policies or rules is necessary for Starbucks to keep revenue of their own track and rise it
with mandatory rule of disclosing revenue to taxation authorities. It is important for Starbucks to
use ethical practices such as code of conduct, transparency while sharing data and information
from one person or entity to another to have common understanding or interest into matter of
corporate or business context. It is also recommended that there has to be maximum
communication with authorities to disclose any knowledge or generating information in context
of personal and personal data of an individual or business entity to regulate functioning in an
effective zone. This unethical issue was happened, because management of this business firm
were not having relationships to share knowledge or information on an effective manner. Also, it
is also recommendable that ethics considerations such as measurement of information with ethics

based requirements to enhanced common scenario of working or sharing information to other
business entities.

CONCLUSION
From an above report, it is concluded that ethics practices and level of formal working is
necessary for business organisation to conduct activities in an effective or productive manner to
control or strategies working of business entities in an effective or productive manner. Also, this
is highly prominent to led development of business performance at an effective or productive
manner of doing. Also, business entity is required to structure various policies or regulation to
disclose any relevant information in context of sharing information which is based on developed
or regulated manner of work process.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Chittum, J. R. and Bryant, L. H., 2014. Reviewing to Learn: Graduate Student Participation in
the Professional Peer-Review Process to Improve Academic Writing Skills. International
Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. 26(3). pp.473-484.
Cox, A. M. and Corrall, S., 2013. Evolving academic library specialties. Journal of the American
Society for Information Science and Technology. 64(8). pp.1526-1542.
Priebe, S., and et. al., 2013. The future of academic psychiatry may be social. The British Journal
of Psychiatry. 202(5). pp.319-320.
Sonnino, R. E., 2013. Professional development and leadership training opportunities for
healthcare professionals. The American Journal of Surgery. 206(5). pp.727-731.
Kostromina, S., 2013. Academic skills as a basis for self-organization of human activity.
Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 86. pp.543-550.
Goldingay, S., and et. al., 2014. " The university didn't actually tell us this is what you have to
do": Social inclusion through embedding of academic skills in first year professional
courses. International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education. 5(1). pp.43-53.
Du Preez, I. and Fossey, A., 2012. Developing academic writing skills as part of graduate
attributes in undergraduate curricula. South African Journal of Higher Education. 26(2).
pp.346-357.
Carberry, A. R., and et. al., 2013. Student perceptions of engineering service experiences as a
source of learning technical and professional skills. International Journal for Service
Learning in Engineering, Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship. 8(1).
pp.1-17.
Nagarajan, S. and Edwards, J., 2015. The Role of Universities, Employers, Graduates and
Professional Associations in the Development of Professional Skills of New Graduates.
Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice. 3(2).
Gider, F., and et. al., 2012. Implementation of a multidisciplinary professional skills course at an
electrical engineering school. IEEE Transactions on Education. 55(3). pp.332-340.
Farisi, M. I., 2016. Developing the 21st-Century Social Studies Skills through Technology
Integration. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education. 17(1). pp.16-30.

McKinney, P. A. and Wheeler, E., 2015. Are librarians teachers? Investigating academic
librarians’ perceptions of their own teaching skills. Journal of Information Literacy. 9(2).
pp.111-128.
Johnson, S., and et. al., 2015. A framework to embed communication skills across the
curriculum: A design-based research approach. Journal of University Teaching &
Learning Practice. 12(4). p.6.
Gauvreau, S. A., and et. al., 2016. Online professional skills workshops: Perspectives from
distance education graduate students. The International Review of Research in Open and
Distributed Learning. 17(5).