Impact of Workplace Culture: A Starbucks Case Study, BMSW5103 Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Starbucks' workplace culture and its impact on organizational efficiency. It begins with an introduction defining workplace culture and its significance, followed by an assessment of Starbucks' organizational culture, highlighting its values, focus on employee well-being, and adherence to relevant legislation like the Fair Labor Standards Act and Equal Pay Act. The report then employs the Handy culture model to categorize Starbucks' culture and explores the company's commitment to diversity and inclusion. The main body includes a critical evaluation of Starbucks' organizational environment, utilizing SWOT and PESTLE analyses to assess internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. Furthermore, the report applies relevant academic theories and models to support its evaluation. Finally, the report concludes with a summary of the key findings and insights regarding Starbucks' workplace culture and its influence on the company's performance.

BMSW5103 UNDERSTANDING AND
ENGAGIBMSW5105 WORKPLACE CULTURE
AND ITS IMPACT ON ORGANISATIONAL
EFFICIENCYNG IN THE CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Assess the workplace culture of organisation........................................................................1
Critical evaluation of organisation and broader environment in which it operates as well as its
impact on performance...........................................................................................................5
SWOT analysis.......................................................................................................................5
PEST analysis.........................................................................................................................8
Cultural and the ethical behaviour of organisation through the consideration of relevant
policies, procedures and legislation to support your evaluation.............................................9
Application of relevant academic theories and models........................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14
.......................................................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
Culture is personality and character of company. It is sum of traditions, attitudes, values,
behaviours and beliefs. The workplace culture is pattern of basic assumption that group learned
to solve issues of internal integration and external adaption. The workplace culture impact on
organisational efficiency. This can have the varying impact on performance of employees as well
as motivation level. Positive workplace culture helps in make improvement in teamwork,
enhance productivity, increase morals and sustain workforce. It minimizes stress in staff
members so that they can work effectively (Eskola and et. al., 2016).
This present report is based on Starbucks Company. This is an American coffee firm and
the coffee house chain. It has been defined as main representative of the “second wave coffee”.
In this report going to discuss about the workplace culture of company and use of relevant
legislations, policies and procedures. The SWOT and PESTLE tools will be used to analyse
impact of the culture on organisational performance.
MAIN BODY
Assess the workplace culture of organisation
Organisational culture is system of the assumption, beliefs and values that governs how
the people behave in company. This encompasses behaviour and values which contribute to
psychological and social environment of business. It is pattern of the basic assumptions that
developed through group as this learns to deal with issues of the internal integration and external
adaption. This plays necessary role with operations which are performed through company and
also the behaviour of staff at workplace towards business operations. This constitute to wider
extent of growth and quality of business operations in an effective manner. Starbucks is
American coffee firm and the coffee house chain. This company was established in year 1971
and also operates more than 30000 locations in all over the world. It is representative of the
“second wave coffee” that popularised artisanal coffee. The Starbucks locations serve the cold
and hot drinks, micro ground instant coffee and whole- bean coffee (Catling, Reid and Hunter,
2017). Organisational culture is among developing organisational performance blocks. Without
strong culture, this is complex to develop environment that can drive performance, innovation
and creativity. The organisational culture of Starbucks Company is characteristic of firm. This
widely influences the staff members and performance of business by traditions, behavioural
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expectations, customs and the behavioural expectations in business organisation. Firm owned the
stores where the organisational culture of Starbucks is observable in an easy manner. Friendly
and warm ambiance in coffee shops is part of cultural distinction of firm from rivals. In context
to this, Starbucks Company has organisational culture that is related with strategies of firm for
global growth and successful brand development of franchises, despite the challenges ties to
trends of industry and economic fluctuations. In this, Starbucks values are at core of the
Starbucks culture (Davis, White and Stephenson, 2016). This has focus on developing culture of
belonging and warmth where employees to consumers can welcomed. It developed non
discrimination and inclusion environment. Its main focus on creativity where the staff members
challenge status to bring new things and search effective ways to develop an organisation. To
working in collaboration aids staff to attain complex targets. Integrity, transparency and respect
are necessary areas on which Starbucks focused. Starbucks hire the people with disabilities and
provide them assistive technologies and accommodations that can enable the people to perform
jobs. This firm is committed to providing the reasonable accommodations for the job
applications which are disabled. Employees of Starbucks company note that its environment can
be the fast paced but culture is better and the worth appreciation. Other than this, organisational
culture of this company is well- known for its recycling role, it is committed to minimizing
wastage and also shrinking environmental footprint.
Handy culture model is an authority on the organisational culture that explains four
various types of the culture like task, role, person and power. From all the culture, Starbucks
organisation follows person culture as it provides the importance to staff members whose focus
on providing the positive experience to customers. In relation to this, culture of Starbucks
Company needs their staff to be knowledgeable and trained regarding their products which offer.
Starbucks attain the high success by providing the better quality of services to consumers and
enhance productivity (Frenking, 2016). On the other hand, main focus of Starbucks is well being
of staff by adopting Relationship-driven approach as this supports staff so that they can feel
valued and develop goodwill in outside and inside of company. Main reason behind adopting this
strategy is to depend over believes when staff members are taken care through company and
fulfil their requirements. It helps in making the relationship among manager and staff strong.
From this, employees will work from their and focus on attaining the set objectives with in
specific period of time. It is necessary in an organisation to motivate staff where they have to
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communicate with the customers face to face and provide them better experience. In context to
this, Starbucks Company supports the efficiency in process of business that give contribution to
the service quality, business cost effectiveness and the positive experience of customers.
Starbucks idea of the well being is holistic approach and it is based on three different principles
like physical, mental and the emotional health. The Starbucks Company strive to protect the
personal security, health and safety of all people which are related with brand. This follows
Occupational Health & Safety of staff members through assuring that manager should provide
the positive and safe working environment where they can work freely without facing any kind
of the issues. On the other hand, Starbucks company work for promoting the diversity as well as
inclusion at workplace as foundation to develop well being of business. It can attained through
company while hiring and managing the people which are related to various ethnicity. It helps in
deal with the many challenges which are develop because of the rigid culture as an integration in
various practices permits a company to perform in various geographical locations (Kurjenluoma
and et. al., 2017).
Under this, Starbucks Company uses the Bureaucratic culture because it has many levels
where the responsibilities, tasks and authority are delegated among people and departments. This
is organised with high formality level in way this operates. The main reason behind using this
culture to Starbucks that it has many management layers that falls down the senior executives to
departmental and regional managers all way down to shift the supervisors which work alongside
the front line staff members (Alvesson, 2012).
Starbucks company work over core principles of well being of staff members at
workplace and this follows some legislations to provide the positive working environment to
staff members. It is committed to compliance with rules and regulations and legislations of
countries in which this operates. Some legislation are given below:
Fair Labor Standards act- It is necessary for Starbucks because it has job in which the
wages are to be paid on hourly basis. To adhere with federal regulations, Starbucks company
should pay all employees minimum wages. It makes sure that hourly pay of employees exceeds
or equal to minimum wage standards. These legislations assist to protect employees by giving
them amount of the hourly pay and also protection to support them (Taylor, 2018).
Equal pay act- Main emphasis of Starbucks top management is to out over spreading
equality culture between staff members so that they can feel valued and also motivated towards
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work. By implementing this Act, each employee of the Starbucks get the fair pay according to
their position and efforts. It aids in neglecting conflict from workplace and motivate all the staff
towards working practices (Lai, Shankar and Khalema, 2017).
These all are the factors which impact on staff members to work with the company for
long time period. Starbucks Company manages qualified workforce and the experienced people
as true operator of functions which are performed at workplace.
Organisational culture is developed by Edgar Schein to make the culture visible within
company. This model indicates what steps require to be followed to bring regarding the cultural
change. The different levels included in this model given below:
Figure 1: Organisational culture model
(Source: Organizational Culture Model by Edgar Schein. 2020)
Artefacts and symbols- Artefacts mark surface of company. They are visible components
in company for an instance processes, corporate clothing, architecture, logos and structure. These
all are not only visible to staff members but also visible for the external parties.
Espoused values- It concerns values, rules of conduct and also standards. It expresses how
a company express objectives, philosophies and strategies developed. The issues could arise
when manager’s ideas are not in the line with basic assumptions of company.
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Basic underlying assumptions- Under this, basic underlying assumptions are embedded
deeply in organisational culture and also experienced as unconscious behaviour and self evident.
It is hard to identify the assumptions.
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Critical evaluation of organisation and broader environment in which it operates as well as its
impact on performance.
Companies operate its operations and activities in the external environment. Any changes
in this environment make a significant impact on organisational performance in both favourable
and unfavourable manner. It is essential for business entities to make proper analysis of different
factors of external environment so that this cannot be hamper performance in negative way. Such
as in the context of Starbucks Company, this is essential for them to make a proper analysis of
multiple factors of external environment so that they can prepare their plans and policies
accordingly. For the purpose of making analysis of macro environment, there is technique which
is PEST analysis. By help of this technique, it becomes easier for businesses to find out both
positive and negative impact on performance (Lucas, 2017). In addition, there is a framework
which is being used by business entities to analyse own strengths, weakness, opportunities and
threats which is known as SWOT analysis. Herein, below in the aspect of above chosen
Starbucks Company SWOT & PEST analysis is done in such manner which is as follows:
SWOT analysis
It can be defined as a type of tool which is used by business entities in order to assess
both internal and external factors. The main objective of applying this tool is to help business
entities to create a full awareness regards to all sort of factors involved in taking crucial business
decisions. In addition, this tool contributes in order to make strategically planning and policies. It
becomes possible because by help of this managers can become aware about what are their
strengths, weaknesses as well as in which areas they have opportunities and threats (Jung, 2016).
In the context of Starbucks company, it is essential for their managers to apply this framework so
that they can become aware about own strengths & weaknesses etc. Herein, swot analysis of
above company is done below in such manner which is as follows:
Strengths- This is defined as those positive elements which a business entity has in internal
environment. Such as Starbucks company has below mentioned strengths which are as follows:
 Strong brand image- Starbucks Company is one of the most popular brands in the context
of beverage sector. It is a biggest strength for them as they can start new branch in any
nation successfully due to higher goodwill (Muñoz, Kenny and Stecher, 2018).
 Strong financial performance- In addition, the company has a better financial position in
compare to their competitors. During time period of 1998 to 2018, their number of stores
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increased from 1886 to 29324. This is showing that their monetary performance is in
better condition.
 Acquisition- Starbucks Company has acquired almost six companies which are Seattle's
best Coffee, Teavana, Tazo, Evolution Fresh, Torrefazione Italia Coffee and Ethos water.
These companies are top companies to whom Starbucks acquires. It shows that they have
higher market coverage and share in different nations' economy.
 Employee treatment- Starbucks Company treats their employees in an effective manner
which leads to happier environment insider the firm. As well as their satisfied employees
serve to customers very well (Jordaan and Cillié, 2016).
 Quality, taste and standardization- Due to better quality and taste, company has extended
its operations into various locations across the border.
Weakness- This is defined as those negative elements which a business entity has in internal
environment. Such as Starbucks company has below mentioned weaknesses which are as
follows:
 Higher prices- This is one of the key weakness of Starbucks Company. Their beverage
products cost is too higher which is not affordable by middle class public. The price of
coffee of Starbucks Company is high in compare to McDonald's.
 Imitability of products- Starbucks Company has portfolio of common products which are
easily provided in the market by competitors. Company does not have any unique
products. Mc Cafe, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks all companies have similar product
portfolio.
 Generalised standards for most products- In the Starbucks company, some of their
products are not according to cultural standards of rest of markets. This is one of the main
weaknesses for above company (Griffith and Dasgupta, 2018).
 European tax avoidance- During three years prior to 2012, Starbucks company did not
pay tax of 1.3 billion pounds. Due to this, they faced different controversies and
criticisms which lead to decreasing in reputation in international markets. Recall of products- In past years, Starbucks has recalled different types of products. This
may impact negatively to their goodwill and lead to loss of loyal customers.
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Opportunity- It can be defined as those positive aspects which are in the external environment
and can be beneficial of companies if they grab it on right time. Starbucks company has below
mentioned opportunities which are as follows:
 Introducing new products- Starbucks company has a good opportunity to introduce new
products in existing market. It is so because they have a good brand image and this will
be easier for them to launch a new product by making small expenditure on marketing.
 Expansion in developing markets- Starbucks has most of their coffee houses in the united
state of America. They have opportunity to expand in new markets such as India, China
in which population is higher and more of number of customer who consume tea &
coffee (Arundell and et. al., 2018).
 Partnerships with other firms – Starbucks have opportunity to develop partnership with
top coffee companies so that they can cover new market. In addition, this can be useful
for them in order to make new customers which may leads to higher sales revenue. Business diversification and products specifications- Starbucks company can diversify
their operations and activities in order to enhance revenue growth opportunities. As well
as they can gain higher profitability by producing products in accordance of target
customers and market.
Threats- It can be defined as those negative aspects which are in the external environment and
can be affect companies overall performance. Starbucks Company has below mentioned threats
which are as follows:
 Competition with law cost coffee seller- There are different types of coffee houses which
are offering beverage products at lower cost. This is a huge threat for above company
because it may become cause of lower sales in future (Braithwaite and et. al., 2016).
 Competition with big outlets- Apart from it, Starbucks Company has tough competition
with big outlets. The company face tough competition from some multinational entities
such as McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts etc.
 Independent coffee-house movements- There are different types of threats for Starbucks.
Various types of socio- cultural movements help to small and local coffee-houses in
compare to large coffee companies like Starbucks.
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PEST analysis
It can be defined as a type of framework which is being used by business entities in order
to analyse various factors of external environment. The main objective of this framework is to
help companies by providing detailed information regards to impact of different macro
environmental factors on performance (Payne and et. al., 2018). In the context of above
Starbucks Company, this analysis is done below in such manner which is as follows: Political factor- Under this factor different types of elements are included which are
governmental rules, political condition and relation with rest of nations etc. It can affect
to business entities in both positive and negative manner. This can affect those negatively
if political relationship of USA is not good with rest of countries then it can be drawback
of Starbucks company to offer their products in other nations. On the other hand, it can
affect positively too to above company if government of USA supports to companies by
formulating new policies and rules (Cockayne, 2018). Economical factor- In this factor, vital range of economical aspects is included such as
interest rate, exchange rate, inflation-deflation rate etc. are included. These elements can
impact to companies’ performance in favourable and unfavourable way. Such as in the
aspect of Starbucks Company, it can affect them positively if interest rate fell down. This
is so because at lower rate they can acquire funds easily and can expand their operations.
On the other side, it can affected negatively too if there is higher inflation rate in market
(Storch, 2016). Social factor- It can be defined as a type of factor which consists culture, religion,
customers' perception and many more. This becomes essential for business entities to
follow these aspects during preparation of different policies and strategies. In the case
when companies do not comply their operational activities with social factors then it may
leads to different negative impacts. Such as in the aspect of above Starbucks Company,
they can affected in negative manner if they do not coordinate with social factors. For
example it may be difficult for them to coordinate with Asian countries social culture.
Apart from it, this can impact them positively too if they coordinate with different social
factors (Angouri, 2018).
 Technological factor- In current business scenario, it became essential for business
entities to comply with new and advanced technologies so that they can sustain in
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competitive environment. If companies will not follow new techniques then it may lead
to different issues such as lack of customers, lower sales etc. In the aspect of above
Starbucks Company, this is essential for them to implement new technologies in
production of beverage items. By doing so, it will be easier to minimize overall cost.
While if they do not adopt new techniques then this may become cause of lower revenues
and lack of customer attraction. This is so because in present scenario businesses that are
applying new techniques in their operations then it may become easier for them to attract
more number of customers (Grant, 2017).
So overall in conclusive manner, this can be stated that macro environment has both
kinds of impact on company’s performance. It depends on business entities that how well they
manage their different kinds of functions and operations. In addition, analysis of strength,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats help to companies in order to create effective strategies
and policies to beat competitors (Oakman, Neupane and Nygård, 2016).
In accordance of above analysis of SWOT and PEST analysis of Starbucks company, it
can be recommended that they should comply with all rules and regulation which are set by
particular government. It is so because ignorance of these rules may lead to negative affect on
company's monetary and anti monetary performance. As well as they should make their plans
and policies in accordance of own strengths, weaknesses and threats. This is so because in the
absence of consideration of strengths, weaknesses in process of making strategies may lead to
mismanagement (Mitonga-Monga, Flotman and Cilliers, 2016).
Starbucks company used the bureaucratic culture bout for make any kind of changes it
develop negatively the working environment and culture. Instead of this theory, they can apply
clan culture, market culture and entrepreneurial culture. These culture are more effective in
performing the activities and doing work effectively. Clan culture is a process of creating family
type business environment that focus on achieving goals and objectives in less time period.
Market culture is defined as kinds of corporate culture which focuses on competitiveness not
only between company and its market rivals but also between employees too. At last,
Entrepreneurial culture is a type of cultural environment in which individual gets motivated to
innovate, create and take higher amount of risk.
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