Free Custom «Organizational Behavior and Communication Paper» Essay Paper

This paper will explain and analyze the relationship between organizational culture and organizational communication of Starbucks Corporation. This paper will also review the Starbucks's philosophy, mission, vision, and values statements. Starbucks is America's largest marketer and retailer store of specialty coffee. Starbucks has 2400 coffee shops and more than 200 shops in other countries. It is responsible and global brand organization.Review Starbuck's philosophy, mission, vision, and values statements. These are the organization's espoused values (what the organization says it values)."We always figured that putting people before products just made good common sense. So far, it's been working out for us. Our relationships with farmers yield the highest quality coffees. The connections we make in communities create a loyal following. And the support we provide our baristas pays off every day." (Starbucks Corporation a. 2008),

"Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow.The following six guiding principles will help us measure the appropriateness of our decisions:

 

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Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity.

Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business.

Apply the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roasting and fresh delivery of our coffee.

Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time.

Contribute positively to our communities and our environment.

Recognize that profitability is essential to our future success (Starbucks Corporation b. 2008).Briefly describe the culture of the chosen organization, noting whether the organization's espoused values align with its enacted values. To what extent is communication in an organization determined by the organization's culture?In the external environment Starbucks influence by social and cultural factors like trust, point of view, opinion and lifestyles of persons. These social factors developed from demographic, customers' needs and the size of the possible market (Pearson & Robinson, 2004). Starbucks involve in granting awards to help those who need the most like low income families. Starbucks also emphasis on various programs that support cultural diversity and to involve communities, families, schools and neighborhood organizations (Aspen Publisher, Inc.) .

Workplace safety is very important for the Starbucks to prevent risk injuries for their customers and partners. Starbucks introduced digital brewing equipment espresso machines to reduce burns in employees. Although Coffee industry is not under regulation add nutritional labeling but Starbucks does labeling for their non-packaged items to avoid lawsuits. Most of the customers like to have nutritional information on the item because they want to know how much caffeine is in it."This is against the philosophy of the company to have satisfied customers. Consider the example of Starbucks; it claims it contributes to the community. How by giving public donations! In reality coffee workers that grow coffee earn two cents a pound for picking berries. The coffee beans are then sold by Starbucks at $9 a pound" (Starbucks, 2008).

Describe the role communication plays in perception and organizational culture. How might misalignment between espoused values and enacted values affect perceptions within an organization?During the takeover speech of CEO to the shareholders, partners, and employees, Howard Schultz outlined a five point plan for the strategic initiatives, among which will include re-igniting the customer in-store customer experience. This will keep not only existing partners, but also attract new partners. In order for the organization to refocus on providing the in-store customer experience, Starbucks established a new communications agreement with AT&T. Starbucks already has an existing agreement with T-Mobile another Wi-Fi provider. "With this announcement, AT&T will offer Wi-Fi service in 7000 Starbucks locations in the U.S (Wireless News N.D.). Starbucks will offer two free hours of Wi-Fi access for its cardholders. This is an effort to improve the in-store experience for its customers (partners). According to Scott, 2008, What worries me is the question, "'how do we maintain our culture, our intimacy with the customer?" Starbucks CEO Schultz said. What does not worry me anymore is how big the prize ultimately can be around the world. I can see the opportunity but the question is whether we can do that and preserve intact, and possibly enhance, the experience the customer has.

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In perception and organization culture, communication plays very important role. Starbucks needs to communicate properly with their employees, need to treat them well, pay reasonable salaries and that they deserve. The supervisors and management should act equitably with the employees. However, if they communicate indifferently, then reducing salaries and wages are recommended as cost control measures."Every supervisor tries to reduce costs by paying lower salaries and cutting costs by reducing benefits. Starbucks communicates that its relationships with farmers yield the highest quality of coffee beans" (Starbucks, 2008). But in reality coffee farmers' rights have been violated. Starbucks have coffee plantation in Guatemala, where they work like virtual slaves. Now this creates mixed feelings and signals of actual working conditions and create mixed signal for the organization. Then distrust culture develop between management and employees. Employees do not trust employers at any cost and not accept any communication at face value. The perceptions are that management tells lies.Identify the role of conflict in group communication. How might the organization you chose use conflict to improve communication within and among groups?Conflict in an organization can occur due to poor communication, lack of understanding each other and misconceptions which is not avoidable. "However, conflicts lead to barrier to communication, lack of understanding and breakdown of essential interaction. Conflicts lead to increased costs, inefficiencies and high turnover" (Kheel, 1999). It is generally a pitfall if lines of communication are not both open to and used by all group members. Open and active talk among all the group members co creates an all-channel network, which typically characterizes effective group communication. There is one factor that is important in resolving the conflict is the trust. Researchers found that the greater the trust among employees, the more willing and able they would be to push through the issues without fighting.Starbucks can resolve conflicts by improving their communication skills by giving training to employees. Starbucks should train their employees to learn how to compromise if there is conflict arises. If any worker gets harassed because of the conflict and it is interfering with his or her work, they should ask for help or can take some time out.The employees should not be afraid to own up to the responsibility for lack of communication. Starbucks workers should learn to respond to cynicism and blame with empathy. The employees should learn to see the points of view of the other person (Kheel. T, 1999).The Starbucks employees should be taught to listen carefully and stay focused. Through communications and training, Starbucks employees receive constant reminders that security is important. Starbucks provide special training to its employees regarding better communication skills. They also provide training to the supervisors to learn to use active listening and according to their positions they need to assess their communication skills, knowledge and understanding that impact the company. "Supervisors should develop some protocols about vertical communication, availability of information and handling of disagreements. Starbucks supervisors should get feedback about their communication and ask for feedback" (Unesco2000).Starbucks success is based on their high quality products, long and short term goals and objectives, their values and excellent customer service. Starbucks also sells coffee brewers and other items on line at Starbucks.com. Starbucks also wholesales their coffee to restaurants, hotels and businesses. But they are not following their philosophy, the way they described. Their management does not have communication skills to handle their employees and satisfy their customers. For this purpose they provide trainings to employees and supervisors to improve their communication knowledge.