Starbucks CSR Strategies Analysis

Starbucks CSR Strategies Analysis

Corporate Social Responsibility and Performance Management

In today’s global marketplace, competition evolves at a rapid pace and organizations are increasingly concerned with sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The human resource function is uniquely positioned to assist in both developing and implementing sustainability strategies. Therefore, it is critical for organizations to understand the benefits of performance management. As you have been learning, performance management should align with organizational strategy. Similarly, it is also important for organizations to balance organizational strategy with sustainability objectives. Performance management and sustainability go hand in hand in support of an organization’s long-term success, as well as corporate social responsibility efforts.

To begin this Assignment, select an organization of your choice that meets one of the following requirements:
An organization you have worked with and are familiar with its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
An organization about which enough literature has been published to describe the current state of its CSR initiatives or provide enough information for you to make an assessment.
Then, to complete this Assignment, review the Learning Resources for this week, and other resources you have found in the Walden Library or online, and respond to the following bullets in a 3- to 5-page academic paper.

Provide a brief background on the organization, including industry, location, size, and products or services offered.
Analyze the organization’s CSR.
Discuss 3 ways an HR professional can ensure the organization’s performance management system has a positive, dynamic relationship with corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Outline strategies to improve or establish the organization’s program of CSR.

Starbucks CSR Strategies Analysis Example

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gained much popularity in the modern business environments, with many companies are taking it more seriously. CSR is an essential strategy for all companies aspiring to be the market leaders in their industries. Engaging CSR strategies in business practices is not only capable of increasing brand awareness and building a good reputation but also increasing the sale volumes (Siddiq & Javed, 2014). Starbucks ranks highly among the companies which have been so consistent in implementing CSR in their practice. The company has gained major successes in its industry due to its CSR integration practices; however, there are still strategies that the company would implement to improve its CSR program.

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Provide a brief background on the organization, including industry, location, size, and products or services offered.

Starbucks is a leading multinational coffee company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States (Starbucks Coffee Company, n.d.). The company opened its first store in its headquarters in 1971 as a retailer of coffee products, tea, and spices. As of June 2019, Starbucks had 30, 000 stores all over the world, located in 80 separate markets (Starbucks Coffee Company, n.d.). The company has over 250 000 employees working in the various markets where it has locations (Starbucks Coffee Company, n.d.). Starbucks is in the food and beverage industry and faces major competition from other chains, mainly McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts, both in the United States and in the other locations. The company is dedicated to creating a positive social impact which is encompassed in their mission “One person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” (Starbucks Coffee Company, n.d.). Starbucks ’ popularity in the food and beverage industry is largely due to their innovative nature and exceptional customer services.

Analyze the organization’s CSR

At Starbucks, CSR strategy is founded on three major pillars: ethical sourcing, community, and environment (Bruhn-Hansen, 2012). The company strives to ensure a positive impact on each of the three areas. To empower the communities in which they work. Starbucks has established partnerships with local non-profit organizations that operate locally (Bruhn-Hansen, 2012). Starbucks donates a certain amount to the partners to help them meet the needs of their communities. The company also provides training opportunities for youth and maintains diversity and inclusion at the workplace, which is a major community-centric initiative. Ethically, the company is dedicated to ensuring that all sourcing is undertaken normatively (Bruhn-Hansen, 2012). Starbucks strives to ensure that all the manufactured goods are produced and purchased ethically. Environmentally, Starbucks views the planet as an essential partner in business (Bruhn-Hansen, 2012). As a result, the company takes previous measures to reduce their environmental impact. The company shows high levels of commitment towards recycling, water, and energy conservation and attempts to address climate change. Basically, Starbucks takes into account diverse measures to help in the implementation of their CSR strategy.

Discuss 3 ways an HR professional can ensure the organization’s performance management system has a positive, dynamic relationship with corporate social responsibility initiatives.

The success of the CSR of any company is largely determined by the human resource practices mainly because it is the employees who get actively involved in the implementation of the set strategies (Shen & Benson, 2016). There are various ways that an HR professional can implement to ensure a positive relationship between organizational performance and CSR initiatives. Firstly, the HR professional could foster a culture of corporate social responsibility by hiring employees from varied backgrounds who are environmentally conscious (Siddiq & Javed, 2014). This practice will help in ensuring that the employees are determined to maintain environment-friendly practices. Secondly, the HR professional could engage in availing training and development programs that explain the links between the company’s performance and CSR (Siddiq & Javed, 2014). This initiative is essential for making the employees cognizant of appropriate CSR projects that are relevant in sustaining the company’s performance. Thirdly, the HR professional could recognize and celebrate employees who are actively engaged and successful in realizing CSR initiatives (Siddiq & Javed, 2014). Recognition and celebration in the company will help in sustaining the momentum of the CSR initiatives, which will consequently boost organizational performance.

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Outline strategies to improve or establish the organization’s program of CSR.

Starbucks depicts exceptional CSR initiatives, which, if properly implemented, with help them maintain their position not only as a market leader but also their reputation as a socially responsible company. However, there are some improvements that the company needs to make to improve its CSR program. The company should cut down on the use of plastic cups. These cups, if not recycled, have a detrimental impact on the environment, which works against the company’s CSR initiatives. The company should also create more awareness on their CSR activities as many customers are still not aware of their CSR programs. Creating more awareness will lead to increased customer participation leading to greater impact.

Conclusion
Company success in contemporary business environments is greatly shaped by CSR. Multinational companies like Starbucks face challenges in garnering success in all their markets while still exercising respect to the local cultures and environments. These challenges call for conscious practices to promote CSR. HR professionals have a critical role to play in ensuring that an organization’s performance is congruent with their CSR initiatives. Starbucks has been successful in initiating CSR programs that have a positive relationship with their performance. However, the company still needs to improve their CSR initiatives by cutting down on the use of plastic cups and improving customer participation in CSR.

References

Bruhn-Hansen, S. (2012). Corporate Social Responsibility – A case study of Starbucks’ CSR communication through its corporate website.

Shen, J., & Benson, J. (2016). When CSR Is a Social Norm: How Socially Responsible Human Resource Management Affects Employee Work Behavior. Journal of Management, 1723–1746.

Siddiq, S., & Javed, S. (2014). Impact of CSR on Organizational Performance. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(27), 40-46.

Starbucks Coffee Company. (n.d.). Company Information. Retrieved from Starbucks Coffee Company: https://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information