Management and Leadership Paper on Starbucks - Case Study Example

Organizational culture can be defined as "personality of the business organization" which can further be broken down into its values, assumptions, norms, and tangible sign of behavior of its members. At Starbucks two of the most prominent values are corporate social responsibility and its treatment of employees as strategic partner. The establishment of organizational culture as will be presented later is linked to the company's ability of utilize the four management functions in order to lead the organization.

Management is often confused with leadership. There are four basic management functions namely planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Thus, it should be noted that management includes leadership since managers have to deal with persons who are lower in rank. In the case of Starbucks, its organizational culture is established through its managers who performed all these functions efficiently. In terms of planning, the company ensures that it undertakes strategic plans before starting its operation and modifying in response to the trends and developments in its external environment.

The success of Starbucks can be largely attributed to its high regard to its employees which it treats as partner. Recognizing that it is its baristas who deal with the customers, it planned to align its human resources to its goal of profitability and provision of excellent service. Through the four functions of management, this plan has been put in place. The specialty coffee retailer is now recognized as one of the best places to work for because of its organizational structure, the relationship between its employees, its unique values, and its employment of modern human resource management techniques.

It should be noted that the business organization efficiently uses its human resource in order to enhance its image and maximize its profitability. In its business operation, it is irrefutable that the company has strategically aligned its workforce in order to achieve its specific goals and objectives. This includes designing an organizational structure which highlights the revolution in human resource management. In terms of organizing, it can be seen the Starbucks has taken effort in order for its employees to know their role in the business organization.

The specialty coffee retailer makes a barista knowledgeable about his or her day to day activities inside of the store premises. Starbucks organize its workforce by giving them instructions on what to do on specific situations. However, the company allows for the discretion of the staff which are in-charge of the company's operation. The function of leading can be seen through the company's organizational structure. Leading has always been a task which is not considered lightly at Starbucks. However, leading has not been a rigid function of the manager because most of the baristas are empowered.

The company's rationale in empowering its people is to enable them to deliver the best service that they could for the customers. Thus, the primary governing body at Starbucks is comprised of the Office of the Chairman and the Board of Directors which "receives substantial input from other senior level executives including senior vice president of