Diversity management at Starbucks

One of the major issues that managers of firms typically encounter at work is managing diversity. Individual differences or variations owing to age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other factor that tends to set them apart from others are referred to as diversity (Jaworska, 48). In addition to endangering the company’s viability, discriminating companies tend to reduce their production. With more than 170k employees and over 19k retail locations in more than 60 countries, Starbucks is a reputable American coffee company (Starbucks, 1). The business is undoubtedly one of the most moral ones. The moral nature of the business arises from its capability to adopt seemingly responsible purchasing practices besides engaging in numerous volunteer programs. The paper intends to discuss some of the diversity management practices adopted at Starbucks and their significance on its performance.

Importance of diversity

Diversity in the workforce tends to serve as a powerful tool. Diversity is vital in promoting of the new ways of thinking. The capability of an organization to embrace diverse workforce is crucial in allowing for the integration of the cultures, ideas, and values that play a major role in the improvement of the company’s status. Furthermore having the diverse groups allows for the integration of the various ethical backgrounds and cultural education. Failure to embrace diversity in the organizations tends to affect the institutions adversely (Finckh and Kerstin, 21). Some of the effects of diversity on the companies include lawsuits, increased turnover rates, and absenteeism amongst the staff. The law provides for the protection of particular groups of individuals in the company whose discrimination serves as grounds for lawsuits. On the other hand, discrimination at the workplace tends to result in the decline in the employee’s morale.

Management of diversity

Starbucks is famous for the adoption of a practical approach in the acceptance of the diverse cultures. The company is guided by its mission of ensuring its dynamic creation and promotion of the environment that is more inclusive of the capabilities of every individual irrespective of their differences and capacities. The mentality of the company, therefore, plays a crucial role in allowing its thriving thus ensuring maintenance of competitive edge.

One of the important approaches adopted by the firm in the management of diversity entails comprehension of the partner’s beliefs and limitations. The company, therefore, ensures avoidance of forcing the partners in doing some of the things that contradict their values. Accommodating the partners, therefore, play a crucial role in ensuring the development of seemingly more personal and respectful relationships thus promoting the development of the strong relationships that result in strong bonds.

Starbucks started CAFÉ practices aimed at ensuring cultural competence as an approach to management of diversity. The company, therefore, adopts an ethical practice that provides just treatment of the employees regardless of their ethnicity or religion. Organizing the events aimed at boosting socializing amongst the employees has proven useful in the management of diversity in the company. The CAFÉ practices tend to play crucial role in showing the extent to which Starbucks values diversity amongst the partners, clients, and the environment in which it operates.

The company ensures enactment of culture by its upper management that plays crucial role in influencing the behaviors of both its managers and its employees within the firm. The culture adopted by the top management at Starbucks involves allowing the partners to have compressed weeks whereby they are allowed to labor for extra hours in a day to reduce the number of workdays. The flexibility in scheduling plays a crucial role in ensuring acceptance of the arrangements of the partners to meet their schedules. The company is thus capable of hiring various individuals based on the different programs.

Starbucks further ensure adoption of the ethical practices and values in management of its partners. The company, therefore, has stipulations for acceptance of the different employees irrespective of their color, sex, religion, or national origin. The managers and partners play a crucial role in the selection of the future employees of the company. The involvement of both the partners and managers in the hiring process ensures the availability of less bias and diverse opinions in recruitment. The company has further ensured that the managers gain adequate skills for handling the partners hailing from different cultures.

Impact of diversity on the performance of the company

Scholars associate diversity with both the negative and positive effects on the organization. Diversity is attributable to the emergence of conflicts and employee turnover while on the other hand; it is likely to result in innovation and creativity.

Conclusion

Some of the important factors attributable to either the positive or the negative influence of multiplicity at the workplace includes the company’s strategy, human resource practices, and culture. Starbucks, therefore, embraces open communication culture and ensures a flexible environment that tends to facilitate diversity through providing positive group performance. Embracing cultural diversity at Starbucks provides maintenance of competitive edge by the firm besides boosting its revenue.

Works cited

Finckh, Carmen A. and Kerstin Reich. “Systemic Constellations in Diversity Management.” International Journal of Organizational Diversity, vol. 16, no. 4, Dec. 2016, pp. 17-38. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=120562738&site=ehost-live.

Jaworska, Elżbieta. “Diversity Management and Reporting in Selected Companies.” [“ZARZĄDZANIE RÓŻNORODNOŚCIĄ ORAZ RAPORTOWANIE INFORMACJI O RÓŻNORODNOŚCI W WYBRANYCH PRZEDSIĘBIORSTWACH”]. Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego We Wroclawiu, no. 434, 15 May 2016, pp. 48-62. EBSCOhost, doi:10.15611/pn.2016.434.05.

Starbucks. (2014). Community Service. Retrieved from: http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/community/community-service On [April 8, 2017]