Question: How would you feel as a new

How would you feel as a new employee if your boss asked you to do something and you had to admit that you didn’t know how to do it? Most of us would probably feel pretty inadequate and incompetent. Now imagine how strange and uncomfortable it would be if, after experiencing such an incident, you went home with the boss because you were roommates and have been friends since fourth grade. That’s the situation faced by John, Glen, and Kurt. John and Kurt are employees at a software company that their friend Glen and three others started. The business now has thirty-nine employees, and the “friends” are finding out that mixing work and friendships can be tricky. At home, they’re equals. They share a three-bedroom condo and divide up housework and other chores. However, at work, equality is out the door. Glen is John’s boss, and Kurt’s boss is another company manager. Recently, the company moved into a new workspace. As part of the four-person management team, Glen has a corner office with windows. However, John was assigned a cubicle and is annoyed at Glen for not standing up for him when offices were assigned. But John didn’t complain because he didn’t want to get an office only because of his friendship with Glen. Another problem brewing is that the roommates compete to outlast one another at working late. Kurt’s boss is afraid that he’s going to burn out. Other awkward moments arise whenever the company’s performance is discussed. When Glen wants to get something off his chest about work matters, he has to stop himself. And then there’s the “elephant in the room.” If the software company is ever bought out by a larger company, Glen (and his three partners) stand to profit dramatically, thereby creating some interesting emotional issues for the roommates. Although it might seem easy to say the solution is to move, real estate is too expensive and, besides that, these guys are good friends. Put yourself in Glen’s shoes. Using what you’ve learned in Part 5 about communication, individual behavior, employee motivation, and leadership, how would you handle this situation? Global Sense As you discovered in this part of the text, employee engagement is an important focus for managers. Managers want their employees to be connected to, satisfied with, and enthusiastic about their jobs; that is, to be engaged. Why is employee engagement so important? The level of employee engagement serves as an indicator of organizational health and ultimately business results. The latest available data on global employee engagement levels showed that only15 percent of employees (surveyed from 155 countries) were engaged in their jobs, 66 percent were not engaged, and 18 percent were actively disengaged. That is, only 15 percent of employees worldwide say they’re passionate about and deeply connected to their work. The region of East Asia showed the lowest proportion of engaged employees at 6 percent. The global regions of the United States and Canada showed the highest levels of employee engagement at around 34 percent. Latin America was the next highest employee engagement region, with 27 percent of engaged employees. And the highest level of active disengagement of employees is in the MENA region—Middle East and North Africa.1 So what can managers do to get and keep employees engaged? Some important efforts include providing opportunities for career advancement, offering recognition, and having a good organization reputation.
Discuss the following questions in light of what you learned in Part 5.
• What role do you think external factors, such as the economy or a country’s culture, play in levels of employee engagement? Discuss.
• What role does an organization’s motivational programs play in whether an employee is engaged or not? Discuss.
• How might a manager’s leadership style affect an employee’s level of engagement? Discuss.
• What could a manager do in the way he or she communicates to affect an employee’s level of engagement?
• You’re a manager of a workplace that has different “generations.” How will you approach engaging your employees? Do you think Gen Y employees (born between 1980 and 1994) and Gen Z (born between 1995 and 2015) will tend to be more difficult to “engage”?
Discuss. Continuing Case
Starbucks—Leading:
Once people are hired or brought into organizations, managers must oversee and coordinate their work so that organizational goals can be pursued and achieved. This is the leading function of management. Managing people successfully means understanding their attitudes, behaviors, personalities, individual efforts, motivation, conflicts, and more. Starbucks has worked hard to create a workplace environment in which employees (partners) are encouraged to and want to put forth their best efforts. Kevin Johnson believes that people everywhere have the same desire—to find purpose in their work—and Starbucks’s partners are able to find this purpose by enhancing the human experience.
Communication at Starbucks:
Keeping organizational communication flowing at Starbucks starts at the top. Kevin Johnson regularly visits stores, which he started doing in his previous role at Starbucks as chief operating officer and continues now as CEO. Not only does this give him an up-close view of what’s happening out in the field, it gives partners a chance to talk with the top guy in the company. Johnson has initiated “Partner Connection Tours,” which start with partners sharing their life journeys and then move on to discussions about other matters on their minds. According to Johnson, the Partner Connection Tours have taught him to “listen with his heart” and better understand what is going on in the company. Johnson also has held open forums in order to reach out to more employees in a question-and answer setting. Lastly, not only does Johnson use the live broadcast feature of Starbucks’s internal social media tool (Workplace) to connect with store managers, but 80 percent of store managers use this tool to communicate with partners and other Starbucks managers. Most people would probably consider the biggest challenge so far during Kevin Johnson’s tenure as CEO to be the situation at a Philadelphia Starbucks in 2018 involving two African Americans who were asked to leave the store and were arrested while waiting for a friend. Johnson flew out to Philadelphia the day after the incident, met with the men, issued an apology video, met with the police commissioner and mayor, and fired the store manager. He also was the one who suggested that Starbucks close all of their US stores for racial bias training. In doing so, Johnson said he realized how it was time to do what had been done previously at Starbucks in 2008, when all US stores were closed to retrain baristas on the coffee experience. In 2008, it was about reaffirming what it meant to provide a customer experience around coffee. Fast forward to 2018, and closing stores for the day was about reaffirming the company’s “commitment to creating a safe and welcoming environment for every customer.”
Starbucks—Focus on Individuals:
Even with some 330,000 full- and part-time partners around the world, one thing that’s been important to Kevin Johnson is the relationship he has with employees. Johnson recognizes that taking care of its partners is a key way to ensure that these partners ensure a positive customer experience. In fact, Johnson notes that he understands how reducing employee turnover at the store level affects how well those employees connect to customers. Starbucks has an employee turnover rate that is a mere 20 percent of the industry average. Starbucks estimates that it costs them over $2,000 every time an hourly employee leaves. So, keeping turnover low also is very good for the company’s bottom line
One way Starbucks demonstrates the concern it has for its employees is through administering an attitude survey called Partner Perspectives. It measures overall satisfaction and engagement—the degree to which partners are connected to the company. It’s been an effective way for Starbucks to show that it cares about what its employees think. For example, a partner survey indicated that it was important to employees to have more flexibility in what they can wear to work. Starbucks first changed the dress code to allow visible tattoos (except those on the face and throat), small nose studs, and larger piercings of the earlobe based on partner survey feedback. Then, in 2016, Starbucks partners were allowed to dye their hair any color, wear muted-color shirts in colors other than just white and black, wear dark-wash jeans, and don fedoras and beanies. Starbucks has tried to strike a balance between the company’s brand and reputation on the one hand and being responsive to employees on the other hand. Starbucks does well in how it takes care of its employees but also has areas that could be improved. On Glassdoor. com, Starbucks employees give the company 3.8 stars out of 5. Employees frequently comment about liking the benefits and opportunities for advancement. Yet the fastpacked environment of most Starbucks stores is something that can be challenging and is commented on by many of Starbucks’s partners. A former Starbucks shift supervisor explained in a case heard by the California Supreme Court that Starbucks instructed its supervisors to clock out before completing tasks needed to close their stores. Supervisors clocked out before submitting sales and inventory data to headquarters, walking coworkers to their cars, activating the store alarm, and locking up for the night. The court ruled that Starbucks needed to pay supervisors for these tasks, and Starbucks has followed through on this. Starbucks states that it wants employees who have the ability to create “genuine moments of connection” with customers, a willingness to learn, and an openness to getting the job done while helping fellow team members. As you can see, this “ideal” Starbucks partner should have individual strengths and should be able to work as part of a team. In the retail store setting, especially, individuals must work together as a team to provide the experience that customers expect
Starbucks—Motivating Employees:

A story from Howard Schultz’s childhood provides some clues into what has shaped Starbucks’s philosophy about how to treat people. Schultz’s father worked hard at various blue-collar jobs. However, when he didn’t work, he didn’t get paid. When his father broke his ankle when Howard was seven years old, the family “had no income, no health insurance, no worker’s compensation, nothing to fall back on.” The image of his father with his leg in a cast, unable to work, left a lasting impression on the young Schultz. Many years later, when his father died of lung cancer, “he had no savings, no pension, and more important, he had never attained fulfillment and dignity from work he found meaningful.” The sad realities of the types of work environments
his father endured had a powerful effect on Howard, and he vowed that if he were “ever in a position where I could make a difference, I wouldn’t leave people behind.” And those personal experiences have shaped the way that Starbucks cares for its partners to this day—the relationships and commitments the company has with each and every employee. One of the best reflections of how Starbucks treats its eligible part- and full-time partners is its Total Pay package, which includes competitive base pay, bonuses, a comprehensive health plan, paid-time-off plans, a stock equity reward program, a generous retirement savings program, reimbursement for an online bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University, and partner perks (which includes a pound of coffee each week). Although specific benefits differ between regions and countries, all Starbucks international partners share the “Total Pay” philosophy. For instance, in Malaysia and Thailand, partners are provided extensive training opportunities to further their careers in addition to health insurance, paid vacation, sick leave, and other benefits. In Turkey, the “Total Pay” package for Starbucks’s partners includes transportation subsidies and access to a company doctor, who provides free treatment. And, in China, fulltime partners receive a monthly housing allowance and are eligible for a sabbatical (called a “Career Coffee Break”). Partner (employee) recognition is important to Starbucks. The company has several formal recognition programs in place that partners can use as tools to encourage, reward, and inspire one another. There are a whole host of performance-based awards for individuals and for teams, anniversary awards, and company-wide awards (like Partner of the Quarter). These programs range from formal company awards to informal special acknowledgments given by coworkers (which they call “Green Apron Awards”). To assist partners who are facing particularly difficult circumstances (such as natural disaster, fire, or illness), the company has a CUP (Caring Unites Partners) fund that provides financial support. After Hurricane Harvey in 2017, more than 2,000 partners in the Texas region received more than $1 million in assistance from the CUP fund. In China, Starbucks has set aside CUP funds starting in 2017 for a Parent Care program. This program provides critical illness insurance for parents of full-time employees working in mainland China. Understanding the culturally important role that parents play in China, Starbucks wanted to reduce the financial burden that many of its partners otherwise would bear if their parents become seriously ill. This kind of focus on partners’ needs extends back to founder Howard Schultz’s promise not to allow employees to experience financial hardship due to illness or injury the way his father’s injury created difficulties in his family growing up. In 2018, Starbucks was listed among the 50 best places to work by Inc. magazine (ranked 21 on the list) and also was ranked on Glassdoor’s list of the 100 best companies to work for. Starbucks has not been on Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list since 2013, but it was included on that list for fifteen years in a row prior to thatyear. Like many companies, Starbucks had to make some difficult strategic decisions during tough economic periods, such as closing underperforming stores. Despite the challenges, it’s a testament to Starbucks’s treatment of its partners that it has made lists that are based on employee reviews and ratings in recent years and made Fortune’s Top 100 list for fifteen years straight. With recent decisions to increase wages, relax the dress code, and increase benefits for sick leave, there is a potential for higher ratings in the near future.
Starbucks—Fostering Leadership:
To Howard Schultz, being a great leader means identifying a path your organization needs to follow and then creating enough confidence in your people so they follow that path and don’t take an easier route. He also said leaders, particularly of growing companies, need to stay true to those values and principles that have guided how their business is done and not let those values be compromised by ambitions of growth. Kevin Johnson’s take on leadership is very similar to Schultz’s. When talking about his leadership at Starbucks, Johnson repeatedly mentions how important it is to him to stay true to the mission and values of Starbucks every single day. When figuring out what needs to be done to steer the company, it’s a question of how well it accomplishes Starbucks’ mission of inspiring and nurturing the human spirit. Kevin Johnson frequently tells the story of a turning point that has defined the direction he continues to take as a leader. While he was the CEO of Juniper Networks, a technology company, Johnson was diagnosed with skin cancer (melanoma). He continued to prioritize business over his health until one day, while waiting in an airport, he realized how he had his priorities mixed up. He cancelled his flight and scaled back his work with a promise to himself to only “do things that are joyful.” This incident in his life likely informed Starbucks’s decision to provide paid benefits to employees who need to take time off to take care of sick family members. Johnson also says that his changed approach to life has allowed him to move from being a leader who “intellectually” understood business to someone who has grown to understand the business of Starbucks from an emotional standpoint too. This emotional understanding of Starbucks is important to his leadership, Johnson says, since Starbucks is a company that is “about the heart” as it works to fulfill its mission. Starbucks recognizes the importance of having indviduals with excellent leadership skills throughout the company. In addition to providing leadership development training for upper-level managers, Starbucks encourages leadership development skills by training for partners who have been identified as particularly good ambassadors of customer service. This training has been provided in an off-site conference format. In addition, Starbucks offers to managers at all organizational levels additional training courses that develop them further as leaders.2
Discussion Questions:
P5-1. Which of the functions of communication do you think Kevin Johnson uses when he is involved in a Partner Connection Tour? Are the communication functions any different when he uses the internal social media tool Workplace? Discuss.
P5-2. What potential barriers to effective communication might apply to employees working in a busy Starbucks café? What could a store manager do to minimize those barriers?
P5-3. Besides asking employees for their opinions through attitude surveys, what else could managers at Starbucks do to ensure that employees have as positive attitudes as possible?
P5-4. Look at the description of the types of people Starbucks seeks. What individual behavior issues might arise in managing these types of people? (Think in terms of attitudes, personality, etc.) What work team issues might arise? (Think in terms of what makes teams successful. Hint: Can a person be self-motivated and passionate and be a good team player?)
P5-5. Discuss the “ideal” Starbucks employee in terms of the various personality trait theories.
P5-6. Describe the workplace environment Starbucks has tried to create. What impact might such an environment have on motivating employees?
P5-7. Using the Job Characteristics Model in Exhibit 16–6, redesign a part-time hourly worker’s job to be more motivating. Do the same with a store manager’s job.
P5-8. Describe Kevin Johnson’s leadership style. Would his approach be appropriate in other types of organizations? Why or why not?
P5-9. What is Starbucks doing “right” with respect to the leading function? Are they doing anything “wrong?” Explain.
P5-10. Which of the company’s mission and values (see website) influence the leading function of management? Explain how the one(s) you chose would affect how Starbucks’ managers deal with (a) communication issues, (b) individual behavior issues, (c) motivational techniques, and (d) leadership styles or approaches.