OGL 481 Pro-Seminar I:

PCA-Choosing an Organization Worksheet

Worksheet Objectives:

1. Identify an organization and situation you want to study over the remainder of the course.

2. Describe the organization and the situation

Complete the following making sure to support your ideas and cite from the textbook and other

course materials per APA guidelines. After the peer review, you have a chance to update this and format

for your Electronic Portfolio due in Module 6.

1) Name and describe your organization.

My organization is Starbucks Coffee Company, established in 1971. Starbucks is a fast-food-

esque coffee business, and are known for their welcoming cafes, green aprons, and wide variety menu.

There are over 15 thousand Starbucks in America, with over 30 thousand worldwide. Starbucks serves

crafted beverages and food items, and customers can choose to dine-in, use the drive-thru, mobile order

pickup, or delivery via food-delivery services such as UberEats or Postmates. Starbucks has been known

to provide a ‘third place’ for customers, a getaway from work and home, and a safe place to study,

conduct meetings, work on your screenplay, or just enjoy a cup of coffee.

2) Describe your role in the organization (it can be an internal or external role).

I have been a Starbucks partner for 6 years now, and currently hold the title of a Shift Supervisor.

My role in everyday operations is to ensure that my partners are supported and positioned in roles that

will provide the best service to our customers. I deploy partners to positions, whether that be on bar,
drive-thru, or front register, and then constantly reassess the play to see if anyone needs additional

support. Some of my other responsibilities include cash management, opening and closing the store,

ordering products to ensure inventory is available, and completing clean, safe, and ready tasks to ensure

the store is running efficiently and following local and federal guidelines on food service establishments.

On top of being a Shift Supervisor, I am a barista as well. I serve handcrafted beverages, provide

customer service of the best quality, and foster connections with customers.

3) Describe the situation, including information you think will help the reader understand the most

important elements of the situation.

On April 12th, 2018 at around 4pm there was an incident that occurred at a Starbucks located on

18th and Spruce Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson, two young

African American men, went to this Starbucks to have a business meeting with a real estate agent that

afternoon, and ended up leaving the store in handcuffs shortly after arriving. The situation played out as

follows: the men arrive at the Starbucks and sit, waiting for the third individual to arrive. Nelson had

asked one of the Starbucks partners if he could use the restroom, and was told that the restrooms were

only for paying customers. This particular Starbucks had a policy that customers had to purchase

something to be able to stay in the store, and the two men were asked by management to leave if they

were not going to make a purchase. Once the men declined to leave, the store manager called 9-1-1 and

less than 5 minutes later Philadelphia police were on the scene. The police asked the men to leave as

Starbucks had considered them trespassing at this time, and after declining the two men were arrested and

taken into custody. Starbucks did not decide to prosecute the two men, and they were released about eight

hours after the initial phone call to the police. The incident garnered national attention as it was live

streamed and viewed over 7 million times. Starbucks issued a formal apology to the two men, and

ensured the public that they wanted to do better, and on May 29th, 2018 Starbucks closed over 8,000 of

their stores to conduct company-wide racial bias training for all corporate partners.
 Reference or References

Held, A. (2018, April 19). Men Arrested At Philadelphia Starbucks Speak Out; Police

Commissioner Apologizes. NPR.

Gathright, J., & Sullivan, E. (2018, April 14). Starbucks, Police And Mayor Respond To

Controversial Arrest Of 2 Black Men In Philly. NPR.

About Us: Starbucks Coffee Company. (2022). Starbucks.