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.

Starbucks is a global coffee company that has more than 36,000 stores in 84
markets. With a range of products including coffee beverages, food, at home
coffee and tea, and various lines of ready to drink beverages, Starbucks hosts
more than 30 blends and single origin coffees. Along with retail stores, Starbucks
builds strong relationships with farmers and only purchases the highest quality
beans farmed with best practices. Starbucks is one of the first companies to offer
full benefits to part time partners. The Starbucks mission: With every cup, every
conversations, with every community – we nurture the limitless possiblites of
human connection.

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

role).

I am a store manager for Starbucks in the South Central market.

3) Describe the situation, including information you think the will help the
reader understand the most important elements of the situation. (This will
require selectivity: part of the art of case writing is separating the essential
facts from the mass of information that might be included).

I have worked for Starbucks for a total of 5 years. During this time I have held a
variety of roles and encountered a variety of challenges. My most difficult
challenge revoles around training managers. Typically I do not have any say
over who is hired and have very little insight into who they are as a person when
they arrive in my store. Adapting my leadership style to meet the needs of the
trainee is challenging and many times pushes me outside of my comfort zone. I
recently had a new district manager take over our district. I recently had a
trainee who was highly emotional. Any small thing could set off a chain reaction
of emotions that would cause them to cry and need to step away from work. I
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 found this to be a unique challenge because in the service industry we can’t
simply step away. Customers continue to come in and expect to be served no
matter what is going on behind the scenes and despite how we are feeling as
people. Coaching this trainee was a monumental challenge for me because I
was challenged to adapt my training style and coach ownership to support the
trainee on their journey of self development as well as a leader inside of the
organization.

Reference

Starbucks Coffee Company. (n.d.). About us: Starbucks Coffee Company. About Us:
Starbucks Coffee Company. https://www.starbucks.com/about-us/