As an introduction to the following abuse of the english language:
I have been out of school for about five years and this is my first quarter of English. So whether anyone reads this or not, I am going to be posting my English essays. Mainly so I can recieve feedback in order for me to better my writing.
Coffee that Cares
Today I walked into Starbucks. The line was at least seven people long, the perfect length that allowed me to be late for work. Nothing to do, but stand and stare at the back of the head of the person in front of me, I began to investigate what a Starbucks store was consisted of. The shelves on my left were filled with two brand names I had never seen, Ethos Water and Tazo Tea. Most of the bags of coffee that were for sale were labeled, "Fair Trade Coffee." Good useless information, it was my turn in line and I now had better things to do. I ordered my coffee and headed to work. As I was drinking my coffee, a group of anti-corporate "freedom fighters" headed toward my direction. To those under a rock for the past twenty five years, protesting big name companies, the government and other sources of authority has been a big fad. The hippie-minded gaggle approached. "Why are you supporting Starbucks? They have enough money! Why don't you buy from a company that actually cares about making a good cup of coffee and not about stealing your money?" "Don't you know they treat their employees horribly?" "They buy coffee from other countries at such a low price that the coffee growers live in a constant state of poverty!" I thought I was just buying a simple cup of coffee. Not interested in this corporate revolution, I walked away. The rest of the day I was curious as to how Starbucks operated. Do the hippie-communists I just talked with, have a point? The fear of what I just thought crept up my spine in the form of a chill. What is the truth? After work I sat in my apartment surfing the internet for facts.
I had constructed a plan of attack. I needed to know how Starbucks ran, from the lowest on the totem pole to the highest. From the store two blocks away to the fields that the coffee beans grew in. Scrolling through the official Starbucks site, I found their mission statement. In order to determine if the company acts on those statements, I began to analyze Starbucks' mission statement.
The first section of the mission statement concerned with the treatment and standards of employees. "The Starbucks standard is to provide a work environment so that each employee treats each other with respect, to embrace diversity, develop satisfied customers and to set the highest standards of purchasing, roasting and delivering coffee" (6). Researching further, I was amazed as to what I found. Entry level employees receive full a full health care plan, stock options, and even domestic partner benefits. Skeptical of information on Starbucks official web-site, I delved deeper into the issue. Browsing through Fortune magazine, Starbucks was rated as the 16th out of the 100 best companies to work for (2). The result of all of this effort, Starbucks' turnover rate is 250% lower than the industry average (1). Although everything is not perfect in Starbucks' world, some employees are trying to form a union. The claim of these "baristas", an entry level employee that's main responsibility is to make the various coffee beverages, is that they do not receive enough hours, which means they cannot meet the qualifications of a health care plan, Starbucks stores are understaffed, the conditions are not safe, and these baristas are not respected (5). Starbucks looks like a very well respected company to work for, and not only by consumers, but by employees. The claims that the Starbucks "union" made are examples of what every person that has worked in any entry level position has endured. Some stores can be understaffed, overstaffed, respect for part-time and entry-level jobs are almost impossible to find, and unsafe conditions is a relative term. Every employee may not be happy, but Starbucks offers a large benefit package and the majority of the employees are more than willing to continue working at Starbucks.
Looking further up the totem pole, Starbucks has provided more than just an extensive coffee menu. Starbucks officially contributes to the communities in which it operates. It also contributes to the environment by selling, buying, using environmentally friendly products, and providing money to various organizations. These have been major efforts of the corporation. The Starbucks Foundation was formed in 1991. The purpose of this foundation is to create opportunities, specifically literacy programs, for children in the areas that Starbucks exists. Since forming, "The Starbucks Foundation has awarded $8 million to more than 760 literacy and youth organizations" (3). When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Starbucks jumped on the bandwagon and provided contributions to various non-profit organizations. Starbucks' has gained extensive credentials for their money donations, programs and their image as an environment friendly business, but they are also reinventing themselves from the inside out. Various surveys of customers' and employees' opinions, on whether community service by Starbucks is impacting the community favorably, are constantly implemented. I commend Starbucks for their contributions. Something most big and well respected business do, contribute their communities, but Starbucks takes it to another level. It makes sure all employees understand the purpose and goals of their nonprofit work and it relentlessly updates their statistics of the results their work. How much Starbucks contributes is not enough to slow their increasing globalization, but the corporation honesty places in their mission statement that a major goal for them is to expand their influence. Nationally, Starbucks has my support for their work and their honesty.
As well as it does Nationally, Internationally, Starbucks receives praise for its efforts and contributions. Starbucks has committed itself to a coffee brand that includes a "Fair Trade Certified" selection. Fair Trade Coffee has to be met with stringent criteria in order to be considered Fair Trade. Imported at no lower than $1.26 a pound and requiring a company to assist farmers in the form of credit and technical assistance, Fair Trade is defiantly not the cheapest form of imported coffee. Along with lining shelves of Fair Trade coffee, Starbucks offers Tazo tea and Ethos water. Tazo tea, owned by Starbucks, is partnered with Mercy Corps. The objective of Mercy Corps is to provide clean water and opportunities to the villages around the Himalayan foothills of India. As with Tazo, Starbucks bought the company, Ethos Water. Ethos prides itself on providing five cents for every bottle sold to help children around the world get clean water. Internationally, Starbucks contributes significantly, but with profit hanging in the balance, the caring imagine of the corporation is tainted.
Big business rarely has a spotless record and Starbucks is not the exception. The buying out of companies such as Tazo and Ethos, has increased profit margins and the companies incline trendy customers to buy the products, but do not do much to better the world. For example, most of the world's water bottles end up in waste dumps that considerably hurt the environment more than the five cents per bottle used to help children. Like most globalized companies, Starbucks marks up their prices significantly. It receives coffee for cheap by importing Fair Trade coffee and non-Fair Trade coffee from places such as South America and Africa and marking up the price from $1 a pound to almost 26$ per pound in their stores. This situation has become a major fight in the Starbucks world.
Starbucks has used globalization to their advantage, by "taking advantage" of local growers. Starbucks provides assistance in the form of credit and aid to coffee growers, but what hasn't changed is the price that Starbucks buys for a pound of coffee from these growers. A British non-profit organization, Oxfam, organized 93,000 people in an effort to push Starbucks toward an agreement with Ethiopia. Oxfam wanted to see the Ethiopian coffee farmers provided for more money per pound of coffee instead of indirectly receiving assistance from non-profit organizations. On June 20th 2007, Ethiopia won the rights to trademark their coffee. It was a small step in empowering the growers and as well as a hit to Starbucks image of "coffee that cares" (4). This may be the biggest hit that Starbucks' has taken, but the quick resolution to the problem and the movement toward helping the coffee farmers, somewhat reinstates Starbucks' caring image.
The next day I walk into work carrying my Starbucks coffee with full knowledge of where it came from. Although Starbucks has taken hits for their importing of coffee and some of their allies may only put off a people helping people attitude, Starbucks supports their mission statement by being honest with their intentions and fully supporting their caring image by persevering through attacks on their credibility. Starbucks' national and international success is a result of providing their employees with a full package of benefits and support, devoting a substantial amount of money and resources on community service, and applying a strong determination to expand using international organizations and using globalization to their advantage. All while upholding their mission to be an honest and community supporting corporation. I may not have changed the fight against big business and the activists against "morally wrong" corporations, but I now have personal knowledge of where my money is goes. And now that I know the truth, my cup of coffee remains a simple cup of coffee.
(Cited works are on the next page)
Works Cited
Henderson, Kenya. Review. " THE STARBUCKS EXPERIENCE IS WSJ, BOOKSCAN, AND B&N BESTSELLER!" The Starbucks Experience. By Joseph A. Michelli Ph. D. United States: McGraw-Hill. Mhprofessional. 2006. 20 February. 2008
<http://www.mhprofessional.com/?page=/mhp/content/press_room/releases/products/michelli_the_starbucks_experience.html>
Lashinsky, Adam. "100 Best Companies to work for 2007." CNN Money. 27 January 2007. CNN. 25 February 2008 <http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/snapshots/16.html>
"Library Foundation Wins Starbucks Grant For Motheread." Fairfax Library Foundation. 1 March 2004. 18 February 2008 <http://www.fcplfoundation.org/news/news030104.htm>
"Starbucks and Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) Partner to Promote Ethiopia's Coffee and Benefit the Country's Coffee Farmers" CRSwire. 20 June 2007. Starbucks Corporation. February 22 2008. <http://www.csrwire.com/News/8962.html>
"Starbucks and Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) Partner to Promote Ethiopia's Coffee and Benefit the Country's Coffee Farmers" CRSwire. 20 June 2007. Starbucks Corporation. February 22 2008. <http://www.csrwire.com/News/8962.html
United States. IWW Starbucks Workers Union. Starbucks Union. 29 Feburary 2008. 20 February 2008 <http://www.starbucksunion.org/>
United States. Starbucks Corporation. Starbucks Coffee. 2008. 17 Feb. 2008
<http://www.starbucks.com>
I have been out of school for about five years and this is my first quarter of English. So whether anyone reads this or not, I am going to be posting my English essays. Mainly so I can recieve feedback in order for me to better my writing.
Coffee that Cares
Today I walked into Starbucks. The line was at least seven people long, the perfect length that allowed me to be late for work. Nothing to do, but stand and stare at the back of the head of the person in front of me, I began to investigate what a Starbucks store was consisted of. The shelves on my left were filled with two brand names I had never seen, Ethos Water and Tazo Tea. Most of the bags of coffee that were for sale were labeled, "Fair Trade Coffee." Good useless information, it was my turn in line and I now had better things to do. I ordered my coffee and headed to work. As I was drinking my coffee, a group of anti-corporate "freedom fighters" headed toward my direction. To those under a rock for the past twenty five years, protesting big name companies, the government and other sources of authority has been a big fad. The hippie-minded gaggle approached. "Why are you supporting Starbucks? They have enough money! Why don't you buy from a company that actually cares about making a good cup of coffee and not about stealing your money?" "Don't you know they treat their employees horribly?" "They buy coffee from other countries at such a low price that the coffee growers live in a constant state of poverty!" I thought I was just buying a simple cup of coffee. Not interested in this corporate revolution, I walked away. The rest of the day I was curious as to how Starbucks operated. Do the hippie-communists I just talked with, have a point? The fear of what I just thought crept up my spine in the form of a chill. What is the truth? After work I sat in my apartment surfing the internet for facts.
I had constructed a plan of attack. I needed to know how Starbucks ran, from the lowest on the totem pole to the highest. From the store two blocks away to the fields that the coffee beans grew in. Scrolling through the official Starbucks site, I found their mission statement. In order to determine if the company acts on those statements, I began to analyze Starbucks' mission statement.
The first section of the mission statement concerned with the treatment and standards of employees. "The Starbucks standard is to provide a work environment so that each employee treats each other with respect, to embrace diversity, develop satisfied customers and to set the highest standards of purchasing, roasting and delivering coffee" (6). Researching further, I was amazed as to what I found. Entry level employees receive full a full health care plan, stock options, and even domestic partner benefits. Skeptical of information on Starbucks official web-site, I delved deeper into the issue. Browsing through Fortune magazine, Starbucks was rated as the 16th out of the 100 best companies to work for (2). The result of all of this effort, Starbucks' turnover rate is 250% lower than the industry average (1). Although everything is not perfect in Starbucks' world, some employees are trying to form a union. The claim of these "baristas", an entry level employee that's main responsibility is to make the various coffee beverages, is that they do not receive enough hours, which means they cannot meet the qualifications of a health care plan, Starbucks stores are understaffed, the conditions are not safe, and these baristas are not respected (5). Starbucks looks like a very well respected company to work for, and not only by consumers, but by employees. The claims that the Starbucks "union" made are examples of what every person that has worked in any entry level position has endured. Some stores can be understaffed, overstaffed, respect for part-time and entry-level jobs are almost impossible to find, and unsafe conditions is a relative term. Every employee may not be happy, but Starbucks offers a large benefit package and the majority of the employees are more than willing to continue working at Starbucks.
Looking further up the totem pole, Starbucks has provided more than just an extensive coffee menu. Starbucks officially contributes to the communities in which it operates. It also contributes to the environment by selling, buying, using environmentally friendly products, and providing money to various organizations. These have been major efforts of the corporation. The Starbucks Foundation was formed in 1991. The purpose of this foundation is to create opportunities, specifically literacy programs, for children in the areas that Starbucks exists. Since forming, "The Starbucks Foundation has awarded $8 million to more than 760 literacy and youth organizations" (3). When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Starbucks jumped on the bandwagon and provided contributions to various non-profit organizations. Starbucks' has gained extensive credentials for their money donations, programs and their image as an environment friendly business, but they are also reinventing themselves from the inside out. Various surveys of customers' and employees' opinions, on whether community service by Starbucks is impacting the community favorably, are constantly implemented. I commend Starbucks for their contributions. Something most big and well respected business do, contribute their communities, but Starbucks takes it to another level. It makes sure all employees understand the purpose and goals of their nonprofit work and it relentlessly updates their statistics of the results their work. How much Starbucks contributes is not enough to slow their increasing globalization, but the corporation honesty places in their mission statement that a major goal for them is to expand their influence. Nationally, Starbucks has my support for their work and their honesty.
As well as it does Nationally, Internationally, Starbucks receives praise for its efforts and contributions. Starbucks has committed itself to a coffee brand that includes a "Fair Trade Certified" selection. Fair Trade Coffee has to be met with stringent criteria in order to be considered Fair Trade. Imported at no lower than $1.26 a pound and requiring a company to assist farmers in the form of credit and technical assistance, Fair Trade is defiantly not the cheapest form of imported coffee. Along with lining shelves of Fair Trade coffee, Starbucks offers Tazo tea and Ethos water. Tazo tea, owned by Starbucks, is partnered with Mercy Corps. The objective of Mercy Corps is to provide clean water and opportunities to the villages around the Himalayan foothills of India. As with Tazo, Starbucks bought the company, Ethos Water. Ethos prides itself on providing five cents for every bottle sold to help children around the world get clean water. Internationally, Starbucks contributes significantly, but with profit hanging in the balance, the caring imagine of the corporation is tainted.
Big business rarely has a spotless record and Starbucks is not the exception. The buying out of companies such as Tazo and Ethos, has increased profit margins and the companies incline trendy customers to buy the products, but do not do much to better the world. For example, most of the world's water bottles end up in waste dumps that considerably hurt the environment more than the five cents per bottle used to help children. Like most globalized companies, Starbucks marks up their prices significantly. It receives coffee for cheap by importing Fair Trade coffee and non-Fair Trade coffee from places such as South America and Africa and marking up the price from $1 a pound to almost 26$ per pound in their stores. This situation has become a major fight in the Starbucks world.
Starbucks has used globalization to their advantage, by "taking advantage" of local growers. Starbucks provides assistance in the form of credit and aid to coffee growers, but what hasn't changed is the price that Starbucks buys for a pound of coffee from these growers. A British non-profit organization, Oxfam, organized 93,000 people in an effort to push Starbucks toward an agreement with Ethiopia. Oxfam wanted to see the Ethiopian coffee farmers provided for more money per pound of coffee instead of indirectly receiving assistance from non-profit organizations. On June 20th 2007, Ethiopia won the rights to trademark their coffee. It was a small step in empowering the growers and as well as a hit to Starbucks image of "coffee that cares" (4). This may be the biggest hit that Starbucks' has taken, but the quick resolution to the problem and the movement toward helping the coffee farmers, somewhat reinstates Starbucks' caring image.
The next day I walk into work carrying my Starbucks coffee with full knowledge of where it came from. Although Starbucks has taken hits for their importing of coffee and some of their allies may only put off a people helping people attitude, Starbucks supports their mission statement by being honest with their intentions and fully supporting their caring image by persevering through attacks on their credibility. Starbucks' national and international success is a result of providing their employees with a full package of benefits and support, devoting a substantial amount of money and resources on community service, and applying a strong determination to expand using international organizations and using globalization to their advantage. All while upholding their mission to be an honest and community supporting corporation. I may not have changed the fight against big business and the activists against "morally wrong" corporations, but I now have personal knowledge of where my money is goes. And now that I know the truth, my cup of coffee remains a simple cup of coffee.
(Cited works are on the next page)
Works Cited
Henderson, Kenya. Review. " THE STARBUCKS EXPERIENCE IS WSJ, BOOKSCAN, AND B&N BESTSELLER!" The Starbucks Experience. By Joseph A. Michelli Ph. D. United States: McGraw-Hill. Mhprofessional. 2006. 20 February. 2008
<http://www.mhprofessional.com/?page=/mhp/content/press_room/releases/products/michelli_the_starbucks_experience.html>
Lashinsky, Adam. "100 Best Companies to work for 2007." CNN Money. 27 January 2007. CNN. 25 February 2008 <http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/snapshots/16.html>
"Library Foundation Wins Starbucks Grant For Motheread." Fairfax Library Foundation. 1 March 2004. 18 February 2008 <http://www.fcplfoundation.org/news/news030104.htm>
"Starbucks and Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) Partner to Promote Ethiopia's Coffee and Benefit the Country's Coffee Farmers" CRSwire. 20 June 2007. Starbucks Corporation. February 22 2008. <http://www.csrwire.com/News/8962.html>
"Starbucks and Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) Partner to Promote Ethiopia's Coffee and Benefit the Country's Coffee Farmers" CRSwire. 20 June 2007. Starbucks Corporation. February 22 2008. <http://www.csrwire.com/News/8962.html
United States. IWW Starbucks Workers Union. Starbucks Union. 29 Feburary 2008. 20 February 2008 <http://www.starbucksunion.org/>
United States. Starbucks Corporation. Starbucks Coffee. 2008. 17 Feb. 2008
<http://www.starbucks.com>
Also, from personal experience being on the Fortune 500 top companies list doesn't ensure you'll be treated well. i worked for REI for almost three years and in the end got shit on just like i would have if i were there for a month.
i'd really like to express a joy for seeing this critical outlook, though. face value and what feels good isn't necessarily what is good.