StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Engaging in CSR Activities for Starbucks - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
  This research paper "Engaging in CSR Activities for Starbucks " makes an attempt to look into the issue of recycling of paper cups in the outlets of Starbucks, and draw possible inferences from the point of view of the various stakeholders of the issue. …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.5% of users find it useful
Engaging in CSR Activities for Starbucks
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Engaging in CSR Activities for Starbucks"

Engaging in CSR Activities for Starbucks Executive Summary Engaging into CSR activities has become the legal and ethical norms for most businesses in almost all countries across the globe. Starbucks as a multinational brand has engaged into many such activities. However, the issue of recycling of paper cups in the outlets has been subject to controversy. This paper makes an attempt to look into the issue and draw possible inferences from the point of view of the various stakeholders of the issue. Introduction Starbucks is a popular name in the coffee chain industry and has industry presence in more than 62 countries of the world. The company is headquartered in Seattle and has more than twenty thousand stores in different locations of the world. The coffee chain along with the main product coffee which comes in various forms also serves snacks and pastries. The stores sell packaged food as well as other merchandise that are used as materials for the promotion of the brand like coffee mugs (Pendergrast 133). Though mostly based in the US, Starbucks has ventured into the other countries as well like Japan, Canada, South Korea, Thailand, Mexico, Germany , China and many other countries. The company over the years of its existence has taken part into various CSR activities which has brought the brand into the limelight. These activities have varied across the various social issues including environmental protection, caring for the coffee producers, practicing fair trade as well as selling products for the sake of collecting money for children in need (Warner 1). Issue Identification The company as a part of its environmental sustainability measures started the use of the paper cups which were claimed to be made of the recycled paper. Thus the food and the beverages were coming in contact with this recycled paper cups. These recycled materials were being used not only in the cups but also in the in the cardboard carriers and the napkins. The company claimed that it would have a direct impact on the environment and would be able to save almost 5 million pounds of tree fiber every year (Tice 1). This was a positive step on part of the company from the sustainability point of view. However, the company came across a lot of controversy since the cups are made of materials that have been used before by other customers (Taylor 49). Thus there were hygiene and safety issues relating to the use of such used materials. It was claimed by a set of people that Starbucks had not taken the permission of Food and Drug Administration before taking such a step that could harm the health of the consumers. Thus the question that came up was how much Starbucks was being able to deliver the social responsibility goals that it had set and what were the consequences of the steps taken. Issue significance The issue is important from various respects because the health of the customers of Starbucks were at stake. First of all, the cost that was incurred by the company in the process of recycling was pushed to the customers who were buying the coffee. If it was a case of CSR then the recycling cost should have been borne by Starbucks. But the activist groups were of the opinion that the company evaded such costs. Secondly, the material that was used by one individual was given to another person (Bryant 173). This could lead to various health problems that would not comply with the hygiene standards. Thirdly, the company had not taken the approval of the FDA which was mandatory on part of the company. Finally, the customers’ opinions were not considered while taking this decision of implementing the use of cups made of recycled paper (Locke and Latham 73). Thus from the economic, legal, social, moral and ethical point of view the step was not appropriate. Identifying the stakeholders In order to identify the stakeholders and their relative interest and power in the issue a stakeholder map has been drawn and their relative importance has been plotted as below. In the above map it can be seen that for the customers both interest and power is high. This is because of the fact that their health and safety are most important and they may take legal actions in case their interests are at stake. Thus the company has to take immense care to manage the customers (Fletcher et al. 515). Their willingness to support the particular method of CSR would only ensure the success of the strategy. The activist group would be the ones who would have high interest in the issue but their power would be limited. The FDA being a monitoring body would have a lot of power but less amount of interest. Finally, the companies that are engaged in the process of recycling the used cups would have low power and interest in the issue. Therefore this group has to be monitored well so that they do the work of recycling in the most efficient and hygienic way possible (Schwartz 8). Recommendations The best option that is available to the company is to make use of the recycled paper in those parts like the tray papers, bags or the other parts of the packaging that would not come in direct contact with the food. The inner parts of the cups or the boxes in which food and beverage would be served should be made out of virgin paper only. Any kind of hesitation in the minds of the consumers regarding the cleanliness or the hygiene of the serving material would hamper the sales of Starbucks products. Along with that the cost that is incurred by the company in the process of recycling should be borne by the company (Davis and Blomstrom 41). CSR is a part of the activities of a business and such costs should be on the company’s account otherwise it cannot be counted as an activity pertaining to corporate social responsibility. Possible implications If these policies are implemented the consumers would be more assured about the credibility of Starbucks. The business managers should look into the proper processing of the recycled materials before they are given a proper shape for a second use. The company would be freed from the different types of allegations brought by the activist groups by abiding by the legal standards from the short run point of view (Mellahi and Wood 22-34). From the long term point of view the company would be able to deliver a CSR activity that would help in the sustainability of the environment and would save the trees. Works Cited Bryant, Simon. Everything but the Coffee: Learning about America from Starbucks. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009. Print. Davis, K. and R.L. Blomstrom. Business and Society: Environment and Responsibility. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. Fletcher, Anne et al. "Mapping Stakeholder Perceptions for a Third Sector Organization." Journal of Intellectual Capital 4.4 (2003): 505 – 527. Print. Locke, Edwin A,. and Gary P. Latham. A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1990. Print. Mellahi, Kamel, and Geoffrey Wood. The Ethical Business – Challenges and Controversies. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002. Print. Pendergrast, Mark. Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World. New York: Basic Books, 2001. Print. Schwartz, Mark S. Corporate Social Responsibility: An Ethical Approach. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2011. Print. Taylor, Clark. Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce and Culture. London: Hachette UK, 2013. Print. Tice, Carol. “How Starbucks Will Make Millions Off Its New, Reusable Cup.” Forbes. January17, 2013. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. . Warner, Melanie. “Starbucks Will Use Cups With 10% Recycled Paper.” The New York Times. Business. November 17, 2004. Web. 26 Nov. 2013. . Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Engaging in CSR Activities for Starbucks Research Paper”, n.d.)
Engaging in CSR Activities for Starbucks Research Paper. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/business/1494218-company-specific-csr-issues-paper
(Engaging in CSR Activities for Starbucks Research Paper)
Engaging in CSR Activities for Starbucks Research Paper. https://studentshare.org/business/1494218-company-specific-csr-issues-paper.
“Engaging in CSR Activities for Starbucks Research Paper”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/business/1494218-company-specific-csr-issues-paper.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Engaging in CSR Activities for Starbucks

Social Responsibility and the Community

This paper will research and write an analysis of starbucks social actions in the community.... Analysis starbucks Coffee Company is the leading coffee retailer, roaster, and brand of specialty coffee in the world.... starbucks originated from Seattle, USA, but today it operates in over 60 countries with more than 18,000 stores.... starbucks specializes in premium and sells salads, books, gifts, warm and cold beverages, and other accessories....
6 Pages (1500 words) Assignment

Globalization of Economic Processes

Electronic banking has been on the rise and more and more people are engaging in online trade.... The assignment "Globalization of Economic Processes" focuses on the globalization phenomenon and the main factors of driving economic changes.... nbsp;Globalization is the process of linking worldwide markets, with a rising interdependence amongst states participating in international business....
7 Pages (1750 words) Assignment

Corporate Social Responsibility That is Practising in Self Regulation

ngaging in csr is one of the tools applied by companies to ensure that its own externalities are viewed positively by the public.... The paper "Corporate Social Responsibility That is Practising in Self Regulation" states that csr is a significant practice that needs to continue since the organization gets the public benefit from it.... hellip; A firm may be exempted from penalties and embargos among other measures that may be undertaken to deal with lawbreakers if it demonstrates efforts for csr....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Paper

Corporate Social Responsibility

Despite the formation of a welfare state in the post war years, notable efforts had started initiating for engaging the businesses in society.... Corporate social responsibility is buzz word that has gained recognition like fire in the current business scenario as well as all the industry circles....
24 Pages (6000 words) Essay

Critical Evaluation of Corporate Social Responsibility

It is believed that every corporate report, policies talk about the undertakings and activities for corporate social responsibility.... Many multinational corporations used the word CSR to define the activities of businessthat impacted their duty and concerns towards the environment.... Different researches have provided different viewpoints about the proper implementation and critical importance of csr....
10 Pages (2500 words) Coursework

Case study of Starbucks 03055

This paper is focused on the evaluation of the current strategy of starbucks.... It covers the marketing strategies that… Several academic models have been used in this paper to analyse the current market position of starbucks and how the company has reached its current position.... The business pursuit strategy of starbucks can also be discussed in the light of Porter's generic strategies.... starbucks as a parent brand has positioned itself to follow differentiation strategy....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

What Ethical Consumerism means for Starbucks

This paper, What Ethical Consumerism means for starbucks, will present a critical review of ethical consumerism and its application at Starbucks.... The writer will define ethical consumerism, discuss its benefits and explain how starbucks has dealt with it.... The assessment will be limited to starbucks.... Finally, the paper will present recommendations as to how starbucks can become more ethical....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Key Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility Based on Starbucks

The case study "Key Principles of Corporate Social Responsibility Based on starbucks" is going to be used to illustrate the degree to which this company follows those principles in order to be accountable for its actions to the communities and environment.... hellip; All these factors bear testimony that starbucks has been operating in an ethical manner and this has significantly contributed to its reputation.... hus, in order to gain a clear understanding of the concept of csr, it is imperative to begin by defining its meaning....
7 Pages (1750 words) Case Study
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us