Servant Leadership Vs Traditional Leadership Styles

Starbucks vs. Tim Horton: Mission Statements and Leadership
Mission and vision statements are important in any industry setting because it gives organizations directions on what to do for them to achieve their goals and objectives. They are important because they guide every step and action that is taken within and outside the business. Its influence can be seen from the way it touches on the operations of the organizational leaders. Often, it is possible to predict the leadership style used in business by looking and analyzing at its mission or vision statement (Roderick, 2016). For example, Starbucks mission statement reads, ‘To establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow.’ The mission statement confirms the company’s commitment to servant leadership. In contrast, Tim Horton’s mission statement reads ‘To be the industry leader through commitment to excellence in people, product quality, value, cleanliness, guest service, and community leadership.’ The mission statement shows that Tim Horton uses traditional leadership style. The following study identifies the significance of the mission and vision statements to Starbucks and Tim Horton especially in defining the leadership styles adopted.
Comparison
From the onset, it is evident that the mission statements for the two companies are similar because they show their intentions to grow and take control of the market. The statements are specific to the future of the companies. Moreover, the two mission statements have set the means that the companies will use in achieving the goals. For instance, they consider hard work and innovation as the paths to success. However, Starbucks’ mission emphasizes the need for conducting business operations building relationships and good reputation. The business does not want to focus only on success but also on the way employees are handled and how the society feels about the business. However, Tim Horton’s statement focuses less on reputation but more on attaining success. It reiterates the need for employees to be committed, persistent, and obedient as antecedents to the success of the business (Richelieu, 2014). Moreover, Tim Horton does not focus on the need to treat employees well and make society happy with the way the business runs its daily routines. It is only interested in making profits and growing its turnover. Therefore, Starbucks leadership cares about the welfare of the effort enabling it to succeed and even the influence it has on its clientele. The leaders feel that employees are human beings and can get hurt or happy depending on how they are treated. However, Tim Horton’s mission statement does show how the leaders prioritize it success and employees’ management is a non-issue.
The mission statements are also important in showing the culture that the leaders of the organizations promote or encourage among their employees. For instance, Starbuck’s mission makes employees relate well among themselves and their leaders. As a result, they find it easy to air their concerns and receive positive responses. However, Tim Horton’s business culture is relatively worse because relationships with their leaders or within themselves are not emphasized (Foster et al., 2011). Therefore, there are increased chances that employees hate work, find it hard to establish and maintain positive relations, and discharge their responsibilities. The employees are also unhappy and demotivated thus increasing chances of them producing poor performances. Therefore, it shows the traditional leadership style in the company, which does not consider the trends in employee management.
Starbuck’s mission statement suggests that its leaders are humble, tolerant, assertive and good motivators (Parris & Peachey, 2013). They find time to listen and correct the way they do things if they are in the wrong. Moreover, they find time to get and go through employees’ suggestions and provide them feedback. They consider themselves not the ultimate decision makers but agents of positive change within and outside the business.
Starbucks has a positive public reputation because of the way it treats employees and empowers the society they obtain their raw materials. The business has long worked with the members of the society to achieve certain community development goals. For instance, the company focuses more on empowering small-scale coffee farmers to produce better quality coffee. In fact, a recent example is the business’s move to sign a deal with the Ethiopian government to help coffee farmers learn new ways they can use to produce quality coffee. The employees who handle customers and farmers well often receive recognition and rewards. They are considered pivotal in advancing the business’s agendas. Therefore, the employees find it easy to work hard and serve the society and customers in the best ways possible. However, Tim Horton can be considered as having unhappy employees because of the many reprimands and punishments they get (Foster et al., 2011). The number of employees quitting or getting fired are significant. Moreover, the members of the public find it difficult to locate development services offered to them by the business. Therefore, the business often gets negative criticisms from the members of the public.
It is clear that Starbucks is committed to executing its mission statement to the letter through the adopted servant leadership model. In all circumstances, leaders listen and respond to employee’s complaints and suggestions and do not treat themselves as the ultimate decision makers. The employees appreciate their responsibility of working hard and fulfilling the business’s goals and objectives because they are treated well. They also appreciate the opportunity of utilizing their unique qualities and abilities to realize success within the business (Parris & Peachey, 2013). The peaceful and collaborative relations among the employees are integral to the success of the business.
However, Tim Horton is lagging behind in the current business environment and has to change many aspects for it to succeed. Firstly, the business should alter its mission statement to promote positive values within and outside the business. The leaders should understand that they are role models whose behaviors and actions are copied by all. Presently, the mission statement lacks the call for all employees to uphold good values that enhance the relational aspect within and outside the business (Foster et al., 2011). The change will also enhance the leader’s performance, as they will be more focused on treating all employees with respect. The current mission statement has empowered the leaders but reduced the rights of junior employees. It does not reiterate the need for them to respect other employees and motivate them to respect each other. Therefore, the change will bring meaningful behavioral and performance outcomes to the business (Richelieu, 2014).
Conclusion
Servant leadership is more advantageous compared to the traditional one. For instance, servant leadership makes it possible for employees to relate well to themselves and their leaders (Roderick, 2016). Through this, it becomes possible for the employees to be more productive and important to the business. Starbucks business has reaped many rewards because it uses the business model. However, Tim Horton has not benefited more by using the traditional leadership style. Nonetheless, it will benefit if it changes its mission statement to incorporate the need for employees to be of good conduct. The management should do their work and ensure that they treat other employees and members of society well.


References
Foster, W. M., Suddaby, R., Minkus, A. & Wiebe, E. (2011). History as social memory assets: The example of Tim Hortons. Management & Organizational History, 6(1), 101-120
Richelieu, A. & Korai, B. (2014). The Consumption experience of Tim Hortons’ Coffee Fans. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 17(3), 192-208.
Roderick, L. (2016). Starbucks Lets Customers order a Coffee Via a Chatbot. Marketing Week. Retrieved September 30, 2017, from www.marketingweek.com/2016/12/07/starbucks-ai-chatbot/
Parris, D. L. & Peachey, J. W. (2013). A Systematic Literature Review of Servant Leadership Theory in Organizational Contexts. Journal of Business Ethics, 113(3), 377–393