Starbucks' employee development policies and competitive advantage strategies

¶ … employment development (ED) plans in place at Starbucks Company. This essay will explore the company's policies and practices regarding this human resources matter. This essay will present a model based on corporate strategies that best represent the Human resources management approach at this company. This essay will suggest that Starbucks' unique Human Resources approach towards its treatment of employees helps makes this organization stand out and be recognized both for its ability to maintain a competitive advantage in a tough industry, but also by demonstrating humanity in a corporate environment where that quality is often dismissed in regards for more profits.

Employment Development At Starbucks

Working at the retail establishment coffee house Starbucks is a unique experience. Starbucks takes advantage of their knowledge of human resources management techniques and provides the employee working there with a sense of belonging and pride. Values are instilled that transcend the outside world and the company is celebrated for its openness and dedication to the traditional qualities that built this country and corporate exchange which keeps the country revolving and people firmly in place of their careers.

At Starbucks, employees are called "Partners." A partnership is explicitly laid out by the company towards those who work for them. This places the employee at unique advantage and their development can be made in step with a partnership frame of mind. As a 'partner' employees are credited with some outstanding benefits that include educational perks. The company's website explained "Connecting with each other, with our customers and the communities we are a part of fosters a deep sense of purpose at Starbucks. We believe we can all become a part of something bigger and inspire positive change in the world around us. That's why we go out to do community service as a team throughout the year, partnering up with organizations to revitalize and enhance the neighborhoods we serve."

Starbucks clearly takes an idealistic if not spiritual tone in its way that its partners are treated. Much like a congregation of a church, partners can "inspire and nurture the human spirit" in accordance with Starbucks corporate plan of maximizing profits through the distribution of a stimulating drug known as caffeine found in its coffee. It is important to note the importance of balancing the actions that result from dealing drugs through corporate means. The use of caffeine as a stimulant is celebrated and taken to a spiritual mission when working at Starbucks.

Change Management Model

Change management is about noting change and reacting to it. By identifying the need to focus on the needs of the employee, Starbucks discovered a means to capitalize on the labor market. Starbucks has been able to capitalize because they have ridden the waves of change with success. They have overcome problems in many ways and found ways to make them a strength. This flexibility is a key component of any change management model that may have been applied by leadership in times of trouble. Groth (2011) suggested that CEO Howard Schultz applied change management techniques in a masterful way during such troubled times when the future of the company was in perilous doubt. She explained "During his eight-year hiatus -- when Schultz served as chairman -- the company grew from approximately 5,000 stores to 15,000. But it was all too fast. In 2007, Starbucks' stock dropped 42%. In early 2007, Schultz wrote a memo to then-CEO Jim Donald about the company's slow demise, which was later leaked to the media. A few months later, the board ousted Donald and brought Schultz back in. Beginning in the depths of the recession, the turnaround took two years. Today, Starbucks has more than $10 billion in revenue and employs 150,000."