Blog 6: CSR

Starbucks Case Study

When I began to read this case study, I thought to myself, "It's really not that big of a deal." Then I thought about our discussion in class last Wednesday about how the media tends to make things bigger than they actually are. So when an employee accidentally sells a 16 oz. bottle of water instead of donating it, it reflects poorly on the company causing tons of damage.I think its great that Starbucks stood by its values and principles. However, one would expect a company to do so. What good is a mission statement if employees do not follow it? I was suprised to hear that the president personally called the ambulance company and made an apology instead of having someone do it for him. From a customer's point of view, receiving a personal phone call from the president of a major company means that they are truly concerned about their customers.In the other case, when protestors demanded Fair Trade coffee, Starbucks showed that they knew how to listen to their publics. Starbucks researched and found a common ground that would work for both the company and, more importantly, their customers.Starbucks exhibits public relations at its best in this case study. They took bad situations and turned them around simply by publicly apologizing, researching, and listening to their publics. I only hope that they continue on this path and that other companies will follow in their footsteps.