Human Capital and the Organization, Essay Example

Starbucks is a Fortune 500 company and the world’s largest specialty coffee retailer. The company operates more than 18,000 coffee shops in about 60 countries out of which 9,400 are company owned. The company also owns the Seattle’s Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia brands and licenses its brand for other food and beverage products as well (Hoovers).

Starbucks has acquired a reputation for customer service and it’s not surprising given the fact that all employees at Starbucks retail outlets including those operated by franchisees are required to undergo training and follow uniform store operating procedures (Starbucks, November 16, 2012). This helps Starbucks ensure that all stores maintain certain level of quality standards and the customers consistently get high quality customer service.

Starbucks’ management understands that taking care of employees is not only a right thing but also sound business strategy. One example is provision of health insurance to both full-time and part-time employees. Similarly, company stock is not only offered to management as part of compensation award but also to employees (Starbucks, November 16, 2012). Initiatives like these improve employees’ loyalty and dedication to the organization and also economically benefit the company through low turnover rate.

Starbucks has not converted its human capital into core competency by chance but instead through proper planning as the company’s HR Director Sandra Porter revealed the company hires people who share its values. In addition, the company mostly promotes from within (Peacock, 2011). By hiring those that already share company values, Starbucks ensure that employees will be a good fit into the organizational culture.

Starbucks may benefit from hiring more outside talent. Even though the company’s current HR policy has served it well over the years, outsiders sometimes bring fresh ideas as well as out-of-the-box thinking which is necessary to continuously innovate to stay ahead of the competition.

References

Hoovers. (n.d.). Starbucks Corporation Company Profile. Retrieved September 5, 2013, from http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Starbucks_Corporation.824509ef484db9e9.html

Peacock, L. (2011, January 31). Inside HR: Interview with Sandra Porter, HR director at Starbucks. Retrieved September 5, 2013, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/inside-hr/8293569/Inside-HR-Interview-with-Sandra-Porter-HR-director-at-Starbucks.html

Starbucks. (November 16, 2012). Form 10-K. Seattle, Washington: Starbucks Corporation.