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Part 5: Management Practices
A Manager’s Dilemma
Put yourself in Glen’s shoes. Using what you’ve learned in Part 5 about individual behavior,
communication, employee motivation, and leadership, how would you handle this situation?
There are no right answers about how to address Glen’s situation. Traditionally, management
experts would have recommended that Glen move out as managers’ benefit when they
separate their personal lives from the lives of their employees. Today’s view is that managers
can have personal and social interactions with their employees but the relationship can be
strained when difficult decisions need to be made. Students can break into groups, with each
group addressing one of these areas: individual behavior, communication, motivation, and
leadership. This discussion could be aided by asking if being in a management position
changes how a person looks at friends outside of work.
Global Sense
What role do you think external factors such as the global economic downturn or a country’s
culture play in levels of employee engagement? Discuss.
As world economies become more closely tied together, employees recognize that what
happens “over there” will soon impact what happens in the United States (and vice versa). Also,
there are many employees who work for companies that are closely connected (or owned) by
firms outside of the United States. So it is natural to assume that for these companies, the
global economy has a very real impact on their company’s ability to give raises or retain
employees. With regard to culture, we can see how a country’s national culture also relates to
global economic issues. Several countries in Europe with paternalistic views of worker benefits
have created an economic time bomb not only from themselves but for their partners in the EU.
Have students look at the effects of the Greek and Italian economies near collapses on other
member countries.
What role does an organization’s motivational programs play in whether an employee is
How might a manager’s leadership style affect an employee’s level of engagement? Discuss.
Leadership is important for energizing employees and providing direction through goals and
missions. As students will see, some styles of leadership are potentially very motivational, i.e.
charismatic leadership and transformational leadership. These styles rely on referent power and
expert power to influence employees. On the other hand, transactional leadership focuses
mainly on external rewards and the ability of this type of leader decreases as the attractiveness
of the rewards decrease or the leaders’ ability to distribute rewards.
Look at what we discussed about managerial communication in this part. What could a manager
do in the way he or she communicates to affect an employee’s level of engagement?
Looking at the first part of Chapter 14, students can pick out a variety of ways that
communication between managers can be improved; for example, eliminating the barriers to
communication such as filtering, information overload, and defensiveness. Managers can also
increase an employee’s level of engagement by using the technique of active listening to
empathize with employees. Another example of how communication can affect engagement is
the type of communication network used in the organization. The traditional chain and the wheel
networks result in low levels of employee satisfaction, while the all channel network reports the
highest level of employee satisfaction.
You’re a manager of a workplace that has different “generations.” How will you approach
engaging your employees? Do you think Gen Y employees are going to be more difficult to
“engage”? Discuss.
Continuing Case
Starbucks—Leading
Discussion Questions with Answers; Teaching Suggestions
P5-1. Do the overwhelmingly positive results from the 2005 partner survey surprise you? Why or
why not? Do you think giving employees an opportunity to express their opinions in something
like an attitude survey is beneficial? Why or why not?
As your students discuss their perspectives on these issues, you may want to ask them to share
with the class some of their experiences as a respondent to attitude surveys, either inside or
outside of their employment environment. Ask your students to consider related questions such
P5-2. How might the results of the partner survey affect the way a local store manager does his
or her job? How about a district manager? How about the president of global development? Do
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you think there are differences in the impact of employee surveys on how managers at different
organizational levels lead? Why or why not?
To help students better understand the possible impact of employee surveys on managers, ask
students to consider the skills needed by managers on different levels of the organization.
(Students may want to review material on management skills on pages 12–13 in Chapter 1
of the text.) You may wish to ask your students the following questions during this discussion:
• At what level(s) might managers need to have particularly strong conceptual skills?
Human and communication skills? Technical skills?
P5-3. As Starbucks continues to expand globally, what factors might affect partner responses
on a partner view survey? What are the implications for managers?
P5-4. Look at the description of the types of people Starbucks seeks. What individual behavior
issues might arise in managing these types of people? (Think in terms of attitudes, personality,
etc.) What work team issues might arise? (Think in terms of what makes teams successful. Hint:
Can a person be self-motivated and passionate and be a good team player?)
P5-5. Discuss the “ideal” Starbucks employee in terms of the various personality trait theories.
Your students will have varied responses to this question, depending upon the qualities they
P5-6. Describe in your own words the workplace environment Starbucks has tried to create.
What impact might such an environment have on motivating employees?
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P5-7. Using the Job Characteristics Model in Exhibit 16-6, re-design a part-time hourly worker’s
job to be more motivating. Do the same with a store manager’s job.
Students can work on this question in a small group setting either during class or outside of the
classroom. You can initiate this assignment by asking students to recall a time when they lacked
motivation in an employment situation. In what possible ways could their job have been
redesigned to increase their motivation?
P5-8. Does Starbucks “care” too much for its partners? Can a company ever treat its employees
too well? Why or why not?
What opinions do your students have on these issues? This question will likely raise strong
P5-9. Howard Schultz says, “We all want the same thing as people—to be respected and
valued as employees and appreciated as customers.” Does the company respect and value its
partners (employees)? Explain. What do you think this implies for its employee relationships?
After reading the case material presented in the Part 5-ending case as well as previous part-
ending cases on Starbucks, students should be able to give a number of specific examples
illustrating the commitment Starbucks demonstrates to the well-being of the company’s
• Would the way you were treated by the company have an effect on how you acted
toward your peers at work?
• Consider and respond to this statement: “The best way to ensure that your customers
Focus on Leadership Brewing Success
Begins With a Dream
potential by discovering what vision he/she holds for life as well as for the business
he/she leads.
In an interview broadcast by CNBC during its program “The Big Idea” on December 26,
2006, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz made numerous statements to interviewer Donny
Deutsch that illuminate the dreams he holds for his life and his company. Among these
• Speaking of his commitment to ethical leadership and his respect for the partners at
Starbucks, Schultz said, “I want to put my feet in the shoes of my people and make them
proud.”
P5-10. Former CEO Jim Donald once said, “Spending money to put people first is smart
money.” Do you agree or disagree? Why?
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P5-11. If you were an executive, would you be concerned about the drastic drop in ranking on
the list of best companies to work for? Why or why not? What actions might you take?
P5-12. Give some examples of the types of communication taking place at Starbucks.Students
will give a variety of answers to this question, because the case material provides numerous
examples illustrating the value Starbucks places on multidirectional, effective communication,
both within and outside of the company. In addition to studying the case material, students will
gain an appreciation for the role of effective communication at Starbucks by watching the video
.
P5-13. Suppose you’re a Starbucks store manager in Birmingham, Alabama. How do you find
out what’s going on in the company? How might you communicate your concerns or issues?
P5-14. Describe Howard Schultz’s leadership style. Would his approach be appropriate in other
types of organizations? Why or why not?
You may want to initiate a class discussion of this question by proposing these questions to
your students:
• Do you believe that great leaders share some of the same characteristics in their style of
• When a leader develops a style that is effective in leading employees in a particular
organization, can he/she assume that this style will be effective in a similar position with
another company later in his/her career? Why or why not?
P5-15. Do you agree that leadership succession planning is important? Why or why not?
After reading in the Part 5-ending comprehensive case material about Starbucks’ carefully
orchestrated succession planning, your students should benefit from a class discussion of
succession planning and related issues.
Before this discussion begins, suggest that students do some research on succession
planning and succession planning issues. A search of Bloomberg BusinessWeek's website
turned up several articles.
P5-16. What is Starbucks doing “right” with respect to the leading function? Are they doing
anything “wrong?” Explain.
P5-17. Which of the company’s principles (see website) influence the leading function of
management? Explain how the one(s) you chose would affect how Starbucks’ managers deal
