Runninghead: SYMBOLIC FRAME 1

Olivia Brookshire

Dr. Scholar

OGL 481 PCA Symbolic Frame

June 20, 2020

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Situation Restatment

The event I have chosen to analyze is an overdose resulting in a death in my Starbucks

store in Atlanta, Georgia in the winter of 2016. In this situation I was a shift leader. The

heroin epidemic had a major impact in my community, which already was classified as a

high-crime area with a consistent homeless population. In addition, it was wintertime and

we always experienced an influx of problems as the weather got colder and more

homeless who often suffered from addiction would use our facilities. Our store

experienced increased loitering and robbery because of this. It was not until the overdose

resulting in a death that preventative changes were made but piled on to hourly workers.

Our experience with the homeless and drug addicts in our community became out of hand

and required us to make significant changes.

Symbolic Influence

Starbucks’ mission statement is honest and simple; "to inspire and nurture the human

spirit — one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time." This statement is reflected

through a number of iconic symbols; the green apron, the siren’s logo, and the star. For

partners and frequent customers, these symbols signify home, or as corporate likes to call

it, the third place. Corporate argues that Starbucks are often safe spaces for our

customers, being their third home, with their residence and place of work as the first two.

Seeing as green is the color meant to spark creativity and imagination, I believe the staple

color symbolizes this for customers spending long days in Starbucks cafes, and for

baristas whose work is often routine. In addition, the architecture of Starbucks stores is

small and cozy, symbolizing that of a home. There is usually a lot of natural wood

followed by the green signature color, symbolizing that of a forrest out in nature. In

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addition, the star symbolizes reaching goals that are far away and celebrate achievement.

When customers earn 150 stars on their Starbucks Rewards application, they achieve free

beverages and food, symbolizing their achievement and celebrating their dedication as a

consumer. When people arrive at a Starbucks, whether customer or employee, they are

generally in good spirits. Perhaps in a hurry, but pleasant and friendly to others. In my

experience as an employee, I almost always leave work in better spirits than I did when I

arrived. This is because I have enjoyed the interactions I have had throughout the day and

my capacity for connection was fulfilled. The subcultures of the organization, however,

do not mesh as wished. For example, Starbucks is undoubtedly a savvy brand. When you

buy Starbucks coffee you’re not paying for coffee; you’re paying for the Starbucks

coffee. You’re paying for the status, the aesthetic, the feeling, and lastly, the quality.

There is a very obvious divide between the status of cutstomers, and the status of

employees. Customers are more often than not, middle aged, middle to high class, and

white. On the other hand, employees are lower class, usually in their 20s to 30s, range

races yet feature a number of minority people. Because of this obvious divide, it sets

interactions off on an uneasy foot sometimes, with each party assuming the worst in the

other. Cohesion between employees and customers must be fostered due to the explicit

class separation.

Course of Action

After the incident, our district manager organized a meeting for all leaders at

Starbucks stores in high crime areas. Starbucks developed an array of acronyms,

worksheets, reenactment skits, and other resources to help partners learn how to handle

these tricky situations. For example, we were given folders with worksheets that walked

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us through the steps handling situations with loiterers, theft, inappropriate behavior, and

so on. They were very clear about when and how to call the police, and when not to. This

made things a lot easier for us because now we knew what was expected of us from upper

management, rather than handling the situation to our own standards. We also

participated in acting out skits, providing everyone an opportunity to practice their new

knowledge in an improve scenario. Overall, these tools were very helpful and I still

consider them if I am near danger. While this meeting advanced our skills as leaders and

provided us a sense of security, it was not enough to handle the problem that had been

plaguing our store for years. After learning about the symbolic frame, I would use the

power of vision and values that Starbucks has already established to further that mission.

Our text states that vision turns an organizations core values into an image of the future.

By using this tactic to illustrate hope, organizations create positive organizational

motivation within their branches. Chapter 12 states that symbolism is the essence of

spirit. Without symbolism, a busines’s flame will burn out quickly. In my experience

with the death at my Starbucks store, I would have used the person’s death as a memorial

and reminder that with communal effort, we can save lives and alter our mindset towards

those struggling in our community. With this vision for a hopeful future, I would have

declared weekly rituals, for our community to come together and hold community

meetings about how to do our part and help those around us struggling with addiction. I

would have liked to do this meeting on a weekday evening each week, and begin by

doing a Starbucks coffee tasting. This way, we could be coming together to learn a little

about coffee, and also discuss how we can spark change within our community. I would

partner with local organizations and non-profits targeted towards homeless and those

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struggling with addiction, so that they could help educate my store and our community on

how we can do our part to help.

Do Different

If I had it to do over again, I would have leveraged my position and leadership skills to

vouch for institutional support. I would have pushed harder for an in-store police officer,

who could have directed those suffering to better places, take quicker action with

overdoses, and overall handle the safety aspect of our chaotic store. In addition, I would

ignore the hardened policies on homeless and addicts in our store. I would not have made

them leave, I would not have denied them the bathroom or the food that was being

thrown out. I would have followed my heart, my beliefs, and my companies motto, of

sparking human interaction by showing grace, understanding, and support to those

struggling. As someone who has a brother who battles a meth addiction, I understand

more accurately now how tragic addiction is. My store villanized those trapped by

addiction and robbed them of all potential generosity because of the fatal tragedy. People

who are addicted almost never survive addiction alone.

Starbucks has created a very strong organizational culture. This culture bonds

over coffee, but also has a shared desire for social justice as our company is explicit

about supporting marginalized groups through forward thinking ideologies. If I had it to

do over again, I would have argued that our culture would not just sit idly by this tragedy,

and that if we were going to stand by our vision and values, we must implement change

within our store. In addition, by using my favorite part of Organizational Leadership,

Level 5 Leadership, to symbolize that serving our community whether they are paying

customers are not is our true purpose as humans yearning for change. Overall, I would

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argue that the symbols associated with our company should not just be used as a

marketing tactic to lure in consumers, but as our own moral and ethic duty in and out of

our stores.

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Reference or References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership

(6th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass (Perusall Version Only)