The main idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is that companies doing businesses are not only committed to their shareholders but also their stakeholders.
Broadly defined, CSR is the commitment of businesses to contribute to sustainable economic development by running business responsibly while maintaining the preservation of the environment and working with the employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their lives in ways that are good for business and for development.
Within the business sector, CSR has become one of the major main beliefs promoted within recent years in the business plan to achieve business success. One of the companies that adopt CSR is Starbucks.
Starbucks is committed to being a truly responsible company in the communities. Its focus is on ethically sourcing high-quality coffee, reducing its environmental impacts, and contributing positively to communities. As part of the CSR program, the company in collaboration with Conservation International developed C.A.F.E. (Coffee and Farmer Equity) Practices in 1998.
C.A.F.E. Practices is a voluntary supply chain program that provides purchasing preference to coffee suppliers who supply coffee beans that are grown, processed, and traded in an economically, socially, and environmentally responsible manner. Those coffee farmers who adhere to best environmental and social practices will be rewarded with higher prices.
There are four main areas of focus in C.A.F.E. Practices.
Product quality
All coffee must meet Starbucks standards of high quality.
Economic accountability
Suppliers must submit evidence of payments made throughout coffee supply chain to show how much of the price Starbucks pays for unroasted coffee gets to the farmer.
Social responsibility
The rights of workers are protected. Third-party verifiers help the company to make sure their working and living conditions are safe and adequate.
Environmental leadership
Verifiers will measures in place to manage waste, protect water quality, conserve water and energy, preserve biodiversity and reduce agrochemical use.
By 2015, Starbucks targets to buy 100% responsibly grown and ethically traded coffee. In order to achieve this goal, it is essential to observe the alignment of this C.A.F.E. Practices with generic corporate strategy.
A generic strategy is a core idea about how a firm can best compete in its current marketplace (Pearce & Robinson, 2007). As defined by Michael Porter, there are three generic strategies: cost leadership, differentiation, and focus. Cost leadership means the pursuit of cost reduction in every aspect. The differentiation strategy involves the creation of something that is perceived by the industry as being unique. The generic strategy of focus targets a particular group or specific geographic market.
Based on the information above, understanding corporate competitive strategy is crucial. Every decision should be linked to the generic strategy. A company that fails to integrate its social responsibility strategy with its generic strategy will most likely face a problem in a long run. Therefore, it is so important to make sure that strategy and company’s programs are aligned so as the organisation can achieve its goals productively. This research will analyse the connection between Starbucks’ generic strategy and its Corporate Social Strategy, especially its C.A.F.E. practices program.
The main questions need to be answered in this case are as follows.
Is Starbucks doing most good for their stakeholders in this case coffee farmers in Indonesia by implementing CSR?
Do the farmers really get their fair price Starbucks is promising?
Are the coffee Starbucks bought responsibly grown and ethically traded?
Are C.A.F.E. practices beneficial to coffee growers?
What influence does the generic strategy give to the company?
What are the differences of nowadays competitive strategy and previous generic strategy?
What are the fundamental reasons a company should align its CSR practices with its corporate strategy?
This research paper is firstly aimed to understand the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and the fundamental value of integrating CSR and generic strategy.
The second aim is to demonstrate the knowledge that the author has gained during the study.
The third aim is to compare the theories mentioned in textbooks with what really happen in the real life. The author will soon enter a real life, i.e. working full time in the real business environment; therefore it is important to get a glimpse of it. It is expected that the author will be ready to face everything by the time the author gets into competitive business environment.
The data used in the dissertation will be collected using the primary and secondary (desk) research. Primary research will be carried out by interviewing some people related to the topic. This can be categorized as a qualitative research.
1. Secondary (desk) research
To gather data about Starbucks’ Corporate Social Responsibility
To gather data about C.A.F.E. practice guidelines
To collect information about competitive and corporate strategy
To find info about C.A.F.E. verifiers in Indonesia and their practices
To find info about coffee farmers and distributors in Indonesia
Starbucks website and annual reports
Articles and published journals from EBSCOhost [1] and internet
Books
Previous research reports
Forum
2. Primary research
To find info about implementation of C.A.F.E. verification in Indonesia
To get data about coffee growing method
To find info about coffee growers and distributors
Interviewing C.A.F.E. verifiers/ certification body
Interviewing coffee growers in Indonesia
This case study will be based on literature collection, such as:
Corporate Social Responsibility: Doing the Most Good for Your Company and Your Cause by Philip Kotler and Nancy Lee, 2004
Corporation, Be Good! By William C Frederick, 2006
Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time by Howard Schultz and Dori Jones Yang, 1999
Exploring Corporate Strategy: 8th edition by Gerry Johnson, 2008
Crafting and Executing Strategy, by Arthur A. Thompson, A. J. Strickland, John E. Gamble
Exploratory research
Contact the object of the research
Literature review
Proposal approved
Develop proposal
Reveal the corporate strategy
Develop interview questions
Reveal the Company’s CSR practices
Analyse the practice and strategy
If it is align
If it is not align
Reveal the inconsistency
Conclusion & recommendation
The analysis will be performed by gathering secondary and primary data.
Up to
August 2009
Generate ideas
Find literatures
Start collecting data from internet
Making the proposal
€ 50 (on books)
€ 0.30 (on printing)
1st week of
September 2009
Hand in the proposal
Consult with dissertation supervisor, Mr Hans Zahn
2nd to 4th week of
September 2009
Collect data about CSR and C.A.F.E. practices
Hand in revised proposal and consult with Mr Zahn
Revise interview questions
Perform interviews in Indonesia
€ 900 (plane ticket)
€ 10 (phone)
1st and 2nd week of
October 2009
Write chapter I: introduction (background information, research objectives, overview of research method)
3rd and 4th week of
October 2009
Discuss with supervisor on the progress
Write chapter II: literature review/ theoretical framework (generic strategy Porter, CSR, the connection between CSR and generic strategy)
Gather more secondary data
1st week of November 2009
Discuss with supervisor
Re-write literature review
Write chapter III: research method
2nd week of November 2009
Discuss with supervisor
Start writing chapter IV: analysis of result (company profile, analysis on the interview result)
3rd and 4th week of November 2009
Discuss with supervisor
Continue writing chapter IV
Brainstorm and start writing chapter V: conclusion and recommendation
1st week of December 2009
Discuss with supervisor
Continue writing chapter V
Check what missing on the report, grammar
2nd week of December 2009
Write executive summary
Write bibliography
December 2009
(targeted before Christmas)
Final consultation
Edit the report
Hand in the report
€ 25 (on printing)
January 2010 (targeted before 20th of January)
Oral defence
Total cost estimation is approximately €1000.
Starbucks is unable to give informational interviews for school projects due to the high volume of request. Therefore, the author will rely mostly on secondary data.
Chapter I will consist of summary of the dissertation especially from chapter II and III. Background information, research objectives, benefits of the research, and limitation will also be included in this chapter.
In this chapter, the theories on which the research is based will be presented. There are several concepts and theories related to this dissertation, such as:
Corporate Social Responsibility;
C.A.F.E. Practices program;
Porter’s generic strategy; and
Competitive strategy.
This chapter also covers past research and articles from journals, books, and other different sources.
This part is about description and evaluation of the method used in the research, including data sources and collection methods, as well as the research analysis method.
In this dissertation, data are gathered more likely from secondary research rather than primary research. Some interviews will be taken as an additional analytical data.
This chapter will provide Starbucks company profile, empirical findings, and analysis of findings.
This chapter will include conclusion and suggestion for further research.
The Harvard referencing system will be used as a guide to write this part as well as the citation and quotation in the main report.
The dissertation proposal will be included in this part.
Interview questions (for the coffee farmers)
For what price you sell your coffee?
Who are your coffee buyers, retailer, or distributors?
What is the coffee production monthly?
Do you use some sort of sustainable coffee growing?
Do you sell your coffee to Starbucks?
(if yes please answer q6 till q10, if not answer q11 and q12)
Who is your previous buyer before Starbucks? (if any)
What is the reason you change buyer?
Do you have a special contract/joint venture with Starbucks? Or is it market price?
Does Starbucks promote eco-friendly ways of growing coffee?
Is selling to Starbucks beneficial to you? In what way (improve quality of life, condition/wealth etc.)?
What is your image of Starbucks?
Would you sell your coffee to Starbucks?
Interview questions (for C.A.F.E. verifiers)
What is the company value and strategy?
How does the company intend to achieve the objectives?
What is CSR in your opinion?
What is C.A.F.E. practices program in your point of view?
How is the implementation of the program in Indonesia?
Is there any adjustment during the implementation of C.A.F.E. guidelines?
What are the benefits of this program for coffee farmers and distributors especially in Indonesia?
What are the benefits of this program for your company?
According to you, is C.A.F.E. practice program can directly be linked to your company strategy?
etc.
Consumer buying behaviour related to C.A.F.E. practices (fair trade coffee)
This part is still need to be further discussed:
whether or not it will be included in this dissertation
If yes, will it be included as a main research or in a appendix
Ethical consumption is the purchase of a product that concerns a specific ethical issue (human rights, labour conditions, animal well-being, environment, etc.) and is chosen freely by an individual consumer. Some forms of ethical consumption benefit the natural environment (e.g., environmentally friendly products, legally logged wood, animal well-being), while others benefit people (e.g., products free from child labour, fair-trade products).
Research questions:
What is the link between C.A.F.E. practices with customer behaviour?
What aspects are influencing customers to buy fair trade coffee?
What are the impacts of CSR on COB?
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