Ethical Dilemma Project: Case Selection

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Week 3 Ethical Dilemma Project – Case Study

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APA Paper Requirements

1. Use Times New Roman 12-point font.

2. Double-space the entire paper with no extra spacing between paragraphs.

3. All margins are 1 in.

4. Indent all paragraphs.

5. Citations should be in APA style (author or source, date, p. or para. number).

6. Do not use hyperlinks (URLs) for in-text citations or as a reference citation. The full bibliographic entry of author, date, title, publication information, and retrieval information (Retrieved from URL) is required for the references page.

7. A References page is required, and it should be double spaced with hanging indentation of the citations. The word References should be centered at the top.

8. Directions : Write one double-spaced page .

Background of the Real Case : State the background of the case including its context, its origin, and any other important details. Summarize briefly what happened (the facts—who, what, when, where, why, how) [Note: If you choose a case from your personal experience, you may change the names to maintain confidentiality.] What is the history of the problem? Who is involved? Is there any missing information? This narrative section should be no more than one double-spaced page. On the next page is an example. 

Ethical Dilemma Project –Case Study

Directions : Fill in the blanks.

1. The ethical dilemma I selected from the list of topics is unconscious bias in the workplace/discrimination.

2. The case I selected is an event that happened at Starbucks in Philadelphia, PA.

Background of the Real Case

In Philadelphia, two men were waiting in a Starbucks on a Thursday in April 2018. They did not buy anything, and the store manager asked them to leave, but they refused, explaining that they were waiting to meet their friend. Because the men refused to leave, a Starbucks employee called the police who came and arrested the two men (Melamed, 2018).

A female customer recorded the arrest on her cell phone. She posted her video, and it went viral. People who witnessed the arrest labeled the manager’s act as discriminatory and racist since the two men who were arrested were black. By the following Monday, the manager no longer worked at the store.

The CEO of Starbucks, Kevin Johnson, responded to the incident, stating, “The video shot by customers is very hard to watch and the actions in it are not representative of our Starbucks Mission and Values.  Creating an environment that is both safe and welcoming for everyone is paramount for every store.  Regretfully, our practices and training led to a bad outcome—the basis for the call to the Philadelphia police department was wrong” (Johnson, 2018, para. 5).  

In his apology, Johnson outlined the steps he and Starbucks would undertake. He acknowledged that the customers were hurt by the arrests, and he said that Starbucks employees needed more training. Johnson also went to Philadelphia and met with the two men face to face to involve them in dialogue on what Starbucks needed to do differently (Mark, 2018).

The week following the arrests, Starbucks announced it would temporarily close 8,000 stores to conduct unconscious bias training, which they did on May 29, 2018 (Chappell, 2018, para. 1).  A month after the arrests, Starbucks released a new “Use of Third Place Policy,” which stated that anyone can use Starbucks and its facilities without making a purchase; it also explained what managers should do if a customer becomes disruptive (Starbucks, 2019).  Additionally, it reinforced Starbucks’ mission “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” (Starbucks, 2019, para. 1).

References

Chappell, B. (2018, May 29). Starbucks closes more than 8,000 stores today for racial bias training. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/29/615119351/starbucks-closes-more-than-8-000-stores-today-for-racial-bias-training

Johnson, K. (2018, April 14). Starbucks CEO: Reprehensible outcome in Philadelphia incident. https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2018/starbucks-ceo-reprehensible-outcome-in-philadelphia-incident/

Mark, M. (2018, April 15). Starbucks CEO apologizes to the 2 black men arrested in a Philadelphia store, says he wants to meet with them ‘face to face.’ Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-ceo-apology-black-men-arrested-viral-video-2018-4

Melamed, S. (2018, April 16). Starbucks arrests in Philadelphia: CEO Kevin Johnson promises unconscious-bias training for managers. The Philadelphia Inquirer. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/philadelphia/starbucks-ceo-kevin-johnson-philadelphia-arrests-black-men-20180416.html

Starbucks. (2019). Starbucks principles for upholding the Third Place: For our partners, our customers and our communities. https://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/learn-more/policies/third-place

Starbucks. (2019). Our mission. https://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information/mission-statement