Author Archives: Amanda

Unit 10 assignment

  1. The most demotivating part about Harper’s job is taking on extra work without any added benefits. Even if her extra job duties were interfering with her personal life I believe if she received any perks at work perhaps a financial bonus then being behind on her personal to do list wouldn’t make her feel so overburdened.
  2. If I was an HR manager I would advise David to implement these fundamental principles that’ll help mend the employer and employee relationship with Harper. Every boss should make efforts to build a rapport with employees. Treat them as a friend, at least a peer. Not as a subordinate. Employees should be given respect, this will help employees be confident in their work ethic. All employees are adults. Give them that respect. Allow them enough autonomy in how they complete their work. Setting clear expectations on roles and responsibilities right from the start. An employer should also make efforts to motivate their employees. The key to motivate your employees on a daily basis is to be genuinely concerned about their lives, as simple as that. What I mean by genuine concern is that you always care about what they’re working on, their progress, the challenges they encounter etc. At the same time, provide them with feedback on their work and compliment them for their achievement. 

These are only a few of the fundamental principles that must underpin any employer-employee relationship. You won’t have to worry about inspiring them on a daily basis once you’ve established these. Employees would eagerly anticipate going to work each day.

3. The downside of losing Harper as an employee would be that the company would be lacking one dedicated employee. Harper is very team oriented and has been a member of the company since graduating college and seems like she would continue her career with the company if she was just treated fairly. Harper takes on extra work if she needs to which makes her a reliable employee which is important for a big company.

Starbucks ethical responsibilities

A company I interact with on almost a daily basis living in a metropolitan community is Starbucks. Starbucks is commonly known for having good quality caffeinated beverages but aside from that Starbucks is a company that makes efforts to also be known for being socially responsible. In the year 2002 Starbucks began its first corporate social responsibility report, these reports show the annual milestones and challenges of the company. Since launching these annual corporate social responsibility reports Starbucks has achieved ethically sourcing 99% of their coffee. Starbucks progressed its social responsibility by also creating a global network of farmer support centers around the world. Starbucks has also provided many hours of community service along with an innovative college program for its employees.
As part of the progression of the company’s comprehensive ethical sourcing program and support of the specialty coffee sector’s sustainability, Starbucks announced significant breakthroughs in research and transparency that will ultimately benefit the coffee industry. In conjunction with the Costa Rican Coffee Institute, the company will make a decade of agronomy research available for commercialization. More than a million farmers and workers benefit from this study, which is integrated with Starbucks’ sustainable sourcing. Starbucks’ contribution to the 25 million people who rely on coffee for a living will grow as a result of sharing this work with the industry. In 2004, Starbucks created its first Farmer Support Center in Costa Rica, allowing agronomists and quality specialists to collaborate with farmers, providing tools and knowledge to assist them to boost the productivity and quality of coffee on their farms and thereby improve their livelihoods.
Starbucks has also provided financial donations and millions of coffee trees to several Latin American countries. The Group President of “Global Coffee, Starbucks” Cliff Burrows states “We have heard directly from farmers that healthy trees are what they need now, more than ever, so this long-term approach coupled with the right resources directly correlates to the stability of their family as well as the future of coffee.” By 2025 Starbucks will expect to have provided 100 million coffee trees. This initiative is part of the company’s unwavering dedication to offering complete support to farmers all across the world, including open-source agronomy research and farmer financing. Starbucks’ One Tree for Every Bag project, which began in September 2015 and ensures that a coffee tree is planted for every bag of coffee purchased in participating U.S. stores, has been expanded. The seedlings will be planted to replace trees that are dying from age and disease, such as coffee leaf rust, that’s becoming more prevalent due to the warmer environment. Since the original delivery of ten million trees in 2016, more than 25 million trees have been donated. According to Starbucks, more than 6,200 farming families got new coffee trees, assisting in the rehabilitation of over 2,500 hectares of farmland and the creation of over 800 temporary jobs to support the first distribution.
Many of us that enjoy Starbucks coffee often find ourselves feeling like we’ve made an uneconomical decision spending 5 dollars on a cup of coffee. However, knowing all the contributions Starbucks has and continues to make to be both ethical and responsible and ensuring that they continue to do so makes me feel better when I do decide to purchase a coffee from them. Based on the research I’ve done on Starbucks, I believe that most of their views on ethical and social responsibilities align with mine. The company’s primary beliefs include ethical sourcing and social responsibility, which helped the company succeed in the coffee market.

Sources:
https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/starbucks-2016-global-social-impact-report/
https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2018/starbucks-worlds-most-ethical-companies-2018/

The Founder

  • The difference between Ray Kroc and the McDonald’s brothers is that Ray Kroc had a vision for the McDonald’s business to grow through a franchise network and would continue to be persistent until he reached success. Kroc saw the McDonald’s burger stand as innovative and unique. The McDonald’s brothers were the first restaurant Kroc has ever seen to have disposable packaging and served food within 30 seconds of placing your order. In the scene when Ray Kroc first went to California and had a McDonald’s burger for the first time you can see that he was observing the efficiency and friendly service while also observing the many people enjoying the food. Kroc saw how popular the restaurant was and saw the vision of McDonald’s having the potential to be expanded throughout the country. Whereas the McDonald’s brothers already tried once and failed at trying to make McDonald’s a franchise. The other locations weren’t staying up to specific codes. It was difficult for the brothers to enforce their high standards amongst the other locations. 
  • It’s highly debatable whether or not the McDonald’s brothers made the right decision to sell their company to Ray Kroc. It depends on how you look at it. However, I feel that Maurice McDonald was too naïve and not firm enough when it came to handling business. People like that often get swindled easily. Ray Kroc recognized that and used that against the brothers. Even though Kroc treated the brothers horribly if he didn’t involve himself in McDonald’s it would’ve never evolved and expanded globally. Most likely you have a McDonald’s in your neighborhood. It was a good thing for McDonald’s when Ray Kroc bought the company because it would’ve never prevailed to the level that it did. But I think it was wrong and disrespectful to offer the brothers only 1% when they supplied the idea. The McDonald’s brothers deserved better than what they got in return for their brilliant idea.
  • The McDonald’s brothers were perfectionists when it came to the quality of their food and service. They were very particular about the way their burgers were served and how fast they can serve orders to customers. This kept the customers coming back as well as spreading the word about McDonald’s excellent service which helped make the local store make money.
  • Ray Kroc meets his new business partner Harry and advised him that he should purchase the land and lease it to the franchisees. By being the franchisee’s landlord, he could obtain bank financing for the land, enjoy a consistent income stream, and maintain control over the franchisee’s quality. 
  • My mind about McDonald’s hasn’t changed but after watching this film I felt so sad for the McDonald’s brothers but from a business standpoint, Ray Kroc worked very hard and almost lost his home because he believed in McDonald’s. Kroc attempted to ask for an extra 1.5% which in my opinion wasn’t greedy but after the brother declined Kroc’s request is what made him commit to his dirty tactics. 

Amanda Jimenez

My name is Amanda Jimenez. I’m 25 years old and I was born and raised in Brooklyn. My major is Business administration and this is my third semester at BMCC. My hobbies are dancing, going to the gym, and just doing a lot of other physically active stuff. I’m very family oriented and enjoy spending time with family and close friends. Here’s my BMCC email: Amanda.jimenez1@stu.bmcc.cuny.edu