The Ethical Foundations of Starbucks and Humana

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The Ethical Foundations of Starbucks and Humana Executive Summary This paper examines the ethical foundations of two companies operating in very different markets. Starbucks’ is a chain of coffeehouses specializing in gourmet coffee lines. Starbucks is based on sound ethical principals permeated through the central core of its business operations. The result of several probes leads to a conclusion that Starbucks does business in a profitable and morally sound manner. Humana Inc. is a large Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) with operations that place it third among the top players in the field. In contrast to Starbucks’, research demonstrates that Humana, and arguably all for-profit HMO’s, lacks a sound ethical foundation. The boundaries between generating a healthy return and providing quality medical care produce conflicts of interest, which for all involved lead to bad decisions and moral dilemas. The conclusions reached in this paper are the result of extensive investigation conducted through the Internet, personal interview, literature review, and legal findings. The consensus drawn from this analysis is that Starbucks is a shining example of corporate social responsibility and Humana is not. Introduction to Starbucks Starbucks is the United States number one specialty coffee retailer and a presence known around the world. It has over 2,600 coffee shops from Asia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Starbucks not only sells coffee but: pastries, food and drinks, mugs, and coffee making accessories. Starbucks sells their beans to restaurants, airlines, hotels, and by mail order. Starbucks mission statement is …”to establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow. The following six guiding principles will help us measure the appropriateness of our decisions:”  Provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity.  Embrace diversity as an essential component in the way we do business.  Apply the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roasting, and fresh delivery of our coffee.  Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time.  Contribute positively to our communities and our environment.  Recog... ... middle of paper ... ...engaging in price reduction schemes that are not only unethical, but quite possibly illegal, Humana finds no problem paying its Chairman of the Board $4.5 million and its President and CEO, $3 Million. Humana Foundation The charitable wing of the Humana organization was founded to “support charitable organizations and institutions that promote education, health and human services, community development and the arts.” While the group believes that these endeavors are indeed noble, Humana can not make up for a poor ethical foundation by throwing money at the problem. Bibliography 1. www.hoovers.com 2. www.starbucks.com 3. www.citizensfunds.com 4. www.businesswire.com 5. www.responsibilityinc.com 6. www.amcity.com 7. www.archivetwst.com 8. Ashby, Francine, Starbucks Case Study, Bucknell University 9. Kotha, Surest and Melissay Schilling, Starbucks Corporation, The University of Washington, WA 10. www.starbucked.com 11. LawCrawler. http://lawcrawler.findlaw.com/ 12. Vertuno, Jim. Texas Sues 6 HMO’s Over Health Care. Associated Press. December 17, 1999. 13. http://www.hmopage.org/ 14. http://www.familiesusa.org/

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