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Starbucks Company generates a company environment that not only indulges in an ethical culture, but also focuses on social responsibility. Starbucks, like any organization, is a business with the ultimate goal of being profitable. However, Starbucks stands above many competitors as it has been frequently ranked as a top ethical company amongst the numerous companies and organizations in the United States being named fifth in a list of world’s most admired companies by Fortune Magazine in 2014 (Cable News Network, 2014). The company focuses on multiple shareholders and often participates in ethical operations, such as the practice of purchasing Fair Trade coffee. The company’s efforts to participate in such programs exemplify the core company values and dedication to social responsibility, which classify Starbucks as an ethical company.

A company’s commitment to social responsibility may be because the company truly believes in giving back to the community and making a positive impact, or in order to appease the interests and beliefs of the shareholders. The company may even have a different reason. For example, Gavin Fridell (2009) suggests that, “one main reason behind Starbucks’ devotion to CSR is its brand image, which has been key to its profitability.” While this statement may be true, it does not mean that Starbucks is any more or less committed to corporate social responsibility. The company’s commitment level to CSR must be judged on the actions it takes.

Starbucks demonstrates commitment to social responsibility by giving back to the community through various donations to programs such as Create Jobs for USA. This can be further understood as Samaad (2011) explains that Starbucks, with a partner, launched the ‘Create Jo...

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...ue to the near 100% franchise model. It is easier to enact and support an initiative from a corporate level to the stores if you have more control over the daily operations of the stores and direct interaction with store level employees.

Consequentially, this is another area where the employee is overlooked. Dunkin’ mentions the employees only in how they seek to foster a connection to the brand by providing quality training (Dunkin' Brands, Inc., 2014). Franchisees do not fare much better. Dunkin’ Donuts has a history of poor relations with their franchisees. Kal Gullapalli compares the 15 lawsuits brought against Dunkin’ Donuts by franchisees in 2010 to the only 6 brought against McDonald’s, the world’s largest franchise (2011). They do experience high levels of lawsuits among franchise distributors showing a conflict in what they claim from what they practice.