Monthly Archives: September 2013

Last week the Chief Executive of Starbucks Corp. Howard Schultz revealed an open letter stating that Starbucks would like to request customers to refrain from bringing firearms into their shops. (Jargon 2013) He states that the gun issue has “become increasing uncivil and, in some cases, even threatening.” (as cited by Jargon 2013) Starbucks does not plan to enforce this request through signs and employees and hope their customers will respect their request. (Jargon 2013) According to Schultz Starbucks takes a neutral stance in the issue of gun control, but they do believe that guns should not be part of the Starbucks experience. (as cited by Jargon 2013) Although many people are happy about this decision, such as Shannon Watts, others like David Butler have shown disapproval and said they will not be returning to the coffee shop. (Jargon 2013)

I praise Starbucks for making such a bold move that undoubtedly brings forth much debate and controversy. As we discussed how Starbucks provide employees with great health care plans, they have taken the extra step to respect the worries of much of their staff and customers. Although Starbucks may have lost some customers, they will surely gain new ones and increase their customer loyalty.

Website: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324492604579082352323346902.html

Image: http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID15092/images/Howard_Schultz_w_logo_2_AP_Photo_Kin_Cheung.jpg

In 2010 while the world’s eyes were set on Canada during the Winter Olympics, Canada’s opening ceremony encountered an embarrassing malfunction where one of the four pillars did not rise. As a result the opening ceremonies were criticized for this mistake. (http://olympics.time.com/2012/07/27/the-worst-ever-opening-ceremonies/slide/2010-vancouver-winter-olympics/ ) However, during the closing ceremonies, Canada faced their issue and had a mime bring the fourth pillar out as a way to “mock” the malfunction and make light of the situation. (http://www.cbc.ca/news/pointofview/2010/03/olympic-closing-ceremonies-what-did-you-think-of-them.html) Mistakes are often made by businesses and although many can be prevented, preventing all of them is nearly impossible. As a result how a business deals with a problem and moves on from there will define whether that business will be successful in the future. In regards to Canada, they faced their embarrassing moment head on instead of shying away and pretending that it never happened. By confronting the issue; they managed to solve it and show it in a comedic way. In business it is the same way. Businesses should always face problems head on by admitting the blame and immediately implementing a way to solve it rather than to ignore or disregard the subject.