Introduction
Healthy employee relations (ER) are crucial for a conducive working environment and strong relationships between a company’s stakeholders. The ER helps the employees to become more proactive and stop complaining about each other. Trade unions play a significant part in enhancing ER among corporations. The unions help the workers negotiate for better salaries and a friendly working environment.
While trade unions are essential for workers, many companies have generally resisted unionization among their workers. Starbucks is one of the coffee chains that has developed anti-union tactics. However, the new U.S. political administration and the COVID-19 pandemic have led to new employee leverage and increased resignation rates among organizations.
The unitarist and pluralist ER approaches are commonly adopted by organizations in solving employee problems. Starbucks can adopt the pluralist approach since workplace conflict is inevitable and third-party intervention is significant in promoting employees’ welfare.
Employees play a crucial role in organizational success since they help in the production of quality products and services. Moreover, the employees help companies achieve the set goals by doing their best at the workplace. However, employee-management conflicts are inevitable since each party wants their interests met. ER is described as an organization’s effort to create and maintain a positive relationship with its employees (Bamber et al., 2009). The ER is enhanced through the adoption of either a unitarist or a pluralist strategy.
While the unitarist approach views all employees as a team with a homogenous purpose, the pluralist approach suggests that there is more than one source of power between workers and organizational managers (Bamber et al., 2009). Starbucks is one of the corporations facing labor unrest, and employees seek unionization of the company. Therefore, the company can adopt the pluralist approach that would allow third-parties intervention to solve the existing problem. This report will outline the merits and demerits of the pluralist and unitarist strategies and suggest a more effective strategy to be adopted by the company.
ER Strategies
Unitarist Approach
Organizations have set purposes, and all members are expected to work towards the fulfillment of the goals. Moreover, some firms require their stakeholders, at the employee and management levels, to operate in the interest of the company. Consequently, all the workers within the organization perform in its interests. The unitarist ER strategy propounds that all the employees within a corporation share similar interests and are homogeneous (Bamber et al., 2009). Consequently, the management and the staff members are expected to share a common goal and be loyal to the company. In such a scenario, the stakeholders put the organizational interest first over theirs. Teamwork and common purpose are encouraged through the adoption of the unitarist ER approach. Therefore, the unitarist approach is significant for companies with a common purpose and those encouraging loyalty among their employees.
The unitarist ER strategy is adopted by firms that depend on cooperation between employers and employees. Therefore, the strategy can only work best where the employees and employers are in agreement and lack conflicting interests (Bray, Budd, and Macneil). Moreover, the strategy encourages effective communication with the firms’ frameworks. Although the strategy may fail where conflict arises between the management and workers, it enhances conflict resolution through internal mechanisms. Through this approach, the employees and the management follow the organizational ethical code and other regulations in solving disputes. Consequently, the conflicting parties avoid third-party interference. However, the strategy is demeaning since the employees and the employers have imbalanced powers. The unitarist strategy is crucial for Starbucks in promoting unity among the workers and management.
Unitarist in Organizational Context
Starbucks is a multinational corporation with many stores in different parts of the world. The company effectively operates in the U.S., and various factors enhance the application of the unitarist approach. Moreover, the company’s structure affects the implementation of the strategy. Adoption of the unitarist approach may be significant in areas with a huge workforce. For instance, coffee shops in busy cities like New York require employee unity to serve the clients to their satisfaction. Meanwhile, the shops in less busy areas do not need many corporations among the employees. The current U.S. political administration supports freedom of association allowing the employees free to join trade unions. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic led to many companies adopting virtual work (Kaushik and Guleria, 2020). Consequently, Starbucks is greatly affected due to reduced drive-thru clients. Therefore, unity among the workers and management is crucial for Starbucks to serve clients in busy cities and preserve the reduced amount of clients in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Specific Actions to Be Taken
Since Starbucks is a large corporation with many workers, it can adopt a unitarist approach through internal mechanisms. Starbucks’ management should involve the workers in problem identification and solving. The team leaders among the workers could be involved in collecting opinions from other employees and presenting them to the management. After that, the management should consider the workers’ opinions and suggest mechanisms that favor both parties. For instance, the introduction of an incentive scheme could encourage hard work among employees. Meanwhile, the management should be trained and guided by the company’s ethical conduct code in solving the workers’ problems. Therefore, the unitarist approach can be adopted through an internal conflict resolution mechanism.
Pluralist Approach
Although the internal dispute mechanisms are effective, third-party intervention can allow the employees better negotiate for their interests. The pluralist ER strategy recognizes the significance of varying interests among different sub-groups. The approach focuses on compromise and collective bargaining in conflict resolution (Bray, Waring, and Cooper, 2014). Like the unitarist approach, the pluralist strategy recognizes the interests of both the employees and employers for organizational benefit (Bray, Budd, and Macneil, 2020). However, the pluralist approach involves third parties like trade unions for conducive working environment negotiations. Therefore, the employer’s power is limited, and the employees can benefit from the negotiation process. The pluralist approach, unlike the unitarist, assumes that conflict is inevitable among the company stakeholders. While internal problem-solving can help a company maintain its excellent reputation, the involvement of trade unions during conflict resolutions promotes the workers’ interests without management interference.
The pluralist approach is adopted by organizations that promote freedom of association among their workers. The use of trade unions allows the employees to express their predicaments without fear of the harsh management team. Moreover, the pluralist approach involves the professionals appointed by the trade unions who can best negotiate with the companies (Friedman and Godard, 2020). The involvement of trade unions is significant to organizations with a large number of employees. Starbucks, given its size and diversity, can effectively negotiate with employees through trade unions and employees’ representatives. The employees should be allowed to form a union that would act as their representatives when negotiating with Starbucks’ management. The union should be formed at the organizational level to avoid interference from external forces. The pluralist approach would allow Starbucks to negotiate with its employees through their workers’ union.
Pluralist In Organizational Context
Adoption of the pluralist approach can be affected by the various internal and external business environments. Starbucks, being a big corporation, has employed thousands of employees. Therefore, the management cannot solve the existing problems by consulting the workers on an individual basis. Instead, the large employee count requires the formation of a union that would present their predicaments before the management. Moreover, the current U.S. political climate promotes diversity and recognizes the needs of individuals. Consequently, Starbucks cannot override its employees’ interest in favor of its profitability. Furthermore, the government has implemented strict measures for economic recovery post-COVID-19 pandemic. Starbucks can promote its growth by ensuring that employees’ interests are met. Therefore, the pluralist approach could help Starbucks remain successful in the coffee business during the post-COVID-19 pandemic period.
Specific Actions to Be Taken
Implementing the pluralist strategy requires the employees to be united and the management to offer support to the formed union. Starbucks should allow its workers in the U.S. to incorporate a trade union that would negotiate in their favor. The union should adopt various regulations and collect workers’ opinions before negotiating with the company. Moreover, every worker in the U.S. should join the union for its effective performance. When collecting the employees’ views, the formed union should consider what other trade unions are doing to effectively represent their members. For instance, the union can emulate the strategies employed by the trade unions in the fast-food industries. Meanwhile, Starbucks’ management should adopt various negotiation strategies to avoid conflicts with the workers’ union. Effective communication and negotiation skills would allow the management to present the corporation’s interests during conflict resolution.
Critical Analysis of the Strategies
Potential Advantages of the Unitarist Approach
The unitarist approach presents various features that are potentially beneficial to Starbucks. The approach emphasizes unity between employers and employees. Consequently, Starbucks could benefit from the teamwork enhanced through the implementation of the unitarist approach. Employee unity enhances empowerment which promotes creativity and innovation. Starbucks could develop and provide quality products and services to its clients. Additionally, the approach enhances discretion in problem-solving, leading to employee proactiveness. The firm could potentially become more competitive in the industry and improve its annual profits. Furthermore, the effective cooperation among the company’s stakeholders could strengthen Starbucks’ performance amidst the post-COVID-19 pandemic impacts and the new political administration in the U.S. Therefore; the unitarist approach could enhance long and short-term benefits to Starbucks.
Potential Disadvantages of the Unitarist Approach
Although the unitarist approach would be beneficial to Starbucks, the strategy is associated with potential risks that could endanger its survival. Firstly, the approach assumes that conflicts between employees and employers are avoidable. The employee-employer conflict can lead to serious problems affecting the effective performance of the company. For instance, the employees may fail to utilize their skills in delivering quality goods and services. Consequently, the company may gain a bad reputation in the industry. Secondly, the approach promotes fear of management among the employees. Therefore, the workers might fail to present their predicaments to the management leading to poor performance. Lastly, the strategy gives the employers more power, and they may abuse it. In return, the employees may fail to meet the company’s expectations. The unitarist approach can potentially risk Starbucks’ performance and profitability.
Potential Advantages Pluralist Approach
The pluralist approach is beneficial to Starbucks since it encourages third-party intervention in conflict resolution. Moreover, the approach’s utilization of negotiation could be beneficial to the company. Starbucks could avoid similar problems in the future since the negotiations lead to permanent solutions. Unlike the unitarist approach, the pluralist allows the use of consistent and orderly procedures that enhances effective decisions. Therefore, there would be an increased flow of information and stability achieved through compromises and balanced interests. Starbucks could benefit from the approach by gaining a competitive edge and preventing future conflicts among its stakeholders. Therefore, the pluralist approach would help the company avoid future risks while becoming competitive in the market.
Potential Disadvantages of the Pluralist Approach
The pluralist approach can be risky to Starbucks’ business performance since it relies on formal conflict resolution. The trade unions can be radical and not ready to compromise their preferred interests. Consequently, the unions may take harsh measures that are detrimental to business operations. For instance, the unions may direct the workers to boycott the company and fail to report to work. Starbucks may lose its consumer base since a large number of workers can be involved in the strike. Moreover, the union’s demands can be more than what the company affords, leading to interference with Starbucks’ profitability. The pluralist approach can affect the company’s operations and profitability.
Recommended Approach
Although the pluralist and unitarist approaches can help solve Starbucks’ existing problems, the former strategy is more beneficial. The pluralist theory, unlike the unitarist, would allow employers and employees to have their interests met. Moreover, the strategy is significant for long-term solutions to existing problems. Therefore, Starbucks should set aside its anti-union tactics and encourage its workers to form a trade union. The trade union will help the company identify employees’ problems. Moreover, through the union, the workers will gain confidence in the decisions made and avoid any contradicting opinions. The pluralist approach would help Starbucks maintain its excellent brand reputation and business profitability.
Conclusion
Starbucks is one of the most successful fast-food companies in the U.S. The company has various shops located in different parts of the U.S. Although the firm enjoys a broad consumer base, the COVID-19 pandemic and new administrative directives negatively impact Starbucks. Consequently, its workers and the management have different interests leading to labor disputes. The company can use the various ER approaches to solve the existing problem. The unitarist and pluralist strategies can be adopted to develop solutions that would benefit the management and the workers. While the unitarist approach promotes unity among the stakeholders, the pluralist encourages the use of trade unions in conflict resolution. The unitarist approach assumes that the employer and employees conflict is avoidable leading to more problems in the future. Meanwhile, the pluralist approach considers conflict as inevitable. Therefore, Starbucks should adopt the pluralist approach in enhancing its ER and solving the existing labor unrest.
While the unitarist approach would promote the unity of purpose among Starbucks employees and employers, the pluralist approach is more suitable. The company should allow the workers to form or join trade unions that would represent them during conflict resolutions. The unions would utilize a collective bargaining mechanism to present the employees’ interests. Moreover, the approach is significant in recognizing Starbucks’ interests during negotiations. The workers can form a union that involves workers in the U.S. The formed union should survey to collect the employees’ opinions on existing problems. After that, the company can engage the union leaders in problem-solving and decision-making. Adopting the approach would potentially benefit Starbucks since permanent and well-defined solutions can be made during negotiations. Starbucks can solve its problem through the adoption of a pluralist ER approach.
Recommendations
- Allow the employees to form or join trade unions within the U.S. The company can set aside its anti-unionization tactics to allow the workers to choose whom to present their grievances to the management. Starbucks can seek help from professionals in conflict resolution through negotiations and trade unions. Upon allowing the employees to join the unions, the management should be adequately trained to avoid any mishap during negotiations. Furthermore, the employees can be trained on the importance of joining trade unions to focus on the firm’s purpose.
- Train the employees and the management on the necessary effective communication skills. Starbucks can do this through the introduction of professionals who would train the employees on a planned basis. The training will help the employees gain the necessary negotiation skills allowing them to communicate their problems to the management on an individual basis. The training should be scheduled to correspond with the company’s operational schedule.
The first recommendation is more suitable for Starbucks since it promotes the pluralist approach. Allowing the employees to join or form trade unions would encourage self-determination and effective negotiation. The trained employees will understand the purpose of trade unions and use them to their advantage. Meanwhile, the company will benefit from the approach since it will reduce workers’ unrest. Consequently, many workers will remain in their designated departments and provide the best services to Starbucks’ clients. The company will enjoy increased profitability and consumer base. Furthermore, the pluralist approach would allow the intervention of third parties, including the government, in solution identification. Therefore, the pluralist approach would help Starbucks overcome its problems.
Reference List
Bray, M., Budd, J. W., & Macneil, J. (2020). The many meanings of co‐operation in the employment relationship and their implications. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 58(1), pp. 114-141.
Bray, M., Waring, P., and Cooper, R. (2014). Theoretical Comparisons: Values, Chapter 3 in Employment Relations: Theory and Practice (3rd ed.). Sydney: McGraw-Hill.
Friedman, G, and Godard, J 2020, ‘The United States’, in C. Frege and J. Kelly (eds) Comparative Employment Relations in the Global Economy, New York: Routledge.
Kaushik, M. and Guleria, N., 2020. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the workplace. European Journal of Business and Management, 12(15), pp.1-10.