Organizational theory and behavior are a vital part of any organization and can be a critical area that determines an organizations success in any industry. If and how these concepts are uniquely applied, organizations can define many different areas of their organizational structure. The Starbucks Corporation has become a well-known globally successful company. In analyzing the application of the organizational behaviors of communication, culture, and decision making, we can determine how these concepts have made this corporation successful.
Organizational Communication
Communication in the Starbucks organization is exceptionally successful. In order to appear transparent as an organization, provide sound direction of communication, maintain solid channels of communication, and still the rumor-mill; Starbucks has taken immense strides in concentrating on this aspect of its organizational behavior.
Although Starbucks goes to no great lengths to define or list their organizational structure (Hawks, Kembell, Kembell, Olsen, & Perry, 2002), Recent changes in the organization define the organization as a matrix structure (Shultz, 2008). These changes in the organization, done to improve the customer experience, helped define the communication directions used by the organization.
George and Jones (2005), state that the matrix organizational structure is a very effective way to take full advantage of all communication channels. Whether the organization wishes to label the organizational structure or not, the structure is the pivotal point of success in its organizational communication. The matrix structure, defined by Business Reference (2007), is made up of cross functional work teams that have the ability to report to heads of the organization other than the primary supervisor. This structural behavior has allowed the corporation to have successful communication