Introduction
The Starbucks Corporation is a brand that has reached over 80 markets and has spread its focus worldwide on its coffee house-driven chain of stores. They bring products using numerous brands, including drinks, treats, and consumer goods. Though the company started with limited reach, its loyalty to creating a well-balanced brew, paying attention to ethical farming practices, and providing an exceptional client experience to everyone has impacted its lucrativeness and popularity worldwide. This piece addresses the role of an HR department in one of the leading companies, Starbucks, in the UK and China by looking at the gaps in policies and practices between nations as the main topic. The paper will broadly address rules and regulations, demography, culture, political and economic stability, language requirements, labor relations, and HR strategy in each country. In conclusion, this will be a grand review of the challenges and opportunities that will face Starbucks in the various markets. To draw the final summary of this article, the author will also add their guidelines on how to deal with peculiarities of global HR management, and their experience in the world market will fertilize this.
Overview of Starbucks’ Operations in China and the United Kingdom
Starbucks got its first breakthrough locale in the Chinese market in 1999 and has since remained the first internationally recognized market for the company. The coffee brand of Starbucks in Hong Kong then achieved fantastic growth, becoming the most prominent coffee brand in China. As for its retail numbers, which bear significant advances, in 2018, Starbucks managed to form a detailed approach to the potential of urban and rural markets in major cities all over China, presenting more than 4700 stores in 190 cities serving different customers. The menu was revised to build preference with the local (Chinese) market, and we hope that both tradition and modernity can exist in harmony. For example, Starbucks commenced the operation of its first outlet in the UK in 1998 and has now grown into more than 1000 stores throughout the country. Consumer satisfaction largely enables Starbucks to stay strong in this region, which is why the UK is still among the most important European markets for the company, where it intends to offer customers a premium coffee experience. The Starbucks business in the UK is fast-growing; it is adding more products like food and drinking stuff, as well as souvenirs to raise and strengthen the company’s brand in the region and can take nearly complete claim to the industry. Although the homegrown and international coffee shop chains in China can be tough competition for Starbucks to win the top position in the areas of quality and innovation (just like in the UK), these are the positions in which Starbucks has carved a niche due to its excellent innovation as well as unparalleled quality. It has depended upon these to maintain its success in this particular market.
Comparison of Laws and Regulations
Regarding employment in China, Starbucks should primarily comply with the labor laws and labor regulations of the People’s Republic of China, particularly the Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Labor Contract Law. Meanwhile, work laws also settle the maximum number of working hours, minimum wages, overtime paid rates, and people’s benefits. Regarding regulations, the country’s dimension here contains the employment of foreigners, so the coffee house should follow orders when they employ an expatriate worker. Differently, the Indefinite Employment Act, Equality Act, and Wages Act of the United Kingdom regulate and protect the rights of employees as the company is its subject. Laws are to help employees realize their rights and make the state minimum wage and anti-discrimination movements possible. Given the social differences, the approach towards labor unions is significantly different between the countries. All workers’ interests advocate and conflict resolution imply the No.1 Chinese Trade Union, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, whose goal is all-national. Unlike the UK, where unions of workers are at advanced levels through the UK Work Union, in most cases, the UK workers’ unions exist in different sectors representing the interests of workers in that single or specific sector. Once the company gets into those countries, it has to be aware of employment agreements and the corresponding inter-business case of practice variation between the UK and China and keep in mind global concern over ethical employment net.
Mandated Compliance Issues
As far as Starbucks’ Chinese operations are concerned, it is very determined on three critical issues concerning workers’ compliant labor, intellectual property protection, and food safety. Consistent with any other jurisdiction, organizations in China are also bound to follow the law and comply with such ISO’s that mandate employers to grant their staff certain benefits, including social insurance and housing funds, which Starbucks must assume should be according to Chinese legislation. Furthermore, in China, intellectual property rights focus on the bottom line problem: the country suffers the menace of trademark infringement and counterfeiting easily. As the mother brand, Starbucks insists on being responsible for all endeavors to keep the rules, especially as the Chinese labor and IP rights laws are now in force. Such a company acts solely by having the local authorities and legal advisors close at hand. While Starbucks needs to control the quality of its food, food safety secrets for Chinese foods are exceptionally high and have become stricter due to the many past food safety tragedies China has experienced. In the UK, Starbucks must tackle the compliance problem, which falls into categories such as working time directives, employment laws, minimum wage, and occupational health and safety standards. Starbucks is the groundbreaker and custodian in its facilities, and it uses strict policies and procedures to check across the workforce, which will promote compliance. Additionally, the corporation’s CSR initiatives are also being carried out in local communities as well as critical stakeholders in order for them to be perceived as a consistent and, lastly, credible or responsible entity in society. By ensuring that this time is lost over a compliance problem in both countries, Starbucks signifies that its moral responsibility regarding global market ethics might not be compromised.
Demographics and Culture
The distribution of employee performance in Starbucks’s Chinese local social graph is not fairer than that of its workforce counterpart. It shows the younger generations’ dynamic and diversity as such: a portion of this population is constituted by millennials and Generation Z. These groups are predominantly formed by young people holding bachelor’s degrees, endless inventiveness with technology, and they are also more optimistic about prospects promising. In addition, the trend that is taking shape here is that the increase in the number of seniors at the workplace creates a multigenerational workforce. There is a distinct need for gender diversity, and ensuring that there is an equal number of both men and women in the workplace is another factor that is just an example of a balanced workforce.
Cultural factors can be the things that should be taken as an example and the things from which some Chinese human resources should get the inspiration. In Chinese society, these three crucial elements are constantly observed and demonstrated by the cultural values of cooperation, harmony, and loyalty. Humanize this statement. Use our automatic essay grader to score and develop your writing skills. On the part of these mechanisms is the conversation of vital relationships among employees, increasing the quality of the decision and the social level of those working, besides sharing the same principle of guanxi, where who you know is almost as necessary, and in some cases more important than what you can do, a factor that also affects hiring and succession decisions among Chinese professionals. Starbucks, among other companies, must, in this case, demonstrate a sense of cultural sensitivity about human interaction at the workplace and, at the same time, be environmentally friendly in its operations.
By contrast, the Starbucks employees in the UK sector are slightly older; the most numerous are those in their 40s or those in their 50s. These age groups are fewer, though, on the US side. Finally, another change is an expanding trend of gender equity, when policies try to make the workplace more diverse and have an equal number of women and men as compared. The essence of culture in the UK(the emphasis on individualism and the pursuit of achievement) builds social heritage, which HRM must consider in its operations. The core of the performance-based pay scheme will be composed of the self-empowerment and self-reliance of employees who will take full responsibility for their work and gain independence and self-actualization, which shall be the career development priority. This analysis and adjustment of cultural aspects are needed so that the UK department of Starbucks can engage and help workers, which in turn makes sure that the workers of Starbucks act in a way that is culturally appropriate to their employees and that they live by the cultural values of the employees in Starbucks.
Currency, Economic, and Political Stability
The coming of Starbucks means a peaceful, sustained growth economy in China. The rapid economic development in the region prevails over all other areas. Undeniably, the Belt and Road project, Made in China 2025, and other government policies are regarded as the root cause of the steadily growing economy, with the Chinese Yuan being the strong currency. Additionally, the destiny of the Yuan could be in the hands of other exogenous factors, such as a trading war with the United States and other economic issues that affect the whole world. Hence, the global economy could play a root determinator of the fate of the Yuan. Despite the economic stress this country may experience, China’s economic vitality will be in the position of selling Starbucks products. First of all, a single-party/centralized government in China is undoubtedly beneficial for Starbucks, which helps them (Starbucks’s businesses) conduct their business activities amid a steady political situation (Areiza-Padilla et al.,2022). As an illustration, the underlying stability of the economy makes Starbucks feel that the business opportunities are plentiful. On the other hand, these issues would cause trouble for the company, as it would frequently encounter new protocols and policies of the rules and regulations.
The UK could provide a framework for Starbucks to become successful because it has an environment that is stable enough for the business to develop while it is backed by a solid British pound with an effective banking system. The UK economy is affected by a range of factors: EU negotiations after Brexit, engagement elsewhere, and how the new government plans to meet its agenda. The factors, like so many others, can raise or lower the currency rate, thus revising a particular economy, and as a result, Starbucks’ operations will be at risk. The UK is one of those established politically stable countries with mature democratic systems that provide a stable political environment. However, election results such as Brexit and the prohibition of back-channel talks in negotiations offer this discussion a small amount of doubt. It is undebatable that there are some shortcomings in doing business in Britain, but the country’s political stability is enough security for Starbucks to continue its ventures without many problems. This is because the UK is a law-abiding and politically stable country.
Language and Communication
Starbucks will face a multi-language problem in China, and it will have to learn how to speak Mandarin, the official language, should other regional dialects be available. In this example, for Starbucks, the CEO’s mastery of Mandarin will serve both as a customer-oriented role ( greeters, baristas) and the colleagues they bump into every day. However, the process of translation and interpretation has its challenges in Chinese cases, especially if there is a situation where employees need to communicate with customers and staff who speak different dialects or other languages. Consequently, the business aims to work with language training service providers and inspire its staff to improve their fluency to ensure that customer communication can reach a very advanced level (Xu,2020). Not only that, the linguistic mix of China may be a key factor for Starbucks’ benefit in terms of recruiting staff members with a capacity to communicate in various Chinese dialects or languages, which would be the means of connection widening for customers and the broader community.
Starbucks requires its workforce in the UK to rely exclusively on their command of English, which remains the official language in that country. However, such a society results not only in clients from monolingual groups but also in those who use other languages more often. Currently, it might be challenging to construct diversity and tolerance in the workplace. However, it’s worth it because the culture of the workplace and the customer experience will be hugely important. Starbucks tackles the languages’ mutual comprehension and adjacency from the company’s side through the culture of inclusive and welcoming of various languages, as well as the kind and courteous communication of their employees. In this case, Starbucks may also be engaged in language learning training or suggest sources on which employees can focus to help them advance their communication abilities. More specifically, this may entail more practical skills that enable them to interact with customers from diverse backgrounds. Usually, though they can be a headache, languages lead to a more comfortable environment that peacefully coexists and promotes a culturally inclusive workplace at Starbucks.
Labor Relations and HRM Policies
Interestingly, the roles of labor unions and the way they operate or carry out their affairs in their respective countries vary. Hence, the two countries have different characteristics and industrial relations. The country’s countrywide trade union is the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), which was established as a unique and officially approved trade union in the whole country. In a way, the Chinese authorities and the ACFTU have joined hands precisely to serve the workers’ needs and negotiated collective bargaining. The unions in Starbucks have not been formed yet; however, the law enforcement administration of Chinese labor, as well as the labor regulations, contain provisions focusing on collective bargaining and conflict resolution (Derghan,2022). These two nations, Germany and Great Britain do not share a common language like the British one, which is so universal. By the way, the British Union is more developed and unites the work of different industrial clusters of the economy and industry. Starbucks UK Inc. workers may unionize and be involved in negotiations of work contracts and other working conditions. When speaking of the similarities between Starbucks’s HRM in China and the UK and the differences, which would be necessary, some similarities and differences could be found. Further, it is possible to find similarities in allowing the employees to have the relevant training and development in their operations to achieve the quality of customer service and efficiency (Mamuti et al.,2022). However, contrary to Beijing’s values, family, friendships, and other long-term employment are factors that will determine the future life of each expat. Nevertheless, Chinese culture, which places a pristine emphasis on long-term relationships, will be a prerequisite. The UK level of diversity and equity may complexly merge into the company culture of Starbucks to represent the diversity of the UK population. In either case, a company officially operating under the rules and regulations of the labor law of a particular country may still operate separately by the policies and practices that fit the local legal rules and culture.
HR Trends and Future Predictions
The core components incorporate employee welfare, development, and career growth in the system (China Human Resource Management Trends). Hence, the organizations are now committed to imparting training and advancement skills to the staff members. Research studies forecast an even increasing attention toward appropriate human resources management and retention policies in the upcoming years because the challenge of finding competent workers in the region’s competitive environment becomes even worse (Carter et al.,2023). As to the critical UK HR tendencies, universities shifted to flexible working arrangements and developed diversity initiatives. The above technology support is forecasted, and it portrays that HR will increasingly get support from AI, such as by using AI-driven recruitment systems and performance management tools. It is essential to underline that multinational enterprises adopt global-level human resources policies to have uniform practices while venturing into the markets.
Recommendations
Coupled with the plans, a positive attitude towards the Starbucks business has emerged among the countries mentioned. China has been agog with continuous political and economic tranquility, which, with increasing consumer demand, creates an appropriate atmosphere for Starbucks’s business model and values. Another critical role that establishes the role of the national trade union is providing a formalized and structured way of relations with the labor force that gives the company an image of being well organized in labor relations matters, making it easy to motivate and retain the employees. Also, China stretches a broad campaign emphasizing sustainable development and high ethics in the activities of the business that reflect the values and vision of Starbucks itself with its primary corporate goals of brand reputation and customer loyalty in the Chinese market.
Conclusion
Lastly, the paper provides a clear picture of the conceptual framework of the strategic disparities in the processes of Starbucks’ working in China and the UK based on the above-presented contents. Concerns about language diversity, compliance with labor laws, and general supremacy of the national trade union are three of the most complicated challenges for corporations in China. While the country has a very favorable macroeconomic situation and many customers ready to buy, it has many alternatives for our sector, and we can expand by dealing with them. In the UK, the staff handling all the issues is mature and supportive, but their major issues are Brexit and multiculturalism. These ramifications are not only confined to paying and getting benefits, but they may also include recruiting, retaining, and planning the succession, performance management, developing and training the employees, and the health and safety of these employees. At Starbucks, the international markets offer peculiar challenges that require deliberate talent management. This is done to build the firm and ensure a successful business effort in the given area.
References
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Areiza-Padilla, J. A., Cervera-Taulet, A., & Manzi Puertas, M. A. (2020). Ethnocentrism at the coffee shop industry: a study of Starbucks in developing countries. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 6(4), 164.
Carter, D. B., Warren, R., & Steinhoff, A. (2023). The anatomy of tragedy: Starbucks as a politics of displacement. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 36(1), 146-176.
Derghan, M. (2022). Management Of Best Practices in Multinational Companies: Starbucks’s Best Practices in The Lebanese Market. Technium Business and Management, 2(3), 116–123.
Mamuti, A., Ikonomi, M., & Caputo, F. (2022). Starbucks Corporation in Albania: A discussion about franchising path and opportunities in the global economy. International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 31(4), 412-432.
Xu, D. (2020). Cross-cultural Human Resource Management Research by the Case of Starbucks (China). Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, 3(9), 132–141.
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