Philanthropy and Expensive Coffee

Well, I found this week’s book, Creating the Corporate Soul, to be quite fascinating and what struck me after reading this work is just how the same tactics, invented decades ago, still permeate corporate imagery and public relations.  While perhaps not as much about employee welfare is heard today since so much corporate regulation has been instituted in the past decades, the public relations and imagery campaigns still seem to be going strong.  However, things have changed as well.  While many companies were weary of doing philanthropy type work early on in the quest to create corporate soul, there seems no lack of corporate charity today.

 

Just look at Starbucks for example.  It seems that every other day Starbucks is donating money to another, often obscure, charitable cause.  I find it so fitting that a company which charges such absorbanant prices for coffee (although most other coffee places do the same) spends money on many charities.  However, the money spend on this philanthropy is certainly minuscule compared to the profit margins of Starbucks and certainly the hype this company garners from these showy displays of benevolence are well worth it. 

 

While such charitable work certainly parallels many of the case studies read about in this week’s reading, I think companies like Starbucks are doing more than trying to further their corporate soul.  Perhaps knowing that some portion of money, despite how diminutive a percentage it might be, of the exorbitant cost of that cup of coffee is going to charity makes consumers feel better about themselves. 

 

So, despite the adverse nature of companies towards philanthropy in the early 20^th century, large corporations seem to embrace it fully today, and the more attention it gets the better.  Perhaps the days of worrying about the development of creating a corporate soul are over and now there is a contest for who possesses the most generous soul.  I dare say, however, that this generosity proves most profitable.  Here is a quick article about one of Ford’s philanthropic moves.

 

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=30234

Comments

[Dianne Foster]

If you have a garden, you can get Starbucks coffee grounds for mulch. Just ask the manager.

[Lindsey Bestebreurtje]

I like that Starbucks is so charitable. But I dont know a lot about their corporate dealings and I often wonder if the charitable donations would be put to better use if they were converted into development projects for the areas of the world that produce coffee. I know for a fact that their coffee from Kenya, Rowanda, and Guatemala has some locals in need. Why not increase wages or focus on betterment around suppliers.