Chapter 7's Opening Vignette is extremely relevant this week. It asks the question: How Far Is Too Far? Perhaps the better question: Is It Far Enough?

How far should companies go in using the power of their organizations for social impact?

The former CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, often insisted the firm stands for more than dollars and cents. Some people say social responsibility isnt our job; that our only job is to try to make a profit. I reject that! Schultz once told an annual meeting of stockholders. Starbucks donates disease-resistant coffee trees to growers, buys ethically-sourced supplies, shows support for human rights, and takes other steps to promote its corporate social-responsibility agenda. Individual Starbucks cafs support specific causes, such as the London branch that focuses on deaf awareness and teaches sign language through its We Sign Caf program.

However, Starbucks has been criticized for some of its social responsibility programs. A few years ago, Starbucks began an initiative to stimulate conversations about race and inequality. After holding employee meetings to discuss the countrys racial tensions, Starbucks launched a week-long U.S. campaign called Race Together. Starbucks employees were encouraged to write those words on coffee cups during the week, to increase customer awareness of the issue and spark discussion. Although #RaceTogether made headlines and trended on Twitter, the controversial initiative also made some employees and customers uncomfortable. With thousands of neighborhood cafs and 150,000 employees spread across the country, Starbucks is best known for popularizing espresso and lattes.

UPDATE: Critics called the RaceTogether campaign a failure. Writing on cups did very little to eliminate racism. In April 2018 a Philadelphia Starbucks manager called the police on two African American customers who were waiting for a friend to join them before ordering. The men were arrested. Starbucks closed all stores for an afternoon of mandatory diversity training.