Coffee from Around the World in one Place

By Stacey Haire

Diversity can refer to a number of things including skin color, backgrounds, purchases or ideas. The Public Relations Coalition recognized in their January 2005 summit there are barriers to achieving true diversity in the workplace but the Coalition is committed to addressing the challenge. The Business Planning and Research International (the BPRI Group) conducted a survey in October 2004 that involved 362 PR and communications professionals who are members of the organizations that are part of the PR Coalition. The respondents to the survey saw three themes as best defining diversity: incorporating the ideas of others, involving people of all races and cultures and creating opportunities for all races and cultures.

There are many businesses now committed to creating diversity among their employees, products and advertisements. Some companies such as Starbucks go above and beyond when it comes to defining diversity. Starbucks describes diversity with their team members, customers, various community programs and their supplier diversity. Starbucks engages in community outreach efforts for suppliers, most notably through the regional affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council. They have also partnered with other organizations to establish a model Supplier Diversity Training Program. Starbucks has also created various programs that give back to the community. The Starbucks Foundation helps to fund literacy programs in the U.S. and Canada. In 2008, The Starbucks Foundation began supporting young social entrepreneurs around the world. Other programs include Ethos Water Fund, China Education Project and a Gulf Coast Recovery program. Something interesting and fun for customers is the My Starbucks Idea. This program lets Starbucks customers shape the future of Starbucks by offering their input and ideas. This shows they can about the ideas of their customers and it welcomes diverse comments abut the company. If more companies were like Starbucks, a high percentage of people would know what it means for a company to be truly diverse in all aspects of its operations.