Why Was Starbucks Not Receptive to the Innovations and Creative Initiatives of Its Employees - Case Study Example

This is especially the case in Starbucks where employee innovation faces the problems of poor communication and reluctance to change.

Secondly, the top management’s reluctance to change is a barrier to employee innovation. Changes proposed by employees will come at a cost and it will be almost impossible to adopt all change suggestions by employees. Different research studies have shown that various market and demand shifts have led to declined sales at Starbucks. Lately, customers have been favoring ready-to-drink products and this is a fact that Starbucks does not want to acknowledge (Cheng, 2018), since it would call for a change in its fundamental processes. This means that its employees do not have an environment that supports innovations that would call for an entire change of processes.

Starbucks, however, needs to address the communication challenges and introduce changes that will make it adapt to the market dynamics. It can address the communication problems by establishing clear lines of communication through which employees can propose their innovations. The company can also handle new market changes by remaining flexible to adopt new traditions that will prepare them for a successful future (Hall, 2013). Such strategies will be important in encouraging innovations from employees and in making an organization assess the potential benefits of a change process in its practices.

In conclusion, it is only through innovations that organizations can thrive in a highly competitive environment. As employees seek to engage in innovation to benefit the organization, they are likely to face the challenges of inadequate communication channels and opposition from top management which may not be ready to adopt change. It would, however, be important to engage and assess the employees’ suggestions for overall organizational success.