Touchstone 2: Review a Code of Ethics

Touchstone Project: Reviewing Ethical Codes The Author’s Name The Institutional Affiliation Course Number and Name The Instructor Assignment Due Date Response 1 Starbucks Corporation (Starbucks) Response 2 * Basic Conduct: Starbucks’ basic code of ethics (COE) emphasizes ‘doing the right thing’ to accomplish sustainable success and long-term corporate objectives while retaining core business values. Starbucks expects direct and indirect stakeholders, such as employees, value chain partners, third-party workers, and the board of directors, to fulfill the basic COE guidelines to exhibit morality and accountability in professional actions (Starbucks, 2025). * Confidentiality: Starbucks’ COE ensures that direct and indirect stakeholders respect the confidentiality of corporate information and demonstrate trusting professionalism towards the company and industry environment in the long run. Starbucks expects employees, partners, and third-party workers to retain the confidentiality of coffee blends, business plans, recipes, technological interfaces, and internal communication that strategizes the company’s long-term growth (Starbucks, 2025). * Competition: Starbucks’ COE promotes fair competition by unlocking free access to entry and exit the retail industry and fostering best practices to inspire new entrants. Starbucks considers fair competition as a compliance metric to measure best standards by avoiding price biases, managing product portfolios by aligning core values and acting without controlling essential industrial parameters for the impartial distribution of opportunities (Starbucks, 2025). * Giving and Receiving Gifts: Starbucks’ COE ensures that internal and external stakeholders are disengaged from exchanging business courtesy to settle or receive unwanted favors for short-term benefits. The company strictly prohibits gifts, entertainment, hospitality, discounts, and other favors that encourage bribery and corruption, resulting in personal or professional advantages for employees, suppliers, board of directors, and government officials while compromising the brand value (Starbucks, 2025). * Insider Trading: Starbucks has a separate ‘Insider Trading Policy,’ which is comprehensive and separate from COE and encourages anti-hedging and anti-pledging practices to retain corporate integrity for diverse stakeholders. The policy prohibits Starbucks from offsetting the market value to receive unfair advantages over competition or creating ...