Chick-fil-A, founded by Truett Cathy in the early 1960s, has become the largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain, known for its strong religious affiliation and philanthropic efforts. The company faced controversy over its leadership's comments on marriage and funding to anti-LGBT organizations, leading to boycotts and mixed responses from universities and cities. Despite these challenges, Chick-fil-A maintains a commitment to its mission of providing hospitality and community support while navigating the complex organizational and cultural issues related to its values.

1. Chick-fil-a
CIERA BUCHANAN, AJ HORNER, ELIZABETH ERHARTIC, & AMBER SMITH
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2. Background
Truett Cathy, inventor of the boneless chicken sandwich
Dwarf Grill, 1946
Chick-fil-a: early 1960s
◦ Largest quick service chicken restaurant chain
2014 annual sales of $6 billion
47 consecutive years of positive sales growth
Truett’s death in 2014 at 93 years old
◦ Company taken over by son, Dan
◦ Contract: never publically traded
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3. Locations
Over 1,900 locations in 42 states
◦ 1,300 stand-alone
◦ 300 mall
◦ 300 licensed (colleges, hospitals, airports)
◦ 31 drive-thru only
◦ 9 satellite
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4. Core Competencies:
What Sets Them Apart
Pioneered restaurants in shopping malls
◦ 1967, suburban Atlanta
Privately held
Family owned
“We firmly believe in treating every person who comes through our doors with honor, dignity,
and respect.”
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5. Philanthropy
Seeks to enrich local community
$68 million to over 700 educational charitable organizations
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6. Mission Statement
“To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive
influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”
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7. Religious Affiliation
Turned the chicken sandwich into a religious symbol
Jesus statue at company headquarters
◦ Image of servant leadership
◦ Bible quotes and crosses on display
Bible quotes on Styrofoam cups
Closing entire chain on Sunday
◦ Recruiting tool
◦ Appealing to certain demographic
Creates brand differentiation
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8. Article in Biblical Recorder
Personal Interview of Chief Operating Officer Dan Cathy in the summer of 2012.
◦ “I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say,
‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.’ I pray God's mercy on our
generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to
define what marriage is about.”
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9. Tweet about DoMA Ruling
In 2012, the Supreme Court rejected Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act
In response, Dan Cathy tweeted:
◦ “Sad day for our nation; founding fathers would be ashamed of our gen to abandon wisdom
of the ages re: cornerstone of strong societies.”
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10. Outcry by City Governments
Mayors of cities such as Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco announced that they would not
allow Chick-fil-A into their cities.
◦ Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel went as far as to say, “Chick-fil-A values are not Chicago values.”
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11. Reactions by Universities
Received mixed results:
◦ New York University's Student Senate voted to keep
Chick-fil-A on its campus.
◦ Northeastern University’s Student Senate requested
to not allow Chick-fil-A on its campus.
◦ Davidson College’s Administration decided to stop
serving Chick-fil-A at all university functions
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12. Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day
Governor Mike Huckabee rallied his viewers to support CFA and free speech on August 1, 2012.
All CFA stores experienced record sales on this day, with increased sales storewide rising to 29.9
percent.
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13. Additional Trouble-Quotes
“We are very much supportive of the family—the biblical definition of the family unit…we are
married to our first wives…”
“I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that
we have the audacity to define what marriage is about.”
“We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country
where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.”
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14. Statement from Chick-fil-A
Biblically based management principles
◦ Closing on Sundays
◦ Operating debt-free
◦ Donating a percentage of profits to communities
Culture and service tradition
◦ Treat every person with honor, dignity, and respect regardless of belief,
race, creed, sexual orientation or gender
Mission
◦ Serve great food
◦ Provide genuine hospitality
◦ Have a positive influence
Intent to leave the debate to the government and political arena
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15. Anti-LGBT Funding
WinShape foundation – corporate charitable foundation
Under fire for supporting “anti-LGBT” organizations
◦ ~$7 million from 2003 - 2010
Some recipients:
◦ Marriage & Family Foundation
◦ National Christian Foundation
◦ Fellowship of Christian Athletes
◦ Family Research Council
◦ Labeled an anti-LGBT hate group
◦ Exodus International
◦ 2013: apology and shut down
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16. Defunding
Focus shift to its own programs
◦ Marriage retreats, camps, scholarships, home in Brazil for needy children
Chick-fil-A stopped funding to some of the more controversial and extremist groups
Fellowship of Christian Athletes remained
◦ Received less
◦ 2010: ~$500k / 2012: ~$25k
Giving focused on 3 areas
◦ Youth and education
◦ Leadership and family enrichment
◦ Serving local communities
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17. Regretting the Public Stance
“Almost two years later, Dan Cathy –a self described
evangelical Christian—says he made a mistake.”
◦ -Clare O’Connor, Forbes
◦ March 19, 2014
Chick-fil-A’s name is still strongly associated with this
controversy
Boycotts are still happening by LGBT people and supporters
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18. Recommendations
OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
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19. Social Systems & Organizational Culture
Key Terms at Play in this Scenario:
Organizational Culture
◦ Strong religious overtones
◦ Servant leadership
Prejudice and Discrimination
◦ Perceived prejudice of LGBT individuals
◦ Attracts certain clientele
◦ Stigma created, which may or may not be true
Social Responsibility
◦ Giving back to the community
◦ Giving to anti-LGBT organizations formerly
◦ Reduced/stopped funding altogether for these organizations
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20. Participation & Empowerment
Spirit: devoting efforts to a higher purpose in life
◦ Christianity
Company Participation – Social Responsibility
◦ Charitable donations
◦ Chick-fil-A programs
Blurring Involvement - We vs. They
◦ Trouble over CEO’s opinion vs. company’s service
Participation Prerequisite Issue
◦ No feeling of threat
◦ Possible employee feeling of backlash/hate
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21. Employee Attitudes & Their Effects
Work Moods
◦ Work moods play a huge part in every organization. Work moods are attitudes a person feels toward
their job.
◦ Strong positive moods are viewed as highly energetic, passionate, and enthusiastic.
◦ Employees’ work moods can be affected by the treatment of customers and vice versa.
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22. Issues between Organizations &
Individuals
Mutual Trust
◦ Every organization has to have a trust relationship with its employees.
◦ As a whole, a company should try to insure that all employees feel that they can trust the company
they work for and vice versa.
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23. Interpersonal Facilitation
The capability to focus on others - personal needs, sensitivities, and idiosyncrasies
Key Concepts:
◦ Noticing
◦ Being observant and knowing when something is going on with an employee
◦ Appraising
◦ Telling others that they are relevant and important and that their beliefs, goals, and values matter
◦ Feeling
◦ Letting others know you have feelings and understand that they have feelings too
◦ Compassionate Responding
◦ Taking control of a situation and eliminating discomfort
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24. Communication
Leadership should use all six steps of the communication, being sure to pay attention to barriers
that arise during transmitting & receiving stages.
The org. needs to be aware of the personal barriers that will arise in situations such as this. They
must be able to handle the barriers when they arise for themselves as well as for the employees.
The org. needs to utilize the downward communication process, in particular how it relates to
social support.
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