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Analyzing organization change for Just Us! Coffee
- 1. Reshanda Hill Walden University Dr. April Adams Orgs, Innovation, & Change EDUC-6105-1 9/8/13
- 2. Just Us! Coffee Roaster Co-op History Established in 1995 Inspiration- “People and the Planet before Profits” Jeff Moore’s contribution
- 4. Just Us! Coffee Roaster Co-op Structure Co-operative
- 5. Just Us! Coffee Roaster Co-op Culture Fair trade is working Leadership style
- 8. Conclusion Mission achieved Values spread among various communities Authenticity-“Our commitment goes way beyond just selling stuff.” Co-operation -“To be a shining example of business – doing good for workers, farmers and the world”
- 9. …Conclusion continued Community-“There is no them and us, just us!” Instinct-“Just Us! just came immediately to us and that was it. There was no question” Justice -“Right from the beginning we were set up to challenge the status quo.”
- 10. References: Canadian CED Network (2007). Justus! coffee roasters co-op. Retrieved from http://ccednet-rcdec.ca/en/node/928 Global Exchange. (2011). Fair trade faqs. Retrieved from http://www.globalexchange.org/fairtrade/faq Just Us! (n.d) Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op. Company Website. Retrieved from http://www.justuscoffee.com Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Editor's Notes
- Welcome to Analyzing Organization Change for Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-opPresented by Reshanda Hill
- Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op (Just Us!) is a Canadian coffee business that dared to be different from other companies and organizations. Just Us! was established in 1995 by a group of friends that had a common purpose of wanting to make an impact on the world especially in Latin America. Among those friends was Jeff Moore, the first person of the group that wanted to make a change. His inspiration was sparked after he heard President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s (former president of Haiti) speech. President Aristide’s speech stated, “…we should all be able to come to the table, not some crawling on the floor, trying to pick up crumbs” (Just Us!, 2013). That was when Moore knew that it was important to put peoples' needs and the wellbeing of our planet before greed (Just Us, 2013). Moore’s major contribution was the use of his house as collateral to start the business with his friends (Just Us!, 2013).
- Just Us! first steps toward achieving their goals were to participate in the Fair Trade movement. According to Transfair (as cited in Canadian CED Network, 2007) explained by stating, “fair trade is an international system of doing business based on dialogue, transparency and respect. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions for producers and workers in developing countries” (p. 3). Just Us! knew that they wanted to contribute more than just providing a temporary solution of giving money to those rural communities. Just Us! decided that they would rather “give them a fair price for their quality coffee and, thereby, some control over their own destinies…” (Just Us!, n.d). Just Us! launched their movement to get the local communities involved in Fair Trade practices. Just Us! became Canada’s first certified Fair Trade coffee roaster that dealt with organic coffee, tea, chocolate, and sugar (Canadian CED Network, 2007, p. 3). They began promoting awareness on developments and trade issues that will spark change.
- Just Us! business’s structure is not your common setup. Just Us! has its own uniqueness. It is a co-operative that has the purpose to serve its community and specifically its members (Just Us!, 2013). The members of the structure are composed of people that work at Just Us! from local communities (Just Us!, 2013). Despite the amount of money a member invested in the business, Just Us! does not grant anyone a certain portion of the company. For example, a member will only get one vote during the decision process and will only get the same amount invested if the member separates from the company.
- Organization culture refers to the standard behavior and shared values among a group of people (Kotter, 1996). Just Us! organization’s culture allowed for fair trade products to be certified at the rate of 100 percent during both years of 2009 and 2010. The culture contributed to their organization’s effectiveness and showed that their shared values of creating awareness for fair trade products were working.As a result of the positive feedback received from local communities about Just Us! leadership’s structure proved to be effective among its members. Just Us! participated in local communities events “either to serve coffee, talk about our partnerships with producer organizations, learn from our neighbors or just to be part of the scene” (Just Us!, 2013). In fact, each month they donated products to local communities that shared the same goals which in turn created and filled 69 jobs and had 375 community investors in the end of 2010. Based on those figures, draws the conclusion that Just Us! is making a mark in spreading fair trade products and helping out local producers.
- Just Us! went through a major change when they decided to partner with Acadia Cinema Cooperative (ACC). The change was planned as a part of the organization’s successful community asset development program (Just Us!, 2013). The reason Just Us! partnered with ACC was to save an old cinema in the town of Wolfville from closing. Through their partnership that were able to come up with a collaborative plan that demonstrated the effort from both parties. Just Us! started a coffeehouse and ACC operated the cinema in a shared space. Just Us! leadership did a wonderful job helping others in the Wolfville community.
- More changes occurred throughout Just Us! company were launched that promoted to only buy products from fair trade producers and suppliers.Just Us! leaders and other fair trade organizations encountered resistance from countries that embraces child labor and trafficking such as the world’s two leading producers of cocoa Ivory Coast and Ghana. Under the standards of the Fairtrade Labeling Organization, Fair Trade strictly prohibits child and forced labor and trafficking” (Global Exchange, 2011). Therefore, Just Us! had to develop an effective strategy to those resisting the change. Just Us! leaders developed strategies that allowed them to overcome the resistance by researching expansion into markets that were favorable to fair trade. The strategy proved to be successful because Just Us! expanded to local colleges and universities. Just Us! were able to education the public about fair trade practices and products offered at the local coffee shops on campus.The overall effectiveness of the leaders in guiding the organization through this change process, one could see Just Us! is on the right track. Just Us! properly planned ways to involve others. Just Us! focused their wellbeing on the thoughts of getting others involved.
- Just Us! managed to promote their beliefs and products to achieve success. Just Us! focused on improving fair trade and they are succeeding.Their mission was achieved: People and the Planet Before Profits.Their values were spread:(as cited in Just Us, 2013) stated:Authenticity“Our commitment goes way beyond just selling stuff.”We do not go through the blood, sweat and tears of building a democratic workplace and supply chain just to have a job. We want to be the “real deal” in everything we say and do. Co-operation “To be a shining example of business – doing good for workers, farmers and the world”The world needs true and participatory democracy in business, just as we do in politics. Direct trade between co-operatives means a commerce system of products from the people, for the people. We don’t always know where our path will lead us, but we want to walk together and with others who are part of the struggle to create a better world. “We make the road by walking.” MYLES HORTON
- Community“There is no them and us, just us!”We do not believe in any form of discrimination. We want to create a place to learn, grow, respect and share diverse opinions or ideas with mutual trust and acceptance. This strengthens us to stand together against intolerance, exclusion and self-interest at the expense of others.Instinct“Just Us! just came immediately to us and that was it. There was no question”Instinct is about knowing what is the right thing to do, given our purpose. It’s about creating, honouring and living a pervasive culture that keeps us accountable to our values.Justice “Right from the beginning we were set up to challenge the status quo.”We are a radically-oriented business, challenging conventional bottom-line business practices. We are part of local and international movements towards global justice. We provide a fundamental alternative by doing business differently and partnering with small, indigenous producers who dare to organize in their historic struggle for economic justice, dignity, and self-determination.