Keywords: mcdonalds leadership strategy, mcdonalds management analysis
When McDonalds exposed its doors for business, a new trend of fast food surfaced in California, back 1954. Ray Kroc laid the building blocks of what's now one of the world's leading food vendors. McDonalds has more than 32, 000 restaurants in more than 100 countries providing more than 60 million people every day. Catering to such a huge customer bottom and extending its roots in other countries was not an easy task, strong beliefs and effective management were the prerequisites required to make the business where it stands today.
Since its inception, McDonalds has been positively employed in innovating and building strong customer relationships. From a string of few restaurants to franchisees and drive thru restaurants, McDonalds has resided up to its promise of maintain convenience for its customers. Highlighting the key success areas, McDonalds label the 'experience' as the major determinant (Long, 2006). The primary part of these business is QSC & V. QSC & V stand for quality, service, cleanliness and values. Focus on these factors with effective implementation through four management functions is what constitutes the major substances for McDonald's success.
Functions of Management
Management is creative problem fixing with the required result of using organizational resources in a way that accomplishes its objective and goals. These results are obtained by four management functions to which we convert next in context with the McDonalds.
Planning is the ongoing process of growing the business' mission and aims and determining how they'll be accomplished. McDonalds stocks its ideas through its well developed vision. This eye-sight declaration serves as the binding glue between the employees worldwide. Each of them aim to provide their customers by giving them the best quality products at their convenience. This perspective statement clearly suggests the future of the organization. At McDonalds every worker knows where they are really going towards and what their specific contribution. The eyesight serves as the binding make gives the employees a feeling of goal and commitment. The next facet of planning is to truly have a clear defined quest. McDonald's mission declaration is 'to be our customer's favorite place and way to consume (Dentch, 2009)'. This mission defines their business and their place in the life of its customers.
Planning at McDonalds identify the goals and targets and develop their strategies and responsibilities to perform these goals. Planning at McDonalds is aligned with the changes in the external environment; it also faced many problems like local tastes of people, social values, and practices of specific area in which they would like to enter. The look process looked after the core values in any way franchisees, nevertheless the local needs were taken into account to enjoy their culture completely. Strategies were altered to suit the needs of the area in which they entered. This is shown in the functions as well as the source utilization.
One aspect that features McDonalds effective planning is how they manage their supply chains. Timely delivery and quality recycleables were the consequence of establishing good relations with the resource chain partners.
As due to this strategic planning, McDonalds travelled in to the business of an 24/7 restaurants. This is to complement the needs of the all sorts of customers and also to boost the profits by extending the store time. This was accompanied with introducing breakfast time at McDonalds which further added to the menu. McDonalds was now offering all three meals of your day along and was thinking along the lines of adding goodies to the menu. With evidently defined reason for the business, inserted values that dictate the eyesight and emphasis on the role of planning, McDonalds can achieve sustainable income.
Organizing is building the inner organizational framework of the organization. The focus is on division, coordination, and control of duties and the movement of information within the organization. It really is in this function that managers distribute power to job holders. in today's society it is important that management considers the employees and customers as the main asset of the business. Getting a rigid structure undermines the creativity of the employees, thus the culture of empowerment and delegation is exactly what presently prevails in the competitive environment. McDonalds uses the collaborative management methodology which links all the global franchisees worldwide under the umbrella of sole company name (Long, 2006). Management encourages the practice of working and helping with each other's franchisees to provide the better to their customers by coping up with external problems and representing a collaborative dependable culture. In order to ensure constant quality, the specifications are uniform for everyone franchises.
Thus a centralized structure prevails in conditions of training programs, materials and procedures. The formal composition at McDonalds divides the business in the departments and every specific knows his jobs well at which he must be specialized. However, these standard procedures do not give rise to bureaucratic rigidity in the business; each worker is committed to achieve their goals. The organizational structure chosen facilitates the performance and is aligned with the strategy of the restaurant of providing steady quality and great service experience.
Leadership at McDonalds, the CEO sometimes appears as the focal point that the leadership emerges. Jim skinner, the current CEO of McDonalds has been entertained with this name for the past 35 years (Dentch, 2009). Skinner is reported to be an excellent head with charismatic and transformational head. He has thought to revitalize the organization and introduced a new fast food business with his new eye-sight.
The turnaround at McDonalds can be completely related to his creative and impressive leadership. He was one of those who created 'plan to earn' initiative that emphasized the significance of store functions. Having a diverse qualifications and knowledge, he adapted strategies to keep his employees determined and committed. Under his leadership, he places great importance on customer satisfaction; customers come before his employees and restaurants. He promotes creativity but will not let his employees target the primary purpose of his business. He believes in finding the ability therefore he assigns different jobs to his employees and the best you are awarded and awarded with more responsibility. Skinner places importance on values and ethics.
When McDonalds was blamed for fatness, he did not hide behind transferring on the blame; instead he took actions to positively handle the situation. Thus he is seen as a moral innovator who makes McDonalds a better place for both employees and customers.
Controlling at McDonalds is the amalgam of encouraged personnel and the clear insurance policies which keep them directly on the keep tabs on. The line manager manages keeping the employees working according to the specifications. At a broader point of view, every franchise must follow quality benchmarks and follow the strict supplier procedures (Long, 2006). This is to ensure that the brands name is not in peril by irresponsible activities at specific franchise level. McDonalds Corporation believes in training its employees at Hamburger University. This is to ensure that employees are clear about the benchmark and how they improve any shortcomings in their performance to meet these expectations.
Flexible working arrangements, entertaining culture, training and a wholesome work life balance is exactly what maintains the employees determined. Though McDonalds is well known for its tight control and bureaucratic structure, it in no way inhibits employee output or dedication to the business.
Conclusion
McDonalds is a global fast food chain known because of its quality food and great customer experience. Through rigorous and clear regulations and under the charismatic leadership of Skinner, McDonalds have had the opportunity to build a reputable image in the minds of its consumers. Positively giving an answer to the changing needs of its customers, it's been able to maintain steadily its brand substance along with growing profits. An ideal blend of the four management functions namely, planning, arranging, leading and controlling has been the main element drivers behind McDonald's success.
