McDonalds

10/1/18, 10:56 AM
Fast food giant McDonald’s greatest asset are its staff, and that’s why creating a culture of
recognition is vital to keeping employees inspired, says chief people officer Cathy Doyle. “At
McDonald’s, our 100,000-strong crew are without doubt our greatest asset, they play a critical
role in ensuring our customers have a positive experience each and every time they come to one
of our restaurants,” Doyle told HC Online. “With our crew playing such a key role in our
success, it’s integral that we keep motivation levels high and celebrate the role our people play in
that success; giving them opportunities to understand they are valued, appreciated and can
continue to grow while working with McDonald’s,” she says. Doyle, who will be speaking at
length on this topic at the upcoming Melbourne HR Summit in July, says it is important that HR
professionals understand what motivates their people. “We know that for many of our people
McDonald’s is a stepping stone towards their future careers,” Doyle says. “Those people are
motivated by the training and development opportunities we offer, which is one of the reasons
we invest more than $40 million on training annually.” By drawing on the strengths of their
recognition and training programs, McDonald's can focus on identifying the strengths of crew
members. Staff are then provided with with learning and development opportunities that will
assist them with their future employment, and that they can apply throughout their working lives,
Doyle says. “Our people also get access to some other amazing rewards,” Doyle says. “Just last
year we took more than 600 of our high performing restaurant managers – most in their late teens
and early 20’s - to a convention in the US,” she says. “For many of them it was their first
overseas trip, and while it was certainly a once in a lifetime trip, they also had the opportunity to
hear from some of our global leaders.” For large employers such as McDonald's with
geographically dispersed teams, HR professionals must ensure staff in every workplace location
have access to reward and recognition programs, Doyle says. “McDonald’s has people working
for our restaurants right around the country, so for us it’s important that we ensure our
recognition opportunities are accessible to everyone regardless of where you are based,” she
says. “Our broad spectrum of on the job and externally recognised training options is one way
we achieve this,” “For example, last year alone, 3,350 regional restaurant managers had the
opportunity to attend classes at our training centres.” And when it comes to rewarding staff,
McDonald’s believes there is a role for both monetary and non-monetary recognition. “We aim
to provide our people with recognition that’s relevant to them – sometimes that means it’s an
opportunity to attend a conference with other crew, other times it’s a new role, an awards or
training opportunities,” Doyle says.
McDonald’s Corporation’s operations management (OM) supports the company’s
position as the largest fast food restaurant chain in the world. The 10 decisions of operations
management represent the various strategic areas of operations that must be coordinated for
optimal productivity and performance. McDonald’s global business entails a wide variety of
strategic needs for its operations management, such as strategic HRM and supply chain
development. McDonald’s also needs to address the impacts of tough competition with firms like
Subway, KFC and Wendy’s. To do so, McDonald’s must apply suitable policies and strategies in
all the 10 decision areas of operations management. McDonald’s maintains effective policies and
strategies for the 10 strategic decisions of operations management to maximize its productivity
and performance as a global leader in the fast food restaurant industry. McDonald’s Operations
Management, 10 Decision Areas 1. Design of Goods and Services. McDonald’s goal in this
strategic decision area of operations management is to provide affordable products. As such, the
serving sizes and prices of its products are based on the most popular consumer expectations.
However, some McDonald’s products are minimized in size to make them more affordable. 2.
Quality Management. The company aims to maximize product quality within constraints, such as
costs and price limits. McDonald’s uses a production line method to maintain product quality
consistency. Consistency satisfies consumers’ expectations about McDonald’s and its brand in
this strategic decision area of operations management. 3. Process and Capacity Design.
McDonald’s process and capacity design is centered on efficiency for cost-minimization that
supports the company’s strategies. This strategic decision area of operations management
focuses on maintaining process efficiency and adequate capacity to fulfill market demand. At
McDonald’s, the production line method maximizes efficiency and capacity utilization. 4.
Location Strategy. McDonald’s goal in this strategic decision area of operations management is
to establish locations for maximum market reach. McDonald’s marketing mix includes
restaurants, kiosks, and the company’s website and mobile app as venues. Through these
locations/venues, McDonald’s reaches customers in traditional and online ways. 5. Layout
Design and Strategy. McDonald’s uses practicality for this decision area of operations
management. The strategy involves maximizing space utilization in restaurants and kiosks, rather
than focusing on comfort and spaciousness. 6. Job Design and Human Resources. McDonald’s
human resource strategies involve training for skills needed in the production line in restaurant
kitchens or production areas. For this decision area of operations management, individual and
organizational learning are also emphasized to support McDonald’s organizational culture. 7.
Supply Chain Management. The firm’s global supply chain supports its various locations around
the world. McDonald’s has a strategy of supply chain diversification for this decision area of
operations management. Such strategy involves getting more suppliers from different regions to
reduce McDonald’s supply chain risks. 8. Inventory Management. McDonald’s goal for this
strategic decision area of operations management is to minimize inventory costs while
supporting restaurant operations. The company does not directly sell products and ingredients to
its restaurants. Instead, local and regional intermediaries and distributors coordinate with
McDonald’s restaurant managers to manage their inventory. 9. Scheduling. McDonald’s uses
corporate conventions for scheduling, based on local market conditions and laws, as well as
supply chain needs. For example, the company’s strategy involves regular and seasonal
schedules to address fluctuations in local market demand. Thus, in this decision area of
operations management, McDonald’s is flexible and adapts to local market conditions. 10.
Maintenance. McDonald’s lets restaurant managers or franchisees select maintenance service
providers. However, for kitchen/production equipment, McDonald’s Corporation also has
certified/approved maintenance providers. Thus, the company addresses this strategic decision
area of operations management through local and corporate control.