Business Communication Mcdonalds

McDonald’s

Here I choose a McDonald’s of New Zealand for my assignment. I choose this organization because it is very up growing organization of New Zealand. The biggest reason for choosing this organization is that because I am working here and I know much more about that.

It all began in the USA in 1954 with a milkshake machine salesman named Ray Kroc. Ray received an order from the McDonald brothers’ hamburger outlet in California. He was fascinated by their operation – the menu was simple and inexpensive but the hamburgers were good; the fries were made in-store; and the shakes were thicker than usual.

McDonald’s New Zealand opened its first restaurant in 1976 in Porirua. Today there are 150 McDonald’s restaurants across New Zealand, with around one million people visiting our restaurants every week.

In New Zealand, 80 per cent of McDonald’s restaurants are franchised by local business men and women who own and operate their restaurants as independent businesses.

McDonald’s success is built on a foundation of integrity. Hundreds of millions of people around the world trust our brand and we earn that trust every day by respecting our customers and employees, and delivering outstanding quality, service, cleanliness and value (QSC&V).

Reference: – http://mcdonalds.co.nz/about-us/organisation

BUSINESS DEMOGRAPHICS

McDonald’s business model is based on providing consistent levels of service and quality products, and the values of Quality, Service and Cleanliness (QSC) is important to all who work at McDonald’s NZ. All employees must provide a high level of customer satisfaction and maintain high standards of food preparation, presentation and cleanliness.

Successful businesses respond to the changing needs of their customers in order to maintain customer loyalty and sustain market growth. The way people eat and what they eat is changing – people are becoming more aware than ever of the importance of health and nutrition, the popularity of products such as coffee has soared and people’s working hours are increasing. In order to keep up with these market drivers, McDonald’s has evolved its menus and restaurants with offerings such as salads, fruit, deli-style rolls, the McCafé® concept and breakfasts. Responding to customer needs is part of McDonald’s service principle.

Customers are also becoming more interested in having information about their food, its production methods, and the companies who supply it. McDonald’s has responded to customer demand by making nutrition and other information easily available, ensuring customers can access information whenever they want. Direct communication with customers is extremely important to McDonald’s – not only to launch new products or promotions, promote a balanced lifestyle or Ronald McDonald House Charities, but also to counter misinformation or urban myths surrounding the business. It is vital that McDonald’s is able to counter these claims about the company and its products in ways that are accessible to every customer.

Some of the methods McDonald’s uses are:

• Television commercials

• Brochures, tray mats and leaflets (available in-store or as a download from the

McDonald’s website – www.mcdonalds.co.nz)

• Magazine and newspaper advertisements

• Radio commercials

• Public relations

• Speaking opportunities

• Internal newsletters

• Country-specific websites.

Using a wide range of communication channels ensures the company is able to reach every demographic with the most appropriate medium.

Reference: – http://www.oppapers.com/subjects/mcdonalds-demographics-page1.html

ORGANISATION GOALS

McDonalds wants to deepen their connection with the customer by providing great service and experience “in every restaurant, every time.” The usage of different activities allows McDonald’s and the Customers to have a relation between them.

Mission Statement: “McDonald’s vision is to be the world’s best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding Quality, Service, Cleanliness, and Value (QSCV), so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile.”

McDonald’s Goals and Objectives:

1. McDonald’s vision is to be the world’s best quick service

Restaurants experience.

2. McDonalds is committed to maintaining and developing the best food products in the quick service restaurant market.

3. In order to deliver this, the company has made a number of commitments to food safety and nutrition.

4. Lead the Quick Service Restaurant market by a program of site development and profitable restaurant openings, and by attracting new customers. Increasing sales through promotions will enable them to continue their program of expansion.

5. McDonalds have an objective to continual enhance and improve their menu. This will better satisfy their customers and give customers more reason to visit. Many ideas for new items on the menu come from the franchisees responding to customer demand. Consumer tastes change over time and McDonalds has to respond to these changes.

6. To be a socially responsible company.

7. To provide good returns to its shareholders.

8. To provide its customers with food of a high standard, quick service and value for money.

Reference: – http://www.oppapers.com/subjects/aims-and-objectives-of-mcdonalds-page1.html

Organization Culture and Ethics

McDonald’s has a vision that encompasses employees and the surrounding communities. They believe that satisfied employees excel in quality customer service. McDonald’s also maintain commitment to stakeholders, and the environment. McDonald’s corporate culture is to do the right thing for their employees, the community and the customers they serve; this commitment is just as important to them as serving hamburgers and French fries. In addition, they provide support to local developmental projects, school and youth programs; moreover, the Ronald McDonald house provides support for the well-being of children around the world.

“McDonald’s has a people vision to be the best employer in each community around the world.” [They believe that their] “People promise and people principles express [their] commitment to respect, recognition, openness, and employee development.” “Diversity is integrated into [their] business operations and planning around the world.

A code of conduct and ethics is conducive to running any business. In promoting these positive actions throughout the company they should be clear and concise and include all people involved throughout the entire company. These policies should have a clear view on how to treat your customers or clients in a respectful manner and how to deal with your coworkers and customers in an ethical and legal way.

McDonald’s Corporation, like most other businesses has a code of ethics and conduct policy. These two together compose what employees orofficers are generally expected to follow with respects to how the treat the public and each other. McDonald’s policy seems to be different than most of the policies one would expect.

Community involvement

McDonald’s has been an active part of New Zealand communities since 1976, and we are proud of the positive contribution we make. Our restaurants and franchisees play pivotal roles in their local area, and we take our responsibilities seriously to make sure we are a good neighbor and a good corporate citizen wherever we go.

Junior sport: soccer and touch rugby

McDonald’s New Zealand is a long-term sponsor of junior sport in New Zealand, partnering with both junior soccer and touch rugby. Our supports helps more than 150,000 Kiwi kids get out there and active playing sport each weekend.

Clean Up New Zealand Week

Like other New Zealanders, we want to help keep New Zealand beautiful! We’re a proud supporter of Keep New Zealand Beautiful, and each year in September, our restaurants take part in Clean Up New Zealand Week.

Environment: our approach

Our approach to the environment is evolving with the changing needs for environmental sensitivity. The 3R’s – reduce, re-use, recycle have always been a part of our approach to helping the environment but we know there’s more to it than that. That’s why McDonald’s Corporation globally is teaming up with key environmental organizations to integrate environmental sustainability into all our business practices.

Reference: – http://www.mightystudents.com/essay/Mcdonalds.code.of.124044

Management of Knowledge Resources

As one of the leading companies in the world and invading every country, there is no doubt that McDonald is the leader in fast food industry. This fact has been proven for so many years and this will not happen if the company did not apply any strategies with their resources and calculating their capabilities.

The strategy may come in planning in the business setting. The process of developing and maintaining the goals and capabilities is reflected to its changing marketing opportunities. The corporate strategy lays in their institutional mission, supporting goals and objectives, an appropriate implementation.

Resources and Capabilities of McDonald

For the company, the strategy is concerned with matching a firm’s resources and capabilities to the opportunities that arise in the external environment. The resources and capabilities of a company are considered as a strategy. The increasing emphasis on the role of resources and capabilities as the basis for strategy may come in to two factors. First, the industry where the firm belongs became unstable and so the internal resources and capabilities of the firm are given more focus in formulating strategies. And second, the combination of the resources and capabilities of the firm became the superior competitive advantage and profitability.

The connection between the resource and capabilities of a firm in the area of business makes a competitive advantage. It is because the capabilities and resources allow the organization to create value and gain some form of advantage from the rivals. The capabilities and resources may include the degree of business cycle literacy of the top of management team; deployment of various forecasting resources; a facilitative organizational structure that facilitates timely acquisition, processing, and dissemination of macroeconomic information as well as timely decision making relative to rivals; the observable application of a set of business cycle-sensitive management principles; and a supportive organizational culture that supports the firm’s management activities.

With concern of knowledge management, McDonald’s companies are primarily implementing the McDonald’s system. The essence of systematization of knowledge is followed by every outlet with a detailed set of rules. Therefore, the operating practices became part of every employee and given a thorough attention from the management through the training programs.

Reference: – http://www.allfreeessays.com/topics/knowledge-management-strategies-of-mcdonalds/0

Group Dynamics

Group dynamics is a joint action by two or more people, in which each person contributes with different skills and expresses his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group in order to achieve common goals.

This does not mean that the individual is no longer important; however, it does mean that effective and efficient teamwork goes beyond individual accomplishments. The most effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal.

There is a saying that many hands make light work. The essence of this statement is that more can be achieved as a collective than individually.

There are numerous benefits of Group Dynamics.

1. Creativity

We all have different skills, knowledge and personal attributes. By utilizing all of these different aspects in a team, more ideas can be generated. As more ideas are generated, more creative solutions are generated, leading to better results.

2. Satisfaction

Lack of job satisfaction is often one of the key things highlighted in surveys of employees. Individuals working together as a team to achieve a common goal are continually developing. As they interact more energy and enthusiasm is created.

When this energy is utilized, it produces results which positively impacts on motivation and leads to even more success.

3. Skills

Even the best qualified individual cannot have all of the skills to do everything. Some people excel at coming up with the ideas. Others love the detail while there are those that focus on the big picture. There are others who can be counted on when it comes to implementing and follow through of a plan.

The key point is that when a team works together, it has a huge range of skills available that it can utilize to deliver extraordinary results.

4. Speed

Imagine that you have a project that needs research, pulling together a proposition, financing it, implementing it and delivering specific benefits. If one person was allocated this task, it could take months and maybe years to make it happen. By splitting up the project, work can move forward in parallel and the ultimate goal achieved faster.

5. Sounding board

We all have a range of options open to us. If we are trying to figure out what is best, we might never move forward. In a team situation, other team members can act as a sounding board, allowing us to cut through the options and get on with those most likely to achieve the desired goal.

6. Support

It is amazing the amount of camaraderie that is created in teams, especially when the going gets tough. People will often go to what seems like extreme lengths when they know that they can rely on the support and encouragement of the team. Never underestimate the significance of this in achieving results.

Reference: – http://essaysbank.com/essay/mcdonalds-case-study-3

Meeting Management

Board Meetings

The Board of Directors meets at least six times a year. Additional meetings are scheduled as necessary or appropriate in light of prevailing circumstances. The Chairman chairs all meetings of the Board of Directors. The Chairman, in consultation with the CEO, establishes an agenda for each meeting. Agendas are set so as to ensure that the Board will be able to fulfill its oversight responsibilities. Directors may at any time suggest the addition of any matters to a meeting agenda or raise for discussion at any meeting any subject that they wish, whether or not it is on the agenda for the meeting. The Secretary attends all meetings of the Board and records the minutes. The Vice Chairman, Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel also attend meetings of the Board. Any one or all of these officers may be excused from all or any portion of a Board meeting at the request of any Director.

Restaurant Meetings

The McDonald’s management team has meetings every week where they reflect over what has occurred since the last meeting and discuss any problems they have encountered. “The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas. This shows the purpose of having the meeting and it is clear McDonald follow this theory. The minutes and agendas are recorded for each meeting and if any managers are absent, they are kept up to date by the Store Manager who also distributes summaries of the meetings to everyone via email.

To encourage the wider goals to be achieved, it is essential that all staff that is currently working in McDonald is focused in the same direction. This is embedded when new employees are told about the vision and mission statement at the induction stage so they know what McDonald’s stands for and the direction that are heading in. This guarantees that all staff is aware of McDonald’s wider goals.

Barnett & O’Rourke suggests “It means addressing opportunities and needs so that your organization can achieve its goals”

An example is; as a short term goal on the Christmas holidays , all staff has been sent memo’s and have been emailed on the importance of this weeks. The activities and expectations they are holding are made clear for them to set the example. If the communication had not been made clear to all staff from the beginning the communication would not have had an overall staff contribution to the expected success of the promotion.

STAKEHOLDERS

Every business has stakeholders – individuals, organizations or groups that have an interest in the organization and how it operates. Successful companies take into account the needs and requirements of their stakeholders.

Companies usually assume if their sales are good, then their brand and reputation must be strong. But all too often, they don’t have a clear understanding of the values that drive brand and reputation and actually sustain long-term profitability and growth. This leaves companies vulnerable to dangerous backlash between corporate values, and those of their stakeholders: customers, employees, shareholders, media, government, and community. Even well-known and seemingly successful brands and reputations have suffered from this backlash. Every stakeholder applies their personal and professional values to judge the performance of a company.

Stakeholders for McDonald’s NZ include:

• Customers

• Franchise holders (franchisees)

• Employees

• Suppliers

• Regulatory bodies (e.g. national and local regulatory bodies including health and safety groups)

• Community groups

• Shareholders.

Reference: – http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071020051314AAPiEIV

Networks

McDonalds IT Limited can provide the following services with Virtualization

Design

Consultancy

Implementation

Reviews

Audits

Messaging / Communications

Email and instant messaging enables your business to keep in touch and without it most companies wouldn’t survive. Electronic communications have become an integral part of everyday life whether at work or at home. McDonalds IT assists by enabling collaborative messaging solutions that allows you to send and receive electronic interactive communications, throughout your computer network and to other customers via the internet.

Using Microsoft’s latest email offering, Exchange 2010, McDonalds IT provide the necessary flexibility for secure access from any user, allowing teams to collaborate and communicate more effectively, regardless of location.

McDonalds IT also specializes in email migrations from other email platforms, including Lotus Notes, Exchange 5.5, Exchange 2000, 2003 and Exchange 2007. We have designed and implemented one of New Zealand’s few Unified Messaging solutions.

Remote Access Solutions

1. Microsoft ISA and TMG

McDonalds IT has implemented both ISA 2006 and TMG to our clients. We can tailor these products to your requirements, be they web proxy, VPN or email protection. TMG can be scaled up to a Network Load Balanced configuration for an Enterprise client. We specialize in ISA 2004 upgrades to keep your Firewall at the very latest offering from Microsoft.

2. Microsoft Direct Access

With the implementation of Windows 2008 R2, Windows 7 and IP v6, McDonalds IT can leverage Microsoft’s User Access Gateway (UAG). This approach removes the complexity that normal VPN’s have. It allows seamless access to the corporate LAN regardless of location.

Standout Features

Syncs Windows, Mac and Linux computer

File sharing supports public and shared folders with permissions

Unlimited undo available

Free Drop box iPhone/ iPod Touch app available

Can sync across multiple computers

Reference: – from MDP folder of McDonald’s

Conclusion

According to the findings, we came up with the conclusion that due to the different background and culture of the stay members and managers, language becomes a barrier as far as communication is concerned. Because most employees are from different culture and they are new in this work might hesitate to talk to the manager about their problems. In the meetings, employees are always asked by the managers are they satisfied with their jobs and with the environment of Mc Donald’s, which will ultimately motivate them to satisfy the needs of their customers as well. Indian and Chinese staff member hesitates a lot because English is not there first language.

We find that the level of satisfaction depends on the quality of service a customer receives. In this restaurant, both men and women deal with the customers because they are trained well before they join the staff. While dealing with different customers of different background they have to communicate accurately to satisfy the customer’s needs. In this family restaurant every staff member communicates well with the customers to fulfill the customer’s needs. They speak well in English.