Managing The Change: A Case Study Of McDonald's Essay.

About McDonald's

Discuss about the Management ?

McDonalds have been experiencing a certain progress over a period of time based on the customers changing demands and other external factors (Singh 2016). This report will take into account the changes that McDonalds experienced a few while back and the ways through which the management and the employees responded to that change, the factors responsible for such a change, the handling of resistance factors and how successful the change would be in achieving the company objectives.

It is important from an organization’s perspective to arrange themselves in a manner where they can maintain their compatibility and competitiveness along with sustaining to the outer world (Coombs and Holladay 2012). However, these changes can bring in a lot of development to the organization. Several stuffs like opportunities for new future innovations may open up along with making things easier than it was before.

McDonalds started its journey in 1954 and since then have gone on expanding itself in several countries. McDonalds serves a very uniform menu including chicken sandwiches, cheeseburgers and French fries. Some of the top selling items of McDonalds are the Fillet-o-Fish, Chicken McNuggets, and Big Mac. The target market segment for McDonalds has been the younger people and the children.

As per New (2015), McDonald has been a reputable brand and has achieved a lot of things in its journey towards obtaining a successful brand image, but they still need to adjust themselves according to the taste and preference of the growing population which is becoming ever conscious of the nutritional fact. A need for change is required in redefining its brand image along with repositioning of the brand in the minds of the consumers as people these days are over cautious on their health and figure related issues. People have a notion that over the past few years, McDonalds have been offering them oily foods which are high in fats and costly than its competitors. The competitors of McDonalds like Subway, Burger King and KFC have already adopted measures for providing low fat foods which are less expensive too. Even a few years back McDonalds was running in loss as most of its consumers were switching over to its competitors for more hygienic food. It is the high time for McDonalds to act accordingly and regain its lost market share and keep hold of its customer. Understanding the ever changing behavior of consumers is essential along with the factor relating to their health. As a Regional Director it is one of my duties to make the Management aware of where the company needs changes. An integrated marketing plan is required that will focus on advertising innovation and promotional campaigns for changing the perception of people about the food quality of McDonalds.

Changes required in McDonald's

McDonalds need to change in order to adapt to the changing needs and demands of the consumers. There needs to be an implementation of Integrated Marketing communication (IMC) as a marketing strategy plan along with offering a diet that is balanced and helps in active lifestyle. McDonalds also needs to have an operational strategy which it can practice freely in the local markets where it can adopt these strategies or practices in the international market while having a brand identity that is common in nature. Innovation is required too in areas such as advertising and promotional campaigns for better results. McDonalds should be the place where customers would always want to eat and spend time, especially children. As stated earlier everybody is becoming health conscious in the present scenario, so McDonalds need to bring in a new health-conscious brand image. Even for the children the company needs to have a menu which contains a low-fat. All that McDonalds need is maintaining a traditional competence of fast food restaurant and offering customers an environment that is comfortable.

Any desired change does not come easy; there is always that conflict that jeopardizes the whole situation. In McDonalds too there might be some which needs to be tackled by the company in order to meet its objectives:

Shifting children’s attitude about fast food meals that are healthy is not easy but can be achieved through proper marketing communications and strong encouraging characteristics of the campaign and the management needs to be successful in its implementation of the same (Anderson  and Mirosa 2014). Parents are the people who are accountable for the eating habits of their children. In order to target that McDonalds targeted the parents of the children and encouraged them through their new food plans which are healthier for children ensuring they enjoy McDonalds like ever before.

McDonald’s new image should be able to create a place of its own in the mind of the consumers through the new advertisements that would run across all the media types, associating the brand in the best positive way than it was ever before. In the past McDonalds have run advertisements with theme like “I love it even more” in which it has been successful. Such creative themes would encourage the parents in letting their children eat healthy meals. Such things help in building a positive brand image.

A safe environment needs to be implemented in bringing in the required change. A safe environment would let the employees perform better and stay committed to the overall objectives of the organization in bringing in such changes. Changes of such stature would help overcome the conflicts raised by employees and customers, before implementing such changes (Mukerjee 2016).

Main Objectives of change

This change will help the company in enhancing the total strength of the organization and its competitiveness through gaining back of customer loyalty and building a positive image brand. People would start linking themselves with McDonalds and they would start pushing their children in having McDonalds which has been the core element of bringing such a change.

A change would strengthen the management in expanding its business portfolio and surviving in the toughest competition of the market. Once it gets back its loyal customer base it would start regaining its lost market share in comparison to its competitors which allowed them to enter the market having same brand and expanding the business in order to be the children’s most favorite eating place and entertaining themselves (Dellacioppa 2012).

People’s reaction to change is different in an organization. During the time of occurrence of certain change McDonalds would face certain conflicts and resistances for bringing in such changes (Kang 2015). Changes can come from both the consumer group and the employees of the organization. It may happen that some of the employees might not be in the favor of implementation of the Integrated Marketing communication whereas some would be.

            Situation may arise where some employees and managers might oppose in fear of the plan going downslide and the company not being able to generate positive results. Such confusion can complicate the problem and create a bad impression in the minds of the consumers instead of developing it (Gadiuta 2015). The team should be capable enough in bringing in the desired changes as planned by the management, or else the whole idea would be ineffective.

Another resistance that might crop up is due to the technological facilities as used by the team of McDonalds. The employees might be of the idea that the technology that is being used by the McDonalds management might be demoted due to the speedy advancement in the It field these days (Bernhardt et al. 2015). Such thoughts might crop up on whether the new campaign would be a successful one and whether customers would react in a positive way.

An important conflict is that the managers of the company did not have the experienced team in their kitty for helping the organization in achieving the change. Being a Regional Director, I have found out that managers in the company do lack good skilled workforce that has the capability of keeping up with the approach of the marketing communication.

Effectiveness of change

Inner conflict in an organization like McDonalds can be because of the cultural differences of the employees. Co-ordination can be a major problem in the team which can make the change more complicated.

The staffs might not be willing to take risk and there have been some doubts among the employees on whether the change would be able to satisfy the customers and what their reaction would be after such a change.

People’s increasing consciousness over health matters is the most important reason for McDonalds to retain the good image in consumer’s minds and preserve the good quality of its foods along with the required standards and affordable price. Their aim should be producing foods which are low in fat along with other ways like having a playing section for children which they already possess (Kane 2016.). They need to keep proper track of their competitors so that they can act accordingly. There should not be any let down in the services it offers along with coping up with the requirements of the market and changing social needs (Inglis and Gimlin 2015). McDonald’s management should be able to plan innovations and creativity in order to make good use of the efficient strategic tools for implementation of changes in the future too. Such strategies would help in achieving its vision of a food industry that would offer a health conscious image which needs to be consistent with the latest development in awareness of health, not only for today but also for the future.

The management should also keep a check of the things that are not working in the organizational process change for implementation of the plan effectively. Changes of such kind would assist McDonalds’ in enhancing its strength as well as competitiveness. It is up to the management’s observation on when the organization needs changes and to what extent so that the company do not face a downturn situation again. The company should review and update its products along with developing their products according to the environmental change for ensuring and enhancing its competitiveness (Thakkar and Thatte 2014.).

The company needs to overcome the resistance of the consumers and the employees for successfully implementing the change in the organization. The only way the management can be successful in bring in the changes would be by handling the resistance in a successful manner, where the management understands that the organizational goals can only be achieved if the resistance is handled in a proper manner (Sachdeva 2015). There are certain techniques which McDonalds can adopt Bringing in everyone in the process change

Resistance occurred during change implementation

Everyone needs to get involved in the process change of McDonalds. Such changes act as the learning curve for the employees in order to understand the requirement of change and the objectives of such a change (Singhal and Tomar 2016). The management needs to inform its employees about the every possible information, so that they understand the need of the change and feel an integral part of it Offering enough time to employees.

It is important for the management to give enough time to their employees in understanding the requirement of such changes in the ever changing environment. The tactical knowledge of the employees should be put to good use which comes from the observation and required experience Offering updated technology in facilitating knowledge management.

This change is the desire of the management and for the same reason it should provide its employees and the consumers with everything that satisfies their demand and providing the staff with the technology that lasts long. As per Saxena, Deodhar and Ruohonen (2017), the management should facilitate the employees of the organization with technology having guaranteed long lasting functions in order to assure them that the technology is quite compatible with the recent trends in the world of IT Communication and Education.

Managers should try and educate people on why the changes are required by the company and what should be the expected outcome of the change (Counihan and Van Esterik 2012). The employees need to be understood what the changes would do good for them in the future and how much they would be benefited from it. This would lessen the doubts in the minds of the employees about the negativity of change effects Development of organizational culture.

The inner conflict can only be resolved through proper motivation and offering things of satisfaction. The focus should be on the design of the organization, compensation programs of the employees and performance management for motivating the employees and creating interest in them for bringing in the required support for change. McDonald’s human capital management incorporated a process ensuring proper quality among the employees and making them feel that they too are an integral part of the organizational process, notwithstanding the cultural difference of the employees. Loyalty of the employees can be achieved through that which would in turn help the organization too.

McDonalds would be successful in handling the resistance raised by employees and customers, involving everyone into the process and let them provide the required suggestion or opinion of theirs Key stakeholders of McDonalds.

One of the main stakeholders of McDonalds is its employees. The employees generally make up the internal stakeholders of the company, having an interest in the matters of the company and influencing the way it is being run.

Customers are the external stakeholders of the company. Every customer who buys products from the franchises of McDonalds is the external stakeholder of the company (Carter et al. 2013). McDonalds is in the habit of receiving feedback from its employees on the food items it serves. If they receive feedback from its consumers on particular food stuff, they are more likely to continue with it; however, if they do not receive any on the same, they are more likely to cut it off from their menu list (Almond and Menéndez 2013).

Suppliers are also the internal stakeholders of the company as they work with McDonalds. There are many suppliers of McDonalds who supply them one item or the other, and their interest lies in the orders it serves as every order would bring in extra penny for them. The company focuses on keeping a track of its suppliers as they a huge role in the chains of McDonalds. If its suppliers fail to deliver items at the required time, the company would not have anything to sell off to its consumers which in turn would tarnish their brand image.

The Thailand Government is also a stakeholder of the company. McDonalds do offer a lot of jobs for the unemployed, not only in Thailand but all over the world. Every time McDonalds thinks of opening a new restaurant it needs to take the permission of the government. The government too plays a part in whether they would allow McDonalds to open a branch at a particular place. Moreover, McDonalds need to follow a set of guidelines set by Thailand government.

Another external stakeholder of the company is the trade unions. Trade Union is an association that works for the welfare of the workers in the organization, their working environment and how much they are being paid. To be a part of the trade union, employees need to pay a certain amount.

Like any other organization McDonalds too need to follow the rules and regulations of the government. The company needs to go by the rule book and obey the policies in order to achieve the organizational goals (Brindal et al. 2014). The Thailand government too has been particular about the safety and health issues of people, more so because of the fact that it is a popular tourist destination. The company needs to reposition themselves so as to give customers a positive brand image.

Heavy slump in the economy have made people more sensitive. Consumers these days do think a lot before making purchase of any kind, more so on food items (Vakola, Armenakis and Oreg 2013). Quality of foods is an important factor which should match the demands of the consumers. McDonalds should be able to adapt itself to the changing market standards.

Lifestyle of people is an important factor on why McDonalds should bring in such changes. People is becoming health conscious which is why they are not favor of food items that are oily and full of fat (Nahavandi et al. 2013). Demographics too play an important role in affecting market conditions. The main target area of McDonalds has been the age group between 10-40 years who are much aware of the fact that what eating healthy can transform them into. The target market’s changing lifestyle will be a challenge for the company as it needs to deliver the products that are being demanded by the customers.

Advancement in technology is another important aspect of change in the mindset of people and organization at the same time. Human behavior evolves with technology and because of internet people are becoming more aware of what is needful (Cameron and Green 2015). Such technological developments help in ensuring the exact requirement of the consumers. Moreover, the employees too find it easy in working with the latest technology for better results.

For any business environment plays a huge role. McDonalds have some tough competitors in the form of KFC, Subway and Burger King. McDonalds should be able to keep track of their competitors and need to take prompt decisions so that they stay ahead of the competition (Dey 2016).

The employees too should be duly motivated by the management for better results with certain monetary benefits and rewards so that they do not follow the path of strike in showing their disgust for the management (S.A. 2015). They might also switch over to the competitor company for better pays.

The legal factors are generally the safety regulations put forward by the Thailand government. Such regulations are generally set keeping in mind the taste and needs of the consumers. Consumer protection is a factor that is expected of McDonalds while going about its regular business.

There are certain things that McDonalds need to ensure before they set on a voyage of change. McDonalds need to ensure that whatever new advertisement they come up with it should be children friendly and the new image reaches every child that it has intended to target. Every parent should have the idea of the advertisement so that they can encourage their little ones to go for it. Building a proper image is important for the company which should only be possible if the parents are attracted to let their children have such food items as generally they are the ones who buy food for their children. Innovation is required too in order to attain the organizational goals which are based on the expertise, his knowledge and the requirements of the market. Successful innovation has always been the acknowledgement of demands.

Innovation will result in positivity for McDonalds as the change implementation has to be done by any means. Possibilities are in plenty for McDonalds; it just has to be smart enough to make the best use of its opportunities. The company needs to put straight its promotional campaign so that it has a positive effect in the consumer’s mind.

Conclusion

Every organization at certain point goes through a change in order to improve itself and strengthen its capabilities. Change is essential in order to stay ahead in the competition. The responsibility is on the company as a whole to do the required changes so the organization stays ahead in the competition. There may occur some issue or resistance as happens in any other case, but McDonalds has the ability to go through anything in order to attain its goals. Its ultimate focus should be on the goal and not on the barriers it might face in its path of changing for the better.

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