McDonald’s Performance Management Improvement

Subject: Case Studies
Pages: 8
Words: 2309
Reading time:
9 min
Study level: Bachelor

Introduction

McDonald’s aims firstly to ensure that young employees develop a system of values aimed at improving attitudes toward work. It will also improve loyalty to the organization, unacceptability of discipline and misconduct, and the formation of a healthy lifestyle. McDonald’s business process management system is regulated by clearly defined procedures and operations. The order in which each employee acts in any part of the business cycle is defined by strict guidelines written in documents. At the same time, workers must comply with all the rules, and managers provide leadership and verification of performance standards. McDonald’s performance management system also includes tools used to identify, encourage, measure, evaluate, improve, and reward workers’ performance. Employee performance is an increasingly significant criterion for the corporation, and it is constantly improving techniques to achieve better results.

The Current Performance Management System

The performance management system is designed to ensure the internal stability of the company and to organize and control employee activities. The current system at McClonald’s includes many factors, such as wages, compensation, hiring and training of personnel, and continuous development and improvement of professional characteristics. The organization employs managers who are responsible for ensuring that the performance management system is adjusted to meet the goals and objectives of the company. It is also necessary to mention that McDonald’s has this process constantly to evaluate the efficiency of each individual and team in order to fulfill the strategic goals of the company. The primary objective of this method is to find a balance between the global goals and mission of the company and the individual characteristics and goals of each worker (Ge, 2020). It is interesting to note that the main criterion of this system is the comparison of progress. That is, the evaluation of the effectiveness of workers is based on the work performed and evaluated the way and quality of its implementation. Rewards are distributed based on each individual worker’s progress.

The firm also has unique efficiency management methods, which consist of several steps. Thus, the development of an individual performance plan begins the process of managing the productiveness of employees. It should be pointed out that such a plan is made for one year, so managers agree with the corporation’s employees on business goals and their execution (Ge, 2020). As a consequence, once the goals and objectives are formally agreed upon, employees are responsible for meeting them and achieving them in the best possible way.

This is followed by an individual development plan that focuses on employee development. That is, the program includes the improvement of knowledge in the relevant area of work and the leadership and team qualities of employees. The importance of such a plan is also that it includes the ambition and desire of employees to get the top positions in McDonald’s. The method for verifying the effectiveness of the two plans is a mid-year review of the reports (Ge, 2020). Accordingly, employees and managers check or have fulfilled their goals and orient them according to the firm’s new priorities.

Finally, the next step in productivity management is the annual management inspections. They take place in such a way that employees submit reports on their activities to managers and pass them through discussion. Managers have a hundred-point scale according to which they evaluate achievements. It is important to note that an employee’s actions can be graded a maximum of 75 points, and the manner in which they have accomplished a maximum of 25 points (Ge, 2020). The supervisor then presents the worker’s achievements in a roundtable discussion, where fair rewards will be distributed according to the performance measures. An interesting aspect is that the manager considers offering the employee a higher position according to his overall assessment of his productivity.

It is essential to mention that the last step is to discuss the work with the employees and explain why they received a particular grade. The manager’s job is to make sure that employees understand the positives and negatives that influence their evaluation. As a result, they will be able to improve their performance and be better appreciated the following year. Although feedback and the basis of the rating system is an important step for development, criticism can have a negative effect on the emotional state of workers (Ge, 2020). Therefore, managers should observe the principles of tolerance and always offer assistance to employees. The value of such a performance management system is that it is really effective. This is exposed by the fact that its use has permitted the company to raise its business activity performance. As a consequence, it helps to increase company income, sales, and satisfaction of employees with working conditions and monetary and moral rewards.

Efficiency and Ability to Change System Management Productivity

The current performance system is quite effective, but it could be improved with more transparency. This is because staff should be aware of all evaluation methods and have a minimum standard to be adhered to. Thus, McDonald’s can use several ways to calculate productivity. Although the company already has an active motivation method where employees can combine personal goals and the corporation’s global objectives for job performance. At the same time, motivational measures such as recognition of achievement and improved relationships with management can be introduced. This will demonstrate to employees that their efforts are appropriately appreciated (Raduzzi & Massey, 2019). Moreover, workers’ motivation is also affected by the environment in which they work, so a healthy corporate climate is essential to ensure that employees receive psychological growth.

Although McDonald’s staff are constantly interacting with managers of the company and receiving feedback on their work, it is also necessary to involve them in decision making and take their opinions into account. The value of changing from a method of employee satisfaction to staff involvement is that it will enable McDonald’s to create a successful interaction between managers and subordinates (Raduzzi & Massey, 2019). Such a strategy can be implemented by involving the personnel in the development of the corporation’s concept of change and considering their professional abilities. Accordingly, not only the opinion of management will be taken into account, but also employees who are in direct contact with customers have a higher chance of satisfying the desire of customers.

At the same time, an increase in personnel efficiency can be achieved if constant training for new and already experienced workers is provided. Moreover, experienced staff can help the new ones acquire knowledge. Such a distribution of duties will help unite the team even more and stimulate progress (Raduzzi & Massey, 2019). Therefore, the sense of belonging and the company’s demand will stimulate employees to develop and perform at the highest level. Besides, conducting not just constant training, but training on principle, when an experienced worker by his own example demonstrates to a new employee the possibilities and ways of realization are highly appreciated.

It should also be mentioned that the worker evaluation system is designed not only to recognize the best workers but also to help the unsuccessful employees reach a better level of performance. Accordingly, managers need not just assess but also investigate and respond to the causes of performance problems. This can be done by developing an action plan and making recommendations to each worker to correct the issues. At the same time, in order to establish better communication and trust, managers can develop informal relationships with employees to use friendly advice to help them grow (Raduzzi & Massey, 2019). While it should be said that even the current performance management system is successful, the proposed changes can improve it. That is, now there are also team members who are responsible for the production system in restaurants. There is training for them, which concludes with an examination. Consequently, all company managers in leadership positions have the knowledge and can implement approaches to improve the organizational climate, employee satisfaction with working conditions, and as a result, higher profits for the firm.

The Differences Between Formal and Informal Performance Feedback Processes

Conformity of whether workers conform to a productive system can be accomplished through formal or informal evaluations. An essential difference between the two is the intervals at which they are conducted, so formal feedback needs to be systematically carried out in accordance with generally accepted procedures and institutions in the enterprise. At the same time, informal assessments can be performed on an as-needed basis as determined by the manager. As a rule, they are usually undertaken by managers in order to evaluate performance in the form of a regular conversation rather than a report (Armstrong, 2021). Moreover, informal feedback can take place in an informal setting, such as in a coffee shop over a cup of coffee, in order to create an atmosphere of trust. It should also be noted that informal communication is certainly valuable, but it should not replace formal evaluations. However, informal interactions can encourage workers to improve their performance, which will enhance their expected results.

It is essential to mention that McDonald’s uses multi-channel communication methods to make sure that employees receive an answer and an explanation. Thus, the corporation is now actively applying modern technology, especially videoconferencing. The application of a formal style of communication is because there are many offices and restaurants worldwide, and it is the only possible way to maintain a connection with everyone. At the same time, however, managers in local restaurants use more than informal communication to build close and trusting relationships and maintain team spirit. However, recommendations can be made to improve effective communication between the company’s senior executives and rank-and-file employees (Armstrong, 2021). That is, it is possible to choose the best workers based on annual reports on their productivity and organize meetings with the administration. In this way, it will enable workers to communicate in an informal atmosphere about the performance in their restaurant and share their ideas and observations. At the same time, it will motivate all employees to work better.

Best Practices for Improving Employees’ Performance

An interesting technique to increase employee productivity is motivating personnel according to the “French system.” Thus, it is essential to accrue wages according to the number of professions mastered and the level of qualification. For each new specialty, an individual employee is awarded points. In order to obtain a pay raise, an employee must accumulate a certain number of points. The advantage of the French motivation scheme in terms of stimulating an increase in productivity and quality of labor is “self-regulation”of the size of wages (Pradhan & Jena, 2017). Everyone knows the company’s financial situation and knows what part of the profit they are entitled to for excellent work.

Organizing courses and training terns for employees, paid for by the company, will help achieve better work efficiency. This way, employees will accept the offer to gain new skills and experience; moreover, free training is a good motivation. In this case, the firm will not only get competent employees who are ready to work better but will also provide them with tools on how to do exactly this. For example, Etsy makes full training programs that are developed individually for each employee (Pradhan & Jena, 2017). Thus, the development of training and courses combines scientific methods that include organizational psychology, adult learning theory, and sociology. As a consequence, it is possible to design a program that will fully meet the needs of a particular staff member. At the same time, the experience, the desire for weaknesses, and employees’ strengths should be considered when planning the curriculum. Accordingly, it may be concluded that attending training sessions created to the individual needs of each employee will contribute to their productivity and the achievement of the organization’s goals.

Judiciary Issues

It is essential to mention that legal disputes can arise because of an employee’s disadvantage in the organization or due to damage caused by the workers to customers or the business. Thus, one way to avoid them is to implement a briefing that explains their rights and responsibilities and sign an employment contract that the employee must adhere to. However, the most powerful way to decrease the risks of a costly lawsuit is through employee training and a management system. Workers usually complain first to their employer about specific problems before suing. Accordingly, managers should provide a clear and accessible process for responding to complaints to reduce the chance of litigation (Wu et al., 2020). At the same time, violations of workers’ rights can occur because managers do not comply with applicable laws.

Correspondingly, company managers should continually increase their knowledge of personnel management and their rights. Since regulations are constantly changing, training should be frequent, ongoing, and effective. For example, a collective lawsuit by McDonald’s employees in the United States about the absence of safety precautions during a coronavirus could be resolved without review (Wu et al., 2020). In a formal atmosphere, workers could have discussed the issues of lack of hand sanitizer and shortage of masks with company managers. In this way, McDonald’s reputation and legal costs could have been prevented. It should also be pointed out that litigation can occur at clients’ initiatives. Most workers do not engage in misconduct; instead, they simply do not meet the expectations of the employer and customer. Accordingly, periodic evaluations of workers’ performance must be conducted to provide the promised service. Based on them with the help of training to improve weaknesses and prevent client dissatisfaction.

Conclusion

Thus, it can be pointed out that McDonald’s has an effective management system that enables employees to work and learn productively. At the same time, the company motivates performers and tries to avoid litigation conflicts. The current system of performance management is progressive and goal-oriented. The corporation is trying to meet the needs of workers and to obtain success in the business. However, recommendations are provided to enhance team cohesion and achieve overall objectives.

References

Armstrong, M. (2021). Performance management. Routledge.

Ge, L. (2020). Report on critical analysis on operation management for McDonalds. International Core Journal of Engineering, 6(11), 386-392. Web.

Pradhan, R. K., & Jena, L. K. (2017). Employee performance at workplace: Conceptual model and empirical validation. Business Perspectives and Research, 5(1), 69-85. Web.

Raduzzi, A., & Massey, J. E. (2019). Customers satisfaction and brand loyalty at McDonalds Maroc. African Journal of Marketing Management, 11(3), 21-34. Web.

Wu, W., Peng, F., Shan, Y. G., & Zhang, L. (2020). Litigation risk and firm performance: The effect of internal and external corporate governance. Corporate governance: an international review, 28(4), 210-239. Web.