Leadership in McDonald's

Running head: LEADERSHIP IN MCDONALD’S
LEADERSHIP IN MCDONALD’S
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LEADERSHIP IN MCDONALD’S1
Task 1.
A.C. 1.1 - Analyse the strategic direction of the organisation
McDonald’s is one of the most successful fast food chains in the world that has been
performing effectively for more than seventy years. Situated in Oak Brook of Illinios, the
company has followed some most important strategies to capture the markets of the world
initially and coping up with the highly effective competition in the fast food chains gradually.
The strategic direction of McDonald’s is very specific. It has the motto of pay to win. The
idea is to be the best fast food chains rather than becoming the biggest fast food restaurant
chain in the world. The vision of this company is to provide the best quick service restaurant
experience. In this regard the company mainly focuses on the application of five Ps properly
which include place, products, people, price and promotion. By creating the scope of
providing outstanding service, quality, value and cleanliness so that the service of the
restaurants of the company make the customers and other stakeholders happy. Along with
this, the company also incorporates geographic strategic plans.
In different markets of the world, the company has implemented different strategic
plans. For example, in the market of the United States, the company’s strategic plan
continues to be focussed on the tats of the people in this market that include preference for
chicken, beverages and breakfast in the fast food chains and conveniences. Along with
serving bigger market of the US, the northern part of the country, there is the preference of
chicken sandwich for both dinner and lunch. On the other had there is preference for chicken
biscuit in the southern part of the country which the company provides according to the needs
of the customers. Thus product diversification is being utilised for strategic growth of the
company. The beverage business, the company has grabbed the market through hot speciality
of coffee on market by market basis. Similarly in the European market the company has

LEADERSHIP IN MCDONALD’S2
applied the strategy of tiered menu approach that is based mainly on the affordability of the
people. Here the promotion process has also been applied properly. In the Asia pacific and
the African market, the company has applied the strategy of convenience, menu extensions
and incorporation of local food materials that enhances value of the offerings.
A.C. 1.2 - Evaluate the strategic skills required of the leader to achieve the strategic
ambitions
In order to achieve the strategic aim of McDonald’s, the leaders need to have some
very effective skills which meed to needs of higher workplace satisfaction and finding
different ways to gain competitive advantage.
The leaders need to be effective in aligning the needs of the organization with the
capabilities of the employees and availability of the resources. The leaders are expected to be
far sighted in terms of getting production at higher level. The savvy leaders realise that they
frequently need the help from the management to achieve the long term goals which
mandates them to find out common ground aligning the abilities of the other managers and
programs which the company has strategized to capture the market.
Teamwork is another factor that the leaders of the company need to focus on because
without the proper formation of the teams they cannot set the goals for increasing their
productivity. The strategic leaders must know the methods of guiding the team members
properly to make decisions for their good. The strategies need to be effective for increasing
team unity and trust so that the members feel satisfied with their jobs and contribute more in
the organisational development process.
The leaders of McDonald’s have the capabilities to anticipate challenges before they
actually occur. This is the reason why the company is capable to operate in the international
market for such a long time. They are capable to look for the opportunities as well as the