Business Research Proposal: McDonald's Environmental Impact Analysis

This report presents a business research proposal focusing on McDonald's business performance and its environmental impact. The proposal, prepared by a student at Holmes Institute, Brisbane, examines the company's operations in Australia. It covers the effectiveness and usefulness of the learning experience, detailing the research process from topic selection to methodology and limitations. The report includes a literature review on ecological sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and environmental communication, leading to research questions and methodology. It also evaluates the learning process, explaining how the gained knowledge will aid in future career and life decisions. The research employs a mixed methodology to gain insights into the environmental impact of McDonald's, including a time schedule and references.

Running head: BUSINESS RESEARCH
Business Research
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author note

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1. Effectiveness and usefulness of the learning experience
In the final years of my graduation, I was asked by my professor to prepare a research
proposal on a topic which I am keen to research about. Being a management student, the topic
that had been selected by me was the Business performance of McDonald and the environmental
issues associated with it. My learning experience while preparing and researching for the
mentioned proposal was excellent. I had chosen the research topic on the basis of the lessons that
I used to find interesting and inspiring in the class. As a student, one of my chief concerns was
the impact imposed by the well-known food chain companies on the environment. This research
proposal allowed me to travel in depth of my chosen research topic which in turn, has not only
answered the questions I had in my mind but also has shown me a completely new perspective of
thinking procedure of which I was previously not aware of.
For me, the hardest part was not conducting primary as well as secondary researchers and
writing down the research proposal, but the task of being most specific about the issue of my
research and phrases my claim in an appropriate and correct way. For instance, I knew I will be
conducting research on the environmental impact of the food industry but was not clear about
which food chain company to work on. In order to resolve the issue, I conducted both offline as
well as online research on organizations that impose a high impact on the global environment
and finally decided to conduct my research paper on the MacDonald Company. Thus this
assignment has not only helped me to develop my knowledge about the chosen issue but has also
enhanced by research skills.
2. Explanation of how this learning process will be useful for:

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 Course: The knowledge I gained will be highly useful in my Course. I will be
developing the dissertation on basis of the knowledge gained by me during the
preparation of the research proposal. Before preparing the research proposal, I was
unaware of the steps that are required to conduct a research. However, now I am aware of
the crucial step of preparing a dissertation and believe that this knowledge will help me in
developing my dissertation with high authenticity and appropriateness.
 Program: Considering the fact that during researching about the impact of MacDonald
on the environment, I got to know about different steps that would be required by me
while conducting the research. I also got a rough idea of the amount of time that would be
required for me to complete each step of the research paper. I believe that all these steps
will be highly beneficial for me and help me to pass the program with flying colours.
 Future career: I aspire to be a manager in future. While developing the research
proposal, I learned to develop to develop the goal of my research paper and narrow down
the goal into several objectives. This process had involved severing brainstorming and
during this, my skill of assessing an issue and determine steps to analyze the issue has
developed. I believe that this skill will be helpful for my future career.
 Life generally: While reviewing several pieces of literature related to my research
question, I learned about the negative impact of fast food outlets on global health and on
the environment. This learning experience will help me to control the urge of consuming
fast food on an excessive level. Moreover, as a responsible citizen, I will be aware of the
wastage of food products associated with the food industry.
3. Description of what happened in the learning process

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For developing the research proposal, I have followed the step by step working approach.
The first step taken by me was to select the topic I want to research on. Secondly, I
determined the aims and objective of my research. Thirdly, in order to obtain secondary data,
I selected pieces of literature related to my research topic. The selected pieces of literature
provided me with ecological models that focus directly on the health of the consumers who
consumers fast food products and avail fast food services. I also conducted a literature review
on strategically issues of ecological sustainability and impact of environmental sustainability
communication. The literature review helped me to develop my research questions. I
developed the questions on the basis of issues that I found were not addressed in my chosen
kinds of literature. The fifth stage involved determining the research methodology for my
research. In order to develop a better insight into the phenomenon, I decided to conduct my
research by using mixed methodology. In the sixth stage, I assessed my research proposal
and stated the limitation of my research. Finally, I developed a time schedule for my research
in order to estimate a rough idea of the time that will be needed for me to complete my
dissertation.
4. Evaluation of my learning
While preparing the research proposal, the first thing I learned about is steps that are required
for conducting a research. Secondly, while I was reviewing literates associated with my research
issue, I gained vivid knowledge about the impact of fast food outlets on the environment as well
as on human beings. For instance, I learned that the fast food industry promotes both waste
management and sustainable raw material and health issues. Apart from that, I learned about how
the government implements policies on the fast food industry to prevent disposal of waste which
is generated during processing, production, as well as consumption of food items. I also learned

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about corporate social Responsibility that aims to promote corporate success in an ethical way.
Apart from that, I gained knowledge about the three different types of research methodology.
While qualitative methodology helps the researcher to uncover trends in thought and opinions,
and dive deeper into the issue, quantitative research methodology involves measurable,
scientific, or numerical investigation of information gathered through surveys, polls, and
overviews, or by controlling prior statistical information utilizing computational systems
(Neuman 2013).
5. Explanation of my learning process
As discussed earlier, the activities I performed provided me with new insights. Prior to the
activities, I had theoretical knowledge about the importance of environmental sustainability in
business. These activities allowed me to enhance my knowledge through further research I was
able to connect the outcome of my research with my learning that I learned in the class. This fact
has made these activities more interesting to me. The knowledge I gained after completing
assignment 1 and assignment 2 has enhanced my confidence and urge to become a business
manager and develop an eco-friendly way to enhance the sustainability of the business.
6. How will the learning experience help me in the future?
The lesson I learned from the activities will help me to make an effective decision as a
manager. Considering the fact that I aspire to become a business manager, the lesson obtained
from the above-mentioned activities will help me to develop effective strategies of
manufacturing, processing as well as delivering products or services to the consumers without
harming the environment. Moreover, during the development of the research proposal, I got to

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know about several technologies and policies that will provide me with the opportunity to
enhance my productivity without harming the global environment.

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Reference list
Neuman, W.L., 2013. Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Pearson education.