Leading Change: A Comparative Analysis of KFC and McDonald's

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UNDERSTANDING LEADING CHANGE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3
TASK-1............................................................................................................................................4
P1............................................................................................................................................... 4
P2............................................................................................................................................... 6
P3............................................................................................................................................... 9
TASK-2..........................................................................................................................................10
P4............................................................................................................................................. 10
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 13
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................14
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Pestel analysis.................................................................................................................8
Figure 2: Force filed model.......................................................................................................... 13
Figure 3: SCHEIN’S ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE MODEL.............................................................14
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INTRODUCTION
Change has become constant in the continuously evolving the business world. This has led to
the requirement of effective change management strategies. The organization need to
effectively respond to change that is possible only with the proper understanding of the drivers
that are behind the change. In this assignment the manner in which these drivers influence the
behaviour of the leadership and individuals has been evaluated. The two organizations from the
fast food industry have been taken into accounts that are KFC and McDonald on which the
influence of the change has been studied.
McDonald is the fast food company that was founded in the year 1940 by the Richard and
Maurice McDonald. It is headquartered in Chicago with over 37,241 restaurants that are
present across the globe. The key products offered by the company are hamburger, fries, soft
drinks and milkshakes. McDonald has generated the revenue of over US$22.820 billion with
235,000 numbers of employees. The biggest rival of the company is fast food giant Kentucky
Fried Chicken commonly known as KFC. It was founded 66 years ago and headquartered in
Texas. The products that are offered by the company are French fries, Fried chicken, wraps, soft
drinks and many more. KFC estimated revenue till the year 2017 was the US $3,110 million with
over its stores in 21,487 different locations.
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TASK-1
P1
Change in the business context can be defined as the procedure through which the firms go
while making the changes in the aspects like structure, strategies, operational methods and
culture. The changes in the organization can occur for the span of time or can be continuous.
Without the change, it is possible that the company might lose the competitive edge and face
failure while meeting the requirements of the consumers (Neves et al., 2018). Any kind of
change in the organization directly impacts the employees.
Source: Neves et al., 2018
It has been found that a normal resistance develops among the employees during the phase of
the change that urges the employees to move the individuals out of the comfort zone. For
overcoming this leader need to put extra efforts in communicating with the employees about
the change. This will develop a sense of value among them that their perceptions are
considered resulting in the sustainability of the organization. The internal factors that play the
major role in the organization during the change should be managed as given below:
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Strategic: The strategic changes are required while dealing with the variations in the external
environment. In McDonald, the strategic changes have been made with the integration of the
team that is responsible for testing the beef products (Northouse, 2018). In some nations like
Dallas, the company has declared that the fresh beef will be prepared on the order from the
consumers. This step will lead to an improvement in the quality of the food provided along with
the competitive benefit over others. On the other hand, KFC looking forward to the steps taken
by the companies in the market has shifted their marketing focus towards the quality and
provenance.
Structural: The structural changes occur when the company has to adjust with the external
elements. According to the reports it has been found that the McDonald will be performing the
store renovations for attracting the strong consumer base (Bryk, 2018). On the other hand, the
KFC has been implementing the fancier designs for renovating the restaurants.
Process: The redesigning of the process is essential for establishing the optimum flow in
business operations. KFC has added the Fill-up a meal that has been provided with the company
with a boost in the chain's momentum that involves the entree, drink and dessert. McDonald
has been driving the menu innovations for providing higher quality food to the consumers of
the company.
Source: Lam et al., 2018
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People: The changes in the attitudes, behaviour, skills and the performance of the staff
members are factors that are to be highly focused while dealing with the change. For the
purpose of better communication and relationship with the consumers of the company
McDonald has been incorporating the consumer-facing technology and digital ordering
services. KFC has revived the mascot Colonel Sanders last May that has been raising the brand
awareness among the employees (Lam et al., 2018).
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P2
The small changes in the internal and external elements of the company are the cause of the
change in the organizations. These small amounts of the changes in the organizational
environment lead to the series of the changes that are required to take place. Companies with
huge organizational structures are influenced by the external factors that are explained below:
EXTERNAL DRIVERS FOR CHANGE
Economic Factors
The economy of the nation is responsible for the changes in the financial strategies of the
organization. The growth of the developed nations is the opportunity for McDonald has it will
increase the financial state of consumers further raising the sales (Burnes et al., 2018). While
KFC has been providing the services at the lower cost so that the consumers can buy again.
Political Factors
The different countries have the different set of the political environment that depends on the
parties that are ruling in the nation. The rise in the international trade agreements has provided
ease to McDonald to serve in the different nations. While the evolution of public health policies
has been a threat for the KFC all around the world.
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Figure 1: Pestel analysis
Source: Holmes and Fairhurst, 2018
Socio-Cultural Factors
In the organizations, the positive work environment is maintained with the help of the
management of the beliefs and values of the different people of the company. The increment in
the disposable income is the positive element for the growth of McDonald (Holmes and
Fairhurst, 2018). While the healthy lifestyle trends have been a threat to majorly to the KFC as
compared to the McDonald.
Technological Factors
The advancements in the technology have been facilitating the organization with the
opportunity to serve the consumers with the enhanced quality of the services. McDonald has
shifted their strategies of serving the people with the rise in the sales of through the mobile
devices. KFC also opted for the business automation as the opportunity to expand itself in the
different regions.
Legal factors
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The rise in the health regulations in the workplaces and schools is the threat for the fast food
companies specifically McDonald. KFC has to go through some of the changes due to the
increasing the animal welfare regulations (Burnes et al., 2018).
Environmental factors
The sustainable business strategies and developing corporate environmental sessions are the
opportunity for both of the fast food companies.
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INTERNAL DRIVER OF THE CHANGE
These factors include the effective utilization of the change process with the adoption of the
new elements in the organization. The leaders of the organization drive the decisions that are
linked with changes during the process in the organization like KFC and McDonald.
Organizational structure
This involves the structure of the company with the command and operations that are defined
by the upper management (Uhl-Bien et al., 2018). The initialization of the procedure of the
change is done by them. McDonald has the divisional organizational structure while the KFC
that comes under the PepsiCo has two departments in the company.
Employees
The overall result of the organization is completely dependent on the performance of the
employees. McDonald has over 235,000 employees that are serving from the stores while KFC
has 125,444 in the different departments of the organization (Vantrappen and Wirtz, 2018).
Consumers
The integral part of the change process is the perception of the consumers towards it that
determines the sales of the products and services. Both of the organization has their consumers
that are present all around the globe.
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P3
Change is the process that is constant in the organizational context possessing the positive and
negative impact on the processes. In the fast food business, the competition has been rising on
the great pace resulting in the need for the development of the effective strategies to handle
the changing scenario (Kelan and Wratil, 2018). The effects of the change in the organization
along with the techniques that are required to tackle the changes into the organization are
given below:
Staid leadership: A leader that motivates the employees during the process of change is the
need of every company. It is also necessary that the leadership style that is adopted by the
leader suits the situation of the organization that has been going through change.
Employee morale: During the process of the change is the employees are lacking the morale
can lead to the several negative impacts on the functioning of the company. It is the
responsibility of the leaders to effectively communicate the vision of the change with the
employees. This will prevent the losses that can occur in the productivity of the organization
and employee leaving the organization.
Financial state: The financial situation of the company is the fundamental that is considered as
very critical during the process of change (Rogiest et al., 2018). Leaders of the company in this
span of time should emphasize boosting the morale of the employee so that skilled employees
can be sustained.
Customers: The brand image of the company is driven by the manner in which it handles the
obstacles that are occurring during the change process the quality of the services to the
consumers is associated with the ability of the leaders to deal with the change process. So it is
necessary that the negative factors of the change are reduced with the adoption of the
different change processes.
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