BUSS 5114 - McDonald's Performance Management: A Detailed Case Study

This case study examines performance management issues at McDonald's, focusing on customer relations and satisfaction. The analysis identifies key problems such as low job satisfaction among employees, counterproductive behaviors, and a lack of customer satisfaction stemming from poor service delivery. Personal factors like unfulfilled personal values and organizational factors like faulty management systems and inadequate employee motivation contribute to these issues. Recommendations include enhancing recruitment processes, improving employee motivation through appropriate rewards and recognition, applying a contingency approach to new product introductions, and ensuring fair compensation. The study emphasizes the importance of aligning employee needs with organizational goals to enhance customer satisfaction and overall performance. Desklib offers a wealth of similar case studies and resources for students.

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Introduction
Case study on performance management in McDonald’s restaurant is about the problems relating
to customer relation and satisfaction that affects its productivity. Investigations carried out by
various media platforms, one of them being QRS magazine has indicated that the problem
identified has been in existence for over 18 years as they have been following. Information from
the case further illustrates that the problem at hand may have been contributed by poor service
delivery by the employees as well as lack of accountability by the top management at large. To
help solve the existing problem, am going to use the 3 stop problem solving approach with the
help of the integrative framework. This include, identifying the major problem, identifying the
causes of the problem identified and come up with recommendations. The integrative framework
is important to help identify the causes in relation to organization behavior and in coming up
with recommendations.
Step 1: Identifying the problem
The possible outcome of this case could be the company is doing well to some extent despite the
many issues that have been identified. This is because it has a relatively higher turnover than the
others. For over 18years the problem of low speed service delivery has been in existent but there
are no given losses that have been recorded. This is because the environmental characteristics are
still positive though there are reported cases between the employees and the customers, there are
no issues reported between the employees and the management. With the management coming
out to apologize publicly is an indication that the company is willing to correct all the mistakes

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and focus on its productivity to enhance its profitability (Paul, Sankaranarayanan & Mekoth,
2016).
There are various problems indicating that the company is not doing well. Counterproductive
behaviors by the employees is an indication of low job satisfaction. Group cohesion and conflict
is another sign indicating that the leaders or rather the management is not in agreement over
some factors within the company (Otaghsara & Hamzehzadeh, 2017). This shows the employees
are not satisfied with the value given to them by the company and as a result tend to behave in a
way that affect the customers. Lack of customer satisfaction is as a result of poor relationship
with the employees who are no satisfied by their jobs as they don’t relatively fulfill their personal
values. This may be as a result of unfair treatment at work place may be in terms of payments or
poor management systems.
Lack of customer satisfaction is the main problem in the case of McDonald’s company.
Customer satisfaction is a term in marketing referring to the level at which the goods and
services provided to a customer as well as the manner of delivery meets customers expectation.
This is measured by the number of customers who seek for the same services again. If more
customers repeat the action, that means they are satisfied and if less do it means they are not.
Step 2: Causes of the problem
Nature of the main organizational problem at hand has been caused by both personal and
organizational factors. Personal factors include low job satisfaction and lack of fulfillment of
personal values. Employees in McDonald’s are carrying out responsibilities in line with the
company’s rules but not that of their personal intelligence, the management of the company have
no way of helping in this and so they end up being unsatisfied (Alkailani & Aleassa, 2017).

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Personal intelligence in most cases lines with what one has come to believe in along the way, if
whatever the role is given to that person or rather the employee does not rhyme with their believe
the person is likely not to deliver as required. Lack of personal fulfillment on the other hand is as
a result of inadequacy of the employee’s job value. This means that the higher the level of a
person’s self-esteem or self-worth the higher the level of personal fulfillment. This two personal
factors result to employees giving poor services to the customers, in case of McDonald’s, the
employees are said to have used inappropriate language while serving the customers. This is
against the customers’ expectations while they enquire for services from the company hence they
don’t satisfy their needs.
Organizational factors in this case refers to management faulty systems of carrying out activities
and performance. The rate at which new products are introduced in to the market by the
company to the consumers is very high. This is a problem because the consumers are not given
adequate time to decide on what best suits their needs (Hersey, Blanchard & Johnson, 2007). The
PR strategy is not as strong as it should be to help reach their customers for any information.
Low employee payments, lack of training and lack of motivation packages by the management to
their employees another cause of their lack of personal fulfillment hence poor service delivery to
the customers. This is evident as the company never flaunts about their employees’ salaries as
well as motivation.
Step 3: Recommendations
To help improve on the issues leading to lack of customer satisfaction in McDonald’s company,
the management should enhance various activities, factors and concepts positively used in
improving organizational behavior. Some of these include:

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Management should ensure that during recruitment and selection process of employees, only the
qualified, devoted and willing employees are hired to work in the company. This is because,
qualified employees have the required qualities to deliver in accordance to the company’s
desired goals and set rules. To further enhance on the recruited employees service provision the
management should ensure that they have a well-developed strategy to teach them on the specific
skills that are highly valued to enhance service delivery to customers and their satisfaction as
well.
The company should enhance employee’s motivation (Nohria, Groysberg & Lee, 2008). Using
expectancy theory of motivation, it’s important for the management to keep record of the
employee’s performances, appropriate behaviors, and values so that the company can reward
them appropriately and without keeping it as a secret. This is important as it enhances the
employee’s efforts to ensuring they give the best performances and with a positive behavior
record. The management should also ensure that in line with motivation packages comes the
right value of salaries to ensure employee value is maintained and promoted (Ramlall, 2004).
McDonald’s management should apply contingency approach to help analyze performance of
both the company and the employees. This will help in reducing the issue of bombarding new
products to their customers at any given moment. This approach helps in identifying what needs
to be done at that time and not just doing it without a given goal. Example, employing new
personnel without duties or responsibilities set aside but just to increase the number of
employees. This will also help to improve on the PR on the company as things are done at the
right time and for the right reasons and both individuals and the organization at large are held
responsible towards the company’s performance.
Conclusion

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Customer’s satisfaction in any profit making organization or rather business unit is a key
requirement. As the target market employees are expected to ensure their service to the
customers is up to standards and in level with their expectations (Beyari & Abareshi, 2016). To
enhance this, employers should ensure that their employee’s needs are satisfied and they are also
motivated according to their performances. As one of the largest fast food business outlet in the
market today, McDonald’s has a role of ensuring that the services given are in line with the
expected results. Active and manageable service systems is one of the factors that the company’s
management should ensure is maintained in order to enhance a flow of positive activities in the
company like ensuring customers satisfaction (Beyari & Abareshi, 2018).

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References
Alkailani, M., & Aleassa, H. (2017). The effect of organizational justice on its citizenship
behavior among sales personnel in the banking sector in jordan. International Journal of
Business, Marketing, & Decision Science, 10(1), 60-75.Learning.
Beyari, H., & Abareshi, A. (2016). The conceptual framework of the factors influencing
consumer satisfaction in social commerce. Journal of Developing Areas, 50365-376.
Beyari, H., & Abareshi, A. (2018). Consumer satisfaction in social commerce: an exploration of
its antecedents and consequences. Journal of Developing Areas, 52(2), 55-72.
Hersey, P., Blanchard, K. H., & Johnson, D. E. (2007). Management of organizational behavior
(Vol. 9). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice hall.
Nohria, N., Groysberg, B., & Lee, L. E. (2008). Employee motivation. harvard business review,
86(7/8), 78-84.
Otaghsara, S. T., & Hamzehzadeh, H. (2017). The Effect of Authentic Leadership and
Organizational Atmosphere on Positive Organizational Behavior. International Journal
Of Management, Accounting & Economics, 4(11), 1122-1135.
Paul, J., Sankaranarayanan, K. G., & Mekoth, N. (2016). Consumer satisfaction in retail stores:
theory and implications. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 40(6), 635-642.
doi:10.1111/ijcs.12279

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Ramlall, S. (2004). A review of employee motivation theories and their implications for
employee retention within organizations. Journal of American Academy of Business,
5(1/2), 52-63.