Executive Summary McDonald’s is the leading foodservice retailer across the globe. They have a presence in 119 countries with over 34,000 restaurants that serve close to 69 million people everyday. Each store, however, is individually franchised to one person who is in charge of operating the store under license. I worked at one particular franchise in Prior Lake, MN where a great amount of employee theft was taking place.
Those who were stealing were not well off, so managers and coworkers who were aware of the theft turned a blind eye out of pity. These thefts occurred on a daily basis and were surely affecting the store’s gross profit.In addition to this, employee morale was low. Many staff members within the franchise were very hard working and dedicated, but were never rewarded for their efforts. From this, employees justified their stealing because their respect for the company had diminished. The franchise was in need of action in order to prevent the theft from continuing. While considering the individual, organizational, and environmental causes, I explain why the vision and values as well as measurement and rewards methods are most suitable methods in dealing with this issue. Table of Contents I.
The Phenomena of the Situation As a sixteen year old, I was looking for a way to make some extra money. I had tried a few retail stores and various restaurants in my area, but had trouble finding places that were hiring.One day, a friend suggested to me that I should try McDonalds because “anyone can get a job there. ” This was probably a true statement because most people who have the option to work anywhere else would not choose to work at McDonalds. Most of their work staff members are minorities who are not generally very well off, so I did not think I would mesh well with this type of staff. Despite my hesitation, I was desperate for a job, so I swallowed my pride and decided to apply to be a crewmember. Shortly after applying online, I got a phone call requesting that I come in for an interview.After asking me a couple of questions about myself, the manager was quick to hire me and I started a few days later.
Within the first few minutes of working there, I realized that my preconceived notions of the work staff were not that far fetched. Most of the members were high school dropouts, immigrants, or high school students like myself. The work environment itself was very stressful at times and management was often unfriendly and standoffish. McDonalds prides itself in its rapid service, so employees always had to be on their feet making sure food was out as fast as humanly possible.They were always exhausted and were only allowed a 30-minute break per every five hours of working, if the restaurant wasn’t too busy.
Due to the “sweat shop” like feel of the environment, many employees felt that their needs were not being served. They were working extremely hard and long hours for minimum pay and no benefits. Some of them had families that they struggled to support, and they were literally living from paycheck to paycheck.
Due to this fact, many of them would steal food on a regular basis or whenever they could get away with it.Most employees would drink the soda on the job, make an extra hamburger for him or herself, and even take entire meals home to their families. On a larger scale, one particular manager even tried to steal cash out of the store’s safe, but was caught in the process. Charges were not pressed against this individual, but she did lose her job. With the over 40 employees that worked at this particular site, the amount of stolen merchandise was immense. Some managers knew that it was going on and turned a blind eye, but others were entirely unaware and would have put a stop to it if they had known.
Every employee knew if they could get away with stealing based on the particular manager who was on staff. Due to the enormous size of the McDonalds Corporation, no one really saw the problem in stealing a couple of hamburgers here and there. They held a Robin Hood-like belief that it is okay to steal from the rich to service the poor. In reality, it was a franchise, so was on a much smaller scale than employees might imagine.
These “small thefts” that were taking place were most likely felt by the franchisee. 1. 2. The Key Ethics ProblemDue to the fact that employees were stealing from the small franchise, it is likely that the franchisee suffered the impact of theft to a greater extent than people would expect. This location is much like the average McDonalds franchise, so it is estimated to make about $1. 8 Million in gross profits and about $150,000 in store level operating income per year (See Exhibit 1).
In general, theft from stores, including employee and vendor theft, costs retailers many billions of dollars per year. This includes food retail stores like the present case.Independent retail studies have estimated theft from retail stores costs the American public $33. 21 billion dollars per year. Depending on the type of retail store, retail inventory loss ranges from 0. 7% – 2.
2% of gross sales with the average falling around 1. 70%. This would move this McDonalds franchise’s 66% gross profit down to 64. 3%, a $30,294 yearly loss just from theft alone (see Exhibit 1). Whole retail store chains have gone out of business due to their inability to control retail theft losses and the cost of these losses are often passed on to the consumer.This type of immoral behavior also puts many employees, like myself, in difficult situations.
One day when I was working at the register, one of my coworkers, Joanza, asked me to cover the other register for him so he could steal a couple of cheeseburgers to eat and also throw some in his bag in the break room for his family to eat later on. Of course, I knew this was wrong and I had every obligation to report him to my manager. However, I felt bad because I knew that he did not have a lot of money and could barely afford to pay rent.He had been working at McDonalds for about seven years and, from what I saw, always worked very hard and was consistently eager to pick up extra shifts.
I also knew that he had a wife and four-year-old daughter at home, both of whom he exclusively was trying to support. His wife had a part time job, but could not work full time because they could not afford childcare, so she needed to be home with the baby. If I had reported him, he could lose his job and this would not only affect him, but also his wife and daughter.
I’m sure he would have problems finding another form of employment and may not be able to pay his bills, which could amount to severe circumstances for both him and his family. Even though I knew it was wrong, I kept my mouth shut because I figured that failure to report stealing was a less severe sin than indirectly putting a family out on the street. At the same time, this also inconvenienced me. Joanza knew that he could only get away with this stealing during busy times because no one was in the break room and they were too concentrated on all the pending orders to be put together.Due to this, I had double the customers to deal with at the register since he was not there.
I learned very quickly that many customers at McDonalds expect extremely fast service, so they would quickly become frustrated with long lines and delayed food orders. I was vulnerable to make mistakes because I had to work twice as quickly. When I did make these mistakes, people would get upset, complain to the manager, and I was the one who was at fault for poor performance. Not only did this situation frustrate me, but it disappointed customers, some of whom I’m sure were very loyal.The poor service that they were provided makes it likely that they will not return to that location. If this trend were to continue on a consistent basis, sales would decline and this could eventually cause that franchise to go out of business, creating a significant job loss. Though this kind of theft is not the fault of the franchisee of this McDonalds, there are a number of things that he could do to prevent it. McDonalds is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 34,000 local restaurants serving nearly 69 million people in 119 countries everyday.
On their website, they state, “Our mission is to be our customers’ favorite place and way to eat ;amp; drink. We’re dedicated to being a great place for our people to work; to being a strong, positive presence in your community; and to delivering the quality, service, cleanliness and value our customers have come to expect from the Golden Arches – a symbol that’s trusted around the world. ” This statement alludes to servicing employees by saying “We’re dedicated to being a great place for our people to work,” but the actualization of this statement at the current location was not impressive.
Managers were hostile and workers were disgruntled. To a certain extent, this was the fault of the franchisee, for he was not providing the means to serve employees. All his focus was on the customers. The franchisee does not have ultimate control over the various benefits provided for the staff, but he could propose a variety of things to the franchisor that might bring positive change to this particular community. 1. 3. Variables The employees at McDonalds feel that they are slightly mistreated and are not being rewarded enough for their hard work, which they believe justifies their behavior.
Many of the employees do not have a lot to begin with, so desperation certainly is a factor in their actions as well. Managers may turn a blind eye possibly for one of three reasons: they are either participating in this stealing themselves, believe it to be somehow justified due to the fact that the employees are not paid well, or do not want to deal with the consequences that reporting them would bring. The franchisee as well as upper management may not think that the employees’ lack of benefits or underemployment contribute to their behavior—it may be an issue of their own immorality in which case, they should be excluded from employment.At the same time, this type of corporation attracts a limited demographic of people searching for employment, so they may not be able to be extremely picky when hiring people. My friend’s statement seems rather true: “anyone can get a job at McDonalds. ” II. Diagnosis 2. 1.
Individual Causes In any ethics case like this one, there are a number of causes, both internal and external, that contribute to the problem. In this case the individual contributors include the crewmembers and managers who were stealing and those who saw it happening, but turned a blind eye.The thieves were not generally well off, so they felt the need to steal from the larger corporation and did not truly see the harm that it could cause for that particular franchise. The franchisee may be partially at fault as well for failing to be proactive about employee satisfaction and morale, both of which he has the ability to remedy. 2. 2.
Organizational Causes This particular McDonalds location was quite old at the time of these thefts and had not been remodeled in many years, so lacked the resources that some other McDonalds’ may have had—like surveillance cameras within the workstations.Management held a policy that anyone who stole from the franchise would be terminated immediately, but many times this was either not enforced or the severity of the theft should have included the pressing of charges as well. The franchisee was also looking to cut costs, so did not want to spend extra money hiring new people, providing benefits, or raises for employees. Even employees who had been working there for two decades were still earning minimum wage. This led to employees feeling neglected and disgruntled, which likely contributed to their stealing.There is also a major pay disparity separating fast food workers from their chief executive officers. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the disparity has doubled at McDonald’s in the last 10 years.
At the same time, the company helped pay for lobbying against minimum wage increases and continually seeks to extinguish unionization efforts. Additionally, employees are underemployed and have to acquire several jobs or work at multiple locations in order to make enough money to live. Especially now, profits are augmenting, but employees are still being paid minimum wage. . 3.
Environmental Causes The economy certainly played a role in the thefts during this time. Many of the employees had families to take care of and surely had problems making ends meet financially. Even if they tried to make a living honestly, it was often difficult.
Employees who worked several jobs were still finding themselves underemployed. When they had such a blatant opportunity to steal, they felt they had to do it because of their financial burden. III. Ethics Leadership Change 3. 1.
Ethics Vision/ ObjectiveIt is important for the upper management of this McDonalds branch to change the current situation simply because their overall revenue could be severely downsized due to the theft that is taking place. However, they have a few options as to what they could do. First, they could maintain the status quo. They might do this because they figure that the amount of money lost on stolen merchandise is similar or less of a loss than if they were to hire new people, increase benefits, or various privileges for their employees. Next, they could start investing in their employees more by offering incentives and rewards for hard work and good behavior.
A third course of action that they could take is setting harsh regulations in order to prevent theft. This may include installing surveillance cameras, modifying the employee penalty statement within the employee handbook, or increasing overall security within the store. Of these three options, I think the second option would be the best course of action for this franchise: increase investment in employees. The first option would certainly be the least work, but nothing would change within the organization. Employees would still steal, money would be lost, and morale would remain low.
The third option seems extremely malicious.It would cost a lot of money to install all the additional technology that they would need and all employees would feel a need to watch their every move because those who knew about the stealing would be at risk in this case. It may be effective, but employee spirit would be diminished. The second option is the best one to resolve the issue while also making all levels of the staff happy. The goal of this ethics plan is to stop the issue of theft while also increasing employee morale. It seems that offering incentives for employees is what will most likely assist in accomplishing this intention. .
2. Tone I would recommend using a combination of an analytic and friendly tone in this ethics plan. The issue of stealing is certainly a serious one and one that should not be taken lightly. However, management does not want to decrease morale below the present level, so it is important that they identify with the current life situation of their employees and act in accordance. This is the only way to make light of the current negative situation.
3. 3. Approach There are seven possible ways to approach this ethics issue, some of which may be more effective than others.After reviewing the pros and cons of each, we will decide upon the best two methods and discuss why they are the most favorable. a.
Vision and Values Based Leadership: If the franchisee chose to solve the current issue with a vision and values approach, he might propose to corporate that they adapt their mission statement to more clearly address the importance of employees. This could include a statement like “We strive to promote expanding opportunities and career growth for our employees, making McDonalds a great place for people to work. He might also endeavor to modify the employee handbook to make rules and regulations for theft more specific and clear. Once this is modified, he could require that managers perform mission based recruiting and training in order to better equip employees like myself with the tools needed to report theft with as much ease as possible. In order to incorporate mission based recruiting, managers should contact candidates’ previous employers to see if they have a theft problem before they hire.When employees are not screened properly, the company is forced to spend more time and money training new employees to replace dishonest ones.
Managers could also specifically train employees to comply with the basic standards of ethical behavior by having them role-play various modes of action when confronted with an ethical issue. This would help decrease the level of discomfort among employees who observe theft occurring, but do not know what to do. b. Dialogic, Participative, and Servant leadership based methods: Open communication with the constituents of an organization is often an effective leadership method.
If it were to be used in this case, the franchisee may consider utilizing the Buddhist, Stoic, Cosimo de Medici, and Hobbes models. The franchisee could call for a meeting with the managers who would then pass on the message to the other employees. In this meeting, he would proclaim that employees as well as managers should be happy with what they have instead of stealing from the organization. He could also take a stoic approach and say that he realizes the difficulty that the economy has created for many staff and their families and he, as the leader, would like to offer his help in order to make the situation better.
From this, he might gain some useful insight and feedback from staff members. He would also show his employees that he cares about them as people and wants to help make the situation more manageable, even if he does not have the ability to solve it. Further, he could approach the meeting with the Cosimo de Medici model, encouraging those under him to do the ethical thing because they are inherently good and good people don’t steal. Finally, he might use the Hobbes model if he were to promulgate harsher penalties for theft.He might say, “I know most of you are not at fault for the stealing that is taking place, but there are a few free riders out there who are participating in this behavior, so it is important that we establish these new rules to control the theft.
” c. Measurement-Reward/Networking Leadership: There are a number of steps that management could make in order to reward, punish, or make deals with employees. First, they could offer monetary incentives for employees to report stealing.
Perhaps an employee reports theft that he or she observed another employee committing, management could pay the honest employee double his/her hourly wage for the day. Money is generally a major concern for most employees working at McDonalds and they often are living from paycheck to paycheck. As a result, this monetary incentive is likely to be an effective method. The problem with this method, however, is that it could further damage employee cohesion and overall morale, something that management should be trying to increase, not decrease. There is also a possibility that false accusations will be made, creating strife between employees.This would not be good for the company, so the franchisee may want to consider other methods before using this one. Further, upper management could provide raises and other career opportunities for employees that work very hard.
When I was working there, there was one crewmember who had been working at the same location for twenty years and was still being paid $7. 25/hour (minimum wage in MN). Further, even though he wanted to work full time, he hardly ever experienced weeks where he worked a full 40 hours. This created a very difficult financial situation for him and his family.No matter how hard he tried to make an honest living, he was left with no choice but to steal in order to feed his family. If he had been given the opportunity to work more hours or given a raise, he may not have needed to take part in these immoral dealings. Not only would a raise further motivate this particular employee, but it could also inspire other workers to be more productive so they might receive the same outcome. It is hard to tell exactly how much this raise would cost this particular franchise, but we can use the example income statement to make an educated guess.
Currently, crew payroll takes about 20% from net sales.If management was willing to increase this percentage 1 or 2% for outstanding performing employees, they could make an average of $675-1350 more per year, which could greatly lessen their financial stresses. Based on the information provided in Exhibit 1, if the company provided a $1/hour raise to 25% of the hardest working employees, this would cost an average of $19,000 additional dollars per year. This would only cost the franchise about 1. 4% of its net sales. If this action greatly reduced the act of stealing among employees, which it very well may, it may be a worth while investment for the company.
A system for measuring employee performance would be necessary in making these steps. Managers would be obligated to fill out performance appraisals for each employee every six months and they would be evaluated based on their personal skills, interpersonal relationships, food production, and sanitation and dress (see Exhibit 2). An additional method might include providing surveys for customers to fill out and offering “employee of the month” recognition for consistent excellent customer service. These surveys could be displayed in the form of short cards by the register or online.This recognition would make employees aware that customers are always watching them, so they may change their behavior for this purpose. Finally, one of the easiest and most effective methods would be to make deals with the employees. Usually there are two people who are working at the register at any given time. In order to prevent monetary theft, management could offer the two of them a free meal if the money inside the register matches the records within $10 at the end of the shift.
This would incentivize employees to count money carefully when making change for ustomers and greatly reduce the chance that employees will steal money from the register. It also rewards employees who are consistently honest and do their job well. Another deal to be made with employees has to do with inventory. Managers will make “surprise inventory checks” on a weekly basis and if the inventory matches computer records, that group of workers will earn a $1 hourly wage increase for that particular shift. This encourages employees to work together to avoid theft or lost inventory and rewards them accordingly. d.Ethics Codes and Whistle Blowing based leadership: Since the employees are currently failing to report one another, it may be necessary to hire “secret shoppers” to observe employees and blow the whistle.
These secret shoppers would pose as customers and watch employee behavior and situations that owners cannot always observe. These shoppers are generally trained to look at how customers are treated, the type of service provided, efficiency, honesty, and misbehavior. e. Charismatic and Story-Telling Leadership: This method would also involve a dialogue with staff.If the franchisee were to use this method alone, he would have to use the simple fear story.
He might recall a situation where a retail store needed to raise their prices because they were losing so much money from theft. McDonalds attributes much of its achievement to their low prices, so they cannot afford to do this and steer away from this business strategy. In addition, he could use the simple fear story to threaten the employees themselves.
He could recall a story where theft was so bad that the company had to go out of business.This would put everyone out of a job, so a story like this could scare employees into making efforts to extinguish those who steal from the franchise. f. Positive Leadership: The franchisee could foster positive energy or capitalize on others’ strengths in order to further prevent theft by encouraging gratitude and fostering positive energy amongst employees.
In order to do this, the franchisee could host various social events in order to boost morale and show employee appreciation. These events might involve company parties like barbeques or dinner parties and would cost very little money.The franchisee or other manager could host this event at his or her home and attendees could bring a dish to share. This is a very simple and inexpensive way for management to demonstrate gratitude and foster positive energy among the franchise.
He could also provide weekly treats in the break room such as doughnuts or brownies with notes attached saying things like, “Thanks for all your hard work! We couldn’t do it without you! ” These small rewards and gatherings would not only boost morale, but would foster family involvement and employee harmony.If employees feel that their hard work is recognized and appreciated, they may develop an increase in trust toward their bosses and be less likely to steal from the company. g. Alternative Institution Building: The franchisee also has the ability to build an alternative institution, but this would be a very tall order. He may be able to create a more ethical business, but it would never be able to compete with the leading global foodservice retailer that is McDonalds. Thus, this approach is not ideal.
3. 4. Tactics and Techniques:If I was the leader of this franchise, I would approach this issue with the Vision and Values as well as the Measurement and Reward based methods. Within the vision and values approach, the methods that would be most appropriate include the adaptation of the mission statement in order to change the environment for institutional survival as well as mission based recruiting. These methods would most effectively prevent future theft and show employees how much they are valued via the mission statement. When an institution recognizes the instrumental value of their employees, the staff’s respect for the company increases.This increase in respect for the institution will cause employees to think twice before they steal. The mission based recruiting prevents theft before it happens and lessens the chance that the company will lose inventory and money due to theft and rehiring procedures.
Further, the Measurement and Reward based methods would also assist to decrease the amount of theft and would incentive employees to work together in order to prevent it. Within this leadership approach, I would utilize the deal making methods that align positive behavior with rewards and use measurement and rewards to change behavior.If employees are incentivized to stay within $10 of the register record, carelessness and theft will be greatly reduced and morale will be boosted. Many employees cannot afford to pay for extra meals because they have other financial responsibilities. Instead of stealing food, they would be rewarded with it by doing a good job. In addition, the “surprise inventory checks” would cause all employees to hold one another accountable and honest so they might all earn the reward for this good behavior. These methods are preferable to ones that punish bad behavior or incentivize employees to turn in their dishonest coworkers.Morale amongst the company was not high to begin with, so further damage with regard to employee attitude would not be desirable.
The present methods work to solve the issue of theft while also increasing morale and rewarding great behavior. These approaches also work to prevent future theft so it ceases to be an issue. If the company decided to solve the current issue, but did not include a plan to prevent hiring unsuitable future employees, theft would continue to be an issue down the road. I have presented an effective and long-term plan that will be best for the organization. . 5. Transcript: In order to accomplish the current intension, I would have to present my plan to the franchisor because he has ultimate control over me.
I would use the following transcript in order to explain why my plan will be effective. Me: Hello, sir. I am here to talk with you about the current employee theft that is taking place within my franchise. I have a plan for it, but will need your approval in order to move forward. Franchisor: Ok. Employee theft is something that can greatly diminish growth profit, so this is not an issue to be taken lightly. I’m listening.Me: First, I would like to slightly adapt the mission statement to include employee appreciation.
I believe that many of my employees feel as if they are not appreciated, which has decreased their respect for the company and likely helps them justify their actions. If the mission statement were to emphasize the fact that this company could not operate without the hard work of it’s employees, this would be a step in the right direction. It would also send a global message that we value our employees as much as we value our customers. We would not have customers if it weren’t for our employees.Franchisor: Yes, but they’re being paid to work. Isn’t that enough? They work for us.
It’s not our job to make them feel warm and fuzzy inside. Me: I agree with you; they do work for us and have responsibilities as employees. However, the fact that we are not sharing our appreciation for employees has diminished morale and this shines through to our customers. Without the business from our customers, we cannot succeed as a franchise. There is a Burger King down the street, so if our customers feel that our employees have a negative attitude, they’re going to discontinue doing business with us. Franchisor: How much do you want to change it?I don’t want to have to rework the entire mission statement.
It has worked for us up until now. Me: I don’t think it needs to be modified much. I might just include a sentence like: “We strive to promote expanding opportunities and career growth for our employees, making McDonalds a great place for people to work. ” Right now, it states, “McDonald’s brand mission is to be our customers’ favorite place and way to eat and drink. Our worldwide operations are aligned around a global strategy called the Plan to Win, which center on an exceptional customer experience – People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion.We are committed to continuously improving our operations and enhancing our customers’ experience.
” If we just add one sentence about our employees, I think this would be a great addition. ” Franchisor: I agree; I think it is important that we acknowledge the hard work our employees put forward. Me: Great! Next, I would like to suggest that we make it a requirement that potential employees give us the contact information of their previous employers and not just referenced.
This is an extremely easy way to prevent us from hiring ineligible staff who are going to take away from what we do.Franchisor: I agree; that should have been put into practice beforehand. We will change that. Me: Perfect.
Finally, I would like to propose a deal making strategy to be used in the workplace. I would like to reward register workers for staying within $10 of the computer records. We would simply measure this by having the employee count the money that is in the register at the end of his or her shift. If it matches what is supposed to be in the register and there is no lost cash, that employee will get a free meal.I would also like to implement “surprise inventory checks” where we check store inventory and make sure it aligns with how much we are supposed to have. We can easily detect stolen product from this. If inventory matches, we will give everyone working a $1/hr raise for that shift. This will cause the employees to keep one another in check and is sure to reduce the amount of theft that takes place.
Franchisor: Don’t you think that is a bit pricy? I don’t know if I want to go through with that. A $1 increase in pay per hour seems like a lot.Me: When we consider the amount of money lost on stolen products, this is not a lot. We have an average of about 7 cooks, 2 on the register and 2 in the drive through. That is a total of $11 per hour. Lets say all those people worked an average of 5 hours that day; that is only $55. Also keep in mind that these inventory checks would only take place once a week, so would cost a total of $2,860 per year.
According to this income statement (show the statement from Exhibit 1), that is only about 0. 1% of our total net sales!That is nothing and it could decrease the theft rate (also saving us money) while also increasing employee happiness, something that will certainly positively impact the quality of customer service. We need to satisfy our employees first if we even have a shot at satisfying our customers. Franchisor: I see how this would work out. I will give you six months to test run this plan. If I do not see an improvement in the level of theft and employee morale, I would like to discuss a contingency plan with you. If it greatly succeeds, I will consider implementing this plan into all of the franchises.
. 6. Contingency Plan: I believe that these methods will be effective in reducing the amount of theft that takes place, but if they do not, I will have an alternative plan. This alternative plan does not focus on improving employee morale, but will surely be effective in stopping employee theft. Despite the fact that it may not increase employee happiness like my first plan, I cannot afford for this theft to persist at the current rate, so I may have no choice. If the employees continue to steal and I continue to lose money, I think I will need to begin using the whistle blowing method.
I would install surveillance cameras and hire secret shoppers so I will be able to identify the theft that is taking place. The convicted thieves will be fired and charged a hefty fine for failure to comply with ethical policies. When other employees see the punishment that is inflicted when crime is committed, other thieves will surely discontinue their behavior for fear that they as well may be caught. Most employees cannot afford to lose their jobs, much less pay fines for theft, so they will simply have no choice but to stop stealing. IV.
Reflection and TransformationAs any human being, I want to be happy and I will be happier if I am both effective and ethical in business. Some people believe that if you want to be successful, you have to be a crook and use others in order to get ahead. In this case, I could have negatively incentivized the employees to turn each other in, but this would damage employee relationships and overall morale within the franchise. I could have also taken lost profits out of employee paychecks, but this would likely put employees in an unmanageable financial position. I care for my employees, so I would never want to put them in this kind of situation.
If I had negatively affected the lives of others in order to get ahead for my own selfish cause, I would not be able to sleep at night. I think all of us, as human beings, inherently know what is right and wrong and no matter how we justify our own wrongdoings, they still have the ability to eat away at us and inflict unhappiness within our souls. Throughout my leadership method, I strive to not only do what is best for the company, but also what will make my employees and myself happier. I do not sacrifice one group’s happiness for the sake of my own or for the sake of profit.It is important that I maintain this balance. Throughout this case, I think I did a good job of trying to please all parties. I did what I thought was best for the McDonalds Corporation, my employees, and myself.
I also made arguments that I think are hard to oppose simply because they supported what was best for all parties. I thought deeply about the possible pros and cons of each method and weighed them accordingly. I also thought in terms of the audience that I was working with. I knew that I could not come up with a plan that was too expensive because McDonalds’ business strategy is grounded in their low prices.I had to think of ways to reward employees that were inexpensive, yet effective. As an individual, I sometimes am told that I am “too nice.
” I never want to be harsh with people or cause them inconvenience. At the same time, I need to hold others accountable for their own actions. If someone chooses to steal, it should not be my problem to solve. In most cases, owners would use any means necessary to find out who is stealing, fire and charge them. However, I wanted to make sure that employee morale was not damaged.
I think that I could have been harsher within the measurement and reward and whistle blowing systems.Sometimes the harsher method is the one that is just and effective, even if it is more uncomfortable for me. This is something that I am going to have to work on.References Employee Performance Evaluation for Food Service Employee. (n. d. ). Wichita Falls ISD.
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