The Ethical Environment Of McDonald’s: Impact On Business Behavior And Performance

Corporate Social Responsibility

Questions:

1.Proceed to a Critical assessment of the Corporate Social Responsibility Report of McDonalds.

2.You should demonstrate a critical awareness of real ethical Issues that modern work places face.

The McDonald’s Company is globally known for its success in the production and the selling of hamburger to both the local people in America and the international community through its additional chain of supply of the restaurants. However, driving such a massive company requires a lot of determination as well as an appropriate code of conduct in the business environment. As a result, we shall be looking at the ethical environment that the McDonald’s operates in and the impact it has on the business behavior as well as its performance.

The McDonald’s operates in a business environment that is guided by business ethics and social responsibility that is controlled and managed by six different committees that report to the Board of Directors. These 6 committees include the likes of Corporate Responsibility Committee, Global Environment council, Quality Systems Board, and the Sustainable Supply Steering Committee among others. Looking at the Corporate Social Responsibility, the committee addresses such issues like the product safety, employee training and opportunities, employee safety, and the sustainable chains of supply of their product to both the local and international customers (Parra, Tremblay, and Castellanos 2016). In addition, the company is also concerned about the workplace safety, diversity, and the keen process of not polluting the environment. Operating in such channels aids in the bringing forth better impacts on the people it is serving and the employees as well. Taking care of the employees enables the employees to feel appreciated, needed, and being part of the organization thus improving their work output in the firm (Hisrich, and Ramadani 2017). If the employee, for instance, is not treated in a better way that he or she considers is appropriate, he or she may end up producing unwanted results that may impact the firm negatively thus reduction in the customers’ needs being satisfied. However, the act of the company in treating its employees in a better way aids in the improvement of the production quality of them as well as the feeling of being home away from their homes.

Secondly, the business makes sure that its product is safe for use or consumption by the customer. Thus, it has set up strategies that manage the wellbeing of their product through ensuring that the product has been cooked effectively in every restaurant across the globe through its regional managers (Velliaris, Willis, and Pierce 2015). Taking care of the final product helps in the wellbeing of not only the employees who are making them but also the community in general which in turn increases the capability and adaptability to better health standards. We should also note that any produced goods must be fit for consumption by the end user and the company has managed in maintaining and fulfilling these set conditions in every jurisdiction that it is serving in. As a result, the company is viewed positively by both the employees, community and the law enforcement bodies thus improving its social responsibility rankings to a better level.

Employee Training and Workplace Safety

Thirdly, the company effectively trains its employees on how to prepare their product as well as on the leadership skills that may aid them in the day to day running of the business or even in case a need for moral skills arises. Training employees do a better advantage to the company and not to the employees alone as they are trained in different levels. For instance, the employees are trained on different levels or departments in the company such as the production level, the distribution level, and/or the marketing or supply chain level. In the production level training, the employees are trained on how best they can produce a single hamburger that will satisfy the taste and preference of a customer as well as other beverages such that the employee would love coming back for more (Brenkert 2015). It is through such training that the business will be able to deliver value to its customers and manage a better image of itself in the social responsibility area. In the supply chain or the marketing, the employees are trained on how best they can talk, serve, and congratulate a customer who walks into their restaurants effectively. In addition, the employees feel wanted when they are trained on how to operate as it fills their knowledge gaps on the aspects of how they can handle a particular customer effectively. In addition, the training of the employees makes it easier to transfer one employee from one firm to another as they both have same training thus nit affecting the business at any particular moment or time.

The fourth strategy that the company uses in the management of the day to day business is the ensuring that the employee’s workplace is safe from any disturbance. Security is a vital organ in the running of a business especially if the business is being operated in an urban center or a populated region. The workplace of this company is maintained such that in case an emergency arises, such as fire out brake, there are a number of measures that are taken to prevent further damages through the use of emergency safe kits. In addition, the workplace is constructed in a convenient way where the employees do not have to squeeze themselves while serving the customer or making the company’s products, resulting in a better working space. Also, when the employees feel safe in the place of work, it is a guarantee that they will produce their maximum as there is a minimal chance of being interrupted by any external means. Thus, the workplace’s safety does more benefits in improving the social image of the company resulting in having a better trust on the business by all stakeholders (Rawwas, and Isakson, 2015). The McDonald’s Company also protects its employees against vengeance. They strictly exclude retaliation against employees who report issues such as misconduct, raise an alarm or cooperate in an investigation, provided that the employees have acted in good faith and with a judicious belief that the information provided is accurate. Anyone, in the company, who hits back, is always subjected to the punitive action, up to and/or including the conclusion of employment.

Product Safety

Finally, the company runs on an initiative that maintains the well-being and sustainable environment around it in order not to spoil it or mishandle it in a way that way either pollutes it either through the air, water, or land pollution. The company has been able to meet this standard through its strategy in recycling its waste plastic materials, using environmentally friendly raw materials, and the participation in environmental care programs within the locality that their restaurants serve. Through the use of such a strategy, the company is assured of better social responsibility ranking by all stakeholders and the government that it deals with effectively. Most of the large companies that are multinational do not observe this law and hence end up polluting the environment as well as not taking positive measure to re-clean the surrounding once they have spoilt it. Due to the fact that the McDonald’s uses materials that emit low levels of pollution to the environment, the company is viewed to be a good company, in the social responsibility arena, by most of the communities that it serves. Another aspect that the company serves best is through the appropriate mechanisms of waste management as it is through the better waste management that a firm can control the way or channels that it is polluting. As a result, the company is viewed to be a better company in terms of managing its social responsibility as explained in the above (Alekseyenko, Skrynnikov, Poperechna, and Pilova, 2008).

The company has a number of strategies that it uses in the managing the daily mode of activities through the use of the following. It has set up bodies that drive the cross-functional and issue-specific areas of the business. These bodies aid in ensuring that the above-quoted strategies that aid the company in managing a positive public image are fulfilled to their maximum and with a better solution. The McDonald’s Company is committed to ensuring that the diets and beverages they serve to their customers are safe. This means that they are working with their suppliers who display, test and trail all the ingredients. In addition, they have a comprehensive sequencer to ensure the protection of all figures and promotional objects. Their safety and quality canons for food, beverages, toys and advertising items meet or outdo all applicable administration requirements. They also support additional procedures to help defend consumers and guarantee the safety of local food provisions. They view this act as a part of their responsibility as a moral corporate national, and they know it is also indispensable to the enduring growth and cost-effectiveness of their business. It is the obligation of every McDonald’s underling to follow all pertinent safety and sanitization policies, or set rules, and procedures. The employees are also told to notify their administrator if they become aware of a trick relating to the safety the company’s products. For instance, in order for the kids to be satisfied with their products, the bodies have ensured that the employees produce a range of diverse foods and beverages for the kids such that they can have a number of options in whatever they would want to consume. Kids not only want food but also fun while they are at these restaurants. And, as a result, the bodies have taken a step further in ensuring that kids are motivated through fun by the implementation of the use of fun products like the merry-go-round play tools. Such an act not only keeps the kids happy but also helps in keeping them safe from any ailment due to physical appearance and attracting them daily to come and eat as well as having fun with other kids. The company does not stop at that as it has also invested hugely in maintaining and educating the customers on the nutrition information on how they can take care of themselves. It is through the above measures that the McDonald’s has been able to stay in business and managing its public image as well. If not through the use of the above-mentioned strategies, the company would not have succeeded in the appropriate staying in business as well as running its huge number of restaurants that are situated at different places in the world.

The Workplace Safety

Any business is run by a person who is in charge of diverse departments of the firm or simply the management that may comprise of a number of directors. For a business to display a positive image of itself, the managers or the directors in charge should be the first ones to display it through the portraying of the positive business ethics. As a manager, a person may be required to display what the core values of the business are rather than just saying them without appropriate actions. It is through actions that the junior employees find it better to copy and follow the suit of their managers in a better and understanding manner (Crane, and Matten, 2016).

There are a number of ways that a manager can portray a positive code of conduct such as the following. A manager should be able to keep time and deliver whatever is needed of him on timely bases so as for the junior staff to follow the suit and maintain time too. It is very difficult for a junior employee to keep time if his or her supervisor is a lazy or untimely person. As a result, timekeeping should always be in the mind of the manager as the first aspect to consider. The manager should maintain effective communication both horizontal and vertically in order to pass the same idea to his or her junior staff. Communication is very effective in managing a firm as it is through communication where the manager is able to spread information. For instance, an official message that should be passed to the employees cannot be done so by the use of a phone text message but rather the use of internal memos. It is these small aspects that the managers fail to show in their day to day activities that result in the improper business management. The manager should also be keen on the way the business is serving the community as it is through his or her concern that the junior employees will follow the route and maintain effective contribution to the society (Ferrero, and Sison, 2014).

Moving on to the personal aspect, any leader must maintain several codes of conduct including the following. He or she must be an honest person as honesty helps in the understanding of the process involved in the implementation of the company’s mission, vision, and objectives as well. A leader must also be accountable for every action that he or she takes or does so as to show the junior employees what they should also do. Being accountable will not only improve the junior employees’ trust but also ensure that there are minimal cases of fraud as every person is accountable for every action that he or she takes (Sigurjonsson, Arnardottir, Vaiman, and Rikhardsson, 2015). A leader must always be flexible with is a line of thought as rigid thinking especially in the decision-making sector is not advisable as it does not create an option for an alternative solution to a certain problem. Flexibility also aids in the diverse selection of ideas that the employees can take in serving their daily activities and this fact must be taught by their master employees. Respect should also be maintained in any given institution as lack of respect creates lack of boundary that results in the misconduct such as abuse and negligence at work. As a result, a manager must show his or her junior employees respect in order for them to be respected too by them. To add up, the managers should always perform their duties with higher levels of integrity as it is through integrity that a manager can be ranked as either the best one or the worst.

Sustainability and Environment

Several companies fail to deliver their mission statement or even the objectives due to the lack of the code of conducts that their managers or even their directors fail to show to their junior employees. If a manager in the production department does not respect an employee in his department, he or she can be assured not to be respected back and, as a result, the business may even fail completely.

In the other field of making decisions, the managers must be sure to use ethics while making decisions as the lack of ethics in decision-making results in the implementation of unethical decisions. These decisions can ruin the reputation of the whole company from top to the bottom. It is best of them, the managers, to use ethics ethical decision making theories in their process of making diverse decisions as well. As we are aware of the decision-making stages, a manager should always uphold the best business ethics for their business. There are a number of ways a manager can also display ethical actions in his or her business such as the following. The written form of conduct is applicable too as this clearly defines the ethics to be maintained in an organization. The aim of defining and writing a code of conduct is to let employees know what is acceptable and what is not within the organization (Floyd, Xu, Atkins, and Caldwell 2013). Every employee – new or experienced – must be trained on adhering to the code of conduct. Ethics compliance and training programs can be effective especially to the employees. Besides setting goals for the upcoming year, organizations should focus more on training employees on workplace ethics. A few members of the top level management can lead the ethics and compliance training programs. Such initiatives will stress the fact that employees must cultivate and adhere to the ethical code of the workplace. And finally, it is essential to communicate the ethical values and a Code of Conduct to employees to equip them with the authority to take an appropriate ethical decision in any given situation. Above all, you need a good team with strong ethical behavior to grow and be a successful company.

References

Alekseyenko, T., Skrynnikov, V., Poperechna, N.V. and Pilova, K., 2008. MCDONALD’S  MARKETING STRATEGY.

Brenkert, G.G., 2015. 2. Business, moral innovation, and ethics. Ethical Innovation in Business and the Economy, p.25.

Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and  sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.

Ferrero, I. and Sison, A.J.G., 2014. A quantitative analysis of authors, schools, and themes in virtue ethics articles in business ethics and management journals (1980–2011). Business Ethics: A European Review, 23(4), pp.375-400.

Floyd, L.A., Xu, F., Atkins, R. and Caldwell, C., 2013. Ethical outcomes and business ethics: Toward improving business ethics education. Journal of business ethics, 117(4), pp.753            -776.

Hisrich, R.D., and Ramadani, V., 2017. Business Ethics, Social Responsibility, and Entrepreneurial Managers. In Effective Entrepreneurial Management (pp. 179-201).      Springer International Publishing.

McDonald, G., 2014. Business Ethics: A Contemporary Approach. Cambridge University Press.   Parra, C.M., Tremblay, M.C. and Castellanos, A., 2016, September. Prominent voices    and prevalent discourses: A corporate social responsibility application. In Digital  Information Management (ICDIM), 2016 Eleventh International Conference on (pp. 74 -78). IEEE.

Rawwas, M.Y. and Isakson, H.R., 2015. Ethics of Future Business Managers: The Influence of Beliefs and Values on Ethical Attitudes. In Proceedings of the 1998 Multicultural         Marketing Conference (pp. 264-264). Springer, Cham.

Sigurjonsson, T.O., Arnardottir, A.A., Vaiman, V., and Richardson, P., 2015. Managers’ views on ethics education in business schools: An empirical study. Journal of Business Ethics, 130(1), pp.1-13.

Velliaris, D.M., Willis, C.R. and Pierce, J.M., 2015. International student perceptions of ethics in a business pathway course. New voices in higher education research and scholarship,  pp.234-253