Performance Management Assignment: Case Analysis of McDonalds

Question

Task: Write a performance management assignment discussing the initiatives adopted by McDonalds to improve customer satisfaction and performance management.

Answer

Introduction
In the current business environment, enhancing satisfaction of the customers and customer loyalty are the major aspects that can help an organization to gain relevant share in the market. The entire management teams of organizations that have global presence are focusing on formulating effective strategies to increase the reach of their products or services among their potential customers. The main aim of the report is to discuss about the steps that has been adopted by McDonalds to improve the satisfaction of their customers. Customer satisfaction can be achieved with the help of performance management within the organization. Performance management is considered to be a process of communication among supervisors, sub-ordinates, senior managers. It also involves monitoring that aims to fulfill all the strategic goals of an organization. Therefore, performance management in an organization is one of the key aspects of organizational effectiveness because it guides the employees within the organization to accomplish goals (Gruman andSaks, 2011).The report will emphasize on discussing the process in which McDonalds is focusing on managing the performance of the organization. Several concepts of Organizational behavior will be used to address the case study that deals with the process of customer satisfaction of McDonalds.

Problem Definition
In the case study, several activities of McDonalds to improve the satisfaction of the customers have been discussed. To identify the possible outcomes of these actions integrative framework is used. Process in which an organization continues their business is often traced by this framework. The main objective of integrative framework is to focus on case studies (Rohlfing, 2012). This is the reason this framework is considered for the report. The following section of the report gives an insightful information about the outcomes that are necessary for the case of McDonalds.

Individual level outcomes
When an individual focus on discussing the capabilities of performing a job and fulfilment of their respective duty, it is known as Individual level outcomes (Jeon and Choi, 2012). The following section focuses on the possible outcomes on individual level.

Task performance
To satisfy the customers, the employees of McDonalds should enhance the level of their performance. In the case it is mentioned that McDonalds should hire more employees and train them effectively. Therefore, enhancement of the performance of the employees is a considerable outcome of the training.

Creativity
With the increase in competition, customer satisfaction can be gained with the help of innovation. High-performance that is oriented with creativity is one of the major aspect of customer satisfaction (Martinaityte, Sacramento andAryee, 2019). Therefore, creativity from employees to improve customer satisfaction is one of the possible outcome.

Turnover
Employees leaving an organization due to several reasons is known as employee turnover. Satisfaction of customers has a positive correlation with employee satisfaction. Employee turnover rate helps to understand the employee satisfaction rate. Therefore, turnover is also a possible outcome of the case study.

Group level outcomes
Group performance
It has been reported that the entire process of delivery of McDonalds is slower than its competitors. Therefore, inefficiency in group performance is one of the major outcome.

Organizational level outcomes
Customer satisfaction
The main objective behind group performance, task performance, and creativity is customer satisfaction. Therefore, this is one of the possible outcome of the case.

Reputation
With the increase in the performance of the organization, the goodwill and reputation also increases.

Negative outcomes
Turnover of employees is not disclosed
If the case study is analysed thoroughly, it can be seen that McDonalds has not provided any report regarding the employee turnover. Decrease in turnover rate of employee means that the employees are satisfied with the decisions of the organization. Satisfied employees provide advanced services to customers that increase customer satisfaction. This possible outcome is not mentioned in the case study and this can create hindrance in performance management.

Lack of effective Group performance
Teamwork is considerably the important aspect of the 21st century aspects. In the case study, customers are complaining about the service of McDonalds.They are saying that the competitors of McDonald have better services. Group productivity is important to overcome this issue but this has not been achieved by McDonalds.

Important problem
Following the analysis of the case, it can be found that McDonalds is not emphasizing on satisfying the employees. The management team of the organization is focusing on training the employees so that they can increase their productivity but they are not emphasizing on motivating, engaging, and empowering them. This is leading to dissatisfaction among the employees and the group performance is also getting effected.

Understanding the case problem
This section of the report focus on understanding the main cause behind the problem that has been identified above.

Individual level (Person Factors)
Motivation
Employees within the organization should be motivated with the help of monetary and non-monetary rewards. Motivated employees can help the organization to achieve its goals (Shahzadi, et.al., 2014). With the increase in the satisfaction of the employees, customers are also satisfied. In the case study, it is mentioned that employees are paid less. Low salaries and wages is one of the major reason behind demotivation among employees. Thus, demotivation of employees is one of the major cause of problems identified above.

Values
Corporate values are very important. To survive in this dynamic business environment, creating a unique identity is important. Corporate values can make an organization unique.The ethical values in the corporate environment has a major impact on the behaviour of the employees (Saleem, 2014). From the case study analysis, it is found that employees of McDonalds are very rude. The major cause of this problem is failure in incorporation of corporate values within the employees.

Group level
Dysfunctional dynamics in group
In the previous section, one of the major problem that has been identified is ineffectiveness in group performance. This ineffectiveness in the group has led to hindrance in the service of McDonalds. The major cause behind lack of group performance is dysfunctions in group dynamics. Dysfunction in group occurs due to lack of collaboration and coordination among group members. Therefore, if the management team of McDonalds do not focus on resolving group conflicts then the issues identified will not get resolved.

Organizational level
Performance management
It is the responsibility of the management team of an organization to monitor and evaluate the performance of employees within the organization. In the case study it is seen that the strategies adopted by McDonalds for managing the performance of the organization is not effective. Due to improper performance management, the organization received complaints from the customers. Therefore, this is considerably an important cause behind dissatisfaction of the customers.

Concepts that can solve the key problem
Along with the problems, a concept to solve the key problems have also been mentioned in the case study. The management team of McDonalds focused on improving the process of use of technologyto solve the problems. Along with providing proper training to the employees of the organization, the management team of McDonalds started infusing new and better software that can manage the work pressure of the organization. From the case study, the two major potential problems of McDonalds were identified i.e. hindrance in service and the second one is improper behaviour of the employees.

As mentioned earlier, competition among organizations are increasing. Using automated services and integration of new technology in the entire process can help McDonalds to cope with the competition, satisfy customers, and increase market share. The management team can also use information and communication technology for enhancing the process of communication in the workplace. This can further decrease the stress at workplace (Tams, 2011). In the case study it can be found that few customers consider the entire operation of McDonald chaotic. Integrating and use of technology can reduce this chaos.

Recommendations
In the case study, several problems in the core operation of McDonalds have been identified. This section of the report emphasizes on creating certain recommended actions. These actions can help McDonalds to overcome the issues.

Cognitive learning method
In the first section of the case study, it is found that severalcustomer complaints about the rude behaviour of the employees. This can be reduced with cognitive method of learning. Employees must be trained in such a way that so that can they have the ability to respond according the scenarios.Cognitive learning theory focuses on providing effective training This training method is considered to be one of the effective method as compared to other workplace training methods (Clark, et.al., 2010). For example, employees should be trained using role play techniques so that they can handle customer complaints.Cognitive method of training can help the employees to deal with rude customers in a different manner.

Incorporation of a unique corporate culture
The management team of McDonalds should focus on making the organizational culture a unique one. Transformational leadership theory can help the organization to incorporate unique culture within the organization.This can help the organization to gain competitive advantage significantly. When there is enough trust and engagement between the employees and the managers within the organization then it can increase the performance of the organization in an effective manner (Guiso, Sapienza andZingales, 2015). Building trust and engagement among employees is a part of effective corporate culture. In the case study, it can be found that the behaviours of employees are rude. An effective corporate culture will help the employees to become empathetic in nature. This will further contribute to the increase in the satisfaction of the customers. For example, the management department should initiate brainstorming sessions and workshops to engage employeesin improving the operation of McDonalds.

Empowering and motivating employees
Organizational effectiveness and customer satisfaction can be increased by empowering employees in the organization. It is believed that employees that are committed can help in increasing the positive outcome of the organization (Hanaysha, 2016). Goal setting theory can be used to set goals for the employees. This will help the employees improve their performance. It will also help them understand the importance of their responsibilities and how it will improve their career.In the case it has been found that the turnover rate of employees has not been disclosed. Therefore, it can be presumed that the satisfaction rate of employees is less. To improve the satisfaction of the employees, they should be motivated and empowered. Motivation can be provided with the help of recognizing the performance of the employees and by rewarding them. For example, employees can be given bonuses for their performance.

Enhancing team collaboration
In this 21st century, organizations tend to operate with the help of team work. The service of McDonalds can be increased with the help of teamwork and collaboration. To initiate team work, the management team of McDonalds must focus on initiating coordination and trust among members of the team within the organization. Effective team work can help in combining all the efforts as well as imaginations of team members under one particular roof (West, 2012). In the above part of the report, increasing the effectiveness of group performance is discussed, enhancing team work by initiating team activities like role play, meetings and workshopscan help the organization to optimize the performance of the team members and help McDonalds to enhance the heights of customer satisfaction.

Conclusion
The main aim of the report was to discuss about a case study. The case study is related to customer satisfaction of McDonalds. From the case study, several negative outcomes in the operation of McDonalds have been identified. Integrative framework and Organizational behaviour concepts have been used to identified the possible outcome and problems of the case study. Dissatisfaction of employees within the organization is the major gap in the performance of McDonalds. Lack of coordination in team, lack of employee motivation are several causes of the problems that has been identified from the report. At the end of the report few recommendations have been made to improve the level of customer satisfaction of McDonalds. Building cognitive skills can help the employees to deal with all kind of situations within the organisation. Along with that, it is highly recommended to the management team of McDonalds to create a corporate culture within the organization that is unique. This can help the organization to increase its performance and can also help it to gain market betterment. With the increase in the effectiveness of the organization, the satisfaction of customers and customer loyalty will also increase in a significant manner.

References
Clark, R.E., Yates, K., Early, S., Moulton, K., Silber, K.H. and Foshay, R., 2010. An analysis of the failure of electronic media and discovery-based learning: Evidence for the performance benefits of guided training methods. Handbook of training and improving workplace performance, 1, pp.263-297.

Gruman, J.A. and Saks, A.M., 2011. Performance management and employee engagement. Human resource management review, 21(2), pp.123-136.

Guiso, L., Sapienza, P. and Zingales, L., 2015. The value of corporate culture. Journal of Financial Economics, 117(1), pp.60-76.

Hanaysha, J., 2016. Examining the effects of employee empowerment, teamwork, and employee training on organizational commitment. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 229(298-306), pp.298-306.

Jeon, H. and Choi, B., 2012. The relationship between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. Journal of Services Marketing, 26(5), pp. 332-341.

Martinaityte, I., Sacramento, C. and Aryee, S., 2019. Delighting the customer: Creativity-oriented high-performance work systems, frontline employee creative performance, and customer satisfaction. Journal of Management, 45(2), pp.728-751.

Rohlfing, I., 2012. Case studies and causal inference: An integrative framework. Palgrave Macmillan.

Saleem, F., 2014. Impact of corporate ethical values on employees’ behaviour: Mediating role of organizational commitment. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, pp.245-263.

Shahzadi, I., Javed, A., Pirzada, S.S., Nasreen, S. and Khanam, F., 2014.Impact of employee motivation on employee performance. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(23), pp.159-166.

Tams, S., 2011.The role of age in technology-induced workplace stress. [pdf].

Available at https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.co.in/&httpsredir=1&article=1779&context=all_dissertations [Accessed 25 September 2020].

West, M.A., 2012. Effective teamwork: Practical lessons from organizational research. John Wiley & Sons. West, M.A., 2012. Effective teamwork: Practical lessons from organizational research. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.