Developing Strategic Mgt & Leadership Skills (Case study: McDonalds)

CONTENT

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Introduction                                                                                                                        3

Task 1

1. Understand the relationship between strategic management and leadership

1.1: Explain the link between strategic management and leadership                                           4                     

1.2: Analyse the impact of management and leadership styles on strategic decisions                   7

1.3: Evaluate how leadership styles can be adapted to different situations                                  9   

                                                                                                      

Task 2

2. Be able to apply management and leadership theory to support organizational direction

2:1:  Review the impact that selected theories of management and leadership have on organizational strategy                                                                                                                              10       

2.2 Create a leadership strategy that supports organizational direction                                      12       

Task 3

3. Be able to assess leadership requirements

3.1: use appropriate methods to review current leadership requirement                                   14                                           

3.2: plan for the development of future situations requiring leadership                                    17                                           

Task 4

4. Be able to plan the development of leadership skills                 

4.1 plan the development of leadership skills for a specific requirement                                  20                   

4.2 report on the usefulness of methods used to plan the development of leadership skills        22                  

Conclusion                                                                                                                        24

Bibliography                                                                                                                      25    

               

Introduction

McDonald’s is comprised of more than 34,000 local restaurants and serves 65 million people in more than 119 countries each day. The company is the largest food retailer in the world and is part of the American way of life.

McDonald was introduced by Dick and McDonald of Manchester, New Hampshire in San Bernardino, California. It was further expanded by business partner, Ray Kroc, of Illinois, who then together found the concept of McDonalds Corporation. The McDonald brothers had been in the restaurant business since 1937. It was the idea of Kroc to franchise their restaurants throughout the world. In 1956 McDonalds brothers had licensed the franchise rights for cook country. In 1959, Kroc opened 67 new restaurants, over new 101 locations in various countries. Like this they started expanding their business all over the world and proved to be best fast food restaurant.

McDonald Corporation is one of the largest chains of fast food restaurant with 1,800,000 of employees serving nearly millions of customers daily. After a very careful study McDonald has given its company the trademark of happy clown character known as Ronald MacDonald. McDonald put great emphasizes is always on youngsters and children’s. They are following the analyser type of business strategy with bureaucratic nature. McDonald success is hiding in its simplicity and strategic formulation of being strictly quality control, more hygienic and making cost effective production by hiring cheap and young workers trained properly under high supervision of managers.

Human resource policies of McDonald are tightly and strictly under control

The McDonald’s Corporation is the largest worldwide franchised food service organization. In the 1960’s, Ray Kroc franchised restaurants for the low sum of $950, demanding 1.9% of sales. McDonald's are able to overcome cultural barriers that have previously hindered other organizations. Because the local people immediately translate both the product and service, there is little hint of what may be construed as US brand culture. McDonald's is simultaneously global and local. Clearly, an increase in the number of franchised restaurants leads to the direct effect of an increase in McDonalds’ revenues. McDonald’s can also boast that it is the largest retail property owner in the world.

1.1: Explain the link between strategic management and leadership

According to (Leadership concept, 2010) Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and direct the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. A leader is described as someone who has the capacity to create a vision, and to translate it into action and sustain it (Bennis, 1989). This statement can also be justified as there are differences between management and leadership, although functionally they can be combined in the same individual (Kotter, 2001).

Leadership and management are both skills that an organization should possess, courtesy of a chosen leader, with the support of its personnel. A good leadership can be attained through a practice while an effective management is learned through course. A leader is the spearhead of the group going to a direction. And once they have found the direction, a manager will take over, to have consistency and to make the group purposeful after being established. Manager’s decisions are based on the book or ethics that every member constructed but leaders decide based on their institutions.

Link between Strategic Management and Leadership

Ray Kroc is a salesman who met the McDonalds brother through his employment, according to (Mcdonalds, n.d.) Ray Kroc entered into business with the McDonalds brothers in 1955 by 1965, through his vision and leadership McDonalds has grown rapidly and become a household name by 1960s. McDonalds went public in 1965 with 700 restaurants, across the United States. He restructured it and transformed McDonalds into the world largest fast food retailer company in the world, he was only able to achieve this through good leadership and strong management.

Strategic Management

According to (Managementstudyguide, n.d.), a strategy is all about integrating organizational activities and utilizing and allocating the scarce resources within the organizational environment so as to meet the present objectives.

What is Strategic management?  Strategic management can be used to determine mission, vision, values, goals, objectives, roles and responsibilities, timelines, etc.

According to the case study, it is said that McDonald has been able to use various strategies to uplift and sustain their competitive advantage in the market. Part of its business strategy is its plan to phase out its Super Size French fries and soft drinks as it tries to create a healthier image for itself. The Super-Size option is to be phased out in an attempt to slim down its menu amid increasing concerns and issues being raised about obesity (Crouch, 2004).

McDonald’s has developed three strategies for sustaining the competitive advantage these are customer value, convenience, and optimal business operations. Together with the information technology strategies, it helps the company to create new and innovative ideas for the company.

Management Strategy Used by McDonald

According to the case study McDonalds modifies their menu by offering Teriyaki burgers in Japan, McPork Burgers and McTempeh in Indonesia, McSpaghetti in the Philippines and McLox Salmon sandwiches in Norway. These are some of the concrete examples of McDonald’s ability to modify its products based on international tastes and preferences which they have also done with their British market. McDonalds was able to enter and conquer the foreign market through good leadership and management.

Leadership

According to (Managementstudyguide, 2011) Strategic leadership refers to a manager’s potential to express a strategic vision for the organization, or a part of the organization, and to motivate and persuade others to acquire that vision. Strategic leadership can also be defined as utilizing strategy in the management of employees. It has the potential to influence organizational members and to execute organizational change. A strategic leader must have the ability create organizational structure, allocate resources and express strategic vision. 

Leadership used in McDonalds

McDonald’s corporate management believes in training and leadership at all levels this was made possible through Hamburger University. The founder of McDonalds “Ray Kroc” believe that if a company should move forward this cannot be done without talent. He also believe that employees are the most important assets within an organization and they are not just a tool that is simply replaceable.

McDonald’s makes a strong corporate effort to develop leaders and there are growth opportunities within the corporation for those who are willing to work hard and develop their leadership skills, hence, there is a great upward mobility for Macdonald’s employees.

In summary, McDonald’s is the world largest fast food chain with 34,000 branches in over 119 countries with employs over 1,800,000 employees. This was only achievable through good leadership strategy and strong Management strategies, continuous training and development with the ability to enter new market successfully is a major contributing factor to McDonald success. 

1.2: Analyze the impact of management and leadership styles on strategic decisions in the organization in McDonalds.

McDonalds is a global fast food chain with the company headquartered located in America at Oak Brook, IL. It is the world’s first-largest fast-food chain which generate a revenue of $17.1 billion which increases each year according to the case study. Since the store was founded in 1954 the McDonalds brand have enjoyed rapid success throughout and the brand is growing continuously with over 34,000 branches in more than 119 countries worldwide. The company has grown substantially in a move to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors such as Burger King and subway.

McDonald’s strategy and priorities for the future are to engage customers and maintain high quality service, according to (aboutmcdonalds, n.d.)  the company mission and vision is to “be the customer favorite place and way to eat and drink” McDonald operates with a Democratic style of management according to the case study, this style of management see the employees and management collaborating with each other and exchanging ideas.

Strategic decisions

According to (Businesscasestudies, n.d.) Strategic decisions are those which affect the long term performance of the business and which relate directly to its aims and objectives. They are usually taken at the highest levels of management and carry higher levels of risk. However, effective strategic decisions bring high levels of reward.

In order for McDonalds to enter into foreign markets they had to carryout extensive research and planning, according to the case study McDonalds decision to enter into international market such as Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Norway and Britain was a strategic decision they had to modify their menus according to the taste of the people. In japan they introduce the teriyaki burgers while in Indonesia they introduce the Mcpork and Mc-tempeh burgers. The British market was more difficult to enter because of the culture and health conscious people however with careful planning and good management and leader McDonalds was able to successfully enter into the British market.

In today fast moving economy management and leader have to adopt and move swiftly with their decision failure to do can result in the competing gain an advantage over them. There are several methods of managerial decision and leadership style in the fast moving business environment we find ourselves, some of these skills are as follows

A good leadership is responsible for motivating their employees and empowering them this will result in a happy work-force that will see the company benefiting in the future.

Negative leadership which emphasizes on the motivation of the employees giving threats to them; which will result in the demotivation of the employees which can result in low productivity.

Autocratic leadership which centralizes the power to the leaders and no way of discussion;

Democratic or participative leadership where the decisions are taken after the discussion with the subordinates; McDonalds tend to follow this method which has proven to be a success for them.

Free-rein leadership where the subordinates enjoy the freedom of taking decision & only responsible for the progress.

McDonald’s management style encourage employees to work in a team rather than working individually. In McDonald, ideas move freely amongst the group and discussed openly thus ultimately achieving their objective. This works both ways for the company by fulfilling individual objectives while achieving the company objective.

1.3: Evaluate how leadership style can adapted to different situations in McDonalds.

Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. Kurt Lewin (1939) cited (nwlink, n.d.) Led a group of researchers to identify different styles of leadership.

Autocratic or authoritarian - This style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers (nwlink, n.d.)

Participative or democratic - This style involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority.

Delegative or laissez-fair - In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decisions. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made.

Although good leaders use all three styles, with one of them normally dominant, bad leaders tend to stick with one style (normally autocratic), (nwlink, n.d.)

The autocratic is not the best leadership style for a company like McDonalds, this leadership style is best use when you have all the information to solve the problem is available. Some people tend to think of this style as a vehicle for yelling, using demeaning language. The authoritarian style should normally only be used on rare occasions. (nwlink, n.d.)

McDonald is currently using the democratic leadership style, this style has proven to be very effective, McDonalds allow employees to get involved in the decision making by giving their feedback, this style is not a sign of weakness, and rather it is a sign of strength that employees have grown to respect. This style is best used when management and leaders are face with a decision and only part of the information is available, leaders are not expected to know everything—this is why McDonalds is particular about the type of people they employ. 

The delegative style allow employees to make certain decision, this style is not a style that is used in McDonalds, this can only be effectively used when an employees are able to analyse the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it.

2.1 Review the impact that selected theories of management and leadership have on organizational strategy

Management and Leadership Theories

Good leadership is an essential element to any organization, organizations are looking for the best leaders with the proper skills to lead the company in the right direction while achieving the company objective. It is in the organization best interest to promote the development of leaders, this strategy can only see the organization benefiting from their creation, i.e. the development of a good leader.

According to (Managementstudyguide, n.d.) Management knowledge is supported by various theories, the leadership function of management too is authenticated by various theories. While the behavioral theories of leadership focused on discovering the constant relationship between leadership behaviors and the group performance, the contemporary theories emphasized the significance of situational factors (such as stress level, job structure, leader’s intelligence, followers’ traits, etc.).

Some of the important leadership theories are as follows:

ü  Blake and Mouton’s Managerial Grid

ü  House’s Path Goal Theory

ü  Great Man Theory

ü  Trait Theory

ü  Leadership-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory

ü  Transformational Leadership

ü  Transactional Leadership

ü  Continuum of Leadership Behaviour

ü  Likert’s Management System

ü  Hersey Blanchard Model

ü  Fiedler’s Contingency Model

For this question only 2 of the theories will be looked at in details, these are as follows:

Contingency Theory or Situational Leadership - Behaviour should be contingent on the organisational situation at the time and on the people. This is also called Situational Leadership. One theory that is commonly used by organizations such as McDonalds in leadership programmes is Hersey and Blanchard (1993) theory: the readiness of followers. The leader matches the leadership style according to the readiness of the subordinates which moves in stages along a continuum. The ability and willingness subordinates have to completing tasks. Ability is defined as the knowledge, experience, Willingness is the motivation and commitment required by any successful organization.

Behavioural theory: There are a lot of different thoughts on the way a leader should behave for example:

ü  Concern for task. The extent to which the leader emphasises high levels of productivity, organises and defines group activities in relation to the group’s objectives.

ü  Concern for people. The extent to which the leader is concerned about his or her subordinates as people – their needs, interests, problems, development etc. rather than treating them as units of production.

ü  Directive leadership. The extent to which the leader makes all the decisions concerning group activities him or herself and expects subordinates to simply follow instructions.

ü  Participative leadership. The extent to which the leader shares decision making concerning group activities with subordinates.

2.2 create a leadership strategy that supports organizational direction

Strategy is all about making plans for the future taking into consideration the competition along with the internal and external environment. In-order for a company to reach its future objectives it requires a good and strong leader to lead the company into the future therefore a good leader plays an important role towards the future direction of the company. According to the case study Ray Kroc was not just a leader he was a visionary.

According to (Biography of Kroc, n.d.) In 1955, Kroc became president of the McDonald’s Corporation. He bought out the owners entirely six years later. In 1977, after leading McDonald’s past archrival Burger King, Kroc reassigned himself to the role of senior chairman. He held this position until his death in 1984.

It is through good leadership and good management Kroc’s was able to transform the local restaurant into the world largest fast food chain. Kroc’s key contributions to the restaurant were automation, standardization and discipline. (Biography of Kroc, n.d.).

In the fast moving economy that we are in and with the advent of technology and cultural diversification management and leaders have to implement the following successfully in-order to keep ahead of the competition.

·         Developing Professionalism

·         Developing trust and belief

·         Developing Respect

·         Training Program

Developing Professionalism – Professionalism is of great importance to the future direction of the organization, business are no longer competing on a local level, McDonald’s leaders had to design and implement a strategy to deal with the cultural differences while creating a healthy work-force and a suitable working environment. Leaders need to develop certain rules and regulation these standards should be met to create more effective professionalism between employees (ukessays, n.d.).

Developing trust and belief – Gaining trust is never easy especially when changes are involved, management has to create a strategy and implementing it properly, once the implementation is carried out effectively employees trust will begin to therefore the leaders and mangers can lead the company into the direction that is in the best interest of the company.

Trust between staff and leaders or manager will create healthy working environment which will resulting positive effect and increase employees performance and productivity. To create trust and belief leader should be friendly, honest and open. Leaders should be consistent, with these basic attribute employees will feel more relax and more at home therefore they will be willing to follow the company direction.

Developing Respect – McDonalds leader has to have respect for every employees including their suppliers and the general public, before a decision is made the leaders has to consider the internal and the external environment. This approach will build brand loyalty while creating and maintaining a healthy working environment. There should be no form of discrimination and if there is it is the leader responsibility to put measures in place to deal with such behaviors, leaders should ensure that they themselves are objective and no discrimination coming from their side.

Training Program - To achieve organization objective one of the major factor is training program to support the organizational direction. McDonald’s is growing multinational fast food chain and it is very important for leadership and management to identify the need for training and development for the employees. Krocs believe in training development, hence the Hamburger University was open in 1961 (lifestyle.iloveindia, n.d.). 

3.1 use appropriate methods to review current leadership requirements in McDonalds

With the advent of the internet companies are no longer competing on a local scale companies are now competing with each other for the same customers, competition has risen and the business environment has become fiercer. Business has to look at the market and change constantly if they want to keep ahead of their competition and lead the business into the future.

The method that are being used in McDonalds to develop management, employees into leaders are as follows.

ü  Coaching

ü  Learning

ü  Communication

ü  Engaging

ü  Attitude skills

These methods are also use to help with the continuous development of leaders, organizations are no longer dealing with customers on a national scales they are now dealing with customers and employees on a global scales leader has to be more vigilant to understand the need and demands of the world as it is a very common trend for companies to trade globally. Leadership need to have wisdom, understanding, vision and mission to deal with these type of challenges (ukessays, n.d.).

Coaching - Coaching & mentoring, both of which focus on the individual, can enhance morale, motivation and productivity and reduce staff turnover as individuals feel valued and connected with both small and large organisational changes. This role may be provided by internal coaches or mentors and, increasingly, by professional coaching agencies.

Coaching and mentoring programmes generally prove to be popular amongst employees as coaching achieves a balance between fulfilling organisational goals and objectives whilst taking into account the personal development needs of individual employees. It is a two-way relationship with both the organisation and the employee gaining significant benefits.

Learning - Learning involves much more than information transfer that is why it is ineffective to present this Learning Organization concept as only another training technique. Learning and Learning Organization concept can’t be imposed, it requires an internal desire to learn and change. Additionally, learning, knowing and changing are complex and interdependent phenomena that will require researchers and managers to understand the logic embedded in the Learning Organization idea before its implementation (2.warwick, n.d.).

Communication - Communication is even more valuable in a McDonald’s business environment as there are several parties involved. Various stakeholders, whether they are customers, employees or the media, are always sending important information to each other at all times.

McDonalds is therefore constantly using some form of communication or another to send a message across. Without these different methods of communication available today, it would holder back the development of employees into managers and possible leaders, the effect would also reduce the development of current leaders.

Types of Communication

Graph was taken from (tutorialspoint, 2011) The below graph illustrate the different types of communications used in McDonalds to develop their employees and communicate to the stakeholders.

Engaging - This technique makes communication easier since it is nonthreatening with no one right answer. It is cost effective, especially if trainers have their own stories to tell.

According to (Trainingtoday, 2013) there are several advantages and disadvantages use by McDonalds to develop their employees whether or not they or a lower level employee or a top level management, these are as follow.

Advantages

ü  Instructor-led classroom training is an efficient method for presenting a large body of material to large or small groups of employees.

ü  It is a personal, face-to-face type of training as opposed to computer-based training and other methods this ensures that everyone gets the same information at the same time.

Disadvantages

ü  Sometimes it is not interactive.

ü  Too much of the success of the training depends on the effectiveness of the lecturer.

ü  Scheduling classroom sessions for large numbers of trainees can be difficult—especially when trainees are at multiple locations.

Attitude skills - According to (Alliancetac, 2011) most employers expect the manager to “fix” or “fire” the employee with a "bad attitude."  In fact, there is little the manager can do to “fix” the employee’s attitude.  The employee must “fix” their own attitude.  At the same time the manager’s attitude must be right to create an environment allowing the employee to refocus their attitude for a more positive and productive work effort.  If the manager or the employee lacks the skills to make adjustments to their thought processes – attitude change for a more productive effort will not take place. 

The right attitude is critical to all aspects of organizational performance.  Having the right attitude impacts:

·         Job performance

·         Meeting quality standards

·         Sales potential

·         Customer service and support

·         Team spirit

·         Boss/employee relations

·         Coworker support

·         Stakeholder expectations

Leaders have to use their interpersonal skills to ensure the company is running and heading in the direction they want, a good leader has to have the ability to respond to changes in the internal and external environment. Employees are the most important asset to any successful organization such as McDonalds therefore the welfare of the employees is of great importance and it is the leader responsibility to ensure that the environment is conducive for working.

To achieve the high performance the company has to employ the right people for the right position, failure to do so can have a negative effect on the company.

 3.2 Plan for the development of future situations requiring leadership in McDonalds

Leadership plays the most dominant role in devising strategies for corporation to sustain a competitive advantage. Leadership develops organizational philosophy and organizational philosophy gives rise to vision and mission for the organization. The strategic objectives of an organization are set on the basis of its visions and missions.

Leaders today have to be well informed and well aware of what is happening in the business environment. In-order for companies to compete better or to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors business often seek to merge or to take over other companies. This is an effort to gain more market shares. Technology is developing on a rapid basis therefore the leaders of both small and multinational organization ought to be well aware of any new technology in the market and any regulatory and compliance changes. Because companies are competing on a global scale this means that there is a likely development of cultural issues, therefore the company has to have continuous training and development to combat any future issues that might arise.

Emerging of new Technologies - One of the major challenges for the current leadership is technology; technology is growing very fast and taking over everything in an organization. Now there is more concept of virtual business or e-business where business in done mostly online and employees are scattered in most part of the world. Example, According to the case study McDonalds employs state of-art technology to help its workers in their tasks and makes the production process faster, attending to the customers in a prompt manner.  McDonald's Corporation recently sign a seven-year contract with a premier provider for a full complement of IT infrastructure services, including mainframe, enterprise servers, end-user computing, and help desk to support more than 6,000 desktops (essaybank, 2012)

McDonalds has launched a private networking site for more than 650,000 hourly employees in 15,000 location in the United States and Canada known as StationM this enables McDonald’s crew members to connect with each other exclusively without any hassle (essaybank, 2012).

Regulatory Compliances – According to (Swiss News, "British tax hike forces McDonald's to Geneva") cited by (essaybank, 2012) Government taxation has affected McDonald's as it has done to other multinational corporations. The announcement of new taxes imposed by the British government for profits earned on intellectual property rights abroad made McDonald's to decide to move its headquarters from London to Geneva.
The decision to move the McDonalds British head office to Geneva was a leadership decision. The decision is a direct plan for future development which will result in the company saving money and increasing the yearly sale turn-over in Britain.

The labor factor is an area of concern and the regulatory compliances varies from country to country the corporate Human Resources team of McDonald’s has to comply with the different polices. The right policies and procedures are in place for systematic recruitment, selection and training of the workforce. The welfare of the employees is assured with the implementation of health and safety measures (essaybank, 2012).  A system is also provided to handle disputes, complaints, or grievances that may arise.

High compliance is of great important to the organization, failure to do so can result in the company losing their licenses in these countries which may result in the company share price and profit taking a dip.

Cultural Diversity - McDonald's formally acknowledged the significance of having a diverse workforce in the mid 1970's. It affirmed its commitment to this policy when the first official head of diversity was appointed in the 80’s to oversee a related program that was launched in the U.S.A. and other countries. This program was called "Embrace, Empower...Excel".

McDonald's train its people to work with others who are different from themselves. This is done in seminars and workshops, which include themes like "Gender Speak", “Hispanic Career Development", "Diversity & Inclusion from a White Male Perspective", and "Asian Career Development" (essaybank, 2012).

More and more organizations are diversified and people from all over the world are working together, therefore it is very vital for leaders to understand the requirement for such conditions.

Leaders, Management and employees need to be more cooperative and should understand the requirement for other cultures. According to the case study, the work culture of McDonald’s seems highly dependent upon the particular line manager in charge at any given point in time. Leaders should develop more effective interpersonal skills to make all employee regardless of their cultural background, to feel comfortable working towards the same objectives.

Leadership skills for a specific situation

The business direction of McDonald's is specific: It aims to be the world's best quick service restaurant experience. It wants to make each customer satisfied with its outstanding quality, service, cleanliness and value.

Three strategies are implemented worldwide by the corporation:

ü  It does its business to make it as the best employer of its people in each location;

ü  Sees to it that each restaurant manifests excellence in its operations, and

ü  Ensures that the organization grows through innovation and technology.

Strong leadership skills are required in the Functional Areas of McDonald's. McDonalds ensures that optimum effectiveness is maintained in each situations and the functional area of the business, namely, production, finance, marketing, research and development, human resources, and administration.

Materials are carefully selected to manufacture its products. Suppliers are carefully selected and McDonalds ensure that all their suppliers are reliable just in case of unforeseen event their day to business will not be affected. These plans help the direction of the company and while planning for the future development of the company.

A high performance in Finance is achieved by effectively controlling expenditures in each restaurant therefore the company can look at future development and future expansion.

Merger and Takeover – with the complex and competitive business environment of today it is very important that leaders full understand the need for merger and takeover, merging with another organization is never easy. Leaders has to deal with the backlash of mergers, hence current leaders and future leaders of to communicate with the stakeholders and the shareholders of any possible takeovers.

Merging with another organization is a very costly and sensitive issue and can cost the company dearly if this is not carried out with utmost care. Example of bad acquisition Lloyds TSB and HBOS’S. In-order for McDonalds to maintain its market advantage, it has to strategically position itself to take advantage of any acquisitions or merger that will help the company plan for future development. This requires good leadership.

4.1 Plan the development of leadership skills for a specific requirement

According to (Pankaew, 2013) “Leadership is the art of leading others to deliberately create a result that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.”

According to Alan Keith of Genentech cited by (ukessays, n.d.) States that, "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen."

Leadership is a very important area for any organization regardless of the size of the organization, in today fast moving business environment business have to make future plans therefore it is very important that the leaders of the future develop the necessary skills that will help them to lead the company in the right direction. Leaders can develop their skills and employees skills by on the job training or formal Learning.

Formal Learning – There are several new products being introduced, therefore companies like McDonalds has to groom their leaders and their employees. These can be done by sending the employee for formal training, seminars or in some case sending the leaders back to the class room.

On the job training - is one of the most effective development methods in the companies. Mumford and Gold (2004) cited by (ukessays, n.d.) State that the process of the on the job training is to arrange and the purpose is to enhance the abilities of the employees in the corporate settings of the organizations. According to the case study Ray Kroc’s founder of McDonald’s state, if we are going to go anywhere, we’ve got to have talent. And, I’m going to put my money in talent”. The case study state that training is not just offered to executives or managers but training is in-fact offered to all members of staff regardless of their position.

This ideology demonstrates that McDonald’s does not believe its restaurants’ crew members are just gears in a machine that can be easily replaced cited in the case study.

Organizational Leadership - The Organizational Learning which is the learning method in the organization which is highly appreciated and required. Mullins (2010) cited by (ukessays, n.d.) States that the organizations that influence the employees on the regular bases with the knowledge and information.

Organizations that promote learning is more likely to continue to enjoy great success. In-order to compete in the global market business, it has to empower their leaders and employees to a high standard. Employees are the most important asset of any business organization.
With good training employees will be in a better position to represent the company very well and leaders will be in a better position to lead the company into the future while competing on a global scale.

4.2 Report on the usefulness of methods used to plan the development of leadership skills

It is important for leaders to develop more skill to cope with future challenges, globalization and demands. As discussed earlier about current and future leadership requirements and leadership plan, it is very important that the method used for the improvement of leadership skill should be more effective and useful so that the objective can be achieved. As cited by (ukessays, n.d.), “leadership requires vision, enthusiasm, self-confidence, empowerment, action enabling of others, getting things done, and making things happen (David I.bertocci, 2009).

Formal learning is a very good way to improve skill and get further knowledge about upcoming challenges. The extent of which leadership competencies are acquired and used depends on the type of development activities that occur (e.g., training, experimental learning, self learning), facilitating condition (e.g. Ray Kroc’s founder of McDonald’s state, if we are going to go anywhere, we’ve got to have talent. And, I’m going to put my money in talent”.).

Useful methods used to plan development of leadership.

Training – this method is very impressive and authentic in McDonalds. If the trainings are given on the job then the employees can learn better and be the best part of the organization.

Experimental Learning - Experimental learning within McDonalds engages employees in critical thinking, problem solving and decision making. This approach to learning also involves creating opportunities for debriefing and consolidation of ideas and skills through feedback, reflection, and the application of the ideas and skills to new situations. This method has been successful in McDonalds and has contributed to the success of the company business model.

Self Learning – McDonald’s employees are provided with online training material on McDonald’s website for self-learning purposes, so that they can learn at their own pace. This way, employees don’t need to run after the management in order to be empower themselves with available information.

Coaching and Mentoring – as stated in 3.1 Coaching & mentoring, both of which focus on the individual, can enhance morale, motivation and productivity and reduce staff turnover as individuals feel valued and connected with both small and large organisational changes. This role may be provided by internal coaches or mentors and, increasingly, by professional coaching agencies.

Develop Retention Programs for Current and Future Leaders - Monetary as well as nonmonetary rewards can be used to improve the retention of any employee, but particular attention needs to be paid to high performers and future leaders. Example, according to the case study, McDonalds cooperate strategy stipulate that employees must be paid above the national minimum wage, and high performing employees are rewarded accordingly to stipulated company policies.

The above are useful methods that are used by McDonald management team to develop leadership skills of their employees

  

Conclusion

McDonald’s is a multinational corporation, which is perceived as many different things to different people. Some people see McDonald’s as a decent, fast and inexpensive meal. Others may view the company chain as a low quality restaurant that employs uneducated and unskilled people. Nevertheless, McDonald’s has a cheery corporate image that prides itself on quality and cleanliness, as well as good food and good service. The company employs state-of-art technology to help its workers in their tasks and makes the production process faster, attending to the customers in a prompt manner. In terms of leadership, McDonald’s makes a strong corporate effort to develop leaders. There are growth opportunities within the corporation for those who are willing to work hard and develop their leadership skills. There is a great upward mobility for Macdonald’s employees. From what we observed in our field study, the work culture displayed in the McDonald’s stores is aligned with the firm’s corporate values. 

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