Author Archives: Emmalyn

Harper Jones and Retention

  • What do you think is the most demotivating part of Harper’s job?

The most demotivating part of her job is that she is being left to take on additional responsibilities without the proper recognition or guidance, and it’s affecting her ability to have the work/life balance that she had previously had.  She’s having to take on more work to make up for her previous boss leaving, and with Jose gone, it has Harper acting in a capacity that is leaving her overworked and disheartened with her work experiences.  Overall, due to Jose’s position not being filled quickly enough, Harper is at a loss and feeling stuck.

  • If you were an HR manager meeting with Harper’s supervisor, David, what advice would you give to help David re-engage Harper?

I would advise David to schedule a 1-1 20-30min meeting with Harper as a check-in.  When giving this invitation he should communicate to Harper that the purpose of this meeting is so that she can express any concerns she has regarding her workload, ask for clarity regarding her additional assignments, and also so that David can communicate expectations regarding the additional work she is covering.  I also believe that prior to this meeting, David should also communicate within the invitation something which acknowledges her increased responsibilities and contributions in the absence of Jose. It should be something that is genuine and validating of Harper’s talents and the work she does.  I think it would also be wise for David to consider if there are others on the marketing team who may have a workload that is not as heavy, and who could help offset some of Harper’s workload.  I would then recommend that if there is someone else on their team who comes to mind, to propose the idea to Harper that there is a desire for her to have a better work-life balance than she has been having in Jose’s absence.

It’s important that David makes it clear that proposing this idea of giving some of Harper’s workload to someone on the team who does not have as intense of a workload is not because Harper lacks any talent or capabilities in completing the work, but because they desire for Harper to have a better work-life balance, as filling Jose’s role has taken the company longer than anticipated.  I would overall advise David to have a more open line of communication with Harper that will allow for her to seek the advice that she needs and to take the time to extend encouragement and praise even in passing moments to help build morale.  I also think it would be ideal to set aside time bi-monthly, for at least 2-3 months following this initial conversation, 1-1 meetings for 15mins where they could discuss her career development.  After these two months, they could move the 1-1 meetings to once a month.  The passing moments of encouragement and feedback on her work in addition to these 1-1 focused meetings I believe are essential and key to re-engaging her in her role.

I also believe there is the potential to consider within Harper’s career development that she could potentially be someone to fulfill Jose’s role. She has been with the company for four years, and if she is interested in a more managerial position, it could be a potential option for growth and career development within the company. This would need a pay increase for Harper if she were to fulfill this role, and the company would then have to seek out someone for Harper’s current position, however, it would likely be easier to onboard someone to fill Harper’s current role, than spend a few months more effectively onboarding Harper to be in a position where she can feel confident enough to manage two people of the marketing team, as Jose did (should she be interested).

  • What would be the downside of losing Harper as an employee?

The downside of losing Harper as an employee is that there would be a heavily increased cost for indirect and direct turnover due to the fact that she has been having to not only fulfill her responsibilities in her role but that she has had to take on additional work and responsibilities to help in filling Jose’s absence.  This would mean that the marketing team would lose another team member and that the responsibilities within her role would likely be given to the remaining employees, which could further increase the likelihood of those employees leaving the company should they be left with those responsibilities for too long (or even at all, as they may also have increased workloads as a result of Jose’s absence).

Harper has also been at the company for four years, so she is very familiarized with company procedures in a more intimate capacity.  This would mean that whoever would replace her in her role would likely need more time to become as acquainted with these procedures as Harper was, and the “training period” could potentially be even longer than typical because of how Harper had years of familiarity and experience solely within Marketable, Inc. There would then be two new members who are not as familiar with Marketable, Inc. as there would be a new hire for both her role and Jose’s. As previously suggested though, should Harper be interested in taking on a more managerial role, she could take over Jose’s previous responsibilities, and it would likely be “quicker” for the company to find someone to onboard who would be in the position that Harper would have previously held before being internally promoted.

The Founder

  1. What makes Ray Kroc and the brothers different from each other?
    Ray Kroc is someone who is more concerned with profit and expansion, whereas the brothers are more concerned with the integrity and consistency of their product.  Both Ray Kroc and the brothers value efficiency, however, they value efficiency in contrasting ways.  Ray Kroc views efficiency in a more money-centered way; his aim is to lower expenses in any way possible while still having a product that is passable.  This is seen when he pushes to replace their milkshakes with vanilla and chocolate powder packets in order to cut down on electricity costs.  For the McDonald’s brothers, they view efficiency in a more well-rounded way and would never compromise their original intent, values, or desires. It is not within their character to compromise the quality of their food for the sake of cutting costs. The McDonald’s brothers are shocked and almost disgusted by the idea of replacing a milkshake with powder packets for the sake of saving on electricity costs.  Their integrity is central to them and is ultimately their downfall as well as Ray Kroc preys on their good nature.
    I think their differences can be best summed up in this exchange between Ray Kroc and Dick McDonald, where Ray Kroc says, “Business is war. It’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat. If my competitor were drowning, I’d walk over and I’d put a hose right in his mouth. Can you say the same?” In response, Dick McDonald says, “I can’t, nor would I want to.”
  2. Do you think the McDonald’s brothers did the right thing by selling out to Ray Kroc? Did Ray Kroc give the brothers a good deal?
    I don’t necessarily think they did the “right thing,” by selling out to Ray Kroc, but I believe they also felt as if they had no other choice because of how Ray Kroc pulled the rug out from under them.  While they were able to keep San Bernadino, (as it was a non-negotiable, since they wanted to give it to their employees out of their loyalty and as a show of goodwill), their desire for 1% proprietary was the most beneficial part of their deal with Ray Kroc, and they did not even get that written in actual ink or signed.  As previously mentioned, Ray Kroc preyed on their good nature; by saying the perpetuity would have to be on a “handshake basis,” he was guaranteeing that they would never see any of that money, and to this day, as stated at the end of the film, they never saw the money they would have earned from 1% proprietary.
  3. How did the local store franchisees make money?
    The local store franchisees only make money through the actual services and sales after the overhead costs (supplies, utilities, etc.) were deducted from their total earnings/revenue.  The fact they were responsible for these costs was part of the reason why earlier on in the film, Rollie Smith expressed concern to Ray Kroc about the cost of their electricity bill as the milkshakes were a bigger expenditure than they were anticipating. 
  4. How did Kroc make money? How was that different than the franchisees, running the local stores?
    Kroc made money by entering into the real estate business with the help of Harry Sonneborn.  By leasing the land/building that the franchise would run its business on, and then being paid 4% of each franchisee’s monthly sales, and a monthly rental fee for the land, Kroc was able to see profits from the franchisees.  It also gave a different kind of incentive for quality control, since it put a kind of hierarchy of sorts in place.  For franchisees running the local stores, the way they earn money is very different due to the fact that their earnings are based upon the actual customer-facing transactions through sales of their food/product.  There is a different level of day-to-day responsibility and management that must be done in order for them to receive their profits.
  5. Does this film change your view of McDonald’s?
    It does and it doesn’t.  In order for any company to make that amount of revenue in a year, there has to be some employees within their operations that are not getting properly compensated for the work they are doing for the company, and how that work in turn helps produce profit for the company.  I say that to say that, I’m not surprised that a billion-dollar company has sheisty beginnings.  I am surprised though that it was not the brothers who took the bigger lead on expanding the business, and I think it’s really morally foul that McDonald’s as a corporation—to my knowledge—has not done anything to try to make amends to the family of the McDonald brothers, however, I understand that with how businesses tend to run in terms of legality, and without the ability to prove the “handshake” agreement, they are not likely to compensate retroactively or moving forward in any capacity. 

Emmalyn Chin

Hey y’all! I’m Emmalyn and I’m majoring in business management. This is my second semester as a transfer student at BMCC. I love watching and playing volleyball, and also enjoy dancing and writing poems & lyrics. Overall I just like to express myself through different artistic mediums (both visual and performing). I love cute things such as plushies. Most of the ones I have are some shade of green or blue (although it wasn’t a color palette I actively thought about sticking to). I only have a couple of them named—one is a gray hippo named Poppi Reginald, & the other is a T-Rex plushie named Tubbers since he’s tubby. My BMCC email is: emmalyn.chin001@stu.bmcc.cuny.edu