Author Archives: Saleh Sharhan

Employees’ Retention

Employees are the foundation of every organization. Without labor, things would not get done and that is why it is very important for organizations to ensure treating their talent in a proper manner. Many ways in which corporations discourage their employees from staying at the same job is certain salary, however, salaries might intuitive, but it is not the only thing. For that reason, businesses must consider other factors when accounting for why the employee turnover rate (i.e., quitting) is very high. For example, specifying tasks in employees are required to complete is very important to building expectations for employees on their role in the job. Other factors may include incentivizing career development through education compensation, and benefits packages. That said, the MOST important thing would be valuing the work of employees, promoting a culture that supports their goals, and valuing their values which could reflect positively on the organization. On one hand, it will reduce the cost of training and replacement of talent, on the other hand, it would build a good reputation for the organization which improves the brand and public image of the company.
Though Harper is not a real person, one would appreciate what happened to her and realize that it happens to everyday employees. After reading the case study report, it is apparent that after Harper’s former manager, Jose, left the organization, she had to take additional responsibilities to cover his departure. Hence, Harper got burned out and demotivated since, unlike her former boss, David is less forthcoming, and seems not to follow the 6th point of the Zippia article –that is, “Don’t overburden employees.” In addition to burnout, the organization seems to have lacked the 4th point in the referenced article. The reason for honest and open communication is had been six months since Jose’s departure and Harper was frustrated. The organization should’ve been more proactive in spotting frustrated employees and finding solutions and strategies. Harper seemed to have hit her tipping point when the company did not find a replacement for Jose after six months and it seems that the “straw that hit the camel’s back” is her work was not being recognized.
Furthermore, had I been an HR manager, mentioning good resources that will help David take a new perspective would be helpful, such as the referenced article. David should’ve held a meeting on his first day and understood what role did Jose play in the organization and was considerate enough to recognize burned-out employees and proactively reach out to them.
The biggest downside of losing an employee is training!! Ford paid relatively higher wages than others at the time, establishing a 40-hour week because he recognized that keeping talent and skill is very important. Besides training and costs associated with Harper abandoning her job, given that five members will remain in the team, their morale will be negatively impacted. It sends a message if one of your best employees decides to quit, and it is not a very good message.
Cheers,
Saleh

The Founder

  1. What makes Ray Kroc and the brothers different from each other?
    Both Ray Kroc and the McDonald’s brothers seem to have entrepreneurship spirits there are some minor differences between the two. Regarding Ray Kroc, he had tried multiple products that will bring about his success, as evident in the conversations he had with his wife, but what he lacked is an idea that will revolutionize an already existent industry. Whereas the brothers remodeled the restaurant business and made it more efficient and productive. For instance, the McDonald brothers got rid of the unnecessary packaging and waste of time that occurs in traditional restaurants and made it so that the labor used in the process of making the food was used solely for the purpose of, well, making the food. That said, one thing the brothers lacked, and Ray Kroc had, is ambition. Though they have tried to expand and franchise the idea, Ray Kroc saw the potential of making McDonald’s a restaurant from coast to coast with high supervision, he took a great risk, met new people, and became persistent until the franchise became successful.
  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?
    The McDonald’s brothers did the right thing because, had they been stubborn to Kroc, they would’ve drowned in legal expenses and other costs associated with legal battles.
    Yes, some people believe that Ray Kroc wasn’t fair towards the brothers because he technically stole their innovative idea of the “speedy system,’ however, had it not been for Ray Kroc pushing forwards and “being persistent” maybe McDonald’s wouldn’t exist today. Unlike the brothers, Kroc put his own house as collateral for the loan he had taken from the bank to expand the speedy system idea, he had traveled to multiple cities, made business associates, and found talented people to run each individual store, which the McDonald’s brothers failed to initially achieve.
    Though two million after taxes is low relative to today’s MacDonald’s generated revenue, at the time, the brothers got a good deal and if they have refused and gone into a legal battle, maybe the business would’ve failed and each of the three end up with nothing. However, one thing Ray Kroc did not fulfill is the one percent royalty the brothers would’ve got which he should’ve been sued for by the brothers.
  3. How did the local store franchisees make money?
    The local franchisees would make money after operating the whole business independently but following a strict standard that the two brothers and Ray had in the contract. After the businesses made revenue, Ray Kroc would receive 1.4 percent of the generated revenue, while the brothers would receive 0.5 percent.
  4. How did Kroc make money? How was that different than the franchisees, running the local stores?
    After being late on his payments of the loan he had taken, Ray Kroc encountered a lawyer who would offer him a business idea and leverage his position in order to generate greater profits. Hence, Ray Kroc will own the land the McDonald’s restaurants will open in, and then go on a lease to those who will put an establishment on such land. This, in turn, allowed Ray Kroc to open a separate reality entity but frustrated the two brothers because they had believed it had preached the contract, however, Ray Kroc reminded the two brothers that what he was doing is outside the business rather than the operation of the business and product-making. This allowed Ray to generate a higher revenue than the initial 1.4 percent he was earning from running the local stores.
  5. Does this film change your view of McDonald’s?
    As someone who is concerned about the health of people, I’ve always held negative views towards McDonald’s as they offer unhealthy meals and run deceptive ads to lure kids into their restaurants. Still, such kids will end up unhealthy as adults. However, this movie changed said views a bit in the sense it highlighted American entrepreneurship and the spirit of innovation. This appreciation goes towards of course the McDonald’s brothers who innovative the process making of their food and utilized the labor to make such food. It is a bit similar feeling to that of Henry Ford and his innovation of the assembly line to make cars fasters and more affordable.
    Furthermore, even if some people dislike Ray Kroc, his vision to expand upon the brother’s idea is phenomenal. One would have to assume that had it not been for Ray Kroc, McDonald’s would be nonexistent today and the brothers would’ve not received their 2.7-million-dollar settlement with Raymond. What Kroc had that the brothers lacked is the vision and risk-taking to mortgage his house and meet new people that will have been able to run the businesses sufficiently.

The Clothing Industry and Sustainability

This week’s topic brings about a lot of interesting thought regarding our planet and continuing a sustainable path. Though work ethic towards employees is paramount, one crucial thing to bear in mind is our environment. Our environment is the soil we step in, the air we breathe, and the water we drink. As a result Banana Republic, which I am a frequent customer of theirs, crossed my mind.

The clothing industry has been under a lot of pressure to increase its sustainability from the product itself, lines of production to packaging to its consumers. For instance, Banana Republic, in particular, has pledged to the slogan “greener, one step at a time.” With regards to packaging, Banana Republic has committed to increasing the supply of recyclable material wherein, for instance, shopping bags “contain 15% recycled material and are recyclable.” it is important to put an emphasis on the text of writing. Yes, 15% of the shopping bag is from recycled material and the remaining 85% is “recyclable”, however, the majority of shopping bags are barely recycled even if they are made from recyclable material. It is one thing to reduce the amount of bag usage and another thing to make bags from recyclable material as if it is actually being recycled at the end.

Furthermore, Banan Republic committed to “installation of a one megawatt solar system at our Fresno, California distribution center” but after a brief research, I could not find any record of any said project done by Banana Republic which claimed that it will power around 350 homes. However, credit is given when credit is due, Banan’s Republic physical infrastructure is either partially made from recycled material or being recycled for a different use, from using old advertising billboards being used for home roofing material to floors and bathrooms in their stores being made of sustainable forests or 15% recycled material. In addition to physical stores being partially made of that of recycled material, Banana Republic’s commitment to a 100% “sustainable cotton by 2023” is only 87% through, according to goodonyou.eco website.

Equally important, Banana Republic has a horrible rating of “not good enough” on goodonyou.eco, whereby Banana Republic has a lack of transparency in its supply chain. It is known as a result of globalization, that most products are made overseas and it often, though ignored, involves child labor or lack of safety and workers’ rights. This is crucial, especially during the Covid pandemic whereby the supply chain was affected, and it was unknown if those overseas workers were paid enough wages.

Though a good clothing brand, I believe that Banana Republic has a long way to go from where it stands today. This discussion, however, is not targeted solely towards Banana Republic, in fact, the fashion industry is reckless and disregards the environment. Though I’m not a customer of H&M, it has been noted before that the clothing industry in general, but fast fashion in particular exacerbates the problem to the planet.

With regards to recommendations to the orgainization, it is best if there was an established governemntal oversight keeping track of green commitments made by different companies—Inclusive of Banana Republic. If a company were to commit to something, they must do it, otherwise don’t commit anything and make your public image worst. This however does not apply to labor practices because it has been always known that the supply chain of made cloths is not labor-friendly. Hence, a suggestion would be if consumers monitor more labor-friendly clothing companies wherein child labor and an intensive work environment does not exist.

Cheers,

Saleh

Cited work

https://bananarepublic.gap.com/customerService/info.do?cid=16552#packaging

Saleh Sharhan

Hello, this is Saleh Sharhan and my current major is History. I am planning to transfer to a 4-year college with an economics major.
My hobbies are cycling and jogging, however, due to a recent injury, I could not do as much cycling this summer as in the past 3 summers. Cheers, Saleh
My BMCC email is: Saleh.Sharhan@stu.bmcc.cuny.edu