Author Archives: Emmalyn

Retention

1. What do you think is the most demotivating part of Harper’s job?
I believe the most demotivating part of Harper’s job is that she is not being properly recognized for the work she has picked up in the absence of her previous boss, Jose, leaving. She has minimal support from her team as well since her new boss, David, is being overloaded with new work as the company has failed to quickly fill the roll of Jose since his departure.

2. If you were an HR manager meeting with Harper’s supervisor, David, what advice would you give to help them re-engage Harper?
As an HR manager the advice that I would give them to help re-engage Harper would be to acknowledge her contributions, promote her, and allow her to have a greater work-life balance. It’s important that the company recognizes that she has been doing so much while Jose’s role has been empty, and it’s also important to let Harper and the remainder of the team know that the company is searching for a replacement in order to relieve the team members of the extra work they have been taking on. It’s also important to have a separate conversation with David concerning the work he has had to take on that has been interfering with the communications of the team overall and be able to find ways to offset that load so that clarity can be more consistently had.

There is a possibility to better distribute the load amongst the marketing team with also a slight increased compensation for everyone while someone is found to fill Jose’s role. The recognition for the team’s work could be given in the form of a holiday bonus as well when that time of the year rolls around. Where it’s possible, there should also bee space to adjust timelines for projects so that the team can have a healthier work-life balance.

It’s even possible that Harper could be offered David’s position, with Harper taking over David’s position since promoting within helps with gives advancement opportunities for workers and also has a greater likelihood of a smooth work-flow. There is a greater familiarity with the working dynamics and intricacies of the company, and this deeper knowing had by Harper can allow her to help the company continue to prosper if she is given the chance to do so.

3. What would be the downside of losing Harper as an employee?
Losing Harper as an employee could potentially shift the culture of the work environment negatively and also cause financial losses as a result. It costs the company time and money to find and train a new employee, and Harper has been apart of the company for four years. A new hire has the potential to not gel well with the team and may be unpredictable, whereas with Harper it’s known that she wants to be apart of the team and do good work as she has picked up for the lack since Jose left the company. Having employees who stay with the company for a long time helps aid in customer satisfaction as well since there is typically a greater knowing of how to handle any customer issues with employees who have been around longer.

The Founder

1. What makes Ray Kroc and the brothers different from each other?

Ray Kroc is the kind of business man whose focus is more honed in monetary gain, and while both Kroc and the brothers value efficiency in the workplace, the way they view efficiency is severely different. The brothers are more concerned with their product being as they originally intend it to be made even if it means their profit margins are not as large as it could be, whereas Kroc replaces their milkshakes with vanilla and chocolate powder packets to cut down on electricity costs. If the food is “good enough,” then it’s more than workable for Ray Kroc, whereas the brothers do not think that something being workable means it’s good enough to sell to customers.

They will not compromise the quality of their food or their integrity in order to cut costs and create more revenue for themselves. It’s not within their character to do so, and their good natured-ness aids in their downfall as Kroc is like a shark who smells the blood in the water, and the McDonald brothers are very much wounded. Within an exchange between Ray Kroc and Dick McDonald, their contrasting characters can be best shown; 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?” Dick McDonald replies, “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 believe that the brothers did the right thing by selling out to Ray Kroc, but I also believe that they ended up feeling cornered because of the predatory nature of Ray Kroc and were left with little to no other options. Much of the deal made was not written down and was done on a “handshake basis,” which is what made most of the deal sour as Kroc did not honor the handshake or live up to his promise of giving the brothers 1% propriety, which would have given them the most financial gain of anything with the deal made in that handshake moment. They were able to keep their location in San Bernadino as a non-negotiable as a show of goodwill to their employees for their loyalty, however as a result of their good nature and naivety they did not benefit from the deal in the long run whereas Kroc did.

3. How did the local store franchisees make money?

After overhead costs (utilities, supplies, etc.) are subtracted from the actual services and sales, the franchisees are able to take home their total earnings/revenues. Franchisees being responsible for the overhead costs was a part of the reason why Rollie Smith shared his concerns with Ray Kroc since the cost of their electricity bill was much higher than they were anticipating. This also then led to the later issue of product integrity that Kroc and the brothers butted heads on, as Kroc changed the way the company approached the creation of milkshakes in order to cut back on those electricity costs.

4. How did Kroc make money? How was that different than the franchisees, running the local stores?

Kroc entered the real estate business with the assistance of Harry Sonneborn. He leased the land/building to the franchisee’s and would make money because of the monthly rental fee, and would earn 4% of the franchisee’s monthly sales. It created a hierarchy and gave franchisees an incentive for quality control, especially since their money is solely earned from sales of their food/product in customer-facing transactions, whereas Kroc does not have to deal with the day-to-day hassle and stresses of operating the restaurant.

5. Does this film change your view of McDonald’s?

In some ways it does, and in other ways it doesn’t. For larger companies to make such exorbitant amounts of revenue every year, somewhere down the chain of employment there has to be people who are not being compensated adequately for how much profit their work really produces. It’s unsurprising that a billion-dollar company has dodgy beginnings, but I did not anticipate that it would have begun from two good-natured brothers being scammed and conned. The brothers have still not been compensated for their contributions to this day, and I understand the legality would be difficult to prove, but it is morally repugnant that the companies will turn blind eyes to these kinds of issues unless someone legally rules that they have to address it and appropriately compensate whoever is ruled to be compensated. It is especially egregious since the company is named after the brother’s.

Ethics – Wendy’s PR, Dynamic Pricing, and Farmworkers

Wendy’s has always been known for its iconic logo—a smiling, freckled girl with two bright red braids and blue ribbons. This American fast-food staple has been around since its first store opened in Columbus, Ohio in 1969 and has since expanded to become a billion dollar global-franchise. With expansion comes responsibility, and a need to adapt to the ever-changing social atmosphere; consumers have higher expectations for the companies they purchase from, and expect to return to familiarity and quality.

Most recently at the end of February, customers were troubled to hear that Wendy’s would be testing out a “dynamic pricing menu” in 2025 (Carpenter). News outlets reported that during busier business hours, customers might find themselves paying more than usual for their favorite Wendy’s food items—a practice begrudgingly known by consumers as surge-pricing. Backlash from fast-food goers resulted in a swift public response from Wendy’s to clarify the misinterpreted words of CEO Kirk Tanner. “We have no plans to…raise prices when our customers are visiting us most. Any features we may test in the future would be designed to benefit our customers and restaurant crew members,” shared a Wendy’s spokesperson (Hernandez). The company further explained that digital menuboards would allow for customers to be given menu suggestions and options based on factors such as weather and time of day, and even make discounts more easily accessible during slower times.

Familiarity and quality is important for customers even in the realm of price reliability; trust is built and maintained, otherwise, “it can erode the trust customers have with a company and drive them to competitors” (Hernandez). Outside of misinterpreted earnings calls, Wendy’s has received public criticism for several years concerning the exploitation and rights of farmworkers as they are one of the only major fast food chains who have not joined the Fair Food Program. The Fair Food Program (FFP) was founded in 2011 by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida in order to protect the rights of farmworkers and ensure a safe workplace (Sainato). The Fair Food Program guarantees a safe working standard for farmworkers and has a code of conduct that was created for and by farmworkers; it is independently monitored by the Fair Food Standards Council, and seeks to ensure that workers are protected against wage theft, sexual harassment, assault, and inhumane working conditions (Immokalee Workers), and has even received a Presidential Medal for its efforts.

For years, workers have marched to the home of Wendy’s Board of Directors’ chairman, Nelson Peltz, to protest Wendy’s ongoing refusal of joining the FFP. In 2022, workers marched 5 miles, and in 2023 and 2024, workers marched 45 miles from Pahokee to the billionaire’s home in Palm Beach, Florida (Hussey, Nespral, Sainato) in protest. Workers shared with local news station WPTV that their working conditions were abusive and pay was remarkably low. “There’s still endemic sexual harassment and wage theft that affects workers all over the industry…there are new creative ways the bosses use to keep people in forced slavery,” shared Coalition member Lupe Gonzalez (Hussey).

Wendy’s spokesperson dismissed the Coalition’s criticisms in 2023, saying, “Wendy’s does not participate in the Fair Food Program because there is no nexus between the program and our supply chain. Since 2019, Wendy’s has sourced our North American tomato supply exclusively from indoor, hydroponic greenhouse farms…[we have] established Supplier Code of Conduct that applies to significant suppliers of The Wendy’s Company…we also require third-party reviews related to the human rights and labor practices for suppliers of certain hand-harvested…produce” (Sainato). Members of the Coalition remain critical of Wendy’s despite their statement.

In November 2023, Grist, a self-described “nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future,” published an article about AppHarvest—a hydroponic greenhouse farm whose partnership Wendy highlighted for their “spring-mix salad greens” in an infographic on page 18 of their 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report under “Responsible Sourcing.” AppHarvest farmworkers—who were primarily harvesting tomatoes—began filing complaints with Kentucky’s Occupational Safety and Health Committee as early as August 2020, with “one complaint [saying] workers were laboring in a heat index ranging from 115 to 136 degrees Fahrenheit” without immediate access to safe drinking water, which resulted in many workers drinking unsafe water due to dehydration, and others passing out from heat exhaustion, with some having to be taken away by ambulance (Gaffney). Workers would have bathroom breaks monitored, mandatory overtime, were poorly trained in the care of the plants resulting in loss of product and injury to themselves, and would also risk injury from wires that could not hold the weight of the tomatoes; this could cause over 500 tomatoes to fall on workers working in the tomato rows.

While it is possible that Wendy’s has other hydroponic greenhouse farms they were and are utilizing, it is not promising that they have not taken responsibility for having sourced from AppHarvest, a farm whose working conditions were not in line with current social responsibility claims on their website promising that their, “greenhouses they grow [tomatoes] in also provide an indoor, temperature-controlled working environment” (Wendy’s). If Wendy’s desires to be apart of genuine, social responsibility and change rather than being a company of hollow statements on colorful infographics, they would heed the advice of one of their other critics—the New York City Council who passed Resolution 131 in April 2023 in order to place greater pressure on the major fast-food chain to join the Fair Food Program. The Civil Service and Labor Chair, Council Member Carmen De La Rosa stated, “If large corporations are going to operate in our city, they must do so sustainably…the workers who care for us on a daily basis deserve sustainable wages and humane working conditions” (Immokalee Workers).

    Bibliography

1. Carpenter, Susan. “Wendy’s Will Start Testing Dynamic Pricing on Its Menu in 2025.” Wendy’s Will Start Testing Dynamic Pricing on Menu in 2025, 28 Feb. 2024, spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/food-and-dining/2024/02/27/wendy-s-will-start-testing-surge-pricing-on-its-menu-in-2025.

2. Coalition of Immokalee Workers. “Breaking: New York City Council Officially – and Resoundingly – Calls on Wendy’s ‘to Join the Fair Food Program and Support Farmworkers’ Human Rights’!” Coalition of Immokalee Workers, 12 Apr. 2023, ciw-online.org/blog/2023/04/breaking-new-york-city-council-officially-and-resoundingly-calls-on-wendys-to-join-the-fair-food-program-and-support-farmworkers-human-rights/?emci=2871ee56-3fd9-ed11-8e8b-00224832eb73&emdi=fa3140cd-40d9-ed11-8e8b-00224832eb73&ceid=13757640&link_id=12&can_id=1b7947c6f82701013810b3be4fbc082b&source=email-union-matters-april-7-2023&email_referrer=email_1879133&email_subject=union-matters-april-14-2023.

3. Gaffney, Austyn. “A Celebrated Startup Promised Kentuckians Green Jobs. It Gave Them a ‘Grueling Hell on Earth.’” Grist, 21 Nov. 2023, grist.org/agriculture/appharvest-indoor-farming-morehead-kentucky/.

4. Hernandez, Joe. “No, Wendy’s Says It Isn’t Planning to Introduce Surge Pricing.” NPR, NPR, 28 Feb. 2024, www.npr.org/2024/02/28/1234412431/wendys-dynamic-surge-pricing.

5. Hussey, Kate. “Farmworkers, Advocates Call for More Worker Protections Outside Wendy’s Exec’s Mansion.” WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm, WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm, 10 Mar. 2024, www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/palm-beach/farmworkers-advocates-call-for-more-worker-protections-outside-wendys-execs-mansion.

6. Nespral, Briana. “Farmworkers Walk through Palm Beach County to Seek Better Working Conditions, Pay.” WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm, WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm, 18 Mar. 2023, www.wptv.com/news/palm-beach-county/farmworkers-walk-through-palm-beach-county-to-seek-better-working-conditions-pay.

7. Sainato, Michael. “Why Wendy’s Is the Source of Unrest among Us Farm Workers.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 28 Apr. 2022, www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/apr/28/us-farm-wendys-fair-food-program.

8. Wendy’s. “2022 Corporate Responsibility Report.” Wendy’s, 2022, prod.wendys.com/sites/default/files/2023-05/Wendys-2022-Corporate-Responsibility-Report.pdf.

9. Wendy’s. “2022 Corporate Responsibility Report.” Wendy’s, 2022, prod.wendys.com/sites/default/files/2023-05/Wendys-2022-Corporate-Responsibility-Report.pdf.

10. Wendy’s. “Greenhouse Farming Initiative: Wendy’s® CSR.” Greenhouse Farming Initiative | Wendy’s® CSR, 2024, www.wendys.com/csr-what-we-value/food/responsible-sourcing/fresh-produce/hydroponic-farming.