Author Archives: Tamala Jones

Retention

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

The most demotivating part of Harper’s job is that now she is having a harder time knowing what is going on because she has more of a workload since her old boss left but less time to receive help from her new boss if she needs any advice for her work. Also because of the new heavy workload Harper is now struggling to maintain a work/life balance.

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

I would tell David to create a schedule for weekly meetings with the whole team so he can receive questions and feedback from all employees so each employee can receive the help needed and feel more valued. I would also ask David if it’s possible if he could give her longer extensions when he gives her an excessive amount of work as well as for the other employees. Also since Harper has been a great long-time employee I would make sure she is getting the raises/bonuses and benefits she deserves.

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

 Some downsides of losing Harper would be a drain on the company’s staff and financial resources. Losing Harper will limit productivity and create a larger workload for other employees which can lead to other employees eventually quitting. It would also cost the company the same amount or more money to find a replacement to train to be just as good as Harper or better. 

The Founder

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

Ray Kroc was simply a salesman and his goal was always to have people buy his products. He would never give up on that goal no matter what he was selling because he always wanted to win. So when Ray saw how much potential McDonald’s had to be great, successful, and become a global franchise, his goal was always to become part of the business and take it because his goal was to always win. The McDonald brothers are different from Ray because even though they always had a new idea for a way to sell their products they gave up easily and got tired of trying. The McDonald brothers tried making McDonald’s a franchise but because they failed they stopped trying until Ray came along and when he came along they still weren’t 100% fully committed to how fast they were growing. Ray had more of a business mindset while the McDonald brothers had more of only business ideas.

  1. 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 McDonald brothers did the right thing selling out to Ray but I feel like they didn’t have a choice to sell because they couldn’t afford to take it to court I believe a way better deal should have been negotiated because they’ve seen how fast McDonald’s was growing and they could have gotten way more. Also, I believe that they should have never even done that handshake deal instead they should have put it on paper so it could have been official and they should have kept their name and so much more could have been done. Ray did not give the brothers a good deal and he knows that they deserved so much better since it is their name and they started the family company. 

  1. How did the local store franchisees make money?

Local store franchisees make money by getting a profit from the sales made. 

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

Ray Kroc made money from the land of McDonald’s since he started a real estate company to buy their land then he will sell to the franchisees of McDonald’s so they could get started building. He also will make a percentage of the McDonald’s sales.

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

This film does not change my view of McDonald’s, but it helps explain why things are the way they are in the company. One thing it explains clearly to me is the idea of time. A lot of people may not know that time is very important at McDonald’s if they never watched this film, and many may not know that time is still a very important factor to this company today. Not to say that it is always as fast as it used to be, especially since more items are on the menu now unlike then but the company still takes time (the quickness of how fast food could be out) very seriously!

McDonald’s

Mcdonald’s corporate social policy allows McDonald’s to look for more ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle in their restaurants. Just like many other fast food restaurants McDonald’s now only serves paper straws. Another way McDonald’s tries to reduce, reuse, and recycle is by using low-energy LED light bulbs, energy-saving equipment, and waterless urinals, and they also recycle cooking oil into biodiesel to fuel most of their delivery trucks. 85% of McDonald’s packaging is made from renewable resources and they also recycle their cardboard boxes. Due to the New York City “Skip the Stuff,” Bill McDonald’s has been able to reduce their plastic use tremendously by only providing ketchup, cutlery, and other plastic condiments upon request. 

McDonald’s sustainability goal is to ensure that its ingredients are always at their best quality. This is not only stated by McDonald’s on their website but I see it daily when working there. Food safety has to always be done making sure everything is at the right temperatures. Also, new timestamps are always placed to make sure that by the time you serve something, it’s still fresh.

I believe that for McDonald’s to create a more ethical and sustainable business, something they need to work on is how they care for and treat their employees. Working at McDonald’s isn’t like any other job where you have one position. Employees’ titles are called crew member or crew trainer and with either one of these titles, you learn/ need to know how to do almost everything because your role can switch from one day (or even at any given hour) being in the kitchen to one day being in the front or even on drive-thru. Working at McDonald’s isn’t as easy as many may assume. It is a highly stressful job to have with very minimal pay and workers are always doing multiple tasks at once while still trying to meet timed requirements. I think that for McDonald’s to improve their business they must acknowledge what they already know about the stresses of this job and first increase their staff’s wages and start giving bonuses to their crew members.

Links:

https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/help/faq/what-is-mcdonald-s-corporate-social-responsibility–csr–policy.html

https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/about-our-food/our-food-philosophy/commitment-to-quality.html

Tamala Jones

Hello Everyone,
My name is Tamala Jones and this is my third semester here at BMCC with my major being in Small Business/Entrepreneurship. I am excited to take this class and get to know all of you! Some of my goals and dreams are to own multiple successful businesses and focus more on acting. Some things that I enjoy doing for fun when I am not working or at school is going to the movies or hanging out with friends/family doing really fun and engaging activities.

My BMCC email is: Tamala.jones001@stu.bmcc.cuny.edu