McDonald’s as a Mechanistic Organization
McDonald’s has emerged victorious in the food industry. The presence of McDonald’s restaurants in over a hundred countries is a story of success. Moreover, McDonald’s operates as a machine whereby the employees are the components contributing to the success of McDonald’s. The combination of Taylor, Weber, and Fayol’s theories of management has been crucial in the success of McDonald’s. Generally, McDonald’s has grown to become a mechanistic organization with a predictable environment. The management structures and procedures for McDonald’s have been uniquely set to overcome the challenges that may come up from management issues. The success of McDonald’s is attributed to the mechanization of the management procedures hence a smooth flow of activities within the organization.
The operation of McDonald’s management systems is mechanistic. McDonald’s enjoys one of the most successful methods with the challenges faced getting the most efficient solutions. The employees in McDonald’s operate as components of a large machine that has a well-defined goal. McDonald’s is the larger machine that relies on the services of the employees to maintain success across all the branches. The fact that McDonald’s has chosen to become a mechanical organization has made its environment predictable. Therefore, customers have been prioritizing the McDonald’s due to the predictable environment. Like a machine system, McDonald’s has in place, management procedures and structures that run through all the branches in a different country. Therefore, the organization does not suffer from the challenges of developing new management structures for every branch opened. Additionally, the combination of various management theories has been crucial in the success enjoyed by McDonald’s.
McDonald’s combines the theories of Taylor, Weber, and Fayol to come up with a strong management structure. Although not all details of the approaches have been borrowed in the case of McDonald’s, the components that best fit the structure of McDonald’s have not been left out. Taylor’s principles of supervision, employee placement, and emphasis on specific tasks have been borrowed. McDonald’s has employed the mechanistic organization theory, according to Winslow Taylor. Moreover, Weber’s theory of hierarchical authority and merit-based promotion has been considered. Also, impersonal management practices have been borrowed from Weber’s theory.
Additionally, McDonald’s has employed an extensive consideration of Fayol’s theories of labor. The bureaucratic approach of management borrowed from Fayol’s theory includes planning, coordination, and organization. Generally, Fayol believes in the division of labor and authority. Therefore, McDonald’s has been succeeding due to the keen consideration of management theories.
The combination of Weber, Taylor, and Fayol’s theories brings McDonald’s to enjoy the benefits of classical management. First, the idea of division of labor borrowed from Fayol’s theory saves the company from under-exploitation of work (Khorasani & Almasifard, 2017). Every employee in McDonald’s has a specific duty to play. Therefore, accountability and responsibility are the norms for McDonald’s. Cases of negligence or underperformance are minimized since employees are responsible for particular tasks. Also, the hierarchical deployment of authority from Weber’s theory is crucial in the decision-making sector. Specified individuals only make decisions, and the choices are aimed at achieving the goals of McDonald’s. Therefore, cases of conflicting decisions are significantly reduced. Moreover, attention is paid to the success of management so that the employees at the ground can perform following the standards set by the managers.
The general structure of Franchises is impacted by classical management. Primarily, the classical management theory is based on the assumption that employees only have physical and economic needs. The social aspect of employees’ lives is assumed in the case of classical management (Nicotera, 2019). Generally, organizations that use the classical management approach are interested in the division of labor, decentralization of decision-making, and the maximization of profits. Besides, a classical management system is built on an autocratic form of leadership, and decision-making does not take consideration of the opinions of a majority. The benefit of the classical management approach is that decisions are made quickly, and employees compelled to adhere to the decisions as per the contracts. McDonald’s has relied on innovation and mechanization to sail through the depths of success.
One of the strengths of McDonald’s pride is the use of innovation and mechanization. The innovation strategies have been efficient in bringing solutions to the needs of the customers (Andreasson & Johansson, 2016). For example, the innovation of the kids’ gadgets and setting of food safety and quality standards have played a crucial role in holding the trust of customers. On the other hand, the use of technology has been fruitful in the mechanization of McDonald’s. Generally, McDonald’s prioritizes innovation and use of technology in addressing the changing needs of customers across the world.
In sum, the success of McDonald’s is attributed to the mechanization of management procedures hence a smooth flow of activities within the organization. The operation of McDonald’s management systems is mechanistic, with the environment being predictable. Also, the combination of various management theories has been crucial in the success enjoyed by McDonald’s. Generally, McDonald’s prioritizes innovation and use of technology in addressing the changing needs of customers across the world.
References
Andreasson, J., & Johansson, T. (2016). ‘Doing for group exercise what McDonald’s did for hamburgers’: Les Mills, and the fitness professional as global traveller. Sport, Education and society, 21(2), 148-165.
Khorasani, S. T., & Almasifard, M. (2017). Evolution of management theory within 20 century: A systemic overview of paradigm shifts in management. International Review of Management and Marketing, 7(3), 134-137.
Nicotera, A. M. (2019). 5 Classical Management Theory. Origins and Traditions of Organizational Communication: A Comprehensive Introduction to the Field.