Overview
- 1,000–1,300 words
- Minimum of three credible references (including course materials)
- APA formatting
CASE STUDY
Chapter 2 Business and Staffing Strategies
Integrating McDonald's Business, Human Resource, and Staffing Strategies
People are McDonald's most important asset. The company's success depends on the satisfaction of its customers, which begins with
workers who have the attitudes and abilities required to work efficiently and provide good customer service. To execute its growth strategy,
McDonald's has identified people as one of its three global corporate strategies. McDonald's claims that as an employer, it wants "to be
the best employer in each community around the world."109 It also makes a "people promise" to its employees that "we value you, your
growth, and your contributions."110 Its five "people principles" reflected by its human resource strategy are respect and recognition; values
and leadership behaviors; competitive pay and benefits; learning, development, and personal growth; and ensuring that employees have
the resources needed to get the job done. 111
McDonald's has executed its operational excellence strategy well by tracking key indicators of product and service quality, speed, and
accuracy. The company has also identified its people practices and approaches that substantially impact the firm's tumover, productivity,
customer satisfaction, sales, and profitability. This has allowed it to develop a business model that emphasizes not only financial and
operational factors but also people factors that improve the company's results by improving employee commitment, retention, productivity,
and customer loyalty.112
Because its business strategy relies on providing customers quality, cleanliness, quick service, and value, McDonald's works hard at hiring
people who want to excel in delivering outstanding service. Many of its restaurant employees are teenagers, and McDonald's is their first
employer. The company tries to recruit and hire the best people, retain them by offering them ongoing training, and then promote from
within to fill its managerial positions. To ensure that it is recruiting the right people, the company has identified important skills and
behaviors that it looks for in applicants.
McDonald's has found that the best way of hiring quality crew members is to advertise inside the restaurant and attract local people and/or
friends of existing employees. McDonald's also recruits at local job centers and career fairs, using hiring material with a clear message
targeted at its intended audience. As McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook says, "If you get the people part right, the rest will follow."113
Questions
1. How would you describe McDonald's business strategy? What are the foundations of its competitive advantage (what are the
sources of its success)?
2. How has McDonald's aligned its business, human resource, and staffing strategies?
3. What are some possible talent-related threats that could eat away at McDonald's competitive advantage? Would higher turnover or
a tight labor market in which it is difficult to find talented people be a problem? What would you recommend the company do to
maintain its competitive advantage over the next five years?