Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Essentials of Management
Essentials of Management
Q1.A
Ans: There were three factors that were chosen to outline the success of
McDonalds corporation. The first factor is globalization, which is define as
closer contact between different parts of the world, with increasing
possibilities of personal exchange, mutual understanding and friendship
between "world citizens". Diversity, the difference among people and
cultures, is the second factor discussed in the paper. The final factor is
ethics, which can be defined as a set of principles of right conduct. This
paper explains how the McDonald Corporations uses the factors to
conduct business around the world.
In todays society, corporations and enterprises are expanding
their businesses in the global markets. Globalization is necessary for success
and survival in the worldwide market; however, global competition is not
easy (Bateman & Scott, 2004). By the end of the twentieth century, the list
of Fortune 500 companies was no longer only United States corporations due
to an increase in international companies joining the list (Global Capitalism,
2005). As a leading food service retailer, McDonalds joins those corporations
with restaurants in 119 countries (McDonalds, 2004). Important strategic
decisions are a key factor to their success with consideration for both
internal and external factors. When considering the foreign market,
companies need to consider there are risks. There must be local marketing to
appeal to the local consumers and also to build relationships and trust
(Bateman & Scott, 2004). Therefore, the strategic planning for marketing has
to be effective. McDonalds caters its menu in other countries to the cultures
of the regions. For example, in India, the non-vegetarian menu includes
chicken and fish items only (Welcome, n.d.). Beef is not on the menu in India
because are considered sacred. Global marketing decisions are no different
than those made domestically but the decisions are unique to each country
(Sister & Sister, 2005). Furthermore, operating on a global scale allows a
companys employees to experience working in different cultural
environments. This is a good marketing strategy for recruiting employees.
McDonalds has a global core curriculum for its restaurant management
(McDonalds, 2004). Paula Doherty, a general manager states, Ive had
incredible experience in different countries andculturesas a trainee
manager from Poland to Israel to the Philippines and more. Doing the job
successfully has given me a real sense of achievement
Q1.B
Ans: Opportunities
1) "Going green" - energy management, improving packaging efficiency,
environmentally friendly refrigerants, and partnering with Greenpeace for
rainforest protection
Charity - The Ronald McDonald House provides a cheap or free place to stay
for parents of sick children. Over 250 worldwide in 48 countries. 2) New
store looks/styles - McCafe coffee shop, and "forever young" redesign
3) McDonald's has f maintained an extensive advertising campaign for
decades. For popularity they use media (television, radio, and newspaper),
the company makes significant use of billboards and signage, sponsors
sporting events from ranging from Little League to the Olympic Games, and
makes coolers of orange drink with their logo available for local events of all
kinds. Television has always played a central role in the company's
advertising strategy. They always advertise McDonalds much different way to
their customers. Until now, McDonald's has used 23 different slogans in
United States for advertising, and few others slogans for select countries and
regions.
4) Recently McDonald's is actively trying to reduce their negative impact on
the environment by altering their company policies. Their policy now an
outline is not only the individual restaurants' behaviors, but also the ways in
which they go about using their resources and acquiring them-. Since the
1990's, McDonald's restaurants have been encouraged to participate in the
environmentally friendly movement by getting involved in community clean
up days to cut down on the amount of litter around their stores. They have
made an effort, assisted by Environmental Defense, to utilize recycling both
in packaging their products and in what they use day to day which has
allowed them to cut down on their waste significantly. McDonald's continues
to be environmentally conscious in their business and they are currently
testing a restaurant that will potentially give off less harmful pollutants by
using alternatives to harmful refrigerants
Criticism - contribute to obesity, and other health problems Many
competitors for same costumer - Subway - Burger King - KFC - Taco Bell 5)
They have the ability to add healthier lines of food. They have already gotten
rid of super sizing and I think they have made their fries healthier currently.
There is another personify is The Golden Arches are now more widely
recognized than the Christian cross. McDonald's operates more playgrounds designed to attract children (and their parents) to its restaurants - than any
other private entity in the US. Threats
McDonald's faces up to European fears over food and job quality LONDON McDonald's is set to admit that it has not done enough to reassure the
European market on issues about the nutritional value of its food and the
quality of jobs it provides, in a corporate responsibility report to be published
next week. According to a report in the Financial Times, the report will admit
that McDonald's has learned that "we could do better in our understanding of
wider social trends and expectations". It says that the report will quote
negative and positive comments given to it in a year of interviews, including
accusations that McDonald's "does not value its employees" and that
"working at McDonald's doesn't look like much fun". It rejects the claims, and
has been working to dispel the McJob tag with which it is saddled. Burger
giant faces court threat over bad language idea Fast-food giant McDonald's
could be in trouble with race watchdogs for asking its staff to speak
English.An outlet in Manchester put up a sign ordering employees to use
English at all times in the store - including in the staffroom. But experts now
believe the burger giant could have infringed workers' human rights and
European employment law.
HOW DID McDonalds HANDLE THEM? Mcdonalds handle these threats by
these possible steps.
By decreasing health problem. By delivering superior value to customers
then competitors.
For better performance in Europe McDonalds has to do a lot of work by
providing the taste and dishes which have high demand in europen
market.
McDonalds should increase advertisement in Europe.
McDonalds should distribute free sample in different offices and colleges.
McDonalds have to provide the job that person which can attract more
customers through his strategies.
McDonalds should make planning to avoid from bird flu and other diseases
in future.
McDonalds can do better performance than his competitors by providing
dishes which are a part of that culture.
McDonalds should launch some new dishes according to condition.
McDonalds should provide traditional dishes.
WHAT ALTERNATIVE COULD IT HAVE CHOSEN? McDonalds can use following
alternative to increase his value:
McDonalds should stop his product where it's not doing well and take
corrective action and check his quality.
McDonalds should open new restaurant in that area where fast food has
important part in the culture of that area.
McDonalds has to choose that management which can easily understand
the demand of all customers.
McDonalds should decrease its prices in that country where per capita is
very low.
Mcdonalds should make his manuals which include traditional dishes of
that area.
McDonalds should it think at the level of middle customer rather than the
high level customer.
McDonalds should provide bonus to his employees for better performance.
Q2.A
Ans: We know we are living in a global age. Technology has brought the
world much closer together. This means that people of different cultures find
themselves working together and communicating more and more.
This is exciting and interesting, but it can also be frustrating and fraught with
uncertainty. How do you relate to someone of another culture? What do you
say, or not say, to start a conversation off right? Are there cultural taboos
you need to be aware of?
Building connections with people from around the world is just one
dimension of cultural diversity. You also have issues like motivating people,
structuring projects, and developing strategy.
The Five Dimensions of Culture
Armed with a large database of cultural statistics, Hofstede analyzed the
results and found clear patterns of similarity and difference amid the
responses along these five dimensions. Interestingly, his research was done
on employees of IBM only, which allowed him to attribute the patterns to
national differences in culture, largely eliminating the problem of differences
in company culture.
The five dimensions are:
1. Power/Distance (PD) This refers to the degree of inequality that exists
and is accepted among people with and without power. A high PD score
indicates that society accepts an unequal distribution of power and people
understand "their place" in the system. Low PD means that power is shared
and well dispersed. It also means that society members view themselves as
equals.
Application: According to Hofstede's model, in a high PD country like
Malaysia (104), you would probably send reports only to top management
and have closed door meetings where only a select few, powerful leaders
were in attendance.
2. Individualism (IDV) This refers to the strength of the ties people have
to others within the community. A high IDV score indicates a loose
connection with people. In countries with a high IDV score there is a lack of
interpersonal connection and little sharing of responsibility, beyond family
and perhaps a few close friends. A society with a low IDV score would have
strong group cohesion, and there would be a large amount of loyalty and
respect for members of the group. The group itself is also larger and people
take more responsibility for each other's well being.
Application: Hofstede's analysis suggests that in the Central American
countries of Panama and Guatemala where the IDV scores are very low (11
and 6, respectively), a marketing campaign that emphasized benefits to the
community or that tied into a popular political movement would likely be
understood and well-received.
3. Masculinity (MAS) This refers to how much a society sticks with, and
values, traditional male and female roles. High MAS scores are found in
countries where men are expected to be tough, to be the provider, to be
assertive and to be strong. If women work outside the home, they have
separate professions from men. Low MAS scores do not reverse the gender
roles. In a low MAS society, the roles are simply blurred. You see women and
men working together equally across many professions. Men are allowed to
be sensitive and women can work hard for professional success.
Application: Japan is highly masculine with a score of 95 whereas Sweden
has the lowest measured value (5). According to Hofstede's analysis, if you
were to open an office in Japan, you might have greater success if you
appointed a male employee to lead the team and had a strong male
contingent on the team. In Sweden, on the other hand, you would aim for a
team that was balanced in terms of skill rather than gender.
4. Uncertainty/Avoidance Index (UAI) This relates to the degree of
anxiety society members feel when in uncertain or unknown situations. High
UAI-scoring nations try to avoid ambiguous situations whenever possible.
They are governed by rules and order and they seek a collective "truth". Low
UAI scores indicate the society enjoys novel events and values differences.
There are very few rules and people are encouraged to discover their own
truth.
Application: Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions imply that when discussing a
project with people in Belgium, whose country scored a 94 on the UAI scale,
you should investigate the various options and then present a limited
number of choices, but have very detailed information available on your
contingency and risk plans.
5. Long Term Orientation (LTO) This refers to how much society values
long-standing as opposed to short term traditions and values. This is the
fifth dimension that Hofstede added in the 1990s after finding that Asian
countries with a strong link to Confucian philosophy acted differently from
western cultures. In countries with a high LTO score, delivering on social
obligations and avoiding "loss of face" are considered very important.
Application: According to Hofstede's analysis, people in the United States and
United Kingdom have low LTO scores. This suggests that you can pretty
groups, and one of the French negotiators touched his partner on the arm
during the simulation.
These differences across the cultures are quite complex, and this material by
itself should not be used to predict the behaviors of foreign counterparts.
Instead, great care should be taken with respect to the aforementioned
dangers of stereotypes. The key here is to be aware of these kinds of
differences so that the Japanese silence or the French threats are not
misinterpreted.
Q3.A
Ans: Decision making is defined as the selection of a course of action from
among alternatives; it is at the core of planning. A plan cannot be said to
exist unless a decision -a commitment of resources, direction or reputation has been made. Managers see decision making as their central job because
they must constantly choose what is to be done, who is to do it, and when,
where, and occasionally even how it will be done.
The decision process is actually the core of planning. The process is as
follows:
Premising
Identifying alternatives
evaluating alternatives in terms of the goal sought
choosing an alternative which is making a decision
Managers acting or deciding rationally are attempting to reach some goal
that cannot be attained without action. They must have a clear
understanding of alternative courses by which a goal can be reached under
existing circumstances and limitations. They also must have the information
and the ability to analyze and evaluate alternatives with regard to the goal
sought.
A manager must settle for limited rationality or "bounded" rationality. In
other words, limitations of information, time and certainly rationality even
though a manager try earnestly to be completely rational. Since managers
cannot be completely rational in practice, they sometimes allow their dislike
of rise of risk - their desire to "play it safe" -to interfere with the desire to
reach the best solution under the circumstances. This is also known as
"satisfying" which means picking a course of action that is satisfactory or
good enough under the circumstances.
Because there are almost always alternatives - usually many - to a course of
action, managers need to narrow them down to those few that deal with the
limiting factors. These are the factors that stand in the way of achieving a
The span of control of top managers is relatively broad, and there are
relatively many tiers in the organization. Compare: Fayol.
Decentralization:
Definition: The process of transferring and assigning decision-making
authority to lower levels of an organizational hierarchy.
In a decentralized organization, the decision-making has been moved
to lower levels or tiers of the organization, such as divisions, branches,
departments or subsidiaries.
Knowledge, information and ideas are flowing from the bottom to the
top of the organization.
The span of control of top managers is relatively small, and there are
relatively few tiers in the organization, because there is more autonomy in
the lower ranks.
Q4.B
Ans: Delegation is the process of giving decision-making authority to lowerlevel employees. For the process to be successful, a worker must be able to
obtain the resources and cooperation needed for successful completion of
the delegated task. Empowerment of the workforce and task delegation is
closely intertwined. Empowerment occurs when upper-level employees share
power with lower-level employees. This involves providing the training, tools
and management support that employees need to accomplish a task. Thus,
an enabled worker has both the authority and the capability to accomplish
the work. Although authority can be delegated, responsibility cannot-the
person who delegates a task is ultimately responsible for its success. The
assigned worker is therefore accountable for meeting the goals and
objectives of the task. Although delegation can provide benefits to the
organization, many managers lack the motivation or knowledge to delegate
effectively and thus delegation (or lack of delegation) may be detrimental to
the company. Managers' lack of motivation to delegate may be associated
with a number of fallacies associated with delegations. Many managers
believe that "if you want it done right, you have to do it yourself." While this
is at times untrue, because the ultimate responsibility for a task lies with the
manager, this attitude often prevents delegation. Other reasons for a lack of
Q5.B
Ans: Chances are pretty good that once Intel Chairman Craig Barrett formally
retires in May, he'll head straight for Montana just as the snows are melting
and the rivers are high.
The avid fisherman, who served as Intel's fourth chief executive officer until
three years ago, seems equally at ease discussing how to create some of the
most complex structures known to man and the best way to tie a fly. The
company announced Friday that Barrett will step down as chairman of the
board of the world's largest chipmaker, three years after turning over the
CEO post to current Intel head Paul Otellini.
He leaves a mixed legacy behind: under his watch, Intel cemented its
reputation as the world's leading chip-manufacturing organization. It
operates a network of sophisticated "fabs" around the world that are the
envy of the industry and of which Barrett, who is credited for perfecting
Intel's approach to chip manufacturing in the 1970s and '80s, is immensely
proud.
But despite allocating billions of dollars toward R&D and acquisitions, Intel
has failed to translate its dominant position atop the PC and server industries
into a significant presence in any other market, such as consumer
electronics or communications. That could give the company big problems as
PCs and servers turn into slow-growing commodities, which is exactly the
situation it sought to avoid in attempting to expand its reach.