Analysis of Alternatives

The following section will discuss the benefits and limitations related to each of the
alternatives. This analysis will enable us to determine how successfully these approaches
address the particular issue of language barriers because of cultural difference at McDonald's.

 Immediate Apology and Compensation :

The first possible course of action is to provide an apology and compensate, to deal with the
McDonald's discrimination incident by quickly apologising to the offended customer, Hai
Xia Sun (Hazel), and offer compensation for any difficulty or grief the incident may have
caused. This approach places a high value on admitting the problem and tries to make
apologies by making a goodwill gesture.

Advantages -
1. Shows integrity and understanding.

2. Increases the customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Disadvantages -

1. Might result in the habit of compensating for all situations like these.

2. It is a temporary issue and fails to resolve the main cause of the issue.

 Employee Training :

McDonald's should introduce required and continuous training for all staff members,
especially those who interact with customers. These trainings aim to increase employees'
communication skills, cultural sensitivity, and ability to deal with challenges of diversity and
language barriers.

Advantages -

1. Offers the necessary skills for better customer relations.

2. Increases cultural sensitivity among the workplace.

3. Could result in long-lasting service quality improvements.

Disadvantages -

1. It might turn out expensive to train entire workforce.

2. There may be employee resistance to training.

 Multilingual Staff :

To improve communication and customer service and to promote diversity and inclusivity at
work, McDonald's should hire people who are multilingual or skilled in the languages spoken
in the region.

Advantages -

1. Improves customer service and communication.

2. Develops the restaurant's reputation for being welcoming to all.

3. May generate a broader range of customers.

Disadvantages -

1. It could be challenging or expensive to find multilingual workers.

2. Current employees who aren't multilingual could feel excluded.

 Multilingual Digital Menus :

For the convenience of customers who don't understand English well, multilingual menus
created could have menu items and instructions available in other languages. Ordering can
be simpler due to the language-adjustable digital menus available on the app and at the store's
kiosks.

Advantages -

1. Multilingual menus make ordering easier and enhance the overall experience for
customers.

2. The money spent initially on creating these menus can be justified by the boost in customer
satisfaction and increased sales.

Disadvantages -

1. Creating and maintaining digital menus in many languages can be expensive, especially if
regular updates are required.

2. The use of digital menus may be a little challenging for customers at first.
  Customer feedback mechanism :

Customer feedback Mechanisms involves setting up a system for customer to share their
thoughts about their experiences, specifically regarding language related issues. This
alternative aims to listen valuable insights of customer to understand the language issues and
identify areas for improvement

Advantages -

1. Regular feedback allows to make improvements in terms of language related issue and
customer satisfaction.

2. Inspecting customer feedback can help identify trends and problems with language.

Disadvantages -

1. Some customers may not provide feedback, and those who do might not represent the
entire customer base.

2. It can consume lot of time to analyse all the feedbacks and acting on it could be
challenging.

Recommendation

A little more than 1.8% of Canadians, or about 6.5 lac individuals, did not speak one of the
official languages of the nation, according to the 2016 census. Additionally, it showed that
nearly 22% of the population consists of people who are not native English or French
speakers (Statistics Canada,2016). To support that population, the recommended alternative
is to use multilingual digital menus. Multilingual menus refer to the creation of menus that
can be accessible in languages other than English, primarily aimed to provide convenience to
customers with limited English proficiency. These menus typically include translated versions
of menu items and instructions in multiple languages.
The main advantages of multilingual menus is that they make the ordering process more
straightforward for customers who may struggle with English. The business may immediately
meet the varied language needs of its consumer base by providing multilingual menus via
digital kiosks and the McDonald's app. This initiative can demonstrate McDonald's
dedication to acceptance and cultural diversity as well as improving communication and
customer service.
Given a number of compelling reasons, the multilingual digital menu stands out as the most
effective approach for addressing language barriers at McDonald's.

References

Statistics Canada (2016) Statistics on official languages in Canada

www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/official-languages-bilingualism/
publications/statistics.html