Human resources are important because the business needs someone to do all of the above listed or the business will start to fall apart. The HR department doesn’t use the new text plan to get people to work. If they text people before work reminding them that they have to work on a certain day.
Marketing and sales
Marketing and sales is a department of a company that advertises the company products and finds out what the customers and other people want from the business. Some of the objectives of the marketing department are
- Consumers’ reactions to the firms existing products
- What new goods and services the consumer wants from the business and the prices the consumer is willing to pay for a particular product or service
- What new products will prove popular
- How the consumers expect from by the employees.
There are two major sets of ways to find out this information. There is primary and there is secondary
Primary- discovers customer’s needs through market research, for e.g. telephone interviews and questionnaires.
Secondary- advises customers of production through promotion e.g. advertise, special offers and public relations.
McDonalds has all its marketing done in the McDonalds UK in Birmingham. The local advertising is done by mark Richards. E.g. he goes to Rockingham Speedway and asks to put advertising up there.
Marketing and sales helps McDonalds meet some of its aims:
- Increase the profit by 10% over the year – McDonalds UK discovers customer’s needs through market research, for e.g. telephone interviews and questionnaires. And they act upon this to make McDonalds profit rise.
- To be competitive with other local fast food
outlets – by Consumers’ reactions to the firms existing products and from that they can find out what the customer wants.
Mark could improve marketing by putting more advertisements around places when a new product comes into stock. Not every one has a chance to see the new product on the television so they could see it on advertising.
The head office handles all ICT work to do with marketing.
Administration
The first assistant managers handle most of the administration and some is handled by Mark Richards.
Here are all the all the administration jobs they are to:
- Handles all of the letters,
- All the mail that come in and that has to go out of the business. Internally and externally.
- They organise meetings
- Keep records of all the agreements made in the meetings.
- Create and keep records about the company. E.g. personal staff information.
- Make the phone calls. E.g. a phone call to the bank
- It provides cleaning staff.
- Handle all of the decorations that have to be done.
- It also provides medical checks.
- It handles all the security issues. E.g. the burglary alarm.
The managers do most of the admin, but mark Richards does all the communication with the bank.
ICT is a big part in the administration area. ICT helps by:
- Word-processing letters that have to be sent internally and externally.
- Emailing suppliers to order the stock that they want. E.g. email the supplier to order more extra large fries boxes.
- Creating databases to keep records of all of McDonalds staff details.
Administration helps McDonalds reach some of its aims.
- To be the best in Corby – it provides cleaning staff to make McDonalds look spotless all of the time. When the shop is always clean the customers will enjoy coming in the shop and eating.
- To grow the business by having more customers – again, it provides cleaning staff to make McDonalds look spotless all of the time. When the shop is always clean the customers will enjoy coming in the shop and eating.
Customer service
Customer service is a very important role in getting new customers and keeping exciting customers. Most of the customer service is done in the McDonalds UK. Their role is to provide booklets and posters to McDonalds about McDonalds. The McDonalds jobs are to:
- Always pack the food there fasted by not making a mess inside the take away bags, if they do this then the customer can get their food faster and be more happy with its results.
- Always say please and thank you, if they do this then the customer will feel appreciated for buying food at McDonalds.
- Always smile, if the staffs show a miserable face to the customer it will put the customer off from coming back to McDonalds.
- Provide an Internet site, customers can look on McDonalds website t find out information about the company.
- Provide a good range of payments, even if it is for a small amount of food.
- After sale care, they deal well with complaints; they exchange the product if the customer doesn’t like it, even if there is nothing wrong with it, just to keep the customer happy.
I think McDonalds can improve their customer service by having more booklets in the company. In the shop there are hardly and booklets about McDonalds and the things they do. Also when they smile it look like a false smile, they are trained to smile, they could make it more natural. They need to have better communication skills with the customer; they need to be more helpful. They also need more accurate of information. Some of the staff doesn’t know what even on a certain product.
Customer service helps McDonalds meet some of it aims:
- To be the best in Corby - Always pack the food there fasted by not making a mess inside the take away bags, if they do this then the customer can get their food faster and be more happy with its results.
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Increase the profit by 10% over the year - Provide a good range of payments, even if it is for a small amount of food. If they do this then the customer will be able to buy something even if he had a debit card
- To grow the business by having more customers - Always say please and thank you, if they do this then the customer will feel appreciated for buying food at McDonalds. If the customer feel appreciated they might tell their friends how good you get treated in McDonalds.
- To be competitive with other local fast food outlets. Provide an Internet site, customers can look on McDonalds website t find out information about the company.
- Best customer service - Always smile, if the staffs show a miserable face to the customer it will put the customer off from coming back to McDonalds.
Health and safety
Health and safety is an important role in McDonalds. In McDonalds they have reached there best in health and safety. And they put the certificates just behind the counter so that all the customers can see it. Health and safety issue is done in the house audits and is shared by the top managers. The jobs in the health and safety are to:
- Make sure the food are cooked properly
- Make sure all the food is thrown out if not sold within the next 10 minutes after it has been made.
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Put the wet floor signs in the right place, and other warnings that have to be noticed.
McDonalds could improve health and safety by prevent accidents rate. They could have more health and safety training.
ICT support
ICT is used in McDonalds in many different ways.
The ICT support job is to:
- Provides customers with information in a booklet or a leaflet.
- For sorting records for employees, customers, sales.
- It keeps a record of finance.
- Emails other McDonalds and banks ect.
McDonalds have a company called fujitsu that they call if they have a problem with the IT. The fujitsu company will send out an engineer to fix the problem.
ICT helps all of the business areas. It lets the entire areas share the information on its system.
ICT helps McDonalds meet one of its aims.
- To be the best in Corby – it provides customers with details about McDonalds, encase the customer has an enquire.
McDonalds business activities include:
Making and selling fast food such as burgers, chips, chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets and recently they started to sell healthy food called ‘salad plus’. They also sell desserts that include ice cream, apple pie and muffins.
They also have birthday parties there and for other celebrations.
Thy have to recruit and train staff, this is very important to their business because they have to make sure that there customers have the best service as possible. If they keep recruiting new staff and not keeping the same ones, their staff will never get to be their best ability.
McDonalds is a service business; they are a business in the tertiary sector. They buy their products from a secondary sector company called ‘golden west’.
McDonalds ownership
A business can be owned in many ways, this is called business ownership. Some of the ways that a business can be owned are:
- Sole trader
- Partnership
- Co-operatives
- Private limited company
- Public limited company
- Franchise
A franchising is an arrangement by which the owner of a business idea gives other individuals of groups the right to trade using its name or idea. They are common in many industries, including fast food outlets.
McDonalds is a franchise company. This means that the company is not fully Mark Richards. He still has to obey the rules that McDonalds UK provides to all the McDonalds shops. Mark Richards chose to run McDonalds Corby as a limited Company. He could of chose to run it as a partnership or a sole trader. But he could not run it as a public company because it did not all belong to him, McDonalds UK could take it off him if he did something with it that he was not supposed to do. E.g. If he decided to sell toast. There are advantages and disadvantages of having a franchise.
Advantages
- Free training advice- he does not need any training to be able to run a McDonalds because McDonalds UK provides all the info for him and tell him what to do and not to do.
- Less advertising- McDonalds UK provides all the advertising to McDonalds all around the UK and on television so McDonalds don’t have to do much about that.
- McDonalds don’t have to think of new products to sell to be able to stay ahead of the competition. McDonalds UK provides all the new products. McDonalds does not have to except the new product but it would be better if it did, this way it could keep all its customers and attract more.
- Less risky- McDonalds has been successful else ware a lot of times and hardly failed so it would be the better decision to open a McDonalds franchise Knowing it is less risky rather then trying to open up your own business without no advertising and the people having no knowledge of what your food tastes like.
Disadvantages
Not own boss- if mark Richards thinks that doing something a way is better than McDonalds UK said, he has to do it the way he is told by the franchiser.
- Suffer if company runs badly- if the company runs badly and don’t make much profit the owner of that McDonalds will be affected badly and suffer a lot from this. And the franchiser can take the company off them.
- Risk of money- if the business doesn’t make much profit to begin with. The owner of that company has to have back up money until he makes a reasonable amount of profit.
- Sharing profit- Mark Richards doesn’t keep all the profit that the business makes, he has to give a percentage to McDonalds UK. And also has to give money to them. The money varies on what McDonalds it is but that amount of money is the same each month.
Location
McDonalds is located in Corby town centre. It is located on the corner of two roads called George Street and Corporation Street near to the main taxi rank.
There are many advantages to being in the town centre.
- Bus stops and taxi ranks- when the people are going home by bus or taxi, they will have to walk past or next to McDonalds. Some people might like a small snack or food for the family as they go home. They can also go in when the get dropped off at the town centre by bus or taxi.
- Main road- a lot of cars drive past McDonalds so some of them will stop for a snack. The bright yellow logo helps people notice its there.
- Town centre- the people are in the town centre and McDonalds is the quickest place to get food.
- Leisure facilities- Corby has the swimming pool and the theatre next to the town centre and they are usually hungry when they come out of swimming and the first place they see is McDonalds.
- Schools and work- people on their break from.
- School or work might want a McDonalds for their lunch.
There are also many disadvantages in being in the town centre.
- Mental health problems- some customers have mental health problems and they cause problems in McDonalds and out side it which will drive away customers.
- Drive thru- McDonalds does not have a drive thru. They lose many customers this way because the McDonalds in Phoenix park way has. So the McDonalds at Phoenix Park way will take away their customers.
- Other competitors- there are a lot of other competitors around McDonalds, in the town centre of near by. Some of the main ones are Greggs and KFC.
Corby is changing in the next 5-10 years. This will affect McDonalds in many ways.
- New homes- there is going to be 50,000 new houses built in Corby. This will affect McDonalds in a very good way. More houses means more people, more people means more customers, more customers means more profit.
- New town centre- Corby is going to have a whole new town centre, but McDonalds is going to stay put. This will effect in both ways. When the town is built, it will attract people from Corby and other villages and towns around it. This will have a good impact to McDonalds. But the problem is that McDonalds will have a problem to attract customers while the town centre is getting built. People wont be in Corby town centre when it is getting built. They will go elsewhere.
The location of McDonalds is a good location, but because of the rude and abusive customers and the fact of not having a drive thru has got a very bad effect on it. Mark Richards (the owner) told us that McDonalds does not make much profit. But McDonalds still has good potential.
Sector
Every business has to be in a sector.
- Primary sector- the primary sector comprises those industries concerned with growing natural products and extracting mineral recourses.
- Secondary sector- the secondary sector includes business involved in manufacturing and construction often using products from the primary sector.
- Tertiary sector- the tertiary sector is made up of business providing services.
McDonalds is in the tertiary sector he buys its good from Golden West (who is in the secondary sector).
McDonalds provides the service of serving fast food to its customers.
Competitors
McDonalds has many competitors next their restaurant. They have one bakery, two cafés, 3 kebab shops (which also sell burgers, chips, chicken nuggets). They also have a Chinese, a King Hong restaurant. And no top of that it has a KFC and another McDonalds about a mile away (both drive through). the names or the other food shops are called:
- Greggs- this a take away bakery
- Planet coffee- this is a sit in coffee shop
- Dens plaice- this is a sit in and take away fish and chips
- Kantara- this is a sit in and a take away/coffee shop/kebab shop/breakfast.
- Ken 2 fry- take away fish and chips.
- Perfect pizza- pizza take away
- Flames grill- take away kebab shop
- King Hong- Chinese sit in.
- Corby candle- pub
- Café espresso- sit in café.
- The Corinthian- pub
- Coffee express- sit in café.
McDonalds have to do many things to stay competitive. They advertise on television when they have a new product. They always have a special offer on. On euro 2004 football they made an offer which was, but one Big Mac meal, get a Big Mac free. They have a lot of staff there just encase of any surprises that may occur, like a big coach full of people might come to buy food. They also have a web site which people can book parties and other events. They try to attract little kids with a toy in a happy meal. A kid can’t come to McDonalds on his own so another member of their family come and that is more money for McDonalds. The staffs are trained to work fast and always smile to the customers. McDonald achieve this by giving pay rises to the staff that work well there.
Food standards
McDonalds has a limited and long term relationships with its suppliers who share the vision ‘to be the best’. the main one is golden west. It has standards of quality of cleanliness that is set by the company, and every McDonalds has to follow that. They always have to use the most fast and up to date equipment and food processing techniques this helps the standard if food quality and health and safety rules.
Food safety policy
McDonald’s first priority is the health and safety of the customers. McDonalds think that the health and safety law is not good enough. They want to take their rules far more strict than required. Here are some examples of their policies:
- All raw materials delivered to McDonald’s restaurant must be consistently produced to the highest standard of food hygiene.
- Company systems and procedures must be continuously updated to the highest standard of food hygiene for all customers at all times.
- All staff receives proper supervision and training in food safety.
- The equipment used must be the most appropriate for the needs for each restaurant, and must be carefully maintained and carefully calibrated.
Nutrition policy
McDonalds recognises the importance of a balanced diet, lifestyle and health. So they try and make a wide range of products to meet this target. They have made changes to their menu in the last recent years for nutritional reasons, these changes are:
- Lard has been replaces in buns with a smaller quantity of vegetable oil.
- Mineral water, pure orange juice, diet Coak and cartons of semi skimmed milk are available in all restaurants.
- A low calorie sweetener is available as an alternative to sugar.
- The formulation of sandwich sauces has been improved to reduce oil levels.
- The cooking oil has been changed to reduce the saturated and trans-fatty acid content.
McDonalds ‘our food’
McDonalds has had a lot of bad press, probably one of the worst presses of fast food restaurants. So they decided they would make a booklet of the nutrition needs and information on all aspects of food they sell.
They also have an allergy chart so the people know what to and not to eat here are some examples of what they write about.
- Beef
- Chicken
- Pork
- Fish
- Egg
- Potatoes
- Milk products
- Cooking oil
- Contains nuts
- Contains seafood
- Contains wheat
- Contains gluten
- Contains milk protein
- Listed the energy, protein, carbohydrates, fat, fibre and sodium in all the products including drinks and per 100 grams.
- What the breakfast, burgers, sandwiches and other products are made of.
They are hoping by this booklet the bad press might stop and people might be able to trust their food again.
Packaging analysis number one
A= the McDonalds logo and trademark to show that it is the real packaging and not a fake.
B= this is the sign to show that the packaging should be put in the after it has been finished with.
C= this is the big golden arches of McDonalds.
D= this is the nice red attractive colour of the packaging.
E= this sign is to show that some or all of this packaging has already been recycled.
F= the McDonalds website address.
G= showing what the product is cooked with and what has been added to the product.
H= this is showing that the product is 100% pure. This attracts the customer to buy more of this product.
I= the name of the product.
Packaging analysis number two
A= name of the product
B= this sign is to show that some or all of this packaging has already been recycled.
C= this is the sign to show that the packaging should be put in the after it has been finished with.
D= this is used to show what the product is made of.
Recruiting sheet analysis
A= giving the detail of what vacancies available.
B= this is showing the pay per hour for the employee.
C= this is showing the benefits included in the job to attract the person to thy and to get a job there.
D= this is giving the person some more confidence by saying that no experience is needed.
McDonalds’s charity service
McDonalds also provides a charity service to the people. They will be donating 5 pence to charity every time you buy a fruit bag or a portion of fry’s, they do this between the 13th and 20th of November from 2000 and 2005.
They also help you co handle other problems e.g.
- How to be a good listener.
- To help parents with tough times like having hart surgery on your baby.
- How the family survive the stress of hospital.
- Most frequent worries.
Eternal influences
McDonalds has many competitors next their restaurant. They have one bakery, two cafés, 3 kebab shops (which also sell burgers, chips, chicken nuggets). They also have a Chinese, a King Hong restaurant. And no top of that it has a KFC and another McDonalds about a mile away (both drive through). The names or the other food shops are called:
- Greggs- this a take away bakery
- Planet coffee- this is a sit in coffee shop
- Dens plaice- this is a sit in and take away fish and chips
- Kantara- this is a sit in and a take away/coffee shop/kebab shop/breakfast.
- Ken 2 fry- take away fish and chips.
- Perfect pizza- pizza take away
- Flames grill- take away kebab shop
- King Hong- Chinese sit in.
- Corby candle- pub
- Café espresso- sit in café.
- The Corinthian- pub
- Coffee express- sit in café.
McDonalds have to do many things to stay competitive. They advertise on television when they have a new product. They always have a special offer on. On euro 2004 football they made an offer which was, but one Big Mac meal, get a Big Mac free. They have a lot of staff there just encase of any surprises that may occur, like a big coach full of people might come to buy food. They also have a web site which people can book parties and other events. They try to attract little kids with a toy in a happy meal. A kid can’t come to McDonalds on his own so another member of their family come and that is more money for McDonalds. The staffs are trained to work fast and always smile to the customers. McDonald achieve this by giving pay rises to the staff that work well there.
Promotional methods at McDonalds
McDonalds always promote its business. The most known marketing activity is promotion; here are some ways that McDonalds promotes itself.
- Sales promotion, such as giving free samples or buy 1 get 1 free offers
- They can also promote their company through
- Broachers
- Word of mouth
- Posters
- Promotional gifts e.g. a chance to win a prise when you buy a large drink.
- Advertisements
- Radio
- TV
- Newspaper
- Information booklets about its nutritional content in all of its products.
- Exhibitions
- Web sites
- Direct mail
- Competition
- Leaflets
- Directors
Segmenting customers at McDonalds
McDonalds has got customers of age difference between 5-80. Donalds tries to attract each age group in different ways.
It attracts the very young children with the toys that they give away with a happy meal, and with Ronald McDonald. E.g. a child gets picked up from school that is hungry. The first place they want to go is McDonalds for a happy meal. They also have children’s parties there.
McDonalds attracts teenagers with its reasonable prices, its sitting area and its reputation. E.g. Teenagers go out with their mates and their meeting point is McDonalds, while they wait for their mates they buy snack. They also gather their on their lunch break.
Their new products attract adults, like a new style of burger, the one in fashion now is the big tasty. They see the big posters and all the television advertisements of a big delicious burger and they want to try it, McDonalds has been trying to introduce new healthier meals like salad and pasta to attract people who want to take care of their health.
Elderly people go there because is a nice place to sit when you need a rest or something warm to drink.
Shoppers are attracted to McDonalds because they are in the town centre shopping and getting hungry and tired. They might just have a tea and a doughnut or McMuffin.
Early workers go to McDonalds before work for there breakfast.
McDonalds also use one age group to attract another. E.g. when a kid wants a McDonalds they have to be accompanied by an adult. So when the child buys something the guardian might want something to.
Communication at McDonalds
McDonalds commutates in different ways to people and other businesses, they commutate internally and externally. It is important for McDonalds commutate because each person who works within the business needs to know what’s new and what has change in the business. E.g. if McDonalds has started to sell a new product, if Mark Richards didn’t tell the staff then the staff wouldn’t know what to do when the business asked for the new product and the business wouldn’t operative very well. They could improve their communications by having more computers in the business; they have only got one computer in the business. They could also improve the communication by letting the first assistant managers handle more of the phone calls and order the stock, they have worked their for over that 10 years and they know how to run the business. Maybe not as much as Mark, but they can take up some more responsibility.