Management & Enterprise - Introduction to McDonalds

Planning

What do managers need to plan for? If forecasting has predicted certain market changes, how do managers plan to accommodate these changes? All organisations will have objectives and targets to meet either for the year or for each week, to achieve any objectives, planning must be used to find the best way to get there. Each level of manager will have different tasks to plan for e.g. strategies, policies, programmes and procedures etc.

Decision Making

Although this was implied in Fayol's original five functions of management, it is now the focal point of all management action. Managers are continuously making decisions about what to purchase and where, how much to sell, and so on. The type of decisions that managers are allowed to make often depends on which rung of the management ladder they are on.

McDonald's

SUPERVISORS SUPERVISORS SUPREVISORS SUPERVISORS

FINANCIAL OPERATORS PRODUCTION RESEARCHERS SALES FORCE

OPERATIVES

McDonald's

E2 AN ANNOTATED ORGANISATION CHART FOR EACH BUSINESS AND AN EXPLANATION FOR THE TYPE OF STRUCTURE USED

Whether an organisation operates in the public or private sector it consists of two key groups

> People with skills and knowledge who work together in groups or teams, and

> Managers who work through people to achieve the organisation's objectives.

The framework needed to enable these two groups to work together effectively is called an organisational structure.

This shows the relationship between the role and/ or functions of individuals, usually in the form of an organisation chart.

There is no such thing as the perfect structure and therefore each organisation must develop one which best suits its particular needs.

Work can be grouped in a number of different ways depending on the type and needs of the organisation concerned.

In larger organisations more than one type of grouping may be used. The most common groupings used are:

Function i.e. by specialisation such as marketing, production, finance, personnel. Further groups may also exist within each function e.g. sales, advertising, promotion, and public relations within marketing.

Product/ Service. This is often used in large organisations particularly those with diverse range of products. Soap powder manufacturers, for example, operate with brand managers.

Customer. This is often used in service industries, e.g. account executives in an advertising agency; small advisors in bank.

Location or geographical basis, This may be used when several functions or offices exist in different places or where small teams operate across the whole country. Many large organisations operate like this on a regional basis, whilst multi-nationals may have decisions in several different countries.

When the business puts the customers first it is customer orientated; it responds to consumer demands for new products and it is dynamic and responsive to the needs of the market.

Really successful companies like I have chosen fall into this category.

The structure of the business tends to reflect these attitudes.

Some managers and some departments will have more power than others. This can be due to the personality of individuals or to the importance or weight given to the function.

However, this balance should vary as corporate goals vary.

The hierarchical structure of many companies actually prevents the business from meeting customer needs because they concentrate too much on departmental objectives.

They need to think horizontally instead of vertically and see the flow of goods to the customers as a continuous process:

Purchasing ? Research ? Production ? Sales Marketing

This could be achieved by having, for example, an Innovation manager or Production manager, who can take a wider view of the business and follow the product from the research and development stage through production to the final end user.

No matter how big or small the organisation, in the UK there are essentially five levels of management.

Chair of the Board and Board Members- usually non executive i.e. they are not employed full time by the company, they advise and monitor the performance of the chief executive and directors

Chief Executive/ general secretary/ direct general- accountable for the running of the whole organisation.

Directors/ senior managers- work with the chief executive and senior management team to achieve the organisation's strategic objectives and are often accountable for a division of the business.

Middle Managers/ Head of Department- usually accountable for a department, its team members and the achievement of departmental objectives.

First Line managers/ Supervisors/ Team Leaders- usually accountable for a smaller team within a department or division.

For the management chart at Sainsbury's the communication flows up and down the structure.

The level of authority and delegation starts from the top and decreases as it goes down the chart. Managers who have a higher rank in the chart have more authority and can delegate to those beneath them.

Decisions made and information will flow from higher up in the chart, down through to sales associates.

Feedback from the sales associates to the team leaders to the assistant sales managers to the sales managers will inform them about the out come of the decisions they made, and how to re-think their decision-making strategy, if the result from decisions are negative. Communication is constant between everyone on the board because issues and objectives have to discuss openly. Both organisational structures are hierarchical. This indicates that Sainsbury's use a more 'autocratic' management style. Because the size of the organisation this structure is most suitable.

Sainsbury's departments concern solely with the main tasks of the organisation is called line departments.

A Distinct chain of command, called the scalar chain, runs in a line from the top of the organisation down through each department to the shop floor.

Each line department is managed by a line manager.

In Sainsbury's organisational structure the production manager is the supervisor's line manager.

Notice that each employee has only one line manger: this is called unity of command.

One line manager, on the other hand has authority over a number of employees; the manager has a span of control.

This refers to the number of subordinates working under a superior or manager. In other words, if one production manager has ten subordinates his span of control is ten.

Henri Fayol argued that that the span of control should be between three and six subordinates because there should be tight managerial control from the top of the business, and that there are physical and mental limitations to any single manager's ability to control people and activities.

A narrow span of control has the advantage for a firm of tight control and close supervisions.

It also allows better coordination of subordinate's activities. In addition it gives managers time to think and plan without having to be burdened with too many day to day problems.

A narrow span also ensures better communication with subordinates, who are sufficiently small in number to allow this to occur.

A wide span of control, however, offers greater decisions making authority for subordinates and may improve job satisfaction.

In addition, there are likely to be lower costs involved in supervision.

McDonald's is the simple and most common form of organisation and has a pyramid structure which involves what is called line management or a chain of command.

This is commonly shown on an organisation chart which is used to indicate the formal position of each person in the structure.

The number of levels in the management hierarchy varies considerably usually with the size of McDonald's whether it will expand or not.

Generally, the fewer the number of levels, the easier is communication, and the more responsible are particular jobs.

Instructions in McDonald's are passed along lines in the hierarchy (usually downwards) as shown on McDonald's structure.

It is through this formal communication network that decisions and instruction flow and feedback are received and on time.

First line managers, sometimes called supervisors or foreman have no subordinate managers and are directly concerned with getting the job done. Communication is constant everyone on the board, it is not only centralised at the top.

The company is very diverse and branches out into different markets, that is why McDonald's has such a large board of directors, because have specialist knowledge and experience is greatly needed In the managers organisational chart the authority also decreases as it goes down the chart, the higher your position in the chart the more authority you have.

The downwards communication is delegation. They would delegate in order to free the manager of unnecessary stress, because part of the work can be other subordinates.

Upwards communication is feedback from further down the hierarchy, up to the managers who make day-to-day decisions.

This will give managers an insight into how decisions made at the top affect subordinates.

E3 A DESCRIPTION OF THE MANAGEMENT STYLES USED IN THE ORGANISATIONS IVE CHOSEN

What are management styles? This is the way a manager/s runs his/her organisation. There are three main types of management styles that managers can use to run their business.

How successful the business is at meeting their chosen objectives could be linked with the way the organisation is managed.

The Autocratic style is when the manager will make all the decisions, without the consultation of the staff. He or she will expect them to be carried out with little or no questions asked.

Democratic style or could also be known as the "Consultative style".

This is where the manager/s will consult the staff (wanting their input, to make them feel part of the organisation) in decision-making, but they themselves will make the final decisions.

The Laissez-Faire is when the staff are allowed to get on with whatever needs to be done, without little or any direction from the manager.

The management style best described by McDonald's is the democratic style. The employees are involved in the decision making process. And they have continuous communication throughout the year with the board of directors.

McDonald's hierarchical structure can be linked to their management style. All of the board of directors' meet ten times in a year, and two other times to discuss the companies' half year and full year results.

The control to the company comes from the top of the hierarchical structure, which would be the chairman. But he is not likely to make all the decisions himself, that's where the board of directors come in. They would probably try and agree on the mater in hand; if this proved to be unsuccessful they are more likely to vote between them, and whatever the chairman votes would be the final decision. This management style is used so that every member of staff, no matter what their position in their organisation structure, can have their views and opinions aired.

From Sainsbury's organisational structure it appears that they would use an 'Autocratic' style of management. This would mean that decisions are made at the top of the hierarchy.

Although Sainsbury's hierarchy structure indicates that they are more inclined to use an autocratic type of style, because of the type of organisation that it is, an authoritarian only management style isn't the only one that is used.

For example, if sales had to reach a certain target, within a set time, then it would be appropriate to use an autocratic style, so every employee from the assistant sales manager to the sales associates knows what they have to do and all targets are met. During a normal sales period the type of management style that is used is more likely to be 'Democratic Style'.

This is a more effective way of communicating what needs to be carried out, by subordinates.

Input and feedback is welcomed by management during meetings, so any views or problems that staff may have is communicated.

The board of director's structure is more likely to be 'Democratic'. Although their structure is hierarchical decisions are not only made from the top (chairman), he would need input and guidance from the rest of the board.

One person alone cannot decide the future and direction of a large company like Sainsbury's.

The chairman would make final decisions about certain proposals, developments and strategic plans within the company, but the rest of the board are also consulted for their expert knowledge and experience, and the non-executive directors especially.

Management styles is all about making sure that all staff are achieving to their maximum capacity. It is important in any business because it helps determine how effective staffs are in achieving their targets. It can also help indicate how well motivated staff are and what the business can do to improve levels of motivation. The motivation theories I am going to discuss are Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, Macgregor's Theory X & Y, Hertzberg's 2 factor theories and Taylor's Theory Scientific Management.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow's Hierarchy of needs tells us the different levels of need depending on what you have satisfied in the past. For example, the physiological and security needs are primary needs which everyone has to satisfy before they progress to the secondary needs (social. Esteem and self-actualisation). Physiological needs include shelter, food and warmth - the things most of us take for granted. Security needs include health and safety.

The secondary needs are what most of us address on a day to day basis. For example social needs include the need to feel loved, to be part of a group and so on. Many organisations provide this by offering sporting and social facilities for staff. McDonald's runs trips and outings which staff can opt into. Esteem needs relate to status and the need to be respected. McDonald's offer this through promotion and opportunities. Self-actualisation needs relate the need to fulfil your potential. This can be at work by being promoted to the highest possible level and outside work by pursuing higher education or play sport to a high level.

Macgregor's Theory X & Y

This theory is about management and their view of workers. For example in Sainsbury's a theory X manager believes that all workers are lazy and unable to be independent. A Sainsbury's manager has complete control over the workers task and how the task is carried out. A Sainsbury's (theory X) manager tends to be quite authoritarian. A theory Y manager believes that workers are able to accept responsibility and those they can work by themselves without to much interference. A theory Y manager likes employees who can participate in decision making. They are quite democratic.

Hertzberg's Two Factor Theory

Hertzberg believed that employees are motivated by certain things (motivators) and dissatisfied by others (hygiene factors). He said that people are motivated by interesting work, good relationships with colleagues and good relationships with their boss. He went on to say that pay, working conditions and bureaucracy cause dissatisfaction. He said that pay does not, necessarily de-motivate because if people enjoy their work (Like teachers) they will continue to do it to the best of their ability. The pay will merely be a source of dissatisfaction.

Taylor's Theory of Scientific Management

Taylor's believed that all workers are economic beings, which means that they are motivated by money. He said the more you pay someone the more they will produce. He conducted an experiment in America where he offered to pay a worker $5.00 a day to increase the amount of iron loaded onto a lorry. The experiment worked and the lorry was loaded much faster than before. Taylor concluded that people will look harder if they are paid more money and therefore money is a main motivator.

McDonald's usually takes the 'Theory Y' of McGregor or the view that staff should participate in decision making. This is reflected in their system of performance appraisal: this is the name given to the formal and recorded interview held between staff and their managers once or twice a year.

This would make McDonald's a democratic style; these managers take great care to involve all members of the team in discussion. It is a 'We need to find out what everyone thinks' approach. Although the style can work well with a small, highly motivated team, it can fail when the group cannot make a decision and needs real guidance and direction.

Sainsbury's on the other hand are an autocratic style because their managers take all decisions with very little or no consultation; they expect their orders to be carried out without any disagreement or questions.

E4 OUTLINE THE MANAGEMENT SKILLS & STATE HOW THEY ARE APPLIED TO SPECIFIC MANAGEMENT TASKS

There are many skills involved for every manager in every organisation, this could be as follows;

Communicating - The ability to convey and receive information clearly both verbally and in writing

Decision Making - The ability to arrive at a resolution after consideration

Information Gathering - The ability to gather all necessary information from a wide variety of source

Evaluating - The ability to assess amount, value or significance after careful appraisal and study

Analysing - The ability to identify and examine the components of a situation or structure

Motivating - The ability to generate a willingness to work, to achieve goals and satisfy needs

Negotiating - The ability to consult and bargain to achieve agreement or compromise

Listening - The ability to integrate the physical, emotional and intellectual messages received in search for understanding and meaning

Delegating - The ability to entrust a task/ responsibility to someone and provide the person with the necessary guidelines and information to carry out the task/ responsibility

Taking Responsibility - The ability to assume accountability for your own, and sometimes other people's actions

Organising - The ability to structure, arrange and allocate work effectively

Planning - The ability to formulate or organise a method by which something is done

Prioritising - The ability to assess comparative levels of importance or urgency

On the next page I have gone into more detail on management skills for my businesses I have chosen.

Communicating

In the Sainsbury's annual report Sir George Bull (Chief Executive) points out that this business is the need to communicate, not only with employees of the organisation itself but with their customers and their suppliers.

Sainsbury's are able to communicate effectively with staff at all levels for it to function smoothly and efficiently.

In every organisation a proper structured communication system is needed for clear and well defined channels of communication. A manager could first communicate with supervisors, and then supervisors could first communicate directly with operatives, and vice versa, for example in McDonald's Andrew Taylor would communicate with Nigel Duddington, Peter Richards etc.

Communicating with employees

Information needed by employees may be:

> Terms And Conditions of employment, for example hours of work, rates of pay, holiday pay, period of notice needed in order to leave the employer

> Job description which sets out the requirements of the job

> Disciplinary procedures

> Health And Safety requirements of their job and workplace

At Sainsbury's this information is best given to employees in a company handbook when they join Sainsbury's.

Decision Making

Managers are continuously making decisions about what to purchase and where, how much to sell, and so on. The type of decisions that managers are allowed to make often depends on which rung of the management ladder they are on. Decision making is an integral part of management and occurs in every function and at all levels. Naturally the types of decision taken vary enormously but all decisions makers have to go through a similar process. All of them must decide by some means to choose the outcome or outcomes which are considered necessary or desirable to them and to do so after some form of appraisal of the situation.

James Mitchell, a leading authority on management decision making for McDonald's, considers that decision making comprises four principal phases: finding occasions for making decisions, finding possible courses of action (i.e. alternatives), choosing among courses of action, and evaluating past choices.

Delegating

Delegation is an important concept, and very much related to the organisational structure. If we look at McDonald's organisational structure, we seem the seemingly all power managing director at the top, but we must quickly realise that he or she can take all the decisions and do all the work: that is what the managers are for. However, subordinates cannot do what is required of them without the necessary authority and power to act.

Delegation, then, is where one person, A, gives someone else, B, the power and authority to perform work or to give orders to others on behalf of A. B accepts the power and authority, but in return also accepts the need to justify his or her stewardship, to 'be countable' to A in due course. Delegation is usually downwards.

Taking Responsibility

Taking authority and responsibility must go hand in hand. A fair system demands that every manager or supervisors should be answerable for his or her actions. People given authority without accountability can become either ruthless dictator, acting on unchallenged whims, or lazy and uncaring in their work. Conversely, people give responsibilities without authority either do nothing, or assume authority they do not have. Both situations are obviously unsatisfactory.

Just because a manager delegates a job to someone else, it does not mean the manager cases to be accountable for the carrying out of the job. For Example, imagine a supervisor is responsible, in addition to organising production, for the security of his department. As the supervisor knows a meeting he is to attend is likely to last until late, he deputizes Nigel Duddington, a charge hand, to close the windows, lock the filing cabinets, and see the workshop door is shut at the finish of work. Late that night, an intruder gains entry, and makes off with important document as well as loose tools.

Nigel Duddington has failed in his job, and is accountable for this failure. However, the supervisor is still accountable in turns to his boss, and cannot evade the issue by saying "its Nigel's fault!"

Motivation in the organisation

For our purpose motivation can be explained as the driving force or commitment people have for doing things. A motive is a need or desire within a person to achieve some goal or objective and understanding human motivations is a complex matter within is a complex matter with no precise answers. Although the causes of motivations are imperfectly understood, the results of having motivated people in an organisation are obvious and highly beneficial. As a consequence managers have to try to understand the conditions and influences that motivate people so that they can manage, organise activities and create an organisational atmosphere that encourages positive encourages positive motivational effects. Early management theory took a somewhat mechanist view of human motivation assuming that:

(a) individual goals were consistent with, or sublimated to, organisational goals.

(b) Individuals responded positively to authority, and

(c) That people were motivated solely by monetary reward.

Experience and behavioural research has shown that these early views are incomplete and simplistic and that people are much more complex than suggested by the early management theorists. Numerous theories have been advanced to explain motivation and how and why people are motivated.

Organising

According to Sainsbury's organising is a key task of management and has been included in just about every definition of management from Fayol's onwards. There are numerous facets to this aspect of management which can be summarised as follows:

(a) deciding what activities and tasks are necessary to achieve the plans,

(b) deciding how the tasks are to be arranged and responsibilities allocated

(c) deciding upon an appropriate structure so that tasks. Activities and responsibilities can be effectively co-ordinated.

An important part of organising, concerned with the organisation structure itself.

Mc Donald's recon that organising is the process and being responsible for the work or jobs done by individuals to achieve the organisation's goals and objectives. People can be organised into teams or work groups to perform specific tasks.

E5 ROLE OF ENTERPRISE AND INNOVATION IN MCDONALD'S

What is Enterprise?

Is where an entrepreneur or a business organisation is prepared to take risks in order to exploit a business opportunity?

What is Innovation?

Innovation is the ability to develop new ideas to products or services and bringing this idea to the marketplace or thinking of new ways of satisfying customers' needs.

McDonalds was a company which was the first to explore the fast food industry. They are the world's biggest franchise and fast food outlets.

McDonald's has been recognized for its many contributions in the following areas:

* Top 25 Companies for People with Disabilities

* Best Employer for Asians

* Top 50 Places for Hispanic Women to Work

* Fortune Magazine - Top Places for Minorities to Work

* Working Mother Magazine - Top 10 Diversity Champions

* Hispanic Magazine - Top 50 Corporate Women in America

* McDonald's is committed to recognizing the talents and job performance of all employees and values the contributions that come from people with different backgrounds and perspectives.

McDonald was the first fast food outlet to offer free toys like Ronald to children. This was a huge hit which brought McDonalds enormous increase in profits. By the end of 1987 McDonalds had served 20 million people a day in nearly 10,000 restaurants in 47 countries.

The 1990's would prove to be a booming year for McDonalds. McDonalds was announced as the Official Restaurant for the Atlanta Olympics. The first Ronald McDonald House was opened in Paris. TV, Inc. and McDonalds would produce a new line called Teeny Beanies that would turn out to be McDonalds hottest promotion ever! McDonalds has made some ground braking innovations like:

* Finding ways to cook food within seconds, in the early days McDonald's could make a burger in less than 1 minute.

* Drive trough restaurants

Sainsbury's Supermarkets was established in 1869 by John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury and is Britain's longest-standing major food retailing chain.

Sainsbury's was a company which was the first to explore the food retailing industry. They are the world's biggest food retailer outlet.

In addition to a wide range of quality food and grocery products, many stores offer bread baked on the premises, delicatessen, meat and fish counters, pharmacies, coffee shops, restaurants and petrol stations.

Sainsbury's has been recognized for its many contributions in the following areas:

* Top 40 Companies for People with Disabilities

* Top 20 Places for Hispanic Women to Work

* Fortune Magazine - Top Places for Minorities to Work

* Working Mother Magazine - Top 5 Diversity Champions

* Hispanic Magazine - Top 30 Corporate Women in America

* Sainsbury's is also committed to recognizing the talents and job performance of all employees and values the contributions that come from people with different backgrounds and perspectives.

Sainsbury's was the first food retailer outlet to deliver products of outstanding quality and great service at a competitive cost through working 'faster, simpler and together'.

This was a huge hit which brought Sainsbury's enormous increase in profits.

Sainsbury's has made some ground braking innovations like:

* Deliver products of outstanding quality

* Petrol Stations

* Restaurants e.t.c

E6 A DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CONSTRAINTS ON MANAGEMENT

Managers deal with a range of internal and external factors that influence how well the manager functions can be carried out in the business. Managers face a lot of internal constraints to be able to fulfil their management skills. The main internal constraints are conflict interest, limited management skills, and financial constraints e.t.c.

Internal Constraints

Managers could have conflicts of interest or role conflict, this could occur through the lack of communication or clarification of the organisations objectives and their own role.

Conflicts of interest could see the organisations mangers concentrating on their own personal skills development, instead of aiming for the company's goals.

When managers are looking at internal constraints, first they look at the financial constraints.

On the legal constraints, they check out what laws is affecting the business to see if they need to make any changes in the business to move further and make plans for the company. Both organisations have to look at the health and safety standards because it is dealing with food.

When it comes to the constraints on conflict in the business, because there are different departments and different level of managers, there is likely effect on conflict between the managers agreeing to the same opinions or ideas.

Different managers will want to do their own things and that will results to conflict which can lead to disagreement and that might lead to conflict between the management.

Role conflict can occur when a particular person holds a position of authority within the organisation, but the manner in which they behave may not be suited to the role that they have in the organisation. Role incompatibility would be the conflict issue.

Communication is another constraint on management. This happens if there is not enough means of communication going on between the management. There will be constraints if information is not passed correctly between members of the management and to their employees. Lack of communication or limitation of it could be the 'breakdown' of communication within the management.

Barriers would lead to the organisation being less productive because they would know very little or nothing about what the organisation wants to achieve.

Financial limitations could have a knock-on effect on people and production constraints. Financial limitations could mean that the business has cash-flow problems that would effect management decisions and objectives making them restricted. Cash flow issues could see the demand for labour not being filled because of limited amounts of money not being able to cover the wages of extra staff.

This could put pressure on the staff that is already working for the organisation, because if there is not enough staff to do the work, extra work will be put on the rest of the workforce on top of their own duties.

This will definitely put more pressure on staff and could lead to a high employee turnover or high absentee rate due to the amount of pressure put on them.

Production constraints are another factor that could stem from financial constraints. The production or innovation or products could be held back by the lack of cash flow, leaving the organisation behind in their existing market because everything changes and if the organisation hasn't got the finances to back changes that need to be made, the company will get left behind.

McDonalds is a big business and this is why managers make sure they deal with the internal constraints carefully. Employee constraints are always an issue in management. Managers check to see if they have the right number of staffs to cover the departments when they are require to and if they don't that will be a constraints on the managers because they could loose money if there are no staffs to serve the customer.

Having limited management can lead to internal constraints because if they don't have the skills to be a proper manager, they will not be able to function properly to conduct good services to their employees, customers and to the business.

External Constraints

External constraints on management are employment law, economic changes, pressure group, competitors, technological changes e.t.c. Management are always looking out for the external constraint that affect the business to give them the chance to correct them. Constraints on competitors every management worries.

They are always competitors around every successful business and this is a constraint to managers because to them it feels like they always have to work to their best to be on top of their competitors in terms of products and services.

Employment law, If there are changes in employment, it could be a constraint on management because that means they will have to follow that rule of the law to meet the legal rights of employees.

Certain legislation like the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 and much more could restrict the way managers will run/organise their business.

Financial Institutions e.g. banks could limit organisations from expanding by either building other stores or diversifying their products, this could happen if they needed some financial backing (loan) from the bank, but couldn't get the go ahead.

Competition is fierce in the retail trade so large companies like Selfridges and Boots have to have a competitive edge, which makes their service distinguished from all the rest.

Competition is not necessarily a negative factor, it can help businesses continually update/improve their products, service and customer convenience. This would mean that they would concentrate on what the customer wants and needs, providing a better service all-round.

The state of the economy would generally affect the amount of income an organisation like Selfridges or Boots would generate in a certain period.

Depending on whether the economy is either in a slump or boom period will determine whether or not the business will have a surplus or just enough to see them through.

Companies like Selfridges, Oxford St rely on certain amount of revenue from tourists. If the pound is high against certain currency, the amount of money they will get to the pound will be low, depending on how strong the pound is.

Tourists will have less to spend on luxury goods in places like Selfridges, so sales would probably be affected.

All these factors will have an effect on the organisation and future decisions made by managers.

Economy; McDonald's has to know if the country where it is operating is in boom or recession. If the country is in boom McDonald's will know that they can make some money and will introduce new products. But if the company is recession McDonald's would need to lower the prices.

C1

Sainsbury's

Forecasting

Forecasting in Sainsbury's can be used by management to predict the amount of staff needed for the following day, week etc, the amount of stock needed over certain period i.e. Christmas. It can be also used to predict future sales and revenue of a particular department. It shows them what may happen in a variety of areas and how they will affect the industry, the market, the business, departments and employees.

Organising

Organising is the process of arranging and being responsible for the work or jobs done by individuals to achieve McDonald's objectives. Andrew Taylor (Manager of McDonald's) usually organises work and jobs of individuals. He also organise groups and teams of people in order to get better results

"Two heads are better than one 2+2=5".

Organising great teams could lead to increased performance and better ideas and this would contribute greatly to objectives especially if the objective is to increase performance. The production also has to be organised, everybody needs to know which department makes what. Organising work would save money to McDonald's as more work could be done with the same number of staff and this could cut some of the costs.

Motivation

Every company needs motivation. Motivation is the force which leads people to behave in a certain way. Theories of motivation have been used to by managers and employers in an attempt to produce a more efficient workforce.

The question 'What Motivates Staff?' is a crucial one for management to consider. Over the years a number of management theories have been put forward in an attempt to explain the nature of motivation and suggests ways in which it may be improved.

Coordinating

Coordination is bringing various jobs and task together in one harmonious operation.

This function contributes to the objectives as it helps company to maintain high quality and saves Sainsbury's money, and if they maintain or improve the quality they will still stay number one choice for many consumers. Managers inside Sainsbury's head office have to coordinate hundreds of supermarkets. They have to make sure if the supermarkets are receiving everything they need or are requesting from the head office. Inside every company including Sainsbury's work is done by individuals and team has to be done in the most harmonious way possible as this will increase performance and will help Sainsbury's now and in future.

Negotiating

Managers negotiate almost everybody and this includes: their superiors, their subordinates, customers, government officials (tax), other companies etc.

Negotiate is very important and managers need to know how to negotiate.

E.g. if you send one of your offices to negotiate about a price of some materials with the managers of a company which supplies you with steel then he will represent your company and he will try to get what is best for the company.

Decisions making

Making decision is very important and some decision may bring vast profits to the company and some can bankrupt it. Decision making contributes to the objectives e.g. in order to create perfect network for their dealers they need to find a good third party software vendor, now someone has to decide which company to choose and decisions like these are very important and not every manager can make it, it all depend on which rank are they on.

C1

McDonald's

Forecasting

Forecasting is the process of predicting what will happen in the future and tries to secure sae future for the business. Forecasting also helps McDonald's to achieve some of its objectives. The forecasting is very important for McDonalds as the customers are becoming aware that the food which McDonald's sells is not healthy for them. They need to predict what customers want when they come McDonald's to eat in the future. They need to know which products should be cancelled as they would become unprofitable. Whenever search data is collected it will be necessary for management team to use its knowledge and expertise to analyse it.

Managers inside McDonald's need to forecast sales and by doing this they would be looking into the future and this would help company to have better results and increase sales which would make higher profits which helps to achieve their objectives.

Communicating

Being a good communicator is probably the most important ability needed by a modern manager. If McDonald's managers know how to communicate with their superiors and the subordinates then this will contribute greatly toward the objectives. If manger understands understand each other then it will be clear to him what he needs to do. This will also help to create website, website is a way of communicating with your customers over the web where they can find all information's about McDonald's and maybe order their goods which they acquire. Managers inside McDonald's have to communicate with hundreds of their outlets and many other head offices situated in other countries and because of this it's very important that managers are good communicators. A manager will need to negotiate with subordinates, superiors, colleagues, trade unions, government officials and outside agencies.

Planning

McDonald's setting objectives and also their strategies, policies, programmes and procedures for achieving them. Is concerned with the future impact of decisions made within the company today.

Through planning objectives and targets can be set. This could be company goals and/or objectives, departmental or individual. The characteristics of management vary depending on the level of management, but no matter what the level management is conducted, strategic planning is crucial.

Strategic planning is used for a particular type of planning.

Strategies are plans that are used to help the organisation meet their major objectives and goals.

Motivation

Every company needs motivation. Motivation is the force which leads people to behave in a certain way. Theories of motivation have been used to by managers and employers in an attempt to produce a more efficient workforce.

The question 'What Motivates Staff?' is a crucial one for management to consider. Over the years a number of management theories have been put forward in an attempt to explain the nature of motivation and suggests ways in which it may be improved. If the manager motivates their staff then they could achieve their objectives a lot quicker.

Innovation

This is where new ideas come into the business (i.e. drive through), new routine, new methods of work and new products (i.e. Mc Flurry) Managers innovate whenever they change any of these. In recent years the human resources department managers have introduced quality circles, performance- related pay and empowerment (giving employees more responsibility). Quality circles is a gathering with 4-10 people (staff) getting together having a meeting during working hours.

Developing

The manager's role may involve developing people either by direct 'on-the-job' training or 'off-the-job' training at college or elsewhere. Many organisations require their managers to be involved with succession planning, that is, managers should positively train people so that they are eventually able to take over the managers jobs. Beside these training functions, managers also have a role to play in developing personality.

Delegating

This is the process of giving authority to lower level manager's to make specific decisions. It is necessary because each manager cannot do all tasks that need o be done. The senior manager needs to ensure that the subordinate can do the work and that the work and that the work gets done. Senior managers remain responsible for all delegated work; they 'carry the can'.

Controlling

This function contributes greatly towards the achieving business objectives as it can save McDonald's money, managers have to control their budget limit.

McDonald's has to control its production department as in the past few decades they have been accused of using low quality cheap meat and having low hygiene inside production department. They are inspecting and regulating every aspect of their production department. Controlling would help managers inside McDonald production to achieve higher quality standards and this would increase quality of McDonald's products which would be extremely good for McDonald's. Controlling also involves

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A.Akil