Over the last several years, Total Quality Management (TQM) has become a way of helping organizations to innovate and be more creative. In the case of McDonalds, the company has hit a plateau in growth with them turning into the largest fast food chain in the world. At the same time, consumer tastes and perceptions about their products have completely shifted. These factors are important, as they are making it more difficult for the company to adapt with these changes and continually redefine itself. (Schlosser 2012) To fully understand how McDonalds can achieve these objectives requires focusing on three TQM concepts and how they are expected to work. Together, these elements will offer specific steps the firm can utilize to improve its brand image and evolve with new challenges.
Select three concepts and describe how you would expect to observe them in action within McDonalds.
Three concepts that would have an impact on McDonalds over the long term include: customer involvement, strategic planning and employee empowerment. Customer involvement is when McDonalds is seeking to understand what is most important to their clients and continually addressing them. This means that they are focusing on new trends and improving the quality of the services they are providing. These variables will enhance their experience inside each restaurant and it will help the company standout against competitors. The way these ideas can be enacted is to have various websites and a PR campaign. That allows clients to share their thought about the experiences they had at a restaurant and what changes need to be implemented. This will make the firm more responsive to cliental. (Hill 2008) (Schlosser 2012)
Strategic planning is concentrating on leading the company forward in the future. This occurs by identifying ways to improve operational efficiency and reduce the costs associated with running each location. These factors will enable McDonalds to decrease its liabilities and increase the total return it is generating. When this happens, their profit margins and revenues will improve. This can be observed by engaging in practices that will reduce the costs of running each location. For instance, one way to lower expenses is to have restaurants utilizing green technology such as: solar panels and improved lighting. These variables will enable it offer customers with the same service at reduced costs. Strategic planning plays an important part, in helping the company to identify where these shifts can take place and implementing them. (Hill 2008) (Rand 2010)
Employee empowerment is when the company is showing that they care about the wellbeing of their staff members. This requires creating a work environment which helps everyone to realize they are an important part of the team and the long term success of the firm. During this process, each person is encouraged to share their ideas with upper management about improving various products and services. It is at this point, when changes can be identified early and everybody will take more of an interest in doing more for cliental. The way this can be observed is through an employee survey that analyzes their levels of happiness and the challenges impacting the organization. This will help to empower staff members by giving them an avenue to voice their concerns to upper management. (Hill 2008) (Reilly 2012)
What would you expect to be the challenges that would have to be overcome for the implementation of these three concepts to succeed?
The biggest challenges are a culture of complacency. This is because everyone feels proud of the position of the firm and believes that the current strategy is effective over the long term. These areas are problematic, as it places managers and employees in the mindset of whatever is working now. It is at this point when these issues could lead directly to decreases in quality. Moreover, the company may not respond to new tastes or products consumers are demanding. When this happens, it will make it more difficult for the firm to adjust with these changing needs. (Schlosser 2012)
- Hill, D 2008, What Makes Total Quality Management Work, Proqest, Ann Arbor.
- Rand, T 2010, Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit, Eco Ten Publishers, Toronto.
- Reilly, P 2012, Global HR, Gower, Burlington.
- Schlosser, E 2012, Fast Food Nation, First Mariner, New York.
