McDonald’s Greed for Profit

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In 2015 the Business Insider opened up with an article “How McDonald’s is luring kids”[13] and introduced plenty programmes of the company and their way to find access to children even without their mascot.

One of the programmes is the so-called „McTeacher’s Night“[14]. Within this programme teachers sell McDonald’s menus to their students – all under a fundraising motto. Teachers work for a few hours in one of their local McDonald’s store. A part of the revenue that is generated during their shift goes then back to their school. According to the magazine Mother Jones, children get a real kick out of hearing their favourite teachers saying: “Do you want fries with that? “[15]

In another programme called “Moms spreading the word” McDonald’s recruits groups of American mothers to become Mom’s Quality Correspondents. Women attend workshops where they are taught about McDonalds food safety, quality and nutrition and afterwards share their experience with other mothers to so spread the “good” McDonald’s story. One of the “Quality Correspondent” Tonia Welling writes that her attitude towards McDonalds has completely changed since she entered the programme: “Going into McDonald’s to grab a meal doesn’t leave me feeling completely guilty any more. I know I have options to feed my family a nutritious meal out, just as I am able to feed them a nutritious meal at home. It’s all about my choices.”[16]

Thompsons respond on this article discussed the company’s effort to encourage children to eat more fruits and vegetables and beside this remarked that children eat McDonalds’s but are still alive and well.[17] In McDonald’s business conduct the company clearly states: “each of us must avoid any situation in which our personal or financial interests might cause our loyalties to be divided.”[18] It continues: “We must avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest that might cause others to doubt our fairness or integrity.”[19] This strongly defined ethical standards stays contrary to the billions of dollars that has been spread in children marketing. Including toys alongside children’s Happy Meal which lead to high rates of diabetes and obesity in children.

Doesn’t a global brand have the responsibility to invest in form of authentic corporate social responsibility in the leaders of tomorrow instead of harming their physical and mental health?

Further isn’t it time for the company to respond trustfully with new ideas on the doubts of society instead of introducing new programmes, which manage new access on targeting children? And beside this how can the company enable the organization to consider their business conduct to be a real guide of ethical and legal responsibilities?

Solution:

With regards to the at the beginning introduced Stakeholders theories and Organizational Culture I truly believe that McDonalds needs values, norms and attitudes that reflects the common good of a society. Values that put the interest of it’s employees and people higher than those of profit margin. To activate these values it is obligatory to idealize these values from the executive level of an organization. McDonalds does have Standards of Business Conduct. But which added value does it bring in a society when these standards are blinded out.

Following the stakeholders theory an organisation won’t survive long if it doesn’t take into account the needs and concerns of its society. Statics proof this theory since profit margin has decreased in the last two years by about ten percent.[20] So what needs to be done?

If McDonald’s wants to survive the next decade a new managerial alignment is necessary.

Values and norms that are authentic have to be declared into the organization and the society.

Managers have to truly identify themselves with these values and ensure that these values are lived from the top to the bottom. Role models are essential for this achievement. An organizational culture that cherishes its employees and doesn’t exploit them is mandatory. Supervisors and franchisees are to be chosen under strict selective criteria’s taking their personal capabilities stronger into consideration.

Supervisors and Franchisees are to be monitored within their restaurants. Regular checks including interviews with the employees, which are kept anonymously and shift plans controls should be part of the frequent checks ups. Stronger punishments in case of misbehaviour or indications of human exploitation need to be done immediately.

This norms and values do include a clear statement of how the company will proceed with the topic children advertisement. The fact of rising child obesity and diabetes has to be taken into account. It is absolutely illoyal to offer educational workshops to students who are taught about healthy nutrition and provide them at the end of the workshop with a MacMenu.

Corporate social responsibility will always be existent to push the image of a company and increase its revenues. But if it gets paradox and doubtful it will be counterproductive. McDonald’s is a fast food chain. Nobody expects the company to transform in a restaurant for vegetable and fruits. But adjustments especially when it comes to children advertisement can have a huge impact on the perception of the company.

Instead of giving toys or free items to children for unhealthy meals, McDonald’s could overthink its promotion and only provide children toys for meals that are low in fat and free in cholesterol. Instead of teaching children about healthy nutrition and provide them with educational material next to their meal, the company should rather change the menu and feature low-fat and cholesterol-free options. Or offer periodical meals that do not exceed a certain amount of calories.

The initial stated theory of Organizational Culture makes obvious that clear defined values and norms need to be identified in order to see where the threshold for children advertisement is. Once a set of values and norms is defined it is easier to define the scope of flexibility. Considering the Stakeholders Theory is it necessary to define these norms and values in relationship to its internal and external environment.

Defining the norms and values will be the toughest of all issues and should be in any case done by a wide board of individuals. Activating them can take years but a start needs to be set.

Conclusion:

At the beginning of the report the company McDonalds was introduced. The second part concentrated on two