McDonald's "Hamburger University”

and popular culture of Mc Donald's improving

service quality and productivity

Jorge Yeshayahu Gonzales-Lara

MBA San Ignacio University
Miami, August 2018
 McDonald's "Hamburger University”
and popular culture of Mc Donald's
improving service quality and productivity
By Jorge Yeshayahu Gonzales-Lara

Hamburger University was satirized in the 1986 comedy, Hamburger... The Motion
Picture. It was also spoofed by McDonald's itself in a commercial with Ronald
McDonald in which several animatronic hamburgers were shown graduating from school.

Training at McDonalds is an integral part of the company's management program. In

fact, McDonalds believes that management training is so important that they created the
"University of Hamburg," where managers and potential franchisees learn "The Basics of
McDonald's Operations." The Hamburger University was created by McDonalds Corporation to
instruct its employees or personnel employed by McDonald's independent franchisees in all aspects
of the business. Some of the characteristics of the global training plan at McDonalds range from
cultural awareness and management evaluations to proper cooking and cleaning techniques. They
offer these comprehensive training programs for all levels of personnel.

The Hamburger University

The Hamburger University, which was founded in 1961, has its campus headquarters in Oak Brook,
Illinois. This University has more than 130,000 square feet of state-of-the-art classrooms with
state-of-the-art technology and training environments, 30 resident professors, and can teach their
classes in up to 22 languages simultaneously. Other locations of Hamburger University include
universities in London, England, Tokyo, Japan, Munich, Germany and Sydney, Australia, not to
mention additional campuses throughout the United States. 1 Through these diverse
universities, McDonalds Corporation ensures that all of its management personnel and franchisees
are properly trained in McDonald's operating methods Corporation.

McDonalds Corporation believes that its restaurants should be a direct reflection of the
communities they serve. In order to achieve these objectives, they tend to "promote from within"

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McDonald’s. Hamburger University. July, 2017.

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and hire the majority of their management from people who started as cashiers and cooks, etc. One
of the keys to the successful human resources practices of McDonald’s global training
programs Corporation is your method of taking the best "people practices" found in
different McDonald’s restaurants around the world and combining them into the most effective
method for a given location. For example, the opening of a McDonalds in India, without any meat
products, replacing the all empanadas of meat with "- burgers vegetarians ". Another
good example of McDonald's ability to adapt to its environment is its franchise in Saudi Arabia,
where the restaurant has two separate dining rooms, one for men and one for women and children.

“Hamburger University " McDonald for you

Characteristics such as the ability to quickly adapt to cultural problems and the various labor laws
within each country, standardized training for managers and employees alike, a strong human
resources department to ensure that only the most enthusiastic people are hired and their "Positive
people practices" method gives McDonald's global training program a great advantage over many
of their competitors. That, along with the popularity of McDonalds name and the various
community assistance programs in which the Corporation participates, make McDonalds a very
successful international business. The fact that they have "hamburger University" located in key
areas around the world, allows them to reduce the training costs of their staff and at the same time
maintain the standard "smiling faces" that people have associated with McDonalds .

Dynamic organizational and culture of Mc Donald's

McDonald's is distributed in 31,000 restaurants worldwide and serves more than 52 million people
in around 119 countries each day. 2 The company can be proclaimed as the largest food retailer
in the world. McDonald's work culture depends a lot on the manager. Managers do not try to
put vertical barriers between themselves and their employees. They show a real concern for
emotions and wellness of your employees.

The corporate management of McDonald's focuses on the development and leadership that
permeates at all levels through the University of Hamburger. On the university's website, they cite
the ideology of McDonald's founder, Ray Kroc, which is oriented towards training: "If we are
going to go anywhere else, we have to have talent and I will put my money in talent".3

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McDonald’s. Hamburger University. July, 2017.
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Organizational Dynamics and Culture of McDonald's. November 2013.

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This shows that McDonald's considers the members of its crew as elements that cannot be
replaced. Because the training is not limited only to high-level executives, McDonald's can
ensure that its culture is differentiated at all levels and is reinforced through education and promotes
that employees remain important to the organization. McDonald's has a work schedule for all
the ends of the year between your work and your personal life. Some people want to work full-
time, while others work part-time who also have to fulfill some social obligations. As the work
is of low qualification, another employee can always intervene to occupy a part time. This
provides a sense of empowerment to employees who can always adjust and allows mutual trust to
develop between the manager and the employees based on mutual respect. "Those flexible
schedules, as well as competitively comparing salaries, superior administrative training and other
opportunities, the benefits of the stories that help us believe that we are a Valuable part of our
team.”4

The success of McDonalds It is based on a simplistic but very effective formula that involves
standardizing the service down to the smallest detail, maintaining strict control of the quality of the
service and developing cost efficiencies when employing work cheap, young and
unskilled supervised by managers. The business grows involving franchisees and
entrepreneurs who really expect to be associated with the brand. McDonalds it is characterized
by the importance of the system over the individual and to divide the work in simplistic steps. In
most organizations, norms do not occur due to the exchange of values among the members of the
organization. Organization; rather, the rules and practices of the organization play a very
much paper plus important in the definition of culture, converting both values and practices into
the determinants of culture and norms. With the franchisees scattered around the world, the core
values of McDonalds - Quality, Service, Comfort and Value - are deeply instilled in the recipients
who are trained at the University of Hamburg, so that uniformity can be had for all sides.5 In the
performance of each task, from the eye contact to the smile during the transactions, the counter
staff maintains a standard. Therefore, in an increasingly centralized command and control
system, culture is characterized as an entity with control but with a defined identity and gestures.

The focus of McDonalds It is universal when taken in a context where standardization and
integration are treated as business fundamentals. It is a methodical approach to doing business
where the emphasis on practices is important for smooth operations. This approach, which is
somewhat bureaucratic, causes employees to behave freely during work hours due to the influence

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Organizational Dynamics and Culture of McDonald's. November 2013.
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Hamburger University McDonald's Center of Training Excellence.

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of organizational practices that are under control. With their well-regulated jobs, even employees
who do not find the favor of a work so strictly controlled, adhere to these standards. This
match between the ideas of the employee and the business is what acts as the cornerstone of the
success of McDonalds .

Values and Principles of Mc. Donald’s

McDonalds , throughout the world, means Q, S, C and V, that is, quality, service, cleanliness
and value, which translates into offering customers high quality products that are kept in a clean
environment and a price .

McDonalds He believes it is important to invest in people, since there are qualified people who
come together from different backgrounds and it is important that they work together to ensure the
success of the organization.

Honesty and integrity are the cornerstones of all business approaches and strategies

Guiding and supporting systems that ensure success

Be proud of the achievements but also with the intention of progressing more

The beginning rectors

Confidence to exceed the expectations of the client at every possible opportunity

Corporate, franchisees and suppliers of the motors of the success of the organization

McDonalds considers franchising a priority and in collaboration with franchisees, strives to

make strategies that are beneficial to customers

Vision and Mission of Mac Donald’s

To be the best and number One quick fast food

The mission of the brand McDonalds is to become the favorite of the clients by
defining how I also started to improve operations to the level where it exceeds customer
expectations.

Functional Aspects of Mc Donald’s Organizational Culture

Strong culture organizational

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 McDonalds It has a strong sense of its organizational history, as they are proud of their humble
origin of "one store" that acts as a motivator for employees.

Globally supports the employment of young people by recognizing their contribution to the
growth of the organization

Promote pro-social initiatives such as the Ronald McDonald Foundation to improve relations
with local communities

Focus on retaining promising employees by offering good growth opportunities

McDonald's emphasis on the "Input socialization" process, which is an effort to invest in

strategies and preparations for organizational excellence

Offers for McDonald's employees include flexible shift schedules, free meal incentives and
provision of " McCrew Watch out ": an elective health insurance option”

Frequent promotion opportunities within the system and also, more opportunities for United
Nations increase in salary

Centralized decision making structure: a highly centralized scope of authority means that an
employee's job profile consists of limited liability and lack of an opportunity to exercise an
individual

Most employees are under 20 years old and for most people, it is their first job. Therefore,
employees have a greater identification with their co-workers, in part because there is no candidate
for decision making and a high stress environment and acceleration has its own cost in identifying
employees with the organization

Tolerance of conflict is very low, it is important that employees adhere to the groups
of job, individual initiatives are not encouraged and divergent opinions remain silenced at the
employee level and do not figure at the level of organizational strategy

Not much attention is given to the implementation of service motivators and there are opportunities
for recognition and growth in the current system, except for those who remain in the organization
for a longer period of time.

The Mc Donald’s Culture Process

"Complicity of procedure" is important for employees

Comply with the rules and procedures strictly

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Punctual and obedient people adapt to the structure of an "ideal employee"

The management of the authority-obedience is the one that causes that the interference in the
decision making is reduced to the minimum. The scope of authority is more centralized in
practice because the decisions is take by senior management, while crew members and lower-
level personnel simply "follow the procedure".

Horizontal division of labor: there is a specialization in job and emphasis is placed on

"conformity" in the production of the final product

Culture Change

 Facilitate the flow of communication in the organization by making vertical decisions:

make efforts to alleviate work boredom and humiliation of employees, as it is the key to
the successful operation of restaurants.
 "Decentralization" should become a more prominent determinant of future strategies
for McDonalds
 The lower level managers have the accounts that are connected in the branches
 Involvement of crew members in the development of initiatives for innovation in the
structure and responsibilities of work
 Develop a culture Work hard / to play hard where employees gain greater satisfaction
from participation in work and strive to achieve limited individualization
 Encourage subordinates to more responsibilities to be self-sufficient in decision making
 Ensure that the tasks of the employees are carried out with the appropriate frequency to
acquire the acquired knowledge, which include crucial skills, such as finance and
accounting
 Assume more risks: each franchisee should be allowed the freedom to decide the promotion
strategies and the service offerings that are fundamental to increase individual autonomy
and improve relations with the local community.
 Ask employees to be part of brand restructuring initiatives. For example, designing more
attractive uniforms when employees are proud to endorse a brand.

Implement the Change

1. The responsibility and inclusion of workers should be the focus of a new management
strategy. Reflection sessions about the brain with employees, especially employees at

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 lower levels, which involve taking their suggestions and suggestions for improvements and
innovations in service offerings.
2. Create a new training program for restaurant employees that has focused on education,
growth and responsibility and guidance for different tasks that are a child important for
the proper functioning of the business, which include inventory control, budget and
programming
3. Offer airplanes to help employees continue their education even working
in McDonalds paying for their education
4. Create an outreach program for new destinations, which is voluntary nature, for 2 weeks a
year in which you go and work in their communities so that when they return, they can get
information about their communities to the organization to get better deals.

Biography and References

1. Organizational Dynamics and Culture of McDonald's. November 2013.

https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/organisational-dynamics-and-
organisational-culture-mcdonalds-business-essay.php?vref=1
2. Hamburger University McDonald's Center of Training Excellence. 2010.
https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/mcd/corporate_careers2/training_and_developm
ent/hamburger_university.html
3. McDonald’s. Hamburger University. July, 2017.
https://studymoose.com/mcdonalds-hamburger-university-essay