Solutions For Lack Of Performance Management In A Fast Food Chain

Problem Identification

The organizational issues are considered to be the critical aspects of impacting the businesses and their profitability. There is a wide range of real-life problems being faced by the organization in their day to day activities which hampers their goals for long terms.  The current report is been mainly intended to identify and understand the problem faced by the organizations based on some specific case studies (Kearney, 2018, p. 10-12). The major objective of this plan is to evaluate the problems and determine the solutions for the same. The report would include effective solutions to the problems identified in an organization. Moreover, it would focus upon the business problem of McDonald’s along with its solutions and specification in an enhanced manner.

McDonald’s is a renowned American fast food company being headquartered in Chicago, USA.  The organization is been ranked as the world’s largest restaurant chain based on the revenue records. It serves nearly about 69 million customers on daily basis in more than 100 countries across 36,900 outlets approximately. The organization is been considered to be a chain of wide ranges of franchisees and is been operated at both the small and midsized scale businesses (Corporate.mcdonalds.com. 2018). It is basically involved in the restaurant industry and the service sector all over the world.  McDonald’s is also listed as the second largest private employer having more than 1.9 million employees out of whom nearly about 1.5 million employees work for the franchises.

McDonald’s being a large organization includes the wide range of business activities and segments which contributes to the achievement of success. The major problem identified in the food chain is the lack of performance management measures within the organizational framework. Having a large number of employees, it requires managing the performance records with the purpose to extract effective results out of it (Mester et al, 2018, p.12-15).  It has been commonly seen that inefficient performance management largely leads to the employee dissatisfaction which impacts their productivity and expected performances at the workplace. The authorities of McDonald’s is been going through similar issues and had identified the lack of performance management measures at the workplace (Moullin, 2017, vol, 66, p.442-458).  

The improper performance management in McDonalds’s had resulted into lack of appropriate rewards and recognition, reduced strategic focus, lack of consistency, lack of employee interest and leadership support and many other related issues. The major impact of lacking in performance management measures is been observed upon the employee turnover and management which adversely impacted the productivity of the business eventually.  The problem also enhanced the number of employee turnover and lower retention due to fewer pays and other requisites for the same (Kok & McDonald, 2017, vol. 42,  p.210-231). Thus, it requires executing effective solutions for the problem in McDonald’s and acquires positive results out of the same.

Solutions for Lack of Performance Management

With the purpose to resolve the problem, the authorities of McDonald’s could make use of various effective initiatives towards the performance management of the business. It has been observed that performance management is the crucial aspects which must not be overlooked by the organization. It plays a major role in keeping the employees motivated and connected to their jobs and make them work with their best efforts (Townsend, McDonald & Cathcart, 2017, vol. 28, p.2085-2107). Managing the performances would assist the authorities of McDonald’s in keeping a track over the performances and productivity of the employees. This act would contribute to maintaining the records of the employees and providing them with the best recognition and remunerations based on the performances. Some of the most effective solutions for the problem of lack of performance management measures are as follows:

Table 1: Potential solutions

Solution name	Description	Benefits	Risk	Rating
Performance management software	The performance management software is the execution of technological aspects in the management. It is the system which enables the management to handle the information and records related to the employee performances (Kokina, Pachamanova & Corbett, 2017, vol. 38, p.50-62)	It allows quick and actionable reporting of the performances. It is employee friendly and easy to use system which also fosters the employee development.	It involves medium risk	The system is been rated as highly effective for the organizations.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics	The KPIs are the parameters which measures the performances related to the strategic goals and objectives of the business (Kerzner, 2017, p. 10-16). It enables the rich data driven performances conversations and lead to better decision making.	It aids in the evaluation of set parameters based on the objectives and productivity (McDonald & Lawson, 2017, vol. 25, p.246-251). It also helps in evaluating that how well a company or its business units are performing.	It involves low risk	The rating is low.
360 degree review or peer reviews	This method helps in reviewing the performances with broad assessment based on the views of managers, peers, customers and supervisors. This method is mainly used in training and development of the employees.	It mainly helps in availing feedbacks from managers, peers and customers based on the real time performances of the employees (Catal & Guldan, 2017, vol. 11, p.89-92). It also contributes in democratizing the process of review by weighing the opinions of different people instead of just individual line managers.	It involves higher risks.	The rating is medium.

The above table indicates three most effective solutions were found for the problem identified in McDonald’s. It is important for the authorities to ensure that the solution best meets the requirements of the problem and provide with the effective resolution (Greener, 2017, p.5-10). The criteria such as description, benefits, risk, and rating are selected to assess the solution in a more specific manner. These criteria would help in proposing the best effective solution for the problem meeting the optimum requirements of the same. Identifying the benefits and risk would help the managers of McDonald’s in making effective plans for the execution of the solution without any failures. The risk involved in the solutions would depict the probabilities of the failures or further issues in the same. However, the solution based on the ranking of their effectiveness could be used by the managers and meet the desired levels of effectiveness at the workplace (Mone & London, 2018, p. 20-25).

On the basis of the assessment above, the best optimum solution is been identified as the implementation of performance management software within the HR practices. The technological advancements had made the business activities more convenient and easier to be performed. This particular solution is been selected rather than others because it is considered to be the most effective solution out of all (Chatterjee, 2017, vol. 38, p.588-608). The performance management software or system would largely help McDonald’s to maintain the records related to the performances and other activities of the employees. The records would specify actual results for the remunerations, awards or recognition to the employee leading them towards enhanced satisfaction. The system is easy to use and employee friendly which would enhance the interest levels of the human resources in their jobs and relevant practices.

Table 1: Potential Solutions

There are immense numbers of software available for the businesses making their Human resources departments more efficient and managed. For example, the organization could make use of the software such as Zenefits, BambooHR, APS or automatic payroll system, etc (Softwareadvice.com. 2018). This software would highly contribute to eradicating the problem of proper performance management and even lead to establishing effective measures for the same. Moreover, this solution is also cost efficient and would reduce the risk of any biasness and errors in the records. This method enables the organization to manage the performances in more efficient and effective manners than others.

In order to improve the performance management measures of McDonald’s, the top management of the organization could implement the performance management software. The proper consideration of requirements and development or modifications in the selected performance management measure system will help the organization to overcome the issues that affect the overall performance (Uhl, & Gollenia, 2016, p. 12). For the current case of McDonald, the management is facing issues in measuring the performance and offering feedback to the employees that influencing the working operations and satisfaction level of the staff. By implementing the software for performance management the benefits organization will have are as follows:

The management and employees can able to review their performance criteria and contribution according to standards. The software will have all the information about the KPI’s of an individual and how much they have completed the tasks accordingly. The review and analysis of the actions will be helpful for the organization to evaluate the performance and offer the training to improve the performance (Mir & Pinnington, 2014, vol. 32 p. 202-217). For example, analysis of sales, operational and customer services through software will be beneficial for the McDonald. The scheduling can also be done through the review process by setting the reminder on a particular date and time. This will also appear for the employee as they log in to the system on each day.

The performance management software is useful for developing customized programs for the employees by considering their skills and areas for improvement. For example, McDonald management could set different parameters for different stores according to their performance in a particular region and market trends (Laudon, & Laudon, 2015, p. 23). The software will assist management in the planning of the training plan for individual and their contribution to the achievement of goals and objectives. The proper monitoring of individual members at workplace and support from the management for encouraging the knowledge and set of skills will be helpful for increasing the satisfaction level of employee an engage them in working. The customized software will highlight underperforming staff which will help management to make changes in approach to motivate them (Mone & London, 2018, p. 31).

Implementation of Performance Management Software

For encouraging the performance and proper measurement of the contribution of members in the achievement of objectives, it is essential to set the goals for individual and teams. The performance management software will consider past performance and marketing sales of the organization at a particular time and assist the management to set the goals for employees (Schaltegger & Wagner, 2017, p. 27). For example, top management of Mc Donald’s will be able to set the specific SMART goals for employees according to geographic location and skill level. The employees can also track their performance through the software and check performance. If they are finding difficulty in the achievement of goals they can consult with the HR manager regarding that.

Coca-cola Company is using such performance management measuring software for analyzing and encouraging the contribution of the employees. The organization is offering products and services worldwide and it is essential for top management to maintain communication with all teams. The performance software is allowing management to maintain communication and keep the staff members motivated by offering the support and knowledge about the strategic planning and approach of implementation (Bradley, 2016, p. 49). The performance software is helping to develop a customized training plan for the employee of the particular location and clarify the organizational goals to improve their understanding.

Solution trail

The organization is looking for the solution for measuring the performance of staff and providing better support for managing the products and services that help in the improvement of customer services. For that McDonald could design and implement the performance measurement software according to their requirements. In this process, the independent variable is the design and implementation of performance management software and depended variable is the improvement in the performance of the staff members (Marchewka, 2014, p. 14). The proper consideration of issues that organization is facing in different areas of HRM will be managed through the software. For the design and implementation of the system following resources are required:

Resources	Quantity
Human resource	For design and implementation of performance management software organization need: · Project manager · Technical team · Administrator team · Testing team · Designer · Expert team (After implementation)
Technical resource	· Wires and cables · Server · Networking tools · Routers · Computer system
Financial resources	Sponsor
Other	· Training manager · Supervisor · Analysis team

Task Name	Duration	Start	Finish	Predecessors	Resource Names	Cost
Project	176 days	Thu 11-10-18	Thu 13-06-19			$71,088.00
Initiation	37 days	Thu 11-10-18	Fri 30-11-18		Project manager	$13,360.00
Planning	15 days	Thu 11-10-18	Wed 31-10-18			$0.00
Requirements collection	10 days	Thu 01-11-18	Wed 14-11-18	3	Technical team	$1,600.00
Analysis	12 days	Thu 15-11-18	Fri 30-11-18	4	Project manager	$2,880.00
Planning	37 days	Mon 03-12-18	Tue 22-01-19	4,5	Project manager	$18,760.00
Design specification	10 days	Mon 03-12-18	Fri 14-12-18	3,5	Technical team	$1,600.00
Risk analysis	15 days	Mon 17-12-18	Fri 04-01-19	7	Project manager ,Technical team	$6,000.00
Arrangement of resources	7 days	Mon 07-01-19	Tue 15-01-19	7,8	Project manager	$1,680.00
Fund allocation to team	5 days	Wed 16-01-19	Tue 22-01-19	9	Administrator team	$600.00
Development	36 days	Wed 23-01-19	Wed 13-03-19	10	Designer	$12,000.00
Feature of software	7 days	Wed 23-01-19	Thu 31-01-19	7	Project manager	$1,680.00
Compatibility with existing system	4 days	Fri 01-02-19	Wed 06-02-19	12	Technical team	$640.00
Development	20 days	Thu 07-02-19	Wed 06-03-19	12,13	Designer	$3,200.00
Testing	5 days	Thu 07-03-19	Wed 13-03-19	14	Testing team	$720.00
Implementation	21 days	Thu 14-03-19	Thu 11-04-19	15	Project manager ,Technical team	$13,216.00
Functionality	4 days	Thu 14-03-19	Tue 19-03-19	15		$0.00
Compliance	3 days	Wed 20-03-19	Fri 22-03-19	17		$0.00
Collection of feedback	10 days	Mon 25-03-19	Fri 05-04-19	18	Administrator team ,Project manager	$3,600.00
Analysis	4 days	Mon 08-04-19	Thu 11-04-19	19	Technical team ,Testing team	$1,216.00
Post implementation	45 days	Fri 12-04-19	Thu 13-06-19	20	Supervisor	$13,752.00
Monitoring	10 days	Fri 12-04-19	Thu 25-04-19	19,20	Supervisor, Technical team	$2,800.00
Changes	10 days	Fri 26-04-19	Thu 09-05-19	22	Technical team	$1,600.00
Re-development	5 days	Fri 10-05-19	Thu 16-05-19	23	Technical team	$800.00
Testing	3 days	Fri 17-05-19	Tue 21-05-19	24	Testing team	$432.00
Implementation	2 days	Wed 22-05-19	Thu 23-05-19	25	Technical team	$320.00
Support	15 days	Fri 24-05-19	Thu 13-06-19	26	Technical team	$2,400.00

The trial solution will design and implemented in 176 days and the cost of the whole process will be around $71,088.00. The project manager, technical team, administrator, supervisor and testing team will take part in the trial process according to the scheduling of the activities. The project manager will analyze the process and provide the guideline for developing the performance management measure software for McDonalds and implementation. Moreover, the project team will look to complete the task as per the allocated budget and time frame according to planning.     

Benefits of Performance Management Software

The Gantt chart will help to track activities for design, development, and implementation of the software for McDonald. The proper consideration of activities and estimated duration for completing the task will be beneficial for the project team and organization to meet the specification and resolve the problem of the organization in performance management.

Technical risk
	Human resource risk
		Financial risks
			Changes in scope and lack of communication
				Unpredictable risks

[ ] = Moderate risk

[ ] = High risk

[ ] = Low risk

The project manager will consider above risks for planning and implementation of performance management software for the McDonald to improve the sustainability of the process and provide the better solution for the problem of the organization (McNeil, Frey, & Embrechts, 2015, p. 62).

In order to measure the success of the intervention, it is important to acquire actual results out of the users along with the performance parameters. The best suitable method of measuring success is conducting a survey and interview with the internal as well as the external factors of the business. Conducting interviews with the stakeholders of McDonald’s would provide with the in-depth understanding and idea of the execution of solution along with its effectiveness (Jensen, 2017. p. 65-84).  It is very important to assess the success of the resolution of the problem and ensure the effectiveness of the same. The evaluation includes the justifications of the benefits acquired out of the system making the process more efficient. The assessment would be mainly carried after 2 months of the execution so that could avail effective results out of it.  The working hours of the process would be targeted with the intent to avail maximum effective responses.

The interview would include 3 questions related to the execution and the system specifically. Whereas, the questionnaire for the survey would include 5 free text closed-ended questions related to the solution. The interview would mainly include at least 4 higher authorities like managers and a supervisor of McDonald’s to avail the effective responses (Pak & Kim, 2018, vol. 44, p. 2690-2715). In addition to this, minimum of 10 employees and customers of the food chain would be approached to complete the questionnaire based upon the performance management software implementation. The measurement would be mainly carried out during the working hours so that to collect more actual outcomes from both interview and survey methods.  Though, these measurement methods do not require many resources to be conducted.

The assessment, provided with the information that the execution of performance management software had proved to be beneficial for the business (Ross, 2017, p.10-13). The managers provided with positive reviews towards the questions and had observed remarkable changes after the solution. Even the employees and customers responded that the system had contributed to establishing effective performance management measures in McDonald’s. This had also helped the business to serve the employees with more satisfaction out of their jobs leading higher performances and productivity at the workplace (Sykes & Venkatesh, 2017, vol. 41, p. 13-16). The performance management software contributed to bringing more automation within the human resources framework and made the processes more accurate and reliable. The employees had stated that the solution had brought the noticeable change in the records of their performances and the rewards out of it.  It even established a consistency in the processes and resulted in lower employee turnover.

Coca-Cola Company Example

Thus, the assessment of the solution indicates that the execution is proved to be a success for the business operations of McDonald’s specifically. It had also made the HR department more accurate and effective in carrying out the evaluation of employee performances based on the organizational objectives (McDonald, Fisher & Connelly, 2017, p. 87-108). On the contrary to this, McDonald’s is still including some lacking in the measures and execution of the system. It has been seen that many of the employees are not tech savvy and thus creates a resistance to the solution. It even includes a risk of failure in case the system is not used efficiently and without any biasness. It is very important for the authorities of McDonald’s to ensure that the software is executed properly so that no issues are faced in future.

Many of the employees believe that the organization still requires improving the measures and bringing efficiencies at the workplace (Bianchi, Bovaird & Loeffler, 2017, vol. 40, p.833-846). The food chain would eradicate these issues by providing proper training and development session to the employees leading in-depth information and knowledge about the same. In addition to this, the organization had faced severe resistance to the change which requires making effective change management initiatives among the employees. It would contribute to a successful execution of the solution and benefit the business to the great extent (Carnall, 2018, p. 22-25).  

Conclusion 

The above report concludes with the facts that performance management measures play an important role in any business. It has been found that inefficient performance management largely leads to the employee dissatisfaction which impacts their productivity and expected performances at the workplace. The report disclosed that the large-scale organization like McDonald’s is facing a severe problem of lack of performance management measures within its organizational framework. It has been also found that the problem had enhanced the number of employee turnover and lower retention due to fewer pays and other requisites in the organization. It has been observed that performance management is the crucial aspects which must not be overlooked by the organization. The report disclosed that the best optimum solution being identified is the implementation of performance management software within HR practices. The execution of automation of the systems would make the measures more efficient and effective for recording and managing the performances. Moreover, it has been identified that the execution of the solution is proved to be a success and had benefited the business of McDonald’s extensively.

Conclusion

References

Bianchi, C., Bovaird, T. & Loeffler, E., 2017. Applying a Dynamic Performance Management Framework to Wicked Issues: How Coproduction Helps to Transform Young People’s Services in Surrey County Council, UK. International Journal of Public Administration, vol. 40, no. 10, pp.833-846.

Bradley, G., 2016. Benefit Realisation Management: A practical guide to achieving benefits through change. Routledge.

Carnall, C., 2018. Managing change. Routledge.

Catal, C. & Guldan, S., 2017. Product review management software based on multiple classifiers. Iet Software, vol. 11, no. 3, pp.89-92.

Chatterjee, J., 2017. Strategy, human capital investments, business?domain capabilities, and performance: a study in the global software services industry. Strategic Management Journal, vol. 38, no. 3, pp.588-608.

Greener, I., 2017. Performance management that works? Improving public services by making use of intrinsic motivation. Social Policy & Administration.

Jensen, M.C., 2017. Value maximisation, stakeholder theory and the corporate objective function. In Unfolding stakeholder thinking (pp. 65-84). Routledge.

Kearney, R., 2018. Public sector performance: management, motivation, and measurement. Routledge.

Kerzner, H., 2017. Project management metrics, KPIs, and dashboards: a guide to measuring and monitoring project performance. John Wiley & Sons.

Kok, S.K. & McDonald, C., 2017. Underpinning excellence in higher education–an investigation into the leadership, governance and management behaviours of high-performing academic departments. Studies in Higher Education, vol. 42, no. 2, pp.210-231.

Kokina, J., Pachamanova, D. & Corbett, A., 2017. The role of data visualization and analytics in performance management: Guiding entrepreneurial growth decisions. Journal of Accounting Education, vol. 38, pp.50-62.

Laudon, K.C. & Laudon, J.P., 2015. Management information systems (Vol. 8). Prentice Hall.

Marchewka, J.T., 2014. Information technology project management. John Wiley & Sons.

McDonald, K., Fisher, S. & Connelly, C.E., 2017. e-HRM systems in support of “smart” workforce management: An exploratory case study of system success. In Electronic HRM in the smart era (pp. 87-108). Emerald Publishing Limited.

McDonald, M.I. & Lawson, K.D., 2017. Doing it hard in the bush: aligning what gets measured with what matters. Australian Journal of Rural Health, vol. 25, no. 4, pp.246-251.

McNeil, A.J., Frey, R. & Embrechts, P., 2015. Quantitative Risk Management: Concepts, Techniques and Tools-revised edition. Princeton university press.

Mester, B., Andrews, A., Allen, C. & Chiozzi, L., 2018. Performance management. Sage publication

Mir, F.A. & Pinnington, A.H., 2014. Exploring the value of project management: linking project management performance and project success. International journal of project management, vol. 32, no. 2, pp.202-217.

Mone, E.M. & London, M., 2018. Employee engagement through effective performance management: A practical guide for managers. Routledge.

Moullin, M., 2017. Improving and evaluating performance with the Public Sector Scorecard. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 66, no. 4, pp.442-458.

Pak, J. & Kim, S., 2018. Team manager’s implementation, high performance work systems intensity, and performance: a multilevel investigation. Journal of management, vol. 44, no. 7, pp.2690-2715.

Ross, J.E., 2017. Total quality management: Text, cases, and readings. Routledge.

Schaltegger, S. & Wagner, M., 2017. Managing the business case for sustainability: The integration of social, environmental and economic performance. Routledge.

Sykes, T.A. & Venkatesh, V., 2017. Explaining post-implementation employee system use and job performance: Impacts of the content and source of social network ties. MIS quarterly, vol. 41, no. 3.

Townsend, K., McDonald, P. & Cathcart, A., 2017. Managing flexible work arrangements in small not-for-profit firms: the influence of organisational size, financial constraints and workforce characteristics. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 28, no. 14, pp.2085-2107.

Uhl, A. & Gollenia, L.A. eds., 2016. Business transformation management methodology. Routledge.

Corporate.mcdonalds.com. (2018). Company Overview | McDonald’s. [online] Available at: <https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/investors-relations/company-profile.html> [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018].

Softwareadvice.com. (2018). Top Performance Management Software – 2018 Reviews. [online] Available at: <https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/performance-review-software-comparison/> [Accessed 11 Oct. 2018]