How business works Essay

IntroductionIn this assignment I lead be producing a case study on large/medium sided ancestryes, showing of how business playacts. My chosen comp whatsoever is McDonalds. The avocation will be including in my case study* A explanation of what the business does, its aims and objectives.* A description of the purposes and activities of human resources and both other three flowal beas.* A description of how effectively divers(prenominal) argonas of the business communicate.* A description of how the structure of the business is different from a nonher organisations structure.* A drop of my sources instruction.McDonalds RestaurantOverViewMcDonalds is a large debauched pabulum chain of eating houses operating demesne wide, started in America and has turn uplets in other come forwards such as, India, Cyprus. In many countries McDonald s sells variations of its provender to append for local tastes. They ar in any case known for being multicultural because of the differ ent cultural foods in their eaterys. Because of their huge volume of sales McDonalds has strong purchasing power with its suppliers and is therefore commensurate to sell food really competitively. By the end of 2001 their was 1,184 restaurants in the UK al peerless. They had a tar circumvent to get oer 80 impertinently restaurants receptive by 2002, and that was achieved. By opening over 80 new restaurants they employed 4,800 new employees.ACTIVITY, AIMS & OBJECTIVES (P1, D2)Main natural actionThe main activeness of McDonalds is selling disruptive food. They aim to cater a guest portion, there ar 1.5 million employees thrashing for McDonald restaurants in the 119 countries, which all catch the same daily activities which involves the cater in greeting, parcel and helping customers with any enquiries or problems. They atomic number 18 the largest food service company in the world, so its primal that all employees move around together to succeed their aim.Main Aim McDonalds main aim is to provide customers with a fast food service in order to obtain a profit for its shareholders. McDonalds are committed to conducting their business with the environment in mind.McDonalds mission statement is To be the worlds go around quick service restaurant. This is being achieved through five strategies such as* schooling allow the quick service restaurant market by a broadcast of site development advantageous restaurant openings.* Our People Achieve a competitive advantage through passel who are high gear calibre, effective, well motivated and feel part of the McDonalds team up in delivering the companys goals.* Restaurant reformness Focus on consistent delivery of quality, service and cleanliness through excellence in our restaurants.* Operating social system Optimise restaurant performance through the selection of the nigh appropriate operating, management and ownership structures.* The tag Continue to build the relationship between McDonalds and our customers in order to be a received part of the fabric of British society.ObjectivesMcDonalds objective is to be the bests quick service restaurant and believes and believes that this involves avoiding damage to the environment at a local and global level. The company aims to ensure that its operations at present do not have an effect on the lives of future consumers. McDonalds is involved in an on acquittance programme with the aim to remedy the environment, they do this by reusable packaging and recycling.Functional Areas within McDonalds (P2, M1, D2) tender-hearted RESOURCESThe Human Resources department concentrates on employees who work for the McDonald restaurants.Human Resources department include managing staff and their welfare, so the refuge of their staff is taking very seriously, this all comes under Health and Safety. Staff have to be thorough not to use computers/tills for long periods of time because they bathroom suffer from eyestrain, tiredness or str ess. McDonalds is improving communion systems by installing panic buttons for the ripety against violent customers.McDonalds employees have to work together to ensure a mask free zone, by adhering to the health and safety regulations. McDonalds puts new employees on to a cooking system, to make sure if an accident happens which involves either a member of staff or a customer getting hurt, thusly the employee will be able to handle the situation effectively.McDonalds restaurants work to high standards, which tacks and broadly speaking exceeds the rules and regulations. The company eer aims for the highest standards given in guidelines because of health and safety regulations and to expand the business. If McDonalds didnt meet the requirements than they would be closed down by the health and safety executives.The Human Resources department contributes to McDonalds activity by making sure* They employ the right staff* Making sure the chime in is a hazard free zoneThese amour s contribute to the activity of McDonalds because with forth them they wouldnt be able to achieve their aim, so its important that all the different departments work together to succeed it.Recruitment, Training and DevelopmentWhen recruiting staff McDonalds look for people who have a positive attitude towards customers, themselves and other employees, and who are heart-to-heart of delivering the highest standards of quality, service and cleanliness to our customers. Then potential employees are trained, promoted and treated on the basis of their relevant skills, talents and performance and with appear citation to race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age and disability.McDonalds management development curriculum drives new recruits form trainee four-in-hand to restaurant manger. They have on-the- commerce training and open learning development modules, backed up with courses and seminars at the companys national and regional traini ng centres. Hourly salaried staff receive endless on-the-job training by computer based training and other training materials. When employees complete their initial training staff members are awarded a basic certificate in food hygiene.EmployeesBelow are the figures of the staffs gender and age status.By the end of 2000 McDonalds employed 49,726 members of staff* 46, 207 restaurant crew* 2, 974 restaurant management crew* 545 office staffHealth and SafetyMcDonalds always aims for the highest standards (and broadly exceeds), so they can achieve its aim and be the best quick service restaurant. If McDonalds didnt meet the requirements of the health and safety act 1974 than they would be closed down by the health and safety executives.The around common hazards which occur in a work location are1. Leaving the work place untidy and dirty2. Leaving stems wet and stairs3. Leaving wires to trial across passageways4. Frayed carpeting or loose tiles5. Equipment just left all over work sur faces6. Too many plugs inserted into totally one electric socketThe human resources department has to make sure that all health and safety regulations are met. If they are not met therefore it can be closed down, also if the restaurant is unclean because it could loose customers and wouldnt clutches up their activity to be the best selling fast food restaurant. Customers wouldnt want to go to a dirty restaurant, where there are a nap of hazards going on such as wet shop floor, bins over filled, dirty tables and a unclean kitchen area. If any of these hazards occurred in any McDonalds restaurants customers could become ill or hurt, which would result in McDonalds going to court or having to closed the McDonalds restaurant down.Management training includes coping with emergency situations that could arise in a restaurant. This is because it decreases the fortune of people being injured or the buildings being damaged in the McDonald restaurants. When an accident has occurred the manager wherefore has to publish off what happened and then investigate on the matter.Training is the main priority to ensure the soundbox of the restaurant operation, and the highest levels of customer service and care. Every McDonalds franchi wait to it must successfully complete a training programme which expunges on average nine months to complete.Trade UnionThe workers are represented by union of shop, distributed and consort worker. bank line Roles In Human ResourcesJob Roles In the Human Resources functionCarmel Flatley, Human Resources DirectorI am the human resources director of McDonalds and I have the overall decision of anything that happens in this department. I also have to make sure that the human resources department dont go over their budget.capital of Minnesota Smith, Human Resources omnibusI look after the consentient HR department and staff, involved with industrial relations and trade unions negotiations, implementing the organisations HR policies. Gemma Wilson, Recruitment officerI do with recruiting people, thats accuseing reveal application forms, making interviews for potential employees. Potential employees dont need to be experience in any way, because McDonalds is committed to training their staff and improving the skills of staff.Matthew Lawrence, Health and Safety OfficerI deal with all health and safety matters, accident monitoring and staff welfare. That involves making sure that the shop floor is a hazard free zone for customers and clean and tidy, making sure the kitchen is clean enough to work in. I am well trained in original aid so that if any accidents happen, I will be their to help. I also have to deal with complaints and try to solve them.FINANCEThe finance is one of the most important functions as they record all the money going in and pop give away of the business, they give a budget for each other department to spend to make sure they keep their level of income and outgo. They would regularly chec k the list of money each department has spend and made to put on if they are on target or not. If a department has gone over their budget then the finance dept would check to see if there is enough money to lend those more than.So the purpose of the monetary function therefore is to* Keep all the financial records call for by the organisation, detailing all the emolument and payments that have been made* Prepare final estimates from these records as required by law* Monitor the income and expenditure of different departments against their budgets* Provide continuous, up to date financial information for managers about business performance* render salaries and wages to the staff* Pay amounts owing to suppliers* misrepresent the levels of debts owed to the company* Obtain additional finance when required, from the most appropriate source* Advise senior managers on the financial implications of major decisionsThese contribute to the McDonalds activity by being apart of provid ing a good customer service by, paying the employees their salaries/wages, if they werent give they wouldnt be no staff or it could result in the staff withdrawing their labour. performance will cease and the employer will lose revenue. By McDonalds receiving more capital they can improve the quality of the store or fruits so customers would be more dexterous of the in store environment or pleased of what they have purchase. It would result in consumers returning to the store because of the good service and also bringing more money to the business which will also achieve their aim which is to be the best selling fast food restaurant.Job Roles in Finance DepartmentJOB ROLESGeorge Mackay, Finance DirectorI am the finance director and I am in charge of the whole finance department. It involves information services, new intersection development, quality assurance and supply chain. I have to make sure a product which is purchased has the right quality that is expected from consumers, and then have to put a price to it. The most important part of the finance department is the cash flow which is the movement of cash going in and out a business. As a finance director I have to gives advice to senior managers on the overall decision on financial matters. And also as a director I have the conk say with what happens within the finance department.Christopher Bateman, Financial ManagerI looks after the finance function and the staff. Advising on financial resources. As a manager I have to make sure that all work as been done well. E.g. they have to monitor the income and expenditure of all departments to make sure they havent gone over their budget. So after the staff have checked their cash flow I then have to then go threw it to make sure nothing has been missed out.Derek, Daniels, Ledger clerkI have to assist the chief accountant in the recording of all financial transactions. So where the money goes or comes in I have to make sure the chief accountant has save i t all effectively. If any mistakes have been made I then have to correct the errors.Nita Negi, Credit Control ClerkAs a credit control clerk, I have to assist the credit control in checking the credit status of new customers and existing accounts, and also Reminding customers or overdue payment.PRODUCTIONProduction is all about the process of making something. Product life style shows the stages of a product or a range of products. If it isnt successful it goes to decline stage.The activities of the production department are listed below* Obtaining the resources required to produce goods or provide a service* Organising the resources to produce the goods or provide the service in the most appropriate wayFor the activities to be achieve they must consider the aim of the business which is to be the best selling fast food restaurant, so they have to find the best quality of food that suits them and then order it but first having to keep on target and not going over their budget by orde ring expensive items or ordering to much that it all cant be produced/ inter swap. Another thing they must consider is if the resources can be organised to achieve the aims, doing this they have to imagine about selling it cheaper then their competitors or having an offer like buy on get on free. They do this so it sells more because people wouldnt to spend more they would go to the most cheapest place or giving the product an offer can be appealing to the customers.The production department contributes to McDonalds activity by finding the right products at the right prices. When good quality products are sold at low prices it pleases customers and make them want to return, it also brings in more people as when a customer is pleased with the type of service they have receive the consumer then tells several other people, which makes then want to try it out.Job roles in ProductionJob Roles in ProductionSteven Cornway, Production ManagerResponsible for the entire production function a nd its operations. What ever goes on has to be checked and classical by me.Kim Karenga, Production PlannersPlan all production to maximise machine use and staffing, taking account of customer requirements.Chris Walker, Production ControllersTo check all production is going to schedule.Ted Osborne, DesignersI am amenable for the true design of the finished product. So if I dont like the way a product has been designed I can make remendments.MARKETINGThe object of marketing is to make sure that the right product is made and potential customers are persuaded to buy it.Market Research can be carried out through either primary or secondary investigate. Primary research means asking person on their views or opinions. A way of asking potential customers of their views or opinions is to make sure a survey, having questions about a certain item. After the survey has been completed they will then need to send out the surveys to potential customers, by either online, over the phone, by po st or giving out surveys (in stores. Postal surveys dont have much of a response as the others do as it takes more time e.g. sending it back, so when postal surveys are concerned their will usually have to be some kind of incentive offered for completing the survey, so customers would be tempted to fill it out.Secondary research is known as desk research. It consists to looking up facts or figures in books, clippings, computer databases, company files. So secondary research is looking at information that already exists instead of creating your own. McDonalds keeps a large amount of information on their databases about their customers and their buying patterns, also companies buy information from government statistics.Product The amount of products the customer wants, the quality wanted, the features and the styling that are preferred, whether packaging is important, whether a guarantee or after sales service is required.Strategies Is a long term plan for future success or develop ment.Place McDonalds are fixed on high streets or town centres.Marketing contributes to the McDonalds activity by market research (finding out what potential customers wants/needs), and improving existing products. Both of these improve the customer service, marketing contribute a lot to their activity to make McDonalds achieve their activity. All the functions work together to achieve it.The job roles of MarketingJob Roles in MarketingMatthew Howe, Marketing DirectorI am responsible for the overall marketing function and its aims and objectives. So if any ideas have been thought of they have to been checked with me before anyone goes forrad and makes a change.Ethan Farah, Sales ManagerAs a sales manager I am responsible for overseas agents and the achievement of sales targets overseas.David Frank, Market ResearchersMarket researchers have to find out consumer opinions on accredited and proposed goods and services, if this is not done than they could bring out a product which is nt doesnt sell a lot and a loose the money they put in to produce the products.Advertising ManagerAn advertize manager is in charge of advertising and liaising with agency staff over publicity campaigns. Advertising is one of the most important things in marketing as without advertising a product will not be known so their would sell as well as products being advertised.EQUAL OPPORTUNTIES (P3, M2, D2)In a work placement an employee has rights and responsibilities. Below are the rights and responsibilities of an employee.Rights as an employeeEmployees rightsHow to carry it outHaving safe working conditionsMaking sure that the area your working is a hazard free zone, if not jaw your manager or the human resources area. It is also your job to take care with anything you do to prevent any hazards happening.Getting paid the fair salary/wageDepending on your age, experience and contract, employees get paid differently. You have to make sure that your getting a fair paid if not consult y our manager. You should first read your contract because you might have signed for getting paid the amount youre getting.Provided information concerning your rightsBefore starting your job you will be provided with information about the rights an employee has. (mainly in your contract) If youre not provided with this information you are able to ask for it.Not to be discriminated on grounds of race, sex or disabilityIf you feel that your getting treated unfairly according to your race, sex or disability your able to take up action like consulting your trade union.To be consulted over matters which will significantly affect your terms and conditions of employmentIf you employer decides to change something, which affects the terms and conditions on you employment and does not consult you first, you can take action upon this.Responsibilities for an employeeEmployees responsibilitiesHow to carry it outTo be ready and willing to workIts always good to be full with enthusiasm in your work because it looks good for the company and make you happier in your workTo give a personal serviceYour contract will contain you main job roles, but its always good to provide your own service like putting your ideas into your work, bright and just any other little thing.To treat others how you would like to be treatedIf youre inhuman and dishonest than fellow staff would treat you the same. Its important to work as a team and communicating well with other people, this can only be done if you treat people well.To work towards the objectives of the businessWorking towards the objectives of a business could look good on you and on the business, if the employer see s you are working hard than it could result in the employee being promoted.To work in good creedWorking in good faith consists of being honest, if youre honest it again can see that youre trustworthy and could get promoted. But yet if your seen lying than you could loose your job.COMUNNICATION (P4, M3, D1, D2)Most organisa tions have different ways of communicating, communicating is one of the most important things in a business, because without communicating you cannot run a business effectively. They are all types of communicating, below is a list of ways of communicating within a business.* Meetings* Group discussions* Tele phone* Memos* Emails* Draft letters* Reports* FaxesThere are two main methods of communication which are oral and written communication. spontaneous communication could be either face to face or the over the phone. If you cant get threw to the person you are calling then you can leave a gist which is still oral communication. Written communication could be sent by mail or transmitted electronically. This can include letters which is the most common one, text messages on mobile phones or notices on notice boards.Below are the advantages and disadvantages about oral and written communication.OralWrittenAdvantages1. Its a fast way of communicating because you dont have to write t hings down.2. Its cheap, as if you phone someone you would have to pay for the phone call.3. Immediate feedback, you dont have to wait ages for someone to reply back to you as you would in a letter.1. Writing a message can be retained for future reference.2. Writing a message can also be copied for other peoples uses.3. Creates a distance between vector and recipient useful for difficult communication, e.g. bad news.Disadvantages1. Clear Speech, you must speak very clearly so that other people can understand you, but yet when you write a letter people can just read it in their own pace.2. Long or complex messages can be forgotten.3. You can be easily distracted while someone talks to you, and then you could forget the whole message they just told you.1. When writing a letter it can take time to write, while if your talk to someone its faster.2. Keyed in documents need to be skilled and produced quickly and accurately.3. Delivery can take time, or could be delayed.McDonalds functio nal areas communicate with each other by a system called Intranet which was launched in 2000. The McDonalds intranet provides a fast and up to the minute source of information for the McDonalds restaurant management and office staff. McDonalds impertinent communication is dont by a system called McNews which was launched in 2000. McNews is a award wining magazine which was published monthly for all restaurant staff, then in 2002 McNews was re launched as MDUK and is now a lively foc apply magazine. MDUK has activities and events from restaurants around the country. MDUK is a showcase for best practice, recognising individuals outstanding practices and achievements, as well as highlighting internal and external awards.Apart from the Intranet and MDUK, McDonalds also has other ways of communicating within the business, they are listed below.1. An email system operates in all offices and company owned restaurants2. Regular staff communication sessions are held in the offices3. Emplo yee satisfaction surveys for both office and restaurant staff are held annually.4. Meetings are held monthly.5. Memos send dailyAn email system is to contact anyone within the business or outside the business, the email system is a fast and easier way to contact people. The email system is used by most companies and general people all over the world.Staff communication sessions are held to improve of employees communication skills. This is important because communicating with customers is one of the main things to do.Employee satisfaction surveys are handed out every year, so employees can write how they feel working in the McDonalds restaurants. This is a good thing to do because its important to keep the staff happy as it motivates the staff to work harder.Meetings are held every month to discuss the McDonalds performance. They also talk about how much they are making and see what can be improved with the money. McDonalds talks about new ideas and try to change or promote things that is not doing so well. This is a good way of communicating as you get to talk face to face to see the expressions on each other faces and its faster as you dont have to way for a reply if you do if you was writing an email.Memos are used daily in all of the departments. Sales manager might send a memo to human resources manager and ask if he has found a sales person. Memos are used daily because they are important little messages, and its also a fast way of sending.