Case Topic Selection – Personal Reflection

Answer

McDonald’s Organizational Behavior

Background

            McDonalds is a market leader in fast food provision. The company uses its organizational behavior to attract and retain employees as well as gain customer loyalty. Continuous learning is an important factor for McDonald's as it strives to optimize employee capabilities in performing their functions satisfactorily. This paper seeks to apply Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory and the Expectancy Theory to analyze the good Macdonald’s environmental policy. The two theories will also be used to evaluate the and the company’s poor Covid-19 employee protections.

Analysis

Chosen theories

            Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory states that humans are motivated by physiological, security, social, esteem, and self-actualization needs in that order (Badubi, 2017). The level of needs satisfied determines employee satisfaction and consequent loyalty to the organizational performance (Lee & Raschke, 2016).

            The self-efficacy theory, on the other hand, indicates that the expectancy, instrumentality, and valence beliefs motivate individuals to act (Badubi, 2017). Expectancy, in this case, shows that people act on the belief that performance and effort are correlated. Instrumentality, on the other hand, describes the belief that performance is inclined towards rewards. Valence is the value attached by an individual to rewards or compensation (Lee & Raschke, 2016).

MacDonald’s Good Environmental Policy

            McDonalds is a giant fast-food outlet with billions of customers globally. Part of the company’s environmental policy is to go green by 2025 with all its packaging being obtained from certified, recyclable, or renewable sources (McDonald's, 2019). The company also intends to have recycling stations in all its restaurants. By 2018, only 10% of its restaurants were equipped to recycle packaging waste and 50% of packaging was sourced from sustainable vendors (Carrig, 2018). The going green initiative by McDonald was spurred by the company's desire to impact the community positively through waste reduction and customer demand for sustainable packaging (McDonald's, 2019). To meet its objective, the company plans to collaborate with environmental associations and local governments on developing good designs of sustainable packaging, educating its employees and clients on handling package waste, and developing new recycling programs (Carrig, 2018).

            To achieve this objective, McDonald's company applies Maslow’s motivation theory in the three components including social policy, non-financial encouragement, and financial encouragement (Lee & Raschke, 2016). By investing in sustainable packaging and training workers and customers on proper handling, the company fulfills Maslow’s hierarchy of physiological (hunger), safety (environmental pollution), social (acceptance and belongingness), esteem (attention, status, and recognition) and self-actualization (achieving sustainable packaging potential) needs (Jerome, 2013). This is evident by the appraisal the company gets following the advertisement. For instance, it is said to be a demonstration of strong leadership through the development of recycling and packaging solutions.

Regarding Expectancy Theory, the company believes that they are capable of achieving sustainable packaging goals within the defined period. Therefore, it expects the plan to flow smoothly. Also, the company believes that its performance will improve with the adoption of green packaging as all recyclable waste will be reused and in reputation from the positive environmental sustainability ratings (Lee & Raschke, 2016). Due to reduced wastes, the company will save more and hence improve its financial performance (Simone, 2015; Kanfer & Chen, 2016).

Poor Scenario: Employee Protection Amidst Covid-19 Pandemic

            According to Schrotenboer (2020), due to poor Covid-19 Employee Protections in 2020, McDonald’s employees were set to go on strike to protest against inadequate employee protections amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. While McDonald's workers continue to provide essential services, some have been prohibited by management from putting on gloves and masks. Besides, to avoid being penalized and disciplined, some report to work even when they feel unwell. The consequences of poor hygiene and safety management in the pandemic period can have fatal consequences on the employees, customers, and their families as well as the society at large. However, the organization refuted the claims as strategic stunts by labor organizers, but has still failed to close stores where cases of the pandemic have been reported (Schrotenboer, 2020).

            According to Lee & Raschke (2016) application of Maslow's hierarchy of needs shows that the company has failed to meet the employees' safety needs by denying them protection from the physical and psychological harm the disease can cause as well as security of employment in case an employee stays at home when feeling unwell. Also, employees' social needs of acceptance, affection, and belongingness are not met, especially when the CEO comes out to refute the claims that their safety is not guaranteed. The attention which is an esteem need is not fulfilled because the organization is more focused on maximizing profits while compromising employee safety. Consequently, employees cannot feel self-fulfilled amidst tough working conditions (Kanfer & Chen, 2016).

            In relation to the Expectancy Theory, the company expects employees to perform their duties normally even when the working conditions are abnormal (McDonald's Corporation, 2020). By denying them a chance to wear masks and gloves, employees resulted in downing their tools which supports that performance and effort are related. The relationship between performance and rewards comes out in the failure to turn up to work which means the employee does not get their wages for days they were absent (Lee & Raschke, 2016). Hence due to the value employees place on the rewards (wages), the result of reporting on duty when feeling unwell and risking the lives of co-workers and customers they are set to serve (Simone, 2015).

Recommendations

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

            In relation to Maslow's hierarchy of needs and expectancy theory, various recommendations can help the organization improve its effectiveness. First, the organization should conduct management training on the importance of considering employee safety amidst the Covid-19 pandemic situation. Safety is paramount to the mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing of employees. However, the management seems unaware of the best protections to use in combating the tragedy while continuing to offer essential services. Therefore, training should be organized with public health providers to educate management on the implementation of Covid-19 pandemic safety measures both within their food outlets and where respective employees live (McDonald's, 2019). Employees should also be trained on how to conduct themselves and the individual safety measures they should adopt to minimize the chances of contracting the illness. All employees who feel unwell should be requested to communicate to the management and stay at home or visit healthcare facilities to be tested and treated (McDonald's Corporation, 2020).

            To implement the environmental policy, the company should sensitize employees on the need to adopt green packaging technology. This will motivate them to facilitate their use and educate them on how to dispose of the packaging materials sustainably (McDonald's, 2019). Disposal of food packaging during the Covid-19 pandemic should follow guidelines from public health prescribed measures to avoid easy spread through careless waste handling. Recycling stations should also be set-up in advance to smoothen the process of minimizing waste. Customers should also be sensitized on the importance of going green and on how they can properly dispose packaging material (McDonald's, 2019). Alternatively, the organization can set up bins within localities where customers can throw the trash from the packaging material then collect them periodically for recycling within their plants (McDonald's, 2019). This will ensure the environment is protected from littering and hence sustainability will be achieved.

Expectancy Theory

            In relation to Expectancy theory, the organization should ensure employees are provided for even when they are not feeling well and cannot report to work (Lee & Raschke, 2016). McDonald's employees attach performance to rewards in that they are paid through daily wages and tips from clients. As a result, they understand that they must work to meet their basic needs. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the organization needs to adopt a corporate social responsibility towards its employees and allow them to skip work when unwell. Besides, employees should work in shifts of fewer people to avoid overcrowding which is the leading cause of the disease spread. The company should also listen to employee grievances and consider them in the decision making process. For instance, if employees feel their job security is not guaranteed if they do not report to work, then the organization should develop strategies that can ensure the employees are assured of their jobs. Although the organization is profit-oriented, it should consider closing down outlets where cases of the disease have been reported. This will facilitate contact tracing and enable the local government to assist in combating the spread. Alternatively, all company employees can be tested on the pandemic in stations where there have been cases and those that have already contracted the disease as well as their contacts quarantined for the recommended period before re-opening the branches.

            For the implementation of the green packaging technology, the self-efficacy theory recommendations are centered on expectancy, where performance and effort are related. Already, approximately half of the company’s packaging has adopted sustainable materials and 10% of recycling efforts have been realized. Therefore, the company has piloted the program and is certain of its performance. As a result, the organization should speed up the adoption of green packaging and recycling initiatives in all its plants to get higher rewards even before the pre-set deadlines (McDonald's, 2019). Besides, recycling will ensure proper disposal of packaging material which is heavily generated during Covid-19 pandemic.