Week 3 Case study: Scientific methods at McDonald’s

Current management theory and practices did not just suddenly appear. They evolved over many
years. If you study today’s organisations you will find examples of management practices that in
some cases can be traced back 30, 40, 50 or more years. To illustrate this point, take McDonald’s
as an example. It is an organisation that most people have visited at some time. Whether you like
it or not, McDonald’s is regarded as the master of fast food service. One of the reasons for
McDonald’s success is its careful design of the fast-service system. Wherever you order a Big Mac
meal in the world, you can expect exactly the same quality of product and service. The burger is
never over-cooked, the fries are always crisp, the staff always smile and the restaurant is always
clean and tidy. Considering that McDonald’s is operating more than 31 000 stores in 119 countries
in the world and serve 47 million customers every day it is amazing that they achieve such a high
consistency. So, how do they do it?
The recipe for McDonald’s success is a management system which makes sure nothing is left to
chance. The whole process of producing the products on the menu and how they are being
prepared and presented to the customers is carefully designed and orchestrated by the
organisation’s management to make sure the same high standards are achieved every time. It all
starts with McDonald’s having worked out the exact standards that each item on the menu has to
meet. Raw hamburger patties are carefully pre-packed and pre-measured and delivered to the
stores in a frozen form. They have to be of the same size and quality. For example, the basic
hamburger patty is machine cut, 1.6-ounce pure beef with no more than 10 per cent fat content.
The same goes for the fries which are delivered frozen in a pre-cut and partially cooked form to
cut down on the time it actually takes to deep-fry the fries in the store.
McDonald’s has worked out the most efficient way of preparing the food in the stores. In the past
hamburgers used to be cooked on one side until a buzzer and flashing light went off indicating it
was time for the person doing the hamburgers to flip the hamburger and cook the other side. This
system made sure the hamburgers were always cooked to perfection and not burnt on one side
and under-cooked on the other. However, McDonald’s decided a few years ago that this was not
assuring 100 per cent accuracy and developed its cooking technology so that the hamburgers are
now being cooked on both sides at the same time. Not only did this achieve greater consistency in
the cooking process, but it also halved the time it takes to cook a hamburger. If you consider that
millions of McDonald’s hamburgers are cooked each day you can understand the time saving
involved in refining the technology and working out the best and most efficient way of doing the
hamburgers. For example, according to McDonald’s training program, the minimum cooking time
for a regular patty is 37 seconds and for a quarter pounder it is 101 seconds.
Another example is in the production and handling of french-fried potatoes. French fries become
quickly soggy and unappetising. To be good they must be freshly made just before serving. Like
other fast food establishments, McDonald’s provides its outlets with pre-cut, partially cooked,
frozen potatoes that can be quickly finished in an on-premises deep-fry facility. The McDonald’s
fryer is neither so large that it produces too many French fries at one time (thus allowing them to
become soggy) nor so small that it requires frequent and costly drying. Once cooked the fries are
kept under lights for only seven minutes.
The company has also worked out the most efficient way to serve up items from its menu. For
example, to fill the bags with fries, McDonald’s has designed a scoop that speeds up the filling-
process at the same time as it makes sure a consistent amount of fries goes into the bag. This is
accomplished by the staff member picking up the specially designed scoop and inserting the
handle into a bag. Then, in one continuous movement the staff member scoops up fries until the
exact measurement that the designers intended is reached. As the scoop is raised upwards, the
fries go into the bag and as the bag is filled it automatically disengages from the handle by the
weight of its contents.
Storage and preparation space and related facilities are expressly designed for and limited to the
predetermined mix of products. There is no space for any foods, beverages or services that were
not designed into the system at the outset. Thus the owners have no discretion regarding what
they can sell and the employees have virtually no discretion regarding how to prepare and serve
any item of food. The consistent high standard in the service is achieved by careful selection and
training of staff. McDonald’s training program is second to none in the hospitality industry and is
designed to make sure McDonald’s staff have the skills when it comes to food preparation and
service. However, it does not just end there. McDonald’s training also includes developing other
skills such as communication, time management, relationship building and leadership skills.
McDonald’s way of standardising the production process to achieve the greatest consistency in
quality and the highest efficiency is not all that unusual today and not confined to the fast food
industry. Many organisations, both large and small, are applying similar operation methods in
their production process. Production processes include assembly lines for highly standardised
products, detailed instructions for how certain job tasks should be carried out and rigorous
selection and training of staff. As organisations have faced increasingly competitive markets,
managers have come to understand the importance of effectiveness and efficiency in
organisational operations for survival and continued prosperity. Looking at management history
can help us to better understand today’s management theory and practice. It can help us see
what worked and what did not work. However, it is also clear that organisations have to be
prepared to face up to new challenges and trends as McDonald’s has been forced to do when it
comes to its menu offerings. Customer service, innovation and sustainability (as were identified in
both in Chapters 1 and 2) are issues that managers have to keep in mind as they plan, organise,
lead and control organisations.

1. From the information in the above material and your knowledge of McDonald’s and other
fast-food establishments, how do such establishments conform to each of Taylor’s four
principles of scientific managements?
2. What are the factors that would lead an organisation to adopt operating principles similar
to scientific management? Striving for effectiveness and efficiency, to meet expectations
of customers and to be a market pioneer.
3. Is there evidence of any of the other schools of management thinking in how McDonald’s
operates? Such as for example, General Administrative Theory or Quantitative Approach?
4. Is there evidence of any of the emerging trends and issues influencing McDonald’s
operations and management practices today? Why and how?