Functions of Management and Roles of Management - Case Study Example

Functions of Management and Roles of Management Introduction McDonalds is one of the strongest and diverse food chain which has been developed world wide in order to serve its customers. It was built in 1940s by McDonald brothers. Since then the fast food restaurant expanded to have chains all over the world and it is yet expanding even more to serve a broad group of customers. It is seen that McDonalds suffered a setback in 2004 when it suffered losses because of emphasizing on the aspect of expanding only, but however since then the organization has matured further and excelled.

This essay would further revolve around the management policies and how they have helped the chain to generate profits successfully. Planning With the management maturing different ideas and thoughts have been put into the sector of planning of McDonalds. It is seen that the area of diversification has been particularly emphasized by the management policies when it comes to the chain. It has been noticed that the management is looking for policies through which it can diversify its products to a wide range so a lot of people are attracted towards it.

They have specific departments developed for this purpose which specially look after diversifying products according to the wants of the customers. An example here can be taken of the breakfast eatables which have been introduced by McDonalds. McMuffins and McGriddle are examples of such diversifying products (Arndt 2007). Organizing The management of McDonalds has organized itself in such a way that it first tries the products which is trying to introduce to the market. This is usually done by putting the products through a testing phase in which they monitor each and every aspect regarding the product, i.e. the revenue generated, time taken to cook the specific good and other factors.

These products are also marketed in such a manner that their response is increased when it is launched in the market and it is in its testing phase. Moreover after it has successfully passed its testing phase it will be launched by the management (Arndt 2007). Leading The fast food chain is organized in such a manner that every franchise has its own owner under the control of the CEO of the specific district or state. The plans are put forward by the CEOs and they are then successfully implemented by the franchisees.

The CEO of the specific state then comes up with innovative ideas with the help of the teams and departments so that more profit can be generated from the franchises. And lastly the CEO has to abide by the rules of the franchise and so different changes in the position in reality do not the change the whole view of the fast food chain (Arndt 2007). Controlling The fast food chain has its own strict policies and laws when it comes to the standards of the restaurant. Different systems have been developed by the chain so that every franchise is being monitored and the standards are being strictly followed.

An example of the traceability system can be considered here (Arndt 2007). The traceability systems in quality assurance department have been enhanced to such an extent that consumers prefer food products which have the system of traceability enhanced. McDonalds has enhanced their department of traceability and recently it was said by one of the directors of the chain “We believe it’s an essential component of consumer confidence that when an issue develops, within a 48-hour time period…we get the message to the consumer that we can contain the problem, we know where the animal came from, we’re ready to deal with any of the ramifications of whatever that issue might be.

” (Reuters, May 17, 2006). Conclusion The fast food chain has excelled in many aspects and is now known to be leading the industry. It has many competitors but because of its management policies the company is still standing on the top with its standards maintained. It is further expected that the chain would come up with new innovative measures which would further enhance their customer segments (Arndt 2007). Bibliography McDonalds 24/7; By focusing on the hours between traditional mealtimes, the fast-food giant is sizzling by Michael Arndt.

Business Week NY Feb 05 2007. Issue 4020 pg 64. Reuters