In what ways does a McDonald’s retail outlet resemble a machine?

A visit to McDonalds
Instructions.
Visit a McDonald’s restaurant. Spend enough time there to observe the various
operations, as well as the processes and structure of its organization. Relate what you see
to the discussions in class and the readings in the text concerning mechanistic
organizations.
Write a 3-5 page research paper addressing the specific questions listed below. Use the
following:
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paper in full essay form.
Question 1
In what ways does a McDonald’s retail outlet resemble a machine? Describe the
organization in machine-like terms.
Question 2
Describe the McDonald’s activities in terms of Frederick Taylor’s principles of scientific
management, Max Weber’s hierarchical structure and Henri Fayol’s administrative
principles.
Question 3
Why do you think the company has been successful? Remember this is a paper about
mechanistic organizations. How has mechanization contributed to the success of
McDonalds? I am not really interested about your thoughts about the Happy Meal.
Question 4
Are there similarities in organization between McDonalds and other successful franchise
organizations?
Question 5
The process of innovation is characteristic of the McDonalds Corporation. Identify the
innovations you observe during your visit and explain how the company incorporates the
process of innovation and the process of mechanization in the same organization in order
to minimize the weaknesses of mechanization.
Grading.
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points.
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scientific management, Max Weber’s hierarchical structure, and Henri Fayol’s
administrative principles? -25 points.
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between different franchises? How about company owned stores – 15 points
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and where it is not? How has McDonald’s incorporated the process of innovation
with its mechanistic organization to overcome the weaknesses of mechanistic
organizations? 15 points.
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McDonald’s Assignment Part One
The appropriate length for this paper is 3-5 pages, and the best papers typically are 4 to 5 pages.
The major requirements of this course are critical thinking and writing skill. Measuring how well you
have learned is called an assessment, and in the McDonald’s exercise you are going to demonstrate, and
I am going to assess, test how well you are doing so far. How effectively can you observe your world,
identify what you see, and relate it to the theory you have been learning. Then, how well can you
communicate this relationship in writing.
Why is this important? I frequently tell my students that we are preparing you to fill jobs that may not
exist yet. The world is changing that quickly! When you graduate, I hope you will have the skills to learn
what you need to learn in order to qualify for those jobs. Two of those skills are the ability to think
critically and express yourself so that others who don’t know what you know can learn from you.
The McDonald’s exercise begins with a visit to a McDonald’s restaurant. Your job at this stage is to sit,
have a Coke and observe. Don’t rush this. See how things are done. When things don’t go right what
happens? Ask for a big Mac with the lettuce carefully placed between the ketchup and the Patty. What
happens?
Think about what you have learned in chapter 2 about mechanistic organizations and relate what you
have seen to what you have theoretically learned. How would Frederick Taylor have designed this
restaurant? What would he have done? How would Max Weber have organized this restaurant?

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