Applying Lean Management Principles at McDonald’s
Contents
Introduction
Research Topic- Application of Lean Management Principles in McDonald’s
Background and Overview of the research topic
Lean management/ manufacturing is an important process optimization methodology that is used to improve the quality of services, reduce costs of the production, and however, add value to the business operations of a business organization. The lean management concept greatly focuses on improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the business processes and eliminating activities that do not value to its operations. Lean management principles include eliminating waste, adding value, delivering fast, optimizing processes, improving production and resource efficiency, improve service quality, mapping the value stream, creating a better flow of materials and information resources, and meeting design requirements (Keyser, Marella, & Clay, 2017).
McDonald’s is a great example in the corporate world that has been able to maintain its leading position in the fast-food industry because of its consistent lean management focus for its operations and processes. McDonald’s is the world’s leading industry in the fast-food sector that operates with more than 36,000 restaurants in over 100 countries worldwide. McDonald’s is one of the globally recognized and respected brands when coming to lean management principles. In 1948, McDonald’s brothers closed the restaurant San Bernandino, California for almost 3 months and reopened in December in the same year by introducing Walk-up hamburger stand for selling hamburgers, orange juice, potato chips, and other fast foods. It created a fast-food concept that is probably the first-time implementation of lean management in the foodservice sector (Naing & Khaing, 2018). The first restaurant of McDonald’s was premised on arriving of most customers buy cars. The design of this restaurant was uniquely based on the principle of lean thinking, the dining area of the restaurant was the most attractive designed to attract more luxury customers. The restaurant had no waiting staff/ waiter as all orders and food deliveries were usually made by the person at the front counter of the restaurant.
McDonald brothers designed and implemented the idea of kitchen area by integrating their gained/ acquired knowledge into a style of an assembly line that enhanced outputs and efficiency for McDonald’s. The simplified menu and assembly line principles in the food preparation allowed them to sell hamburgers for half or 15 cents; the restaurant was successful. In 1998, McDonald’s introduced a Just-in-Time application, made for you in the production system that was the first overhaul of its local kitchen in the last more than twenty-five years. This production system allowed the customers to order they want on sandwiches and deliver fresh and hot instead of serving the customers already prepared sandwiches and however pulled from the warming bin. The Made for You System has no warming trays as the sandwiches are prepared for delivering within 90 seconds after receiving the customers’ orders including 11 seconds of waiting time while using the super-fast toaster. Front Desk automation is a result of McDonald’s’ investment in the advanced technologies based on a lean method for facilitating customers’ orders at touch screens and receiving a number within a digital locator (Berholt & Bohman, 2017). This notifies the working staff about customers’ location/ sitting. Once after orders placing, the employees or waiters of Mcdonald’s restaurants serve the customers by delivering food onto the customers’ table.
The lean principles have been used over the year at the organization of McDonald’s to improve its services, maximize operational efficiencies, enhance production effectiveness and supply chain value as well as reduce/ eliminate the process inefficiencies, production waste, and operational cost. The main purpose of using lean principles by McDonald’s is to meet the market demands, maintain quality, eliminate waste, reducing extra cost, and create customer value. The lean management principles are used at McDonald’s for improving workplace efficiency and resource utilization, creating an improvement culture of production effectiveness and process efficiency, and enhancing production capacity (Mugalhaes, 2017). The lean principles are used in the workplace setting for attaining higher production volumes, improved work process outputs, and faster service delivery for sustainable business operations.
The lean principles allow the managers at McDonald’s to create a continuous improvement culture, achieve better flow in work processes, discover inefficiencies, reduce costs, improve efficiencies, and deliver better value to the customers. The lean principles assist Mc Donald organization to achieve greater efficiencies and effectiveness in the procurement, resource management, production and supply chain processes, and customer service delivery for delivering value to the customers. The tools, like Kanban, Poka Yoke, Kaizen, One-Piece flow, Lay-Out Plan, and advance technological tools are used at McDonald’s that focus on lean management principles (Wang & Chang, 2016).
McDonald’s Company has been successfully leading in the fast-food markets worldwide because of its consistent focus, greater investment, and long-term commitment to using lean management principles to consistently focus on quality improvement, process efficiency, quick and customer-oriented services, and greater supply chain value. The lean principles assist McDonald in reducing overproduction, process wastage, waiting time, delays, inventory, and defects, minimize costs, and maximize resource efficiency. The consistent lean focus assists the company to continually strive for improvement, represent better quality, involve everyone, deliver knowledge, and information system management for meeting the requirements as per the market demands and customers’ perceptions (Urban, 2015).
Research Scope- The scope of this research study explains the degree or extent or degree to which the lean management tools and principles are applied in the organization of McDonald’s. The purpose of the research study is to gain a better understanding of the lean management principles in the context of McDonald’s organization to improve process efficiencies, supply chain effectiveness, meet market demands, and achieve customer satisfaction by creating value. The research scope specifies the principles of the lean management methodology as an operational excellence tool to continually improve the service quality and customer service delivery of all fast-food restaurants. The research scope is wide but limited and specific to the application of lean management principles within the McDonald’s organization (Crespo Guillermo, 2018). The research study includes research aims and objectives, research questions, literature review using company information sources and other published journals, PR journals, and articles, analysis and findings, and finally, drawing conclusions.
Research Aim and Objectives- The main aim of the research study is to enhance the sustainable brand value, corporate reputation, and customer satisfaction through continuous improvement in the quality of fast food services by applying lean management principles throughout the organization of McDonald’s. The following research objectives are set to achieve the main purpose of the research: –
- To use Lean management principles for improving current processes of McDonald’s
- To apply lean management principles for improving customer service effectiveness and creating value to customers
- To adhere to lean management principles for the operational efficiency of McDonald’s in reducing waste, waiting, and inefficiencies
Research Questions-
Q1. What is lean management principles applied in McDonald’s?
Q2. How lean management principles are applied in McDonald’s organization?
Q3. What are the Pros and Cons of applying lean management principles in the organization of McDonald’s?
Q4. How McDonalds has benefited for improving its supply chain effectiveness?
Literature Review
Pons, et al., (2017) state that increasing customers’ expectations for a higher quality of services at lower/ effective prices, varying customers’ taste preferences or choices, increasing competitors’ differentiation and demand for faster/quicker response times put pressure on the business organizations, like McDonald’s to continually improve its current processes using lean management principles. The competitors’ low-cost fast food variables and increasing varieties put pressure on McDonald’s to involve in experimentation, research, and product differentiation. The lean management principles transform the knowledge based on market research for use in the food production and service operations to introduce new varieties by making the change in the menu with updating new fast food items as per new demands from the customers (ZH, Pons, & Pulakanam, 2017).
According to Sharma, et al., (2016), the principles based on the lean manufacturing are incorporated/ applied in the fast food industries, like McDonald’s restaurants to continually improve quality of the fast-food products, meet customers’ varying demands, and reduce process wastage, defects, and process delays. McDonald’s is based on the philosophies of the lean management production system; as its business has expanded for many McDonald’s restaurants across the countries from franchise contracts, the commitment to lean management tools and fundaments land principles have gradually increased to support the sustainable business model of McDonald’s. The lean management principles are primarily applied in the service organization, McDonald’s to increase the customer satisfaction level from the improved service quality and better and timely services that help to increase the retention of the existing customers using/ consuming the food services of the restaurant (BR, Sharma, & Agarwal, 2016).
Pireira, et al., (2016) view that the lean management approach provides a framework for creating value to customers by providing consistent quality of the fast-food services at McDonald’s’ restaurants. The lean management principles in the setting of McDonald’s restaurants help to make the process more efficient, people knowledgeable and skilled, productive workplace, and continuous improvement culture for achieving expected or better outcomes. The application of lean principles helps the service organization of McDonald’s to achieve significant performance improvement consistently. The improvement for McDonald’s can be in many dimensions including productivity, quality, cost-efficiency, and customer service for driving higher profitability, sustainability results, operational effectiveness, and customer satisfaction. The lean management principles allow the owner and managers to make decisions according to the organizational resources, production capacity, supply chain operations, and market demands (Pereira, Lopes, Silva, Abreu, Oliveira, Alves, & Figueiredo, 2016).
From the reviews of Fercoq, et al., (2016), it is stated that the lean management principles are based on the lean methodology that encourages McDonald to achieve effective production outcomes, improved service quality, and faster service for maintaining customer loyalty and satisfaction. The lean principles are applied throughout McDonald’s’ fast-food restaurants for eliminating overproduction waste by keeping sides ready rather than preparing sandwiches from starting in the order of reducing the processing time and wastage. The computerized system, modern cooking equipment, and advanced technologies allow McDonald’s restaurants to prepare customer orders in less than a minute. The Speedy System of McDonald’s assists to reduce the handling of items by working in the order of an assembly line. McDonald’s’ sophisticated stock control system assists to eliminate overstocking for managing process while meeting the customers’ demands at all times (Fercoq, Carbone, & Lamouri, 2016). The lean principles also assist in simplifying and streamlining the processes for faster processing and reducing waste and defects through highly skilled, trained, and motivated staff at McDonald’s’ restaurants.
Rauch, et al., (2016) inform that the lean management tool Poka-Yoke assists to manage processes and people work right the first time. Poka-Yoke comprises techniques that make it difficult for making mistakes and however, avoiding the simple human errors in the organizational workplace. Poka-Yoke Techniques drive for the defects out of the fast-food products and processes of McDonald’s’ restaurants and substantially improving the service quality. In 1980, McDonald stated changing the system for its current menu and handling the high volumes. The changing marketplace created new challenges, the problems occurred because of different tastes and choices of the customers, and the customers waiting for their turn at the counters. By using the lean management tool named Poka Yoke, McDonald’s has designed a new system, Just-in-Time Kitchen system, Made-for-You that is designed for managing the customers’ orders, menu, and reduce the customers’ waiting times. This system is based on the lean management principle of Just-in-Time that helps the staff to serve hot and fresh sandwiches instead of already prepared sandwiches for customer satisfaction and reducing customers’ waiting. For another example, McDonald restaurants use French Fry Scoop for measuring the serving and amount of potatoes as per the exact amount in the customers’ orders and orders in the short time delivered to the customers for avoiding customers’ waiting for time/ delays (Rauch, Holzner, Damian, & Matt, 2016). New Kitchen System based on lean principles of Poka-Yoke assists to introduce a new menu, improve food quality, and deliver superior customer services as per their expectations.
According to Wang & Chang (2016), One-piece Flow is also a fundamental component of the lean management that focuses on completing the production process of one piece from starting to finish with fewer works in the process inventories between its operations as possible. Most of the fast-food industries including McDonald’s adopt the principle of batch and queue for burger foods wherein the food products are produced in batches; kitchen chefs prepare the food ingredients and wait for the customers’ orders for cooking the fast foods. After then the cooked food is placed for frontline staff for serving the customers as per their orders (Wang & Chang, 2016)
Helmold (2020) asserts that McDonald’s is also a good example of using Kaizen that is based on the philosophy of continuous improvement. This lean methodology teaches McDonald’s employees to perform smartly, overly hard work, and however, and eliminate the process wastage in its restaurants. This method helps in applying the lean principles, like reducing customers’ long waiting in queue and process delays and eliminating the waste. Its sets improvement process to drive-out the wastage in the restaurant workplace, finish customer orders in a short time, reducing workload by dividing the work responsibilities of the staff, and making everyone engaged respectively in the same time, not at the same place (Helmold, 2020).
In the research of Crespo Guillermo (2018), it is found that the One-Cycle system based on lean principles helps to distribute responsibilities and assign tasks for performing duties by different staff for different tasks at the same time within a process cycle. For example, after finishing the order by a staff, another staff prepares the menu, and other serving staffs serve the customers at the same time through the One-Cycle system. This makes the customers of McDonald’s satisfied because of the improved speed of services, reduced waiting time, and quick-serve to the customers. It also considers the services convenient for the customers not wasting time getting in restaurants to order. McDonald’s follows the Kanban process to eliminate waste, lower cost, reduce waiting time, and optimize customer service operations. This process is derived from a lean principles-based just-in-time methodology. It ensures the preparation of the foods within a few minutes after receiving orders from the customers, not much later. Kanban or pull process helps McDonald’s organization the preparation of foods in advance no longer and no more for reducing overproduction and wastage. Using the Kanban process helps McDonald’s restaurants to improve process efficiency and shorter lead time to the customers (Crespo Guillermo, 2018).
Berholt & Bohman (2017) inform that McDonald’s restaurants have been innovating their layout plans using lean management principles since the 1950s. The major innovations at its restaurants include indoor seating in 1950, drive-through windows in later 1980, self-service kiosks in 2004, and Made for You System, Front Desk Automation, and flexible Zones for families that may result in more customer interactions, increase demands and orders from the customers (Berholt & Bohman, 2017).
Sanders, et al., (2017) state that the modern system, Front Desk Automation as a result of the fourth industrial revolution, is designed to meet the digital order processing requirements of the customers. This system creates highly automated and fully-controlled conditions for McDonald’s. This is an example of a highly sophisticated piece of the technological system that applies the manufacturing thinking style to customer-intensive service situations. This has proven effective for McDonald’s in enhancing the production capacity, minimizing operating discretion of the attendants, and enhancing customer satisfaction (Sanders, A., Redlich, Subramanian, & Wulfsberg, 2017).
The research by Urban (2015) states that the application of lean management principles, like a one-piece flow production system, results in sandwiches of the same size and similar in taste as well as standardized work processes and faster service delivery in each restaurant. The Made for System provides flexibility to the customers to choose sandwiches as they demand. This system improves the food quality of fast food products at McDonald’s Restaurants, allows menu items easily introduced, and standardized customer services. To implement this system successfully, McDonald’s designs and upgrades its computerized system, holding cabinet, and toaster (Urban, 2015). When the orders from the customers are placed at the reception area, it shows the specific instructions on the screen display of the kitchen video monitoring system to be seen by everyone in the kitchen. This makes the kitchen staff put the buns using the special toasters. The video monitor system monitors customer tariff and day-to-day customer activities throughout all restaurants of McDonald’s. It also assists to determine the flow of customer orders, predict times for increasing the business and types of foods items ordered typically during these times. According to Bacoup, et al., (2018), the computerized system generates orders for the best-selling fast food items for preparing them in advance during higher demand or peak hours. The computerized system using digital technologies monitors the outputs of the employees within the POS system for rating the employees’ performances and however, achieving maximum productivity (Bacoup, Habchi, Michel, & Pralus, 2018).
In the views of Raugh, et al., (2020), the lean principles assist to reduce the inventory in stock of foods because the production takes places just at the time while the customer making an order. The waste from food preparation is decreased to a noteworthy amount because of no requirements of preparing or making fast foods of McDonald’s restaurant in advance. The lean principle of pull assist to ensure that nothing is produced or made in advance, stopping the synchronized flow and building work-in-process inventory. The lean principles also improve customer service operations because of effective customer interactions using high tech services or advanced communication technologies. The lean focus also assists McDonald’s organization to make the menu more flexible and standardized as the organizational process of the company is based on the just-in-time system (Rauch, Linder, & Matt, 2020). The utilization of kitchen equipment, space, and tools are maximized in the order of cost of hiring employees, and maintaining space are significantly reduced. Thus, the overall profitability for McDonald’s Company increases without rising product prices.
From the research findings of Keyser, et al., (2017), it is reviewed that the Experience of the Future Concept is mainly focused on improving the ways to communicate and interact with the customers. This will focus on the features, like mobile ordering, digital payment processing, and kiosk and table services in the ordering process for reducing mistakes, enhancing process efficiencies, and speeding up the ordering process. This will offer a high level of customization without the requirement of the frontline employees for ensuring everything right from the verbal order processing. This concept will also facilitate tablets mounted tableside and customers sitting in kiosks for generating an order. These devices will entertain the customers anyway while waiting for their meals as per their orders. This may also reduce the labor costs because of no need for taking customer orders by staff (Keyser, Marella, & Clay, 2017). Asnan, et al. (2015) suggests that the combination of lean tools and principles, like Just-in-time production, computerized devices, digital order-making, and payment processing, advanced high-tech devices, employee training, learning environment, improvement culture, MRP production, and video monitoring system may be effective to enhance its process efficiency, tailor to meet the modern requirements, and sustain its competitive advantage in the global fast-food industry (Asnan, Othman, & Nordin, 2015).
Finding & Discussion
Data Analysis and Findings
- What is your Gender?
| Male | 15 |
| Female | 5 |
| Prefer not to say anything | 5 |
| Total | 25 |
Interpretation:
The above Pie-chart is about the demographic details of the respondent for conducting the survey of the research report on the application of the lean management principle on McDonald’s. Out of the hundred percent population, 30% are males participating in the survey, 10% are females. While 10% of the total population has decided not to say anything. So, it can be observed that the majority is of males over females.
- What is your age?
| Below 16 | 10 |
| 17-20 years | 5 |
| 21-23 years | 8 |
| Above 24 | 2 |
| Total | 25 |
Interpretation: The pie chart above shows the different age groups of respondents who have participated in this survey. The number of participants below the age of 16 is 20%. The number of participants between the ages of 17 to 20 years is 10%. The participants between the age of 21 to 23 are 16%. And the participants above the age of 25 years are just 4%. All these contribute to about 50% of the total population out of a hundred percent. It can be observed from the pie chart that the maximum number of employees at McDonald’s are below the age of 16.
- Does Lean Management Principle help to enhance the Quality of your service operations?
| Strongly agree | 15 |
| Agree | 8 |
| Partly agree | 2 |
| Disagree | 0 |
| Strongly disagree | 0 |
| Total | 25 |
Interpretation: the bar chart above shows the impact of the lean management principle in providing better services to the customers. And do the enhancement in the quality of service operations of the McDonald’s. 15 respondents strongly agree that the lean management principle has helped the company to provide a better quality of service operations. While 8 respondents agree that the lean management principle has improved the quality service of the company. The numbers of respondents who strongly disagree or disagree are 0. On the other hand, there are 2 respondents who partly agree. This means that they have noticed somewhat improvement in the quality service but not up to their level of expectation. The highest numbers of respondents strongly agree and the second-highest number of respondents also agree which shows that McDonald’s has effectively applied the lean management principle which has visible results to its employees.
- Does the lean principle is useful for McDonald in context to managing cost, quality, and reduce waste of the company?
| Yes | 15 |
| No | 8 |
| Neutral | 2 |
| Total | 25 |
Interpretation: the above bar chart shows the usefulness of the lean principle of management for McDonald’s in the context of managing cost, quality, and reduces waste. 15 participants say yes about the lean principle of management being useful for McDonald’s. While 8 participants say No as they do not find the use of the lean principle of management in the services, cost, and reduction in waste. There are also certain numbers of people who are neutral and have no idea about the subject. It can be said after observing the chat that maximum numbers of employees agree that lean principle management has been very effective for McDonald’s to reduce the cost-based and improve their quality. The people agree that lean principle management has enabled the company to provide better services with a reduction in prices due to a reduction in cost.
- What is the purpose use of the Lean Principle in your service organization?
| Creating value to the customers | 4 |
| Maintaining sustainability | 3 |
| To make the process efficient | 5 |
| Improves the cultural | 3 |
| All of the above | 10 |
| Total | 25 |
Interpretation: the above bar chart shows the usefulness of the lean principle of management in a service organization in the eyes of the customers. 5 respondents believe that increasing the efficiency in services is the purpose. Creating value for the customers is the purpose assumed by all participants. While 3 respondents believe that maintaining sustainability is a purpose and the other 3 believe improving culture is the main purpose of the lean principle of management. Out of the total of 25, 10 respondents believe that all of the above purposes make the plane principle useful for the service organization. It can be said after observing the responses of the participants that the majority of them believe creating value, maintaining sustainability, improving culture, and making the process efficient all are the key purposes of lean principles.
- Is the Poka-Yoke tool being effective for McDonald’s in their system design operations?
| Yes | 15 |
| No | 5 |
| Neutral | 5 |
| Total | 25 |
Interpretation: the pie chart above shows the effectiveness of the Poka-Yoke tool for McDonald’s in system designing operations. 15 employees say yes that it is effective in system design operation. While 5 people say no it is not at all effective and five people have no opinion on the tool used by McDonald’s and its effect on system design operations. It can be said after analyzing the responses that the tool is effective in system design operations of McDonald’s and it is visible by the maximum number of employees. The company should keep using the tool for more effective results in their system design operation.
- What do you learn from the Lean methodology?
| To perform smartly | 4 |
| Eliminating the waste | 5 |
| Improves customer satisfaction | 9 |
| Improves the performance continuously | 7 |
| Total | 25 |
Interpretation: the bar chart above shows the learnings from the lean principle methodology. 9 employees believe that it has enhanced customer satisfaction, 7 have learned that it has enhanced the performance continuously of the employees, 5 have learned that it has eliminated waste and 4 respondents have learned to work smartly using lean methodology. After observing the responses, it can be said that lean methodology has effectively worked in satisfying the customers.
- What is the most effective tool of the lean principle that can be implemented in your service operations?
| Kanban | 8 |
| Poka-Yoke | 7 |
| One-Piece Flow | 5 |
| Kaizen | 2 |
| Layout plan | 3 |
| Total | 25 |
Interpretation: the above bar chart shows the most effective tool of principle methodology that can be used in service operations. 8 respondents believed that it can be the most effective tool, 7 believe that Poka-Yoke is an effective tool, 5 believes that one plus flow is an effective tool, 3 believe that a layout plan is an effective tool while only 2 people believe that Kaizen is the effective tool of lean methodology. Kanban can be said as the most effective tool after analyzing the above chart.
- Are you agree that the Lean principle helps you to attain the overall goal of your organization?
| Strongly agree | 9 |
| Agree | 6 |
| Partly agree | 4 |
| Disagree | 5 |
| Strongly disagree | 1 |
| Total | 25 |
Interpretation: the above bar chart shows the principal helping in achieving the overall goal of McDonald’s. 9 respondents strongly agree and 6 respondents agree that lean principles help in achieving the overall organizational goal. 4 people party agree. While there are 5 employees disagreed and 1 strongly disagreed on this part of the lean principle respectively. But the majority of the respondents strongly agree which means that the lean principle really helps in achieving the overall organizational goal.
- What is the future goal of your service operations?
| Improving communication with the customer | 8 |
| Achieving maximum productivity | 6 |
| Delivering high-quality service at a lower price | 5 |
| All of the above | 6 |
| Total | 25 |
Interpretation: the bar chart shows the future goals of service operations of McDonald’s. 8 respondents believe that improving communication with the customer is the future goal, 6 believe that future goals of service operation will be of achieving maximum productivity, 5 believe that delivering high-quality service to the customer in the future goal of service operation. 6 people believe that all the above can be the future goals of service operations. After analyzing the chat, it can be said that improving communication with the customer is the most suitable future goal of service operation.
- Is high competition in the fast-food industry and change in customer demand put pressure on McDonald’s to apply the Lean Management Principle?
| Yes | 15 |
| No | 6 |
| Can’t say anything | 4 |
| Total | 25 |
Interpretation: the above Pie chart shows the need to apply the principle of management at McDonald’s due to increased competition in the Fast Food business. 60% of the employee out of a hundred say yes about the application of the lean principle of management at McDonald’s. 24% of the employees do not feel the need of applying the lean principle of management due to increased competition. While there is 16% respondent that has no opinion about this. It can be said after analyzing the chart that the only way through which McDonald’s can survive in the environment of increased competition is by adopting the lean principle of management and its operations.
- Is the Lean management principle helps to improvise the performance of your employee in your organization?
| Yes | 12 |
| No | 8 |
| Can’t say anything | 5 |
| Total | 25 |
Interpretation: the chart shows the improvement of employee performance in the organization after the application of lean management principles. 12 employees say yes that it has helped the organization in improving employee performance. 8 employees do not feel that the principle has enhanced employee performance. While 5 cannot say anything about this. Going through the chart it can be inferred that there is an improvement in employee performance due to the lean principle of management.
- Are you satisfied with the implementation of lean management principle in your service organization?
| Very satisfied | 11 |
| Somewhat satisfied | 9 |
| Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied | 5 |
| Somewhat dissatisfied | 0 |
| Very dissatisfied | 0 |
| Total | 25 |
Interpretation: The chart shows the level of satisfaction after the implementation of the lean management principle in a service organization. 11 employees are very satisfied with the implementation of lean management principle. 9 employees are somewhat satisfied with the implementation, 5 are neither satisfied, not dissatisfied with the implementation of the principle. While the number of respondents somewhat dissatisfied and very dissatisfied with the implementation is zero. It can be inferred from the bar chart that the lean management principle gives a high level of satisfaction to the service organization implementing it.
Discussion
According to Keyser, et al., (2017), every organization has several needs that are going to be expected by McDonald to sustain in a competition in the fast-food industry. It can be concluded from the above survey that the lean principle helps McDonald to continuous improvement in the service performance in term of quality, cost, and waste, etc. and improvise the employee performance. The survey has been successfully able to identify the level of satisfaction among employees and employers of McDonald’s by the implementation of lean management principles in the process. The survey has been able to find the reason behind of incorporated Lean management principle in the service operation of the organization. At the same time, BR, Sharma, & Agarwal, (2016) also found in their findings that the main reason that has been analyzed that high competition in the fast-food industry, and change in a customer demand taste and preference incorporating the lean principle application for improving the current process by reducing waste, delays in order processing, enhancing the product quality and level of customer satisfaction. The secondary reasons that have been analyzed through the survey are to achieve the future goal i.e. improvise customer interacting process, maximize productivity, delivering high-quality service at a lower cost, etc. is attain be the principle applications of lean management. Through the survey is research analyzes that successful tool of lean management principle for incorporated in the service operations. In support of this, Bacoup et al. (2018) also explained in their research study that Kanban is the most effective tool out of others whereas Kaizen is the least effective tool. It also analyzes that Poka-Yoke tool is assisted by McDonald to manage the process and people at the work in an effective manner, One-piece flow tool is used to manage the process from beginning to the end to manage the order process, while Kaizen is used to improvise performance and process continuously, Kanban is used to reduce the cost, eliminate the waste, and optimize the customer service
Similarly, the views of Mugalhaes (2017) in the above literature are also supporting that the company has also identified that after implementation of the Lean management principle application employees learn the lean methodology i.e. work smartly, eliminate the waste, improvise the performance, and customer satisfaction continuously. The survey has also analyzed that Poka-Yoke is an effective tool for the system design procedure of McDonald’s. With this tool, the company analyses the defects of fast-food products, process and improvise the service quality for sustainability due to change in a market challenge, customer demand. It also analyzes that the Poka-Yoke tool is effective because it helps the staff to serve hot-fresh food to the customer in just a time. Besides that the researcher also analysis that the Lean management principle application is useful for the company for managing the quality, cost, and elimination of waste of the company’s product. The survey has put highlighted the fact that a large number of employees of McDonald’s are highly satisfied and strongly agree that the lean management principle helps firms to enhance the quality of their service operations.
The research was all about to know the effectiveness of lean management principle applications in the biggest fast-food restaurant i.e. McDonald, and also to analyze the views of the staff on the incorporated lean applications so that firm can take or plan strategy as per the demand of the organization. From the survey, it is found that most of the employees are males and most of the staff belong to the age group of below 16 years. It is also analyzing that most of the employees were strongly agree with the statement that lean management principle help the firm and their employees to enhance the quality of their service operations. The most common reason that is evaluated for the requirement of the lean application is competition in the fast-food industry, change in the demand of customer taste, preference, and improving the current process for eliminating the waste and maximizes the productivity of the organization that’s why another question is asked to the employees was lean principle application useful for McDonald in term of manage quality, cost, waste of the company, and it was found that out of 25 respondent employee’s 15 chose Yes where 8 chose No, While 2 prefer Neutral. So, this states that the incorporation of lean principle is effective for the company, and its employees. Along with this, it is found through the survey that the purpose of used Lean principle is: create customer value, maintain sustainability, make the process efficient, etc. It is found that most of the respondents all of the points aim to need lean principles. Besides that, 30% of approximate employees agreed that yes Poka-Yoke is the most effective tool for McDonald’s in terms of a system design of service operations. It is obvious that this tool helps the staff to serve fresh hot food to a customer in just time and reduce the waste, improvise the quality and service. So, from the survey, it is found that 7 employees were agreed that Poke-Yoke is an effective tool after Kanban.
From the survey it is found that employee learns different methodologies from the Lean application i.e. work smartly, eliminating the waste, improvise customer satisfaction, and performance continuously. In addition to this, it was asked to the employees that are they satisfied with the implementation of lean management principle in-service operation of the organization, among all 25 respondent 11 were very satisfied, and 9 were agreed on this so it is clear that this principle helps the employee to improvise the performance of the business in the attainment of the overall goal. At last, it is found that some options were provided to the employees from that they have to choose the future goal of the McDonald for sustainability where most of the chose the improvising the communication process with a customer that means the use of the digital tool for order processing, and payment; reduce the waiting time, improvise service, etc.
Conclusion
The above research is about applying the Lean Management principle at McDonald’s service operations. The purpose of this research report analyses the concept of the Lean management principle and its effectiveness on the business operations of the McDonald. Through the research, it is found that the purpose of incorporated of Lean management principle in the business operations of McDonald is eliminating the waste, reducing the service cost, adding value to the product and customer satisfaction, make fast order processing, improving the quality, better flow of material, compete in a competition for sustainability. It also interferes that McDonald’s is leading the fast-food industry due to its consistent on the lean process for managing their operations. Due to huge competition in the fast-food industry, McDonald incorporated Lean application principles. Besides all the second reasons for the McDonald’s to apply of lean principle is to eliminate the process of inefficiencies, production waste, reducing extra cost, meet the demand of the market and the customer, etc. Through the research, it is analyzed that with the incorporation of this principle in business operations of the McDonald the firm will improvise their workplace efficiency by layout tool, effective utilization of resources by One-piece flow tool, reduce the waste, unnecessary cost, etc. by Kanban, and Poka-Yoke tool. Nevertheless, in this research, the research covered the research scope i.e. better understanding of lean management principle in the context of the McDonald and the lean methodology principle in operations excellence of the business. In this study, the researcher covered aims, objectives, research questions, critical analysis of literature review of the company based on published journals, article, and drawn analysis and findings to bring the effective outcome of the requirement.
In this research, the researcher also discussed the detailed analysis of critical aspects of the literature review. In this framework research study, the lean management principle applied in McDonald’s, how it can be applied, what are their benefits and limitations and effectiveness in Supply chain management of the business operations.
Further, in this report, the researcher conducts a survey form the employees and employer of the company. Library, journals have been used by the researcher for testing the reliability of the data. In this research, the data has been collected by the Questionnaire for getting primary data. There is 25 number of a respondent where the researcher used probability sampling to collects the sample from the populations free from the bias. Moreover, based on the analysis and finding research concludes that most employees are satisfied with the incorporation of the Lean principle as it was useful for the firm in enhancing the quality of service, reducing the cost, and eliminating waste. It is also helpful for the employees as it improvises their performance by eliminating waste, providing fresh -hot food to the customer at just in time. Through the research, it also notifies that Poke-Yoke and Kanban is the most effective tool for creating value to the customers.
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