Final Project

Submitted by:
o Eshaal Naseem
o Hareema Kamran
o Umama Mahmood
Submitted to: Ma’am Asma Nisar
Course Title: Business Communication
Semester: 3
Section: B
Date: November 29, 2021
BUSINESS STUDIES DEPARTMENT KINNAIRD COLLEGE FOR
WOMEN LAHORE, PAKISTAN
Batch: 2020-2024

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 HR
MANAGEMENT
ISSUES IN
MCDONALDS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE #

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4
INTRODUCTION
4
BACKGROUND
4
PROBLEM DISCUSSION

 LOW WAGES
 NO GUARANTEED WORK HOURS 4–6
 HAZARDOUS WORKING CONDITIONS

RECCOMENDATION
6-7
CONCLUSION
7
BIBLIOGRAPHY
8
APPENDIX
8

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The report argues upon the Human Resource Management issues in McDonalds like hazardous
working conditions for employees and the HR practices and policies that the company follow and
what changes it needs to undertake. This covers McDonalds’ employees not being able to afford basic
necessities due to low wages and zero hour contract that don’t give the option of guaranteed hours to
employees. The major problem of hazardous working conditions for employees is also discussed in
which employees’ physical and psychological issues like lack of security equipment, poverty pay and
sexual harassment are discussed. However, these issues can be addressed by taking effective
measures like paying the workers fairly so that they can afford to live off and creating a safe
environment for employees in which they are safe from any sort of physical or psychological
violence. Major problems with the management of McDonalds and the challenges suffered by
McDonalds’ employees have been highlighted and suggestions are given to increase employee
satisfaction.

 INTRODUCTION

McDonald's is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 in California and currently
serving over 100 countries. McDonald's offer a variety of food items like burgers, fries, and wraps,
desserts and beverages like soft drinks and coffee. The company runs 32,480 restaurants in total, out
of which 26,215 are being operated by the franchises and 6,265 by the company. Despite being such
a renowned multinational food chain, it legally and morally fails to satisfy its own employees.
McDonald's employees everywhere face lack of basic respect, poverty pay and insecure hours.

 BACKGROUND

The report will highlight and tackle prevailing HR issues faced by McDonald’s employees. The
workers who have been raising their voices for years about sexual harassment, low pay and other
issues are speaking up about the insecurities posed by repeated brutality on the job. Workers
are beginning to call on the company to do better as they believe McDonald's is not doing enough
for their protection from violence at workplace. The main sources of information gathered for the
report were news articles and personal experience of employees.

 PROBLEMS

Following are some of the major problems faced by workers of McDonalds:

 Low wages:

With a history of over 66 years, McDonald’s is one of the largest employers of low wage workers.
Over the years, the company has faced intense criticism on its starvation wages which are barely
enough to make ends meet. McDonald’s employees make less than 10 dollars an hour and are not
granted any healthcare benefits or paid sick days. Adding the long shifts employees undertake, these
wages are simply not enough for their survival. After paying off their bills and rent, the employees
barely have anything to scrap off on.

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This inhumane nature of a system helps McDonalds earn vast amounts of profits due to their
employee’s labor that comes at the cost of their safety. The significant pay gap between the
CEO/shareholders and these minimum wage employees show where McDonald’s priorities are and
how they allocate their spending which is clearly not on their employees. As these employees struggle
to afford basic necessities, McDonald’s continues to pile the wealth of their CEOs and shareholders.

 No guaranteed hours:

McDonalds has a zero hour contract with its employees which does not contain any pre-determined
work hours. This contract causes problems as it offers no guarantee of reasonable work hours and no
income stability. Employees feel like they have no job security and are in constant stress about
whether they’ll have enough work hours to make ends meet. Such contracts dictate that the employees
should be on call whenever they’re required which is unrealistic considering that the employees have
other responsibilities too. Employees are at the disposal of the employers who may use them for
extended hours and do not pay them a set wage. The contract also requires the employees to be
available to work at short notice.

 Hazardous working conditions:

McDonald’s employees have filed numerous safety complaints against the hazardous working
conditions at various franchises and it is one of the major problems employees of fast food chains
face on a day to day basis. From the lack of safety equipment to unsafe speed requirements for order
preparations, McDonald’s employees are forced to work under such unsafe work environment.
Talking from a physical hazard point of view, many employees have suffered severe burns as they
were forced to clean the fryer and grills while the oil is boiling hot without any proper gloves, goggles,
or heat-resistant equipment. The lack of first aid kits and protective equipment have caused
employees to face many injuries and difficulties.

Broken kitchen equipment, slippery and greasy floors and damaged protective gear are just some the
things causing more problems for these low wage employees. Employees are also expected to work
dangerously fast due to understaffing and as a result face many injuries. This understaffing issue
means that the few employees present are responsible to undertake the excessive workload so when
these employees try to meet the computer system generated pace of work, they’re met with many
accidents. On a few occasions, employees have confided that they were told by their managers to
treat their burns with condiments which goes to show McDonald’s ill treatment towards its
employees. But regardless of all the dangers at work, the employees are still willing to work in these
unsafe conditions to earn that minimum wages in order to support themselves somehow.

 Sexual Harassment Issues

Coming on to the psychological hazards, workers of McDonalds face like the current sexual
harassment issues which are on the rise. McDonald’s employees have reached to the conclusion that
the company’s culture is such that it allows for such behaviors to go on without any repercussions.
Female workers who reported the sexual harassment they were subjected to found themselves
baselessly terminated. Majority of this harassment is instigated by supervisors or coworkers. The
more than 50 sexual harassment lawsuits, narrate not only the inappropriate sexual gestures and

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 comments they’ve faced but also the lack of training and support for awareness regarding sexual
harassment. The company has also retaliated against multiple employees who reported such incidents
by either changing their working conditions, issuing written warnings against them or by not allowing
them transfers.

 RECCOMENDATIONS:

 Tackling Poverty pay :

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Employees should be paid at least $15 per hour considering the record profit the company earns due
to their labor. Furthermore, employees should receive benefits of healthcare or paid sick days in order
to ensure their survival in these inflationary times

 Option of guaranteed work schedule :

McDonald’s should dissolve its zero hour contract, which require employees to be available whenever
they are called regardless of what time it is. Employees should be given the option of guaranteed
time schedule where they get paid at least $15 per hour. By providing guaranteed work hours,
McDonald’s can reduce the stress of employees about not getting enough hours of work to survive
on.

 Prevention of hazardous working conditions :

McDonald has a poor regard for the risk of mental and physical violence and its effects on
the workplace environment and the lives of McDonald’s employees across the world .
There is a pressing need for McDonald’s to take these hazardous incidents in a serious
way and create a thorough program for all those who wear McDonald’s uniform.
Particularly, the company needs create a cultural framework of violence prevention in
order to minimize physical and psychological injuries inflicted on employees

 Preventing psychological violence

Hazardous working conditions can often result from psychological violence like discrimination in
workplace and sexual harassment etc. which can effect employees’ mental health and their work
performance. Recommendation for McDonald’s to prevent this kind of violence are:

Discrimination: McDonald’s can deal with workplace discrimination issue by creating a working
environment where all kinds of discrimination is condemned and employees are effectively
encouraged to report incidents of discrimination. McDonald’s should introduce a system in which
employees can speak up for themselves and can raise discrimination complaints without the fear of
retaliation. Furthermore, McDonald’s should examine the behavior of its senior managers regarding
discrimination and motivate them to address inequality issues

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 Sexual harassment: Sexual harassment can be prevented if McDonald’s take the following steps:

 Cultures instead of Training: Training programs are not enough to deal with a problem as big
as sexual harassment, McDonald’s need to develop a culture of consent by recognizing and
addressing harassment cases in each franchise. This also includes putting protocols in motion
that will allow the workers to report harassment incidents directly to superior level.
 No empty promises: Sexual harassment issues can only be dealt with if McDonald’s pledge
to transform the company’s ways and not make empty promises just for the sake of brand
image. McDonald’s should make sure that the changes are not only adopted but also
implemented effectively.
 Accountability: McDonalds should introduce a custom of accountability where individuals
are held responsible for their actions and have to face consequences according to company’s
policies and standards.

 Preventing physical violence:

Another reason for McDonald’s hazardous working environment is the physical violence
suffered by the employees. It can be prevented by,

 Providing safety equipment: McDonald’s should make sure that there is a proper
arrangement of safety gears to prevent employees from burning while cleaning the
grills that are kept on while cleaning, or slipping on wet floors while sweeping.
Proper training should be given to employees working with hot fryers and other
burners.
 Addressing safety complains seriously: Managers of every McDonald’s franchise
should make addressing safety complains their utmost priority and should make
sure that basic first aid for burn and other injuries are available at all times.

 Health and safety training: another significant step that McDonald’s can take is to
introduce health and safety programs where employees get to understand hazards
and what to do in case of illness or injury and how to use safety gears properly
while performing their jobs to minimize the risk of injuries. This training should be
given on annual basis.

 CONCLUSION:

Post-incident responses are an essential a part of prevention of hazardous working

environment in which both physical and psychological injuries of employees are
discussed. First of all, McDonald’s should make sure that the injured employees are
getting appropriate medical treatment. Second, McDonald’s should arrange free mental
wellness services to employees struggling with psychological injuries. Third,
McDonald’s should provide a sensitive environment for injured workers avoiding any
further distress. Lastly, McDonald’s should keep a record of all psychological and
physical injuries and its training programs, in this way McDonald’s can evaluate these
records to identify ongoing training needs.

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Bibliography
(2015, January 1). Retrieved from ukessays: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/the-challenges-
faced-by-human-resources-business-essay.php#citethis

Alfonseca, K. (2021, May 12). Retrieved from abcnews: https://abcnews.go.com/US/restaurant-workers-

protest-poor-working-conditions-low-wages/story?id=77599754

Berkowitz, D. (2019, May 22). Retrieved from Nelp.org: https://www.nelp.org/publication/behind-the-

arches-how-mcdonalds-fails-to-protect-workers-from-workplace-violence/

Neville, S. (2013, August Monday ). Retrieved from The Guardian :

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/aug/05/mcdonalds-workers-zero-hour-contracts

Smith, S. (2015, March 16). Retrieved from EHS Today:

https://www.ehstoday.com/safety/article/21918104/workers-fed-up-with-mcdonalds-file-osha-
complaints

 APPENDIX:

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