September 13, 2010
University of Phoenix
Control Mechanisms of McDonald’s
McDonald’s has become a leading competitor in the fast food industry. They are a household name famous for its signature “golden arches” and “supersized” fries. McDonald’s is an international corporation that manages several hundred independently owned stores. To effectively manage this type of corporation, McDonald’s must use several control mechanisms. Below is an analysis of McDonald’s control mechanisms and how the management functions incorporate them. Managers and corporations use four controlling functions to correct problems and achieve goals. Control is one of the Siamese twins of management. Planning is the other twin of management. Bureaucratic control involves rules, regulations, and formal authority to guide performance (Bateman & Snell, 2009). Market control involves the use of pricing mechanisms to regulate activities in organizations as though they were economic transactions (Bateman & Snell, 2009). Clan control works best when managers encourage employees that there is “no one best way” to do a job and employees are given the power to make decisions (Bateman & Snell, 2009). McDonald’s used the control mechanism in the corporation initial beginning when two brothers Dick and Mac McDonald spawned the idea in Ray Kroc mind in starting a franchise. Ray’s fascination of the brothers’ operation stimulated him to open a McDonald’s retail store in 1955 (About McDonald’s, 2009). McDonald’s controlling continued their success by opening 700 new franchise stores 10 years later. Control remained a factor for McDonald’s to expand their wings further into globalization opening stores in Canada and Puerto in 1967, and later opens another store in Russia 1990 (About McDonald’s, 2009). McDonald’s bureaucratic control standards helped the corporation by establishing independently owned franchises reporting earnings to corporate offices. The...