can satisfy our customers. Take good care of those who work for you, and you will float to greatness on their achievements" (Kroc, 2001, Online).
The achievements of the employees and the company management are impressive. In spite of constant competition, the company is the world's largest fast-food chain with more than 28,000 Nearly 80% of the units are franchised, and, along with being the world's largest employer, it is also the world's largest owner of commercial real estate(Hoover's Online, 2001)
McDonald's is one of the few companies in the world that has a direct reporting relationship between the Chief Operating Officer and the head of human resources. Stanley R. Stein, 58, is the Executive Vice President of Human Resources and oversees a division that employs some 1,200 people in 74 different offices around the world, and has an annual operating budget of some $24 million (Carter, 2001).
The human resources function at McDonald's is complex. There are five primary operating divisions: Franchise (which is further broken down into foreign and domestic, both of which are further subdivided into reporting regions); Company Owned Stores; Training; Legal; and, Strategy. Payroll and benefit control are contracted out. Just as the management manual for franchise owners and company-owned operations detail exact procedures for every step of the operations (there are 22 timed steps, for instance, for making the French Fries), so too are the human resources functions thoroughly specified. We will look at the five divisions -- Franchise, Company-Owned, Training, Legal and
The McDonald's franchise handbook (the bible of the business) is actually in six volumes and comprises some 1,200 pages. The handbook details such operational procedures as opening hours, cleanliness, when to turn on the malt machines, how to handle the under-counter cash and so on. A large section deals with handling vendors, ordering goods, t...