McDonalds Menu Change Management - Case Study Example

McDonalds Menu Change Management Plan Table of Contents Introduction 3 McDonalds Change Management Plan 3 Problem 3 Recommended Change 3 Desired Outcomes 4 The Specific Business Needs Driving the Change 4 Implementation Steps 5 Interventions for Supporting McDonalds Organizational Strategy for Change 6 McDonalds Change Management Communication Plan 7 Implementation, Monitoring and Control of McDonalds Menu Change Management Plan 7 Conclusion 9 References 10 McDonalds Menu Change Management Plan Introduction Since its humble start as a burger shop in 1954, McDonalds has been able to achieve milestones of success that has helped to turn the company into an internationally recognized brand with over 32,000 branches spread out across 117 countries around the world. McDonald’s offers a similar menu in all its different branches and this menu includes hamburgers, soft drinks, fries and cheese burgers. However, despite its success in the fast food restaurant business, McDonald’s is still seen to face a number of issues that necessitate that the company’s management restructure the restaurant chain’s image to suit the current changes in the tastes and preferences of its customers (Kincheloe, 2002). McDonalds Change Management Plan Problem In today’s world, increasing numbers of people are becoming more health and diet conscious with a strong preference for healthy and nutritious food. These health concerns have caused first foods to now be identified by the common moniker of “junk food” as they have minimal nutritional value and can potentially case a number of health concerns such as increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity. This changing trend has posed a significant problem to McDonalds as the company has already caused itself to be identified as a leading fast food retailer. McDonalds competitors are taking advantage of this changing trend and have started introducing a range of new healthy and non-fattening foods (Robbins 2011). Recommended Change It is critically important for McDonalds to develop a new change management plan that will aid it in changing the manner in which it markets itself as well as in introducing a new line of healthier products that are in line with the modern day preference for healthier foods (Robbins 2011). Desired Outcomes By implementing the changes proposed under this change management plan, it is hoped that McDonalds will be able to recoup the market base that it might have lost as its customers moved to other brands in search of healthier and more nutritious alternatives. The plan will also have the desired outcome of aiding McDonalds in increasing its customer base as the fast food restaurant chain will now be able to attract large number of health conscious customers (Robbins 2011). The Specific Business Needs Driving the Change To identify the business needs driving the change, it is important to conduct a force field analysis as this will help in the identification and analysis of all the factors that are either working in favor of or against the change. Some of the forces of change in this instance include: Intense Competition: The fast food industry generally experiences high levels of competition. McDonalds needs to keep pace with its competitors and develop new healthier and more nutritious products that are better than the products offered by its competitors. Change in Customers Preference: The preferences of McDonalds customers keeps on changing, it is critically important for McDonalds to strive to ensure that that it understands the preferences and tastes of its customers so as for the company to be able work towards the retention of its customer-base. McDonalds should introduce new changes in its products to help ensure that its customers do not get bored with constantly having the same food. Implementation Steps To aid in the implementation of this change management plan, McDonalds can seek to utilize Kurt Lewin’s three step change process. This change process will consist of three basic steps which are basically unfreezing, changing and refreezing (Rahschulte, 2007). Unfreezing: During this stage of the plan, McDonalds will be required to initiate changes to those aspects of its operations which have been deemed as being quite harmful to the overall growth of the company (Rahschulte, 2007). Under this step, McDonalds should seek to conduct a critical analysis and establish what are the possible additions or variations that can be made to its menu to help in satisfying the changing trend in customer preference. To help it in achieving its set objectives during this stage of the process, McDonalds can set up a special menu improvement team which will be tasked with collecting, analyzing and presenting data on the changing customer preference towards more healthier and nutritious foods. The team can conduct survey that will help the company obtain first-hand information directly from customers as to the healthy changes they would like to see in McDonalds menu. Changing: In this step, McDonalds should develop and implement changes to its menu that will see the company introduce a number of healthier food options (Rahschulte, 2007). These options might include smoothies, fruits, low-fat and low calories food items. McDonalds can source for vendors who will be able to provide its restaurant chains with a good supply of fresh fruits that can be used in making smoothies as well as organize training courses for its employees to teach them how to make these smoothies and prepare the additional healthier options in its menu. The company will also need to embark on a marketing and advertising campaign whereby it will seek to promote the new healthier food options in its product offering. Special offers can also be made whereby, McDonalds can reduce the cost of these new healthier food items with the aim of making these items more attractive to its customers. Another option that McDonalds can look into as part of its strategy to market its new food items is offering promotional samples, this will allow for its customers to get the opportunity of first sampling the products before going on to purchase them. To properly prepare its new food offerings, McDonalds might have to purchase new equipment as part of the change process. The bringing in of new technology has been a key strategy that has been of great aid for most companies and organizations irrespective of the size of their operations. This strategy allows for companies to be able to remain relevant in the face of fast changing technological innovations. By purchasing the best technological innovations to help it in preparing its new menu items, McDonalds will ensure that it maintains an edge over its competitors. Refreezing: After making all the necessary changes, McDonalds will then move into the refreezing stage whereby the new menu changes will be permanently adopted into McDonald’s everyday menu (Rahschulte, 2007). Interventions for Supporting McDonalds Organizational Strategy for Change There are a number of possible interventions that can be used to support McDonalds organizational strategy for change, some of these include: Reducing unnecessary internal competition: Whereas internal competition can at times prove to be quite healthy for McDonalds, if not well managed, this competition can quickly turn unhealthy. Instead of creating promoting an environment where competition is used to help in motivating employees, McDonalds can instead focus on creating a culture that is primarily focused on collaboration. Collaborative conditions greatly help in improving employee satisfaction which in turn translates to better customer retention as McDonalds customers will enjoy being served by satisfied employees. This intervention will be of great aid as McDonalds looks to attract a larger share of the health conscious customer market. Strategic Interventions: Strategic interventions are sometimes quite necessary in the creation of change within a company and its overall relationship with the external environment. McDonalds can look into engaging in rapid expansions into new markets and the acquisition of small retail chains that already offers healthy foods or companies that supply healthy foods. This will greatly ease McDonalds transition into the healthy foods market as the company will benefit from the market knowledge and best practices of the healthy foods restaurant chains it acquires (Yaeger, 2009). McDonalds Change Management Communication Plan To ensure that the proposed change management plan is successful, it is important for McDonalds to ensure that there is proper communication not only internally between its employees, but also externally with its customers. When creating the positive developmental change within the company, McDonalds should revise its communication strategy such that the decision-making responsibility will now shift from being a task that is primarily designated to be performed by managers to one that all employees will share in. McDonalds can also try to improve its communication with its customers by making it easier for customers to give their view and opinions on the additional menu items. This can be done by installing interactive terminals that will allow the customers to entire their opinions and grade these new menu items. Implementation, Monitoring and Control of McDonalds Menu Change Management Plan To guide the implementation of this plan, McDonalds should first setup a small menu improvement team whose membership will be composed of representatives drawn from its management, employees, customers as well as a dietary expert. By drawing its membership from this large pool, the menu improvement team will be able to ensure that the interests and concerns of all the different stakeholders are well represented. The implementation of this plan can first be done on a selected number of McDonalds retail outlets to first gauge the success of the new menu items as well as allow for necessary amendments to be made before the plan is eventually rolled out to all the outlets (Rahschulte, 2007). The menu implementation team will be responsible for monitoring how the plan is being rolled out across McDonalds outlets as well as regulating it to ensure that its implementation does not negatively interfere with the company’s normal operations. Conclusion It is not possible to correctly predict the overall success of the menu change plan as it is greatly dependent on its market reception and the attitudes of McDonald’s customer base. Changing McDonalds image from that of a fast food retailer to that of one which provides healthy meals will not be an easy process but with the establishment of a special menu improvement team, strong advertising and marketing campaigns and carefully strategized intervention plans, McDonalds will be able to successfully change its image and the new healthier food options will be successfully received in the market which will in turn translate to improved company profit margins. References Kincheloe, L. J. (2002). The sign of the burger: McDonalds and the culture of power. Philadelphia, Pa.: Temple Univ. Press. Rahschulte, T. (2007). Understanding how to Change: An Inductive Determination of how Agents of State Government Plan, Lead, and Sustain Change. ProQuest. Robbins, John. (2011). The food revolution: how your diet can help save your life and our world. San Francisco, CA : Conari Press. Yaeger, F. T. & Sorensen, F. P. (2009). Strategic organization development: managing change for success. Charlotte, N.C. : Information Age Pub. Read More