The Four Functions of Management

The Four Functions of Management

One would be amazed to hear that 48 million customers are served everyday in 119 countries at a McDonald?s and as of 2004 there were 31,561 system-wide restaurants (2005 fact sheet). Being enrolled in a management course, one automatically begins to think about how many managers there must be in place to manage all those locations. Though McDonald?s is a franchise and all restaurants are individually owned, the four functions of management are still important factors which enable the operation of a store to be successful. In this paper we will discuss how globalization, technology, and diversity impact the four functions of management which are: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (Bateman et al, 2004).

Globalization

Globalization is a process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations. It is a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by international technology. This process has its effects on the environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic development and prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies around the world (Center for Strategic International Studies, 2002).

McDonald?s Corporation is a leading food service retailer and worldwide, McDonald?s owns a large segment of the restaurant business. McDonald?s manages its system by geographical segments. The largest in terms of both revenue and restaurants is McDonald?s USA. In the United States (U.S.), McDonald?s has over 12,300 traditional restaurants, plus approximately 1320 satellite locations in facilities like hospitals. They serve more than 21.8 million customers a day. Approximately 85.5 percent of the restaurants are operated, under franchise agreements, by local independent business people, Owners/Operators (www.mcdonalds.com, Flakes, B. personal communication).

Within the controlling function of management, McDonald?s introduced the Restaurant Improvement Operations Process (RIOP) in 2002 to evaluate the how effectively the restaurants are meeting quality standards. McDonald?s also established a global program that ensures compliance with the guiding principles of the company. Under the procedures of McDonald?s, each company that does not pass an audit will be given 30 days to remedy that problem.

Under the planning, leading, and organiz...

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