Transformational Change – A Case Study Of Mc Donald

Change is disliked by most people but once accepted it brings many developments. However, for it to be effective, all the staff members have to participate. Transformational change may involve tactics such as adapting to new technologies, repositioning in the market, restructuring the products and appointing leaders who are always willing to transform (Magloff, 2014.).

One of the companies that have undergone transformational change is Mc Donald’s, having implemented the market repositioning strategy in 2006 (Magloff, 2014.). For anyone who does not know the history of the giant fast food company, they would think it has been a smooth walk for them. On the contrary, the company has experienced setbacks such as the passing on of their two Chief Executive Officers due to health related problems (Kowitt, 2011). However, the worst yet the best year for them must have been 2006 when they registered their first quarterly loss. This had been caused by the great criticism they were receiving from campaigners against junk food that lead to obesity.

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Mc Donald’s worked on this set back by adding healthier items to their menu that included Espresso drinks and milk shakes among others. They also changed the entire look of their stores and focused on customer satisfaction. This strategy worked for them as they managed to make profits again.

I really believe in the strategy the company used but at the same time I am asking myself if every customer who was part of the anti-junk food campaign was really convinced that Mc Donald’ s was an outlet that they would be able to walk into and get a healthy meal. Personally, I would still have doubts about the place.

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Given a chance of being the Mc Donald Chief Executive Officer, I would have imagined the perception the anti- junk food campaigners had of the store. Their views having resulted to a loss in the company means that a big percentage of the loyal customers must have been affected by the campaign. As a result, I believe a complete change of the Menu would have been more practical than addition of a few healthy drinks. This would ensure even as the anti- junk campaigners would walk into the store they would not have to see the unhealthy food even in other customers’ plates.

Probably someone else would argue out that as much as there were people who were against the junk food being offered, there were also loyal customers who enjoyed the junk food and needed to be considered. I strongly believe that Mc Donald’s would still have an equal number of customers if they focused on healthy food.

After doing a complete change of their menu, the store would join in the campaign by passing information on how junk food has bad side effects and this would make them even more popular. Customers involvement is also key in transformational change hence customer reviews could also be used during the change.

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The example of Mc Donald’s is a great lesson to all executives that having transformational skills is very essential in the running of any organization since even the best organizations experience setbacks at some point. They should also emulate examples of companies like Nokia that have undergone different kinds of transformation over the decades including embracing new technologies, restructuring products and also repositioning in the market. In a few years time when I get to be the Chief Executive Officer of a company, I will most definitely use transformational change to ensure the company remains as a market dominator.

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