Chapter 1

Introduction
In modern business and organisational environment it is believed that better
human resource and its management can bring progressive and prospective
financial results. In modern business arena employees are the valuable resource
and requiring expert utilisation for productive business gaining. In any industry
the accomplishment of an organisation is extremely dependent on its human
resources. Although there are many other factors that play key roles, a company
must have effective employees in order to stay financially solvent and competitive.
In order to maintain this valuable commodity, organisations must be aware of
employees satisfaction and retention. Many companies make the mistake of
assuming that employees are only seeking financial benefits for their jobs. This
assumption overlooks the high importance many people place on the intrinsic
benefits of their careers. It is not only a mistake for employee satisfaction and
retention, but it also has negative business consequences. Organisations must have
employees who are able to quickly adapt to an ever-changing world market.
Companies need to invest in on-going employee development in order to both keep
employees and be successful.
Background of the Study & Importance
Lets find out what precisely Human Resource Management (HRM) is. To many
people and academician HRM is an unclear and intangible concept, due to the
meaning diversity of HRM. This

bewilderment

reproduces

the

different

interpretations originated in books, journal and articles regarding HRM. Human

resources are inimitably significant to continued business accomplishment. In

1
9

modern age organisations business is getting very competitive day-by-day.

Therefore, it is utmost vital for every organisation to use its people effectively,
exploring their expertise and maintaining them in a creativity way to meet the
clearly defined objectives of it. The basic components of HRM are recruitment,
selection, assessment, performance appraisal, rewarding and legal and ethical
issues analysing of the employees. Side by side, developing performance of the
staffs through their individual key competencies. However, in the consequences of
the discussion I am trying to figure out a model of HRM that emphasised on the
below factors.

Rationale of the topic: HRM

1
9

In this Research Proposal I am tempting and trying to find whether there is a link
between effective recruitment and retention strategies and organisational
performance. I am taking McDonalds as a case for this proposal.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to review1. The impact of the sound recruitment and retention strategy on the firm.
2. To identify and understand the critical factors that underscore good
recruitment and retention strategies.
3. To identify the factors that allow McDonalds to respond to the challenges
post by the recruitment and retention.

Research Aims & Objectives

This research project will meet the following objectives:
1. Review the process of Employment in McDonalds.
2. Analyze the role of employment in retention and satisfaction.
3. Analyze the factors that critically affect the recruitment and
retention of a firm.
4. Review the employers role in employment and retention.
5. Clarify the relationship between employment, retention and
company performance.
Limitation of the Study

1
9

This study and the proposal is a very academic requirement though it is

constructing in a professional way. As it is a proposal for academic purpose it is
limited with a particular length and frame. In-depth analysis and study might not
be possible in terms of time, money and other required resources. I would try my
level best to bring the most contemporary information for the study. Now it would
be depend on the situation that how I could do so as I am not assign by McDonalds
or have no influences in the company. In fact, it is totally depend on my approaches
and co-operation. In this extant, the authenticity of the exact information and
outcome is depending on the situation.
However, besides the limitations my temptation will be at the highest level to bring
out the and construct this study academically sound, logical and informative.

Chapter 2
Literature Review: HRM
HRM depicts on many sources in terms of theories and practices. Different
sociologists,

management

theorists

and

psychologists

have

contributed

continuous stream of new and revised ideas. The intellectuals offer theoretical
insights and practical assistance in the area and components of HRM, i.e.
recruitment,

selection,

assessment,

performance

appraisal,

reward,

team

composition, legal and ethical issues etc. A lot of their concepts have been
incorporated into broader approaches that have contributed to management
thinking in various periods and ultimately the development of HRM (Price, A.,
2007). Therefore, let me discuss the components of HRM form the literature point
of view. Recruitment This is one of the Initial significance aspects of Human

1
9

Resource Management. Recruitment describes the process and various stages of

searching for suitable candidates to fill vacancies in the work force (Cowling, A.G.
& Mailer, C.J.B., 1981). They also emphasis on three initial conditions prior to
searching: a. confirmation of the need to fill the vacancy; b. reference to the
manpower plans to check on the overall situation and c. completion of appropriate
job analyses and specifications. Beardwell et al, (2001) said the following stages
that are seen in the successful recruitment progression, i.e. a. Determining
vacancy, b. Recruitment methods - 1) job description, 2) person specification, 3) Job
analysis, c. Recruitment advertisement, d. Identify recruitment sources. Advert is
one of the significant aspects for recruitment process. Newspaper, poster,
periodicals, leaflet and website, etc. are now-a-days the perfect medium for
advertisements of vacant jobs. Side by side the recruitment process also includes 1.
The job description and individual specification as well as concerning document
preparation; 2. Preparing and placing advertisements and administrative
procedures related to prospective candidate (Caroline, H. & Foot, M. 1999). In case
of recruitment, there are two things required to consider- i) reallocate the tasks
among employees that increase employees skills and flexibility in the workforce. ii)
Reallocate people from internal employment market through transfers and
promotions (Price, 2004). Application form is another stage and component of
recruitment process that include applicants primary information for initial
evaluation. Selection Successful selection of employee is not only an essential
function of human resource management but also important for organisational
accomplishment as well. This is the final phase of recruitment process. This process
includes a range of techniques like interviews, tests as well as references (Cowling,
A.G. & Mailer, C.J.B., 1981). As selection techniques and test they suggested - 1.
Aptitude test, 2. Attainment test, 3. Personality test, Testing group behavior and 5.

1
9

Medical test. Selection involves predicting which candidates will make the most
appropriate contribution to the organization- now and in the future (Hackett,
1991). Personnel selection procedures may be different in extent to which the
organization can progress. In the selection process the most important step is the
selection interviews. There are some types of interviews, such as- personal
interview, group interview, structured and unstructured interview. The formal
interview is structured. The informal interview is unstructured interview and this
sort of interview is taken for general information exchange. The induction is the
last stage of the selection process and according to CIPD (2005); a perfect induction
program has got the following components: a) Describing the facilities, b)
orientation, c) Health & safety issues, d) Terms and conditions of the employment
and so on. Assessment The selection procedure of stuffs is varies one
organisation to another. Assessment is the method of selection process. Every
phases of the recruitment and selection process ought to be designed fairly and
clearly to assess the capability of the applicant. Assessment is as well as required
for the existing personnel to be promoted. Assessment methods during selection
process may include the assessment of - CV and Application Form, Interviews,
Ability Tests, Personality Questionnaires, Simulation Exercises etc. Proper
assessment is very important in terms of getting the right talent onboard will
increase productivity, improve retention and enable the organisation to outperform
its peers at a time when it really matters for business development. Weimer (2002)
described the process as a deep understanding of - candidates knowledge,
understanding capabilities and if the knowledge is a reflection of candidates
academic experience. Performance Management or Appraisal It is always
important for managers and supervisors to get the best performance from their
workforce in terms of levels of production and quality of output (Foot, M. & Hook,

1
9

C., 1999). They also treat this appraisal as a technique used to motivate, help and
encourage staffs in terms to improve their performance. Cowling, A.G. & Mailer, C.
J. B. (1981) described personality as a matter of performance. They emphasized
this human characteristic on performance to success or failure at work place.
However, performance management or appraisal can be sum-up according to
Philbeam and Corbridge ( 2002), as they said; the performance management
system consists of the following stages: Determining organisational goal, defining
objectives, agreement of learning and development plan, performance assessment,
regular feedback, reward allocation, development of personal development plans.
Performance assessment is as well significant due to reward and in fact,
performance measurement indicates that who are under-performing. Reward
Management Salaries and wages, on the other hand reward is treated as one of
the major cost in any enterprise. For successful human resources, an acceptable
financial reward system is even most significant aspect. Therefore, the human
resource management pays a high attention and priority to the reward/pay and to
its policy as well (Cowling, A.G. & Mailer, C. J. B., 1981). Reward management
includes the strategy or policy of the payment and pay system. It also includes
stuffs benefits, bonuses, compensation, pension etc. The reward system need to be
understandable by the all stakeholders of an organisation and also should be
supported by organisations corporate strategy. Reward itself work as the motivator
of employees.

Wages, salaries, incentives etc. can encourage employees in a

potential way to work harder in future. Many organisations in this modern age,
linking reward as the motivator of their personnel and using a system of
performance-related pay for the performance excellence at work (Foot, M. & Hook,
C., 1999). In this conjunction reward is getting as a part of the appraisal system.
Different studies are showing that employees receive a financial incentive, achieve

1
9

a higher degree of performance. Consequently, performance and reward are unified

and a part of appraisal system. So, the reward system can be summarized as
performance related pay, appraisal related pay, executive pay, profit related pay,
etc. Legal & Ethical Issues In spite of the complexity and low volume of
employment law for the workplace, it has become so significant in contemporary
years. Now-a-days, HRM has some responsibilities for the control of its human
resources (Cowling, A.G. & Mailer, C. J. B., 1981). There are some alternative
ethical issues appear to be correct for the analysis of HRM practice: basic human
and employment rights, community of purpose, universalism, organisational justice
(Foote, D., 2001). Under human resource management assessment offers a process
of assessing the employees whether a companys human resource management
systems consist of and how well it actives, which helps user to build up strategy to
progress the human resource system and make it effective. A large area of human
resource management is concerned with various ethical issues which are part of
upper level authority in its managerial decision and down level management in the
treatment of individual worker. In general ethics is a set of principle of right
conduct, the study of general nature of morals and of the specific moral choices to
be made by an individual, and the rules governing the conduct of an employee or
the members of the company. In this regard Charles A. Pierce and Herman Aguinis
outlined an article where they aimed to encourage human resource leaders to think
more strategically about managing work force and derived as set of organisationally
sensible best practice recommendation which human resource professionals can
adopt to manage the risk and rewards of relationships in company as a part of
recruit mental work place. Not only in HRM, legal and ethical issues are ought to
be considered at every level of any organisation from top to bottom level. The
legal issues in organisational aspects, includes the accurate, original and true

1
9

behavior to the human resource. This is not only the issue of human right and
ethic, the organisational behavior as well. Every employee need to be consider
valuable, respective and should be given time to adapt for the best output to the
organisation.

1
9

Chapter 3
Research Methodology
Any kind of research is undertaken through particularly methods and approaches.
All most all of the researches and studies are undertaken through either
qualitative or quantitative method of research design. The issues of quantitative
research method comprise with target population, methods of survey, sample size
sampling procedure, measurement and scales etc. And qualitative method includes
participant specification, number of groups or in-depth interviews, group or
respondent

recruitment

method,

qualitative

survey

methods,

preliminary

discussion or interview guide etc. For my research case, I will use the qualitative

1
9

research method to collect the information. The specific methods are discussing in
the below.
Statement of design and methodology
Data collectionThe data will be collected through interviews of McDonalds management who are
engaged with employment of staffs and general staff. Two sets of questionnaire
have been prepared to collect response from the selected parties. The resulted data
will be analysed through the qualitative approach.
The data will be collected directly from the interested parties by the interviewer.
The validity of the data can be measured from the fact that the questionnaire will
be filled by the management of who are directly related to the employment of the
staff in the store. Again, these managers solely have the responsibility to retain
those staff, keep them happy, providing them with a good working environment and
also to maintain a good performance for the store. We will get a complete idea of
what actually the managers do in the McDonalds store, what is the effective
employment and retention strategy for them. We will also have a complete idea of
the relationship between the effective employment and company performance. The
study will also reveal that how effective employment strategy can reduce the
movement of employees and subsequently increase the performance of the company.
To collect data from the crew members a separate set of questionnaire will be
prepared. Which will give us an idea as to why the general staffs tend to leave their
job easily (details discussion on Chapter 4)? Specially, in this case why McDonalds
staffs are more likely to leave their jobs or why McDonalds have a very high rate of
staff turnover. What factors determines these movements? Is it the working

1
9

environment? Is it the manager or supervisor? Is it the salary? Or is there any

problem with the employment and retention strategy. While collecting the data the
both the demography of the McDonalds staff and their position have been
considered. To make the response as appropriate as possible and to make the data
totally representative of the sample and population I have collected data from staffs
of all background.
Sample Questionnaire:
For the Management of McDonalds
1. Do have solid background on employment and retention strategy?- Yes No
2. Do you think employment and retention strategy has direct relationship with
the performance of the store ? - Yes No
3. Do you work actively to improve the turnover of staff in the organisation ?Yes No
4. How would you describe staff turnover in your storea. High b. Medium c. Low
5. The 5 top reasons to leave the job in McDonalds ( in your store)a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
6. What are the 5 main things you look at while employing a staff in your store
?a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

1
9

7. Do you actively pursue or motivate an employee to stay in the in store for a

long period of time- Yes

No

8. Do you think the recruitment system of McDonalds is sound?- Yes

No

9. 3 things you want to improve about the recruitment of the staffa.

b.
c.
10. According to you what is the job satisfaction level of your staffs in the storea. High

b. Medium

c. Low

11. According to you what makes an employee loyal to the employera. Salary b. Working environment
d. Brand of the employer.

c. Relationship with the manager.

e. The type of work they do.

12. How many staffs on an average leaves job in your store every quarter (4
months)a. less than 2

b. 2 4

c. 5 8

13. Do you regularly take or collect employee feed back? Yes

No.

14. Do you think the working environment of McDonalds is better than other
popular fast food chain? Yes

No

15. What type of employees has more propensities to leave the job
a. Full time

b. Part time

1
9

This is a copy of the questionnaire sent to three local branches of McDonalds as

well as physical visit and interviewing will take place by the researcher.

For the Crew Member of McDonalds

9.

Do you work as part of a team

Yes

No

10.

Is your work pattern flexible

Yes

No

Yes

No

11.

Are you encouraged to think for yourself

12.

Do you follow a set pattern of tasks

Yes

No

1
9

13.

Have you been promoted

14.

How much training have you received

much

Still training

Yes

No

Not

Plenty for the role

15.

Are you career minded

16.

Are you ambitious with McDonalds

17.

Do you feel your pay is good for the role

18.

Are you happy in your role

19.

How long do you intend to stay working at McDonalds? Less than

3 Months

20.

Yes

Less than 3 Months

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

Under a year

Over a Year

Has your service at McDonalds been recognised

Yes

No

Research Ethics
Research ethics is a very significant aspect for any kind of research. The findings of
information of any research should be authentic, practical and true. The highest
effort will be given by the researcher to collect the information on the level of
truthfulness. The orientation of the research will be on the basis of actual findings
of the interview. Therefore, from the ethical point of view the study will base on the
actual information and outcome undertaken by the researcher.

1
9

Chapter 4
Case Study of McDonalds

1
9

Method of Data Analysis

The data will be analysed through the qualitative method. The objective of the
qualitative research in this case is to gain qualitative understanding of the
underlying reasons as to the relationship between effective employment, retention
and company performance. The procedures of qualitative research are classified
either as direct or indirect, based on whether the true purpose of the research is
known to the respondents. Here the direct approach will be used.
A direct approach is not disguised. The purpose of the project is disclosed to the
respondents (the McDonalds managers and employees). Focus groups will be the
employees and managers of McDonalds. In-depth interviews will be used to extract
required answers form the respondents.

Characteristics of the DataTotal number of McDonalds Store visited for the interview 20.

1
9

Total number of managers participated in the one to one interview 30. In some
cases the trainee or assistant manager has been interviewed to get the opinion of
the future managers of the organisation.
Total number of crew members took part in the survey 100. With the permission
of the managers the questionnaires have been given to at least 5 members of all 20
stores. While distributing the survey question I made sure that in every store- 2
crew members from the kitchen section, 1 members from the till section, 1 member
from the shop floor section and 1 supervisor or shift manager has been

used as

respondent in the survey. The reason for using two kitchen crew members are that
in McDonalds working in the Kitchen is comparatively tougher than any other
section. They usually leave the job in a higher proportion than employees of any
other section.
The interview with the manager took only 15 minutes to complete and crew
members was given 24 hours to answer the questionnaire given to them. All the
data has been recorded in a file and inputted in a excel sheet for further analysis.
Before every interview all the respondents have been briefed about the research
issues, purpose and objectives. They have been informed about the confidentiality
of their response and also importance of the findings of the survey.
After the questionnaire have been submitted by all the respondent group a 10
minutes group discussion session has been conducted. Though only 10 group
discussions have been conducted out of possible 20 but still there I had some new
ideas, suggestions and vibe form the group.

1
9

One thing all the respondents assured me that the response to all the interview
questions and questionnaire was solid and true representation of their personal
view.
The biggest challenge for collecting the data was to manage time form the busy
working schedule of the store managers. Having 15 minutes of uninterrupted time
for the store managers was very hard.

Timetable & Scale (approx.)

Year 2010
Sl.

Research Undertakings
June

July

August

1
9

01

02

03

Research Proposal Development and

achieve acceptance

Conducting Survey for data collection

Data Analysis and completion of the final

report and submission

Reference and Bibliography

1
9

1. Allen, Robin Lee, "Giving 'McJob' a new meaning: McDonald's sets example
with beefed up benefits, career paths", National Restaurant News, March 7th
2005
2. Boddy, D, Management - An Introduction (4th ed), Prentice Hall, 2008
3. Cowling, A.G. and Mailer C.J.B., (1981), Managing Human Resources,
London: Edward Arnold
4. Crespi T. D. (2009), Group counselling in the schools: Legal, ethical and
treatment issues in school practice, Wiley InterScience, (volume) 46(3).
5. Downes L, 1997, Beyond Porter, Context Magazine, retrieved on 09th Jan,
2010, from http://www.contextmag.com/setFrameRedirect.asp?
src=/archives/199712/technosynthesis.asp
6. De Witt, B & Meyer R, 1998, Strategy: Process, Content, Context, 2nd ed.,
Oxford: International Thompson Business Press
7. Ed, Gubman, add. author Steve, Russel, "Think big, start small, scale fast:
growing customer innovation at McDonald's", Human Resources Planning
0199-8986 Sept 2006, v29 i3, p21
8. Eiler, II., W. J. A., Hardy, IIl., Goergen, J., Seyoum, R. Mensah-Zoe, B. &
June H. L.(2007), Responding for Brain Stimulation Reward in the Bed
Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis in Alcohol-Preferring Rats Following Alcohol
and Amphetamine Pretreatments
9. Emma, P. & Shaun, T. (2000), Cranfield School of Management, Human
Resource Management Journal, (volume) 18 & (No) 3: (pages) 257-274.
10. Enticott G. & Walker R. M. (2008), Sustainability, Performance and
Organizational astrategy: an Empirical Analysis of Public
Organizations,Wiley InterScience, (pages) 17,79-92.
11. Financial Time (various, 2006-7), M&S Annual report 2009

1
9

12. Foot, M. and Hook, C., (1999), Introducing Human Resource Management,
2nd ed., Essex, UK: Pearson Education
13. G, Devid, Principle of Human Resource Management, International Thomson
Business Publishing Company, 1994
14. Hartog, D. N. D., Caley A. & Dewe P. (2007), Recruiting leaders: an analysis
of leadership advertisements, Human Resource Management Journal,
(volume) 17 (no) 1 (pages) 58-75.
15. Jessica, Marquez, "McDonald's Rewards Program Leaves Room For Some
Local Flavor", Workforce Management 4/10/2006, vol.85 Issue 7, p26
16. Lock, Dennis- Project Management (9th ed), MPG Books Ltd, 2007
17. Love, John F., "McDonald's: Behind the arches", Bantam Books, 1995
18. Macrae C, 2006, Some first readings on global communication, All About
Branding, retrieved on 09th Jan, 2010, from
http://www.allaboutbranding.com/index.lasso?article=96
19. McGee, Suzanne, "What Employers are Seeking in Human Resources
Executives", CareerJournal.com, www.careerjournal.com/salaryhi
ring/industries/hr/20040628.ht ml
20. Overell, Stephen, "Fast Forward", People Management 2/9/2006, vol.12 Issue
3, p.26
21. Roberts, Gareth (2005), Recruitment and Selection, 2nd Edition, London:
Chartered Institute of Personal Development.
22. Thorpe, R. & Homan, G. (2000), Strategic Reward Systems, Harlow:
Financial Times Prentice Hall.

1
9

23. The IPD Guide on International Recruitment, Selection and Assessment,

(1999), London: Institute of Personnel and Development.
24. Thomas, Daniel, "HR challenges....I'm lovin' it", Personnel Today 9/6/2005,
p11
25. Thomas, Daniel, "McDonald's save Pound 1.2m with recruitment overhaul",
Personnel Today 1/10/2006, p.4
26. M. Eugene and B. Nic, Human Resource Management, Prentice Hall, 2002
27. http://www.eatatessence.co.uk/index.html
28. http://www.mcdonalds.com/c orp/new/corppr/2005/CPR_092120 05.html
29. website: www.marksandspencer.com
30. http//: www.refreshskills.blogspot.com

1
9