Introduction
The two companies that will be reviewed in this paper are McDonald Corporation and Apple Inc. These two companies are global companies with branches and networks in many destinations in the world. McDonald’s Corporation operates in the fast food industry and operates mostly as franchises in dozens of destinations around the world. On the other hand, Apple Inc. is a company that operates in the technology industry. Apple is a world-renowned company in producing technological products of high quality ranging from smartphones to computers.
These two companies have one thing in common, they are both international companies operating on several continents in many countries. The employees and customers targeted by both McDonald Corporation and Apple Inc. are diversified in terms of religion, race, culture, age, gender, and financial background. This paper will therefore seek to establish different approaches that have been employed by both McDonald Corporation and Apple Inc. in resolving conflicts that arise due to the diversity established among their customers and employees of these companies.
To begin with, McDonald Corporation opened its doors in the year 1940 with the owners Maurice McDonald and Richard. In the year 1955, McDonald’s was faced with financial challenges and was on the verge of collapsing. In the same year, the owners; Maurice McDonald and Richard franchised McDonald Corporation to Ray Rock. Roy Rock subsequently bought McDonald Corporation and embarked on an expansion plan which saw it become a global company.
McDonald Corporation has its headquarters in the United States and it has grown to become one of the largest companies in the fast food industry in the world. The McDonald Corporation has the largest chain of restaurants in the world serving a client base of 68 million in all continents. As of 2011, McDonald’s operated in 119 countries. Due to the worldwide nature of McDonald’s Corporation, the company has been faced with numerous challenges ranging from the food it serves in a particular country and the religious diversity of its clients. It is worth noting that the eating habits of people all over the world are dictated by the religion and culture of the people (Arthur, 2008).
McDonald’s Corporation has experienced many cultural problems that brought huge losses in the Asian Market and especially in the Japanese market. According to sociologists, eating is culturally defined, and thus any company operating in the fast food industry has to consider culture of people when developing a menu to be served in a particular market. The McDonald Corporation has operated for more than 35 years in Chinese markets. The company had faced numerous challenges before its foods were accepted in Japan due to differences in culture. McDonald’s Corporation has introduced most food in Japanese markets that it served in American markets. Also practices that McDonald’s applied in their restaurants were not culturally acceptable in Japanese markets.
The stools and McDonald’s were arranged facing the wall for instance. In Japanese culture meals are supposed to bring people together hence they are mostly shared. On the other hand McDonald Corporation was bringing individuality when taking meals at their restaurants at is a common practice in America and Europe. This did not go down well with the Japanese market which kept away customers from taking meals at McDonald’s restaurants. Thus the culture of Japanese people affected the profitability of the business in the Japanese market. The management however was quick to act and changed the seating arrangement of people in McDonald’s restaurants to ensure that meals are served in a group (Watson, 2009).
Another cultural practice that affected McDonald’s Corporation is the way meals are served in Japanese families. The Japanese culture dictates that the mother pack food for the family to be taken during lunch breaks. The Japanese were not used to the idea of going out for lunch at the restaurants. This cultural practice kept many people away from the restaurants as they had their lunch packed by their mothers. The McDonald’s Corporation had to do a lot of marketing to make the brand accepted in Japanese markets. The management had to employ female employees to serve the customers to conform to the Japanese culture.
The Japanese consider that the filling foods must have flour. This notion made the foods and hamburgers served at McDonald’s restaurants to be considered snacks in the Japanese market. Thus initially Japanese people did not consider foods served at McDonald’s restaurants as the main food but as snacks that are eaten between meals. The foods thus were popular with the young generation of Japanese with the older generation keeping away from McDonald’s restaurants. McDonald’s has introduced a range of new hamburgers that are popular with the Japanese people. The people in Japan have gradually accepted foods served at McDonald’s restaurants however the Japanese still do not consider it as a place where they can have their supper and lunch (Watson, 2009).
Religious practices also dictate the eating habit of people. Some religious practices dictate to their follower what to eat and what not to eat. The issue of religion and eating preferences affected McDonald’s, especially in the Indian market. McDonald’s started its operation in India in the year 1996. The foods served at McDonald’s are continually accepted by Indians but religion, lifestyle, value system, and perception have affected the acceptability of foods served at McDonald’s. The Hindu religion which is the most popular religion practiced by Indians prohibits their followers from consuming pork and beef. McDonald’s to survive in Indian markets had to introduce lamb, chicken, and fish burgers that are acceptable by the Hindu religion (Watson, 2009).
According to Jason, 2008, Apple Inc. is a world-renowned company in the technology industry. It is the largest company in the technology industry by profitability. Apple Inc. is a company established in America but operates in many destinations. The company has a strong brand name from the perception by the customers that it produces products of high quality as compared to other companies in the same industry. The products offered by Apple Inc. include personal computers, electronics, and computer software. Apple Inc. operates 365 stores in July 2011 in 13 countries.
To keep pace with ever-changing technology in the industry, Apple Inc. has a large team of employees and suppliers. The company believes that well well-motivated team of suppliers will help the company produce goods of high quality. They also believe that the employees of the company are the most valuable assets. Thus, the welfare of employees at Apple Inc. is paramount. Since Apple operates in different countries of the world, the company has a diversified customer base, employees, and customers whose needs vary to a great extent due to their culture, age, religion, and education differences. Lack of tolerance and inclusion of these groups of people ends up in conflict which is counterproductive to the performance of the company.
Apple Inc. has one of the best policies on diversity among for their employees. The company acknowledges that its strength rests on the diversity of its employees, customers, and suppliers. The company offers a range of benefits that fit an individual’s lifestyle, skills, and family needs. The company offers a handsome compensation package to its employees that includes insurance cover, investment plans, and stock purchases. Apple Inc. has been criticized that the products they offer do not appeal to ordinary customers due to the high prices they attract. Apple Inc. targets a certain class of people who are technology-conscious and wealthy.
The products offered by Apple do not appeal to poor people. The issue of diversity of employees according to race is also a challenge at Apple Inc. According to the report that was released on diversity of employees at Apple indicated that one out of ten employees are either Hispanic or Black. This issue led to critics postulating that employment the company favors whites and discriminates against blacks and Hispanics. This allegation forced the management to state the effect that Apple Inc.’s equal-opportunity-employer (Bach, 2007).
In conclusion, the globalization has brought about new challenges to the companies. As companies diversify their operations to other destinations in the world, there are issues that they have to contend with one being diversity. The employees and customers are diversified in terms of religion, culture, race, age, gender, and spending habits. The companies have therefore have responsibilities to determine what appeals to a particular market they operate in. In case of conflicts arising due to diversity issues, the company should be flexible enough to come up with policies that are accommodative to all people.
References
Arthur, P. (2008). Diversity At Work. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bach, B. (2007). Implications of Enabling Technologies for Apple Inc.: Cybermarketing and enabling technologies. Norderstedt: GRIN Verlag.
Jason, D. (2008). How Apple Inc. Changed the World; Revolutionary companies. Mumbai: Jaico Publishing House
Watson, L. (2009). Golden Arches East: McDonald’s in East Asia. Stanford: Stanford University Press.