Title: The Influence of Stakeholders on Strategy: An analysis of one of the UKs leading fast-food chains; McDonalds Introduction A good

number of management theories today developed from the experience of controlling large armies hundreds of years ago, strategy being one of them. This is because the earliest large-scale organisations were military. The concept of strategy was first derived from the Greek word strategus- A military commander in ancient Athens and a member of the council of war. Roman historians then introduced the term strategia which referred to the regions under the control of a strategus. Lastly, Count Guibert, a French military thinker introduced the term la strategique- the French translation of the word strategy (Clausewitz et al, 2001). One of the earliest essays on how to act during war was written by Sun Tzu, an ancient military general and strategist. He realized how important war was to the state and suggested that it demanded study and analysis. His purpose was to develop something which could guide rulers and generals in conducting war successfully. Sun Tzus essays on the art of war are very significant in the business world today. War in business terms can be interpreted as competition among firms in an industry. Sun Tzu presents suggestions of how firms can succeed amidst competition some of them are listed below: Capturing an opponents army is better than destroying it Winning a hundred victories in a hundred battles is not the acme of skill but to overcome an enemy without actually fighting is. Be aware of the enemy, and know yourself If an enemy is equally matched, you may engage him Most importantly, attack the enemys strategy (Tzu, 1971)

Although strategy is a common term in business today, it has no single universally accepted definition. It can be better understood by dealing with insights presented by various authors. Henry Mintzberg suggests that there are five Ps for strategy. Firstly, strategy can be seen as a plan. This is the most common definition and a number of authors have defined strategy from this view. In the military for example, the strategy of war is planned beforehand. Glueck (1980) defines strategy as a unified, comprehensive, and integrated plan designed to ensure that the basic objectives of the enterprise are achieved. This is also known as intended strategy. An organisations business strategy may be influenced by an individual or groups of individuals whose position gives them dominance in the strategy development process (Johnson, Whittington & Scholes, 2011). In a small business, this could be the owner and in large companies, the board of directors. Strategy can also be seen as a pattern which is realized with time. In laymans terms, it is a consistent way of doing things. This definition of strategy is known as the emergent strategy. An emergent strategy may be as a result of the managers of a company keeping an eye on the environment due to its uncertainty and making changes where necessary within the organization. It could also be a way of encouraging innovation and ideas from the lower level of the organization, or for any other reasons. An organizations strategy may be as a result of previous strategic moves of which it is only logical to continue in a certain direction, or the way in which things have been done over the years- the organizations culture. Emergent strategies are developed for various reasons depending on the organization.

A different way of viewing strategy is asking the question about what. A company may decide to promote green marketing for instance, but for what purpose? Promoting green market is simply details. The answer to the question about what could be anything e.g. products and processes, social responsibility, customers, and so on. The fourth definition of strategy is that it is a position. In other words, what spot a particular organization takes in its environment. In economic terms, this is known as a niche i.e. the segment where the organization concentrates its resources. According to Rumelt (1982), Strategy is creating situations for economic rents and finding ways to sustain them. This suggests that the position an organization takes may or may not be directly competitive. Lastly, Strategy is seen as a perspective i.e. a way of viewing the world. It is common practice among big organizations today to build their whole ideology around marketing for example; McDonalds is famous for its emphasis on quality, service and cleanliness (Mintzberg, 2003). Strategy here is basically the organizations personality. The two most common of these five Ps for strategy are the emergent and intended approach. It will be interesting to see how McDonalds have defined strategy and what strategies the company has adopted. Although both approaches have their pros and cons, my belief is in making plans for the future as opposed to waiting to see wherever the future takes us therefore, my preferred definition of strategy is the intended approach. Fast Food Market The fast food market involves the purchase of food and drinks for immediate consumption either on the premises or in designated eating areas shared with other food service operators or for consumption elsewhere (Data Monitor, 2012). The market is divided into 4 segments: the Quick Service Restaurants e.g. McDonalds, Burger King and KFC; Takeaways e.g. chip shops; Mobile and Street Vendors for example ice cream vans; and Leisure Locations e.g. cinemas and theatres. The fast food market is currently unattractive as it has only experienced a 1.3% growth rate between 2007 and 2011 (Data Monitor, 2012). Of the four market segments, the Quick Service Restaurants is the largest as probably expected, accounting for 70.4% of the markets total revenue and the Street and mobile vendors with the lowest market share of about 0.3%. The aim of this thesis is to consider how one of the market leaders; McDonalds, strategizes and maintains its market share in a market with such a high rate of competition. On one hand, the market faces a high threat of substitutes- ready meals, ingredients for home cooking, and on the other hand, theres an ease of market entry. With a low cost of entry, it is no surprise that we find a number of food stores in almost every area of a given town or city. McDonalds McDonalds is a food company which operates about 33,510 restaurants in 119 countries around the world as of 2011. Of these restaurants, 27,075 are franchised or licensed, and the remainder are company owned. The restaurants specialize mainly in burgers, sandwiches, kids menu which it calls happy meal as well as other food products and drinks depending on individual countries. It also offers a breakfast menu which includes muffins, bagel sandwiches, and hot drinks. The business is managed as distinct geographical segments; The US, Europe and APMEA (Asia, Middle East and Africa). Of these groups, Europe accounts for 40% of the companys

total revenue with the UK, France and Germany accounting for 50% of Europes revenues collectively. This indicates that the UK is one of the companys major markets. McDonalds also happens to be one of the most successful fast-food chains in the UK. Of the four leading fast food chains in the UK; Burger King, Greggs, McDonalds, and Yum! Brands according to Data Monitor (2012), McDonalds leads the market with about $4,946 million in net income in 2010. See Appendix Research Objectives 1) To determine the extent to which McDonalds have considered the needs of all stakeholders in their business strategy 2) To investigate the extent to which the success of those stakeholder-based strategies is reflected in company performance Literature Review Freeman (1984) in his book Strategic management: A stakeholder approach describes how simple organizations were in the past. Managers only had to satisfy their suppliers, customers and the business owners one of the reasons being that most of these organizations were small in size and family-owned. Although a number of businesses today are still family-owned, the development of technology, new production processes, the move of production to urban areas and other factors, suggested that larger firms were more economical resulting in the need for larger amount of capital which most owner-managers could not afford and meant that businesses had to seek finance elsewhere other than within the family. Banks, shareholders and other financial institutions financed these businesses leading to a spread in ownership of the organisation. Freeman suggests that as society is changing, managers should review the traditional ways of doing business activities. The larger an organization gets, the larger the amount of impact it has on different aspects of the society. Therefore, organizations should consider the needs and demand of all stakeholders in decision making to ensure long-term success. Stakeholders in simple terms are any individuals or groups of people who are directly or indirectly influenced by the activities of an organization. These stakeholders include: shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, communities and various other groups depending on the type of organization. Clement (2004) supports Freemans view and suggests that stakeholders of firms today, have raised their expectations of the decision making of company directors with certain stakeholders focusing on important issues affecting the success of the organization (primary stakeholders), and others on the well-being of the society (secondary stakeholders). The writer suggests that major corporate scandals like that of Enron, WorldCom and Tyco gives the impression that companies and their top directors do not care much about ethics but are more concerned about profit making. He also makes mention of the global financial crisis which started at the end of 2007 caused by various factors in the housing and secondary financial markets and describes both events as having a common feature- they both show that activities of managers and the top directors of companies have a huge impact on a wide range of people all over the world. An article by Cronin et al (2010) Green marketing strategies: an examination of stakeholders and the opportunities they present, suggests that company stakeholders today, assess the performance of the company based on a triple-bottom line performance evaluation- the

effects of a companys strategy on people, the planet and profits. This has a positive impact on the number of companies which now engage in green activities as a business strategy. The article discusses the BP oil spillage of 2010 and the effect such an environmental disaster has on the companys triple bottom line. During this period, the company experienced a fall in its stock prices, its credit rating, and more scrutiny by governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The writers also suggest that the business mind-set has shifted from simply engaging in activities which are profit making to a more balanced approach where the effects of such decisions on different stakeholder groups are considered beforehand. Donaldson and Preston (1995) on the other hand, offer criticisms to the stakeholder theory. They describe the input-output model of a firm which suggests that a firm focuses on 4 groups: its investors, suppliers, employees and customers. The investors, suppliers and employees are known as the contributing inputs which the firm transforms into output for the customers, and there is usually competition among them in other to gain the most benefits of the company. In general each of these groups receives only normal or market competitive benefits, with only individual contributors who have a scarce resource receiving rent. Due to the size of competition, the customers at the other end receive the bulk benefits of the company as will probably be expected. The writers then address the stakeholder model which includes: Investors, political groups, customers, communities, employees, trade associations, suppliers, and governments. Stakeholder analysts argue that all individuals or groups with interest in an organization do so to gain benefits and that there is no priority of a set of interest or benefits over the other. Donaldson and Preston (1995) argue that the variety of stakeholder relationships lead to confusion rather than clarification. They also suggest that priority within stakeholder groups differs between economies for example, in the US more priority is given to shareholders of the company, in many European companies workers have more say, and in Japan managers are allowed to run the company according to their own judgement, to satisfy employees, shareholders and allied companies. Being socially responsible goes hand-in-hand with taking the consideration of stakeholders when forming strategy. Cronin et al (2009) suggest in their article that, when company directors cannot envision future profits in certain strategic actions, they are unlikely to engage in it. Vance (1975) in his article Are socially responsible corporations good investment risks proposes that being socially responsible does not improve a companys profit figures. This argument was also supported by Aupperle, Carroll & Hatfield, (1985) who did not find any correlation between social responsibility and profitability in their research. Considering the arguments presented by various writers, the stakeholder theory appears to be a stronger argument as the major concern of the majority of stakeholders who are not particularly interested in the profits of the company, will be that the company can exist without causing harm to them or the society. Therefore, being socially responsible should be a way of doing business not a profit making activity. Also, although Donaldson and Pretson (1995) offer criticisms to the stakeholder theory, they are not against the basic idea behind the theory. The fast food industry and McDonalds in particular have been in the news for a number of reasons over the years. Being a market leader in the fast food industry, it is almost impossible to find a paper these days which discusses the impact of fast food without a mention of McDonalds. Such news could either be positive or negative but it goes to show how much responsibility the company has in its society. McDonalds have a huge number of

stakeholders which vary from those that are directly affected by the companys activities, to those who are indirectly affected. Some of these stakeholders and their concerns are examined below. See Appendix for full list of stakeholders. Fast food waste One of the major issues in the fast food industry is their contribution to waste in the society. An article by Aarnio and Hamalainen (2007) discusses how important waste management is in our societies today. Solid wastes in some industries are disposed of in landfills although such wastes are highly recoverable. The article suggests that one of such industries is the fast food industry. A research was undertaken in 87 McDonald restaurants in Finland regarding waste management. The writers found that the companys total annual amount of packaging waste was 1937 tonnes, of which 25% is produced outside the restaurants, 39% produced in dining areas, and 36% produced in kitchens. Only 29% of the companys total packaging waste which consists of paper board, liquid board, cardboard, paper and wood was collected from restaurants as commercial waste. They suggest that a large amount of the companys waste can be used as recycled fibre, and others taken to energy recovery. The writers however mention that packaging waste recovery requires cooperation among different parties; the waste management sector, public authorities and the organizations that produce these wastes. Waste management practices need to be in place by the waste management sector which has the most significant role in this. The services currently provided by the sector however is very limited therefore, it is not suitable for the fast food industry. Public authorities should also create a clear definition of commercial waste in order to differentiate it from household wastes thereby creating commercial waste practices which are similar to that of the industrial waste which is aimed at the organizations that produce them. A more recent newspaper article by Gray (2009) describes how an environmental charity called Keep Britain Tidy went to about 10 cities and took a note of what brand names were most commonly discarded. The article suggests that cigarettes were the most common litter found on the streets followed by fast food litter. 29% of fast food litter was identified as McDonalds waste, followed by boxes from unbranded kebab and shops which were about 21%, Greggs- 18%, KFC- 8%, Subway- 5% and other branded coffee- 5% but McDonalds was the most common. Keep Britain Tidy suggest that fast foods should encourage their customers to dispose of their food properly using bins and encourage customers to eat in the restaurants. They however mention that by far McDonalds has contributed more than any other UK fast food company in managing waste. Contribution to obesity The fast food industry has also been blamed for a number of health problems including obesity over the last few years. There are increasing numbers of people dying yearly as a result of being overweight or obese. Health officials identify that an individuals diet has a major role to play in this with people now opting for cheap foods outside their homes, which are high in fat, calories, sodium and sugar. In England, according to 2009 figures, 22% of men and 24% of women are classified as obese (BBC, 2011). Also, study shows that as at 2003, one in eleven deaths in the UK was linked to excess fat in the body as being obese causes some other health problems such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and osteoarthritis (Daily Mail, 2003). While some people believe that due to freedom of choice regarding what we eat, obesity is a personal problem, others believe that the fast food industry is accountable.

Andrew (2005) in his article Small Bites: Obesity lawsuits prepare to take on the fast food industry suggests reasons why the fast food industry is held accountable for such health problems. His first reason is that fast food products are harmful in the sense that customers are not fully aware of what they are buying. The writer gives an example of McDonalds chicken nuggets. He states that the product contains about 40 to 50 ingredients which are not usually used when doing home cooking, but the average consumer assumes that chicken nuggets is simply chicken fried in a pan. It will also be assumed that chicken nuggets are healthier than hamburgers because of the chicken present in the product name however; it actually contains twice the amount of fat per ounce as a hamburger. Another reason is that fast food may be addictive. Experiments carried out on animals suggest that eating a lot of fast food may not simply be as a result of lack of control but the fact that these foods contain high amounts of sugar and fats which can cause changes to a persons body and brain which makes them crave more. In Scotland and England, a research was conducted by Cummins, McKay and MacIntyre (2005) to determine whether fast foods in particular McDonalds, is more likely to be found in poorer areas. This study was based on the assumption that environmental as opposed to genetic factors have more influence on a person being obese. In a situation where a poor environment has more fast foods, people in such an environment are encouraged to purchase foods which are high in fat and calories thereby leading to them being overweight or obese. Perhaps, the writers are suggesting that richer people have lesser chances of being overweight and have healthier diets because they can afford it. The writers find that the greater the level of neighbourhood deprivation in Scotland and England, the more likely these neighbourhoods are to be exposed to outlets from one global fast food company (Cummins, McKay & MacIntyre, 2005). On the other hand, Frank Theodore, a lawyer writes on obesity from the point of view of an obese litigator. He describes the reason for his obesity as lack of exercise, genetics, and probably his grandmas recipes. He suggests that a number of fast food organizations today have their regular menus as well as healthy options which most consumers choose to ignore. Theodore (2005) describes how lawsuits over obesity came about from previous tobacco litigation successes. Tobacco companies were sued for the health problems caused by their products and thereafter, individuals began to sue fast food companies as well. The writer gives an example of a company called DeConna which labelled one of its ice creams as having three times less calories and fats than it actually did. The company was sued, and their excuse was that it was a database error. In return, customers who had receipts received full refunds and those without receipts were given free coupons which were then used to purchase more ice creams. The writers argument here is that mislabelled food is only a slim proportion of the obesity problem. He also suggests that it is unclear what the settlement of the tobacco litigations did to public health. Employees Most people gain their first employment in low paid jobs possibly in the retail industry, fast food industry etc. due to their lack of work experience. An article by Sharma (2012) describes how McDonalds has added 13,500 new posts in the past 3 years. Half of these jobs go to youths and about 30% to first time workers (Sharma, 2012). The company has been creating new jobs despite the economic crisis and has been acknowledged by the Prime Minister David Cameron for its investment in the UK providing training, apprenticeships and staff opportunities. What is also interesting is that about half of the companys managers have

progressed from the shop floor generally known as crew members to the top. This gives employees the opportunity to either work their way to the top within the company or gather work experience to use in other jobs. Although gaining employment at McDonalds may be considered by some as lacking opportunities for development or advancement, Jill McDonald one of the companys executives, says this is misleading (Barrow, 2011). According to Barrow (2011)s article, as of 2011 about 16,000 McDonalds employees were studying for a qualification which was organised by the company. Some of these include NVQ in Maths and English. The company provides textbooks and allows computer access to its employees before or after their shifts as well as during their breaks to assist them with these qualifications. Jill McDonald advises that getting a degree is not for everyone and gaining employment in McDonalds where people can gain work experience as well as qualifications could be an option. Gould (2009) in his study of ideal employees collected data from 812 crew in 55 McDonalds restaurants in Australia. The writer suggests that McDonalds employs a number of people who are not considering remaining in the company in 5 years time. These employees are not completely happy with the hours that they work, and are more interested in doing complex tasks as opposed to repeated tasks which they get at work. He also found that others who are looking for long-term employment are generally happy with their work and embrace elements of the companys culture as they become older. They enjoy dealing with the unusual situations they face with different customers and solving problems without having to involve a manager. They also enjoy talking to others whilst on duty. In Australia where this research took place, McDonalds employees are mostly teenagers therefore this could be one of the reasons why the majority of employees do not wish to work for the company in the long term. An article by Nawaz (2011) discusses the importance of efficiency and increase in productivity for most organizations and suggests that apart from applying good techniques and advanced technology, organizations also need motivated workforce. A research was conducted in Bedfordshire, UK in 3 McDonalds restaurants with a total of 100 respondents. The writer also found that the restaurants recruit many students whom are happy to work there due to the flexibility of shifts, ability to make new friends of their age group, and so on. However, employees appeared to be dissatisfied with their wage rates and do not feel rewarded for their hard work. The conclusion from the writers research is that McDonalds employees are generally demotivated to work as the company follows Taylors scientific theory of management which suggests that employees should be monitored and supervised closely in order to get maximum output. Animal Activists The fast food industry which includes top players such as Burger King, McDonalds and Greggs, is well known for its consumption in animal products. Organizations such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Animal Liberation Front (ALF) are there to ensure that the right of these animals are protected and that animal suffering is reduced all over the world. Animal activists believe that although these organizations (Burger King, McDonalds, KFC, etc.) do not rear these animals in their restaurants, they have suppliers who have factory farms and are in charge of this therefore organizations have the responsibility to ensure that their suppliers are ethical as they have the power to influence supplier activities. Again we would expect that McDonalds gets a lot of attention from this

group of stakeholders because not only is the company the largest fast food chain, its restaurants serves both meat and chicken which are animal products. An article by Adams (2008) addresses the McLibel case of 1997 which was raised by McDonalds in the UK against two members of an animal activist group called London Greenpeace. This group had claimed that McDonalds was involved in a number of unethical behaviour which includes: exploitation of children, mistreatment of employees, cruelty to animals, and so on. McGreedy, McMurder were some of the names which were substituted for the companys brand name in factsheets which were being distributed by these activists. McDonalds claimed that they were untrue and that the activists were trying to build up a poor image of the company therefore the case was taken to court. The animal cruelty allegation was broken into the following charges: Some of the animals used by McDonald have spent their lives without access to open air and sunshine Animals waiting to be slaughtered struggle to escape because they can see other animals being killed before them The methods used in killing the animals are questionable as these animals are fully aware at the time of slaughter (Adams, 2008)

The final judgement of this lawsuit was mixed but McDonalds was found guilty of animal cruelty and held accountable for the activities of its suppliers. Cooper (2009) also examines the claims made by Green Peace- an organization which investigates, exposes and confronts environmental abuse around the world (Green Peace, 2012), against McDonalds. Green Peace had initially targeted the environmental practices of Cargill- an organization which is an international producer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services (Cargill, 2012). The organization was accused of violence, slavery, land-grabbing and illegal and unethical deforestation. As a result of Cargills defensive one-way communication towards Green Peaces criticism, Green Peace decided to direct its efforts on McDonalds and Unilever which are two popular companies which use Cargills products. Both Unilever and McDonalds had to put pressure on their supplier (Cargill) so as to change its ways. More recently, McDonalds has been in the news again due to pressure from animal activists on its use of gestation crates. These crates are where pigs are kept by suppliers in order to reduce the aggression towards other pigs. Activists however argue that there are other means of reducing aggression for example reducing overcrowding or by not rearing pigs from different litters together, providing certain types of beddings and so on. McDonalds have however agreed to stop suppliers from using these crates as at February 2012 (Rappeport, 2012). From the literatures examined above, it is obvious how much responsibility McDonalds as a company has in its environment. Society has changed so much from the times when the government was solely responsible for the wellbeing of its people, to a time like this when companies are equally responsible. Considering the discussion on waste management above, we can see how much blame is put on McDonalds for the actions of its customers. Finding litter on the streets, one would expect that consumers are to blame however companies are expected to also put measures in place which encourages customers to dispose of their wastes appropriately. Also by encouraging McDonalds to recycle its waste, this shows how linked different industries are thus society can be viewed as a family, each industry and the public as a whole in one way contributes to the other.

Debates about obesity also support my suggestion above, companies are not only expected to provide good food but also need to consider the after effect of what overconsumption of their products may cause even though they are not in direct control of this. The same goes for the pressure put on them by various activists and the demand of a more motivating job when faced with problems of economic crisis and unemployment in the society which they are helping the government with by providing more jobs. One thing which is certain is that a company cannot provide the same level of satisfaction to each stakeholder. The challenge for companies and in our case McDonalds, is to develop strategies which will sustain the company in the long run as well as provide a level of satisfaction to its stakeholders. McDonalds has been in existence for quite a while now so this suggests that despite the company being in the news a lot compared to its competitors, it is doing something well. However, we can also question why the company is being targeted more for example the obesity debate. Companies such as KFC, Greggs also serve fattening foods. Burger King in particular is such a huge competitor to McDonalds because both companys menus are so similar See Appendix. Could it be that Burger King is better when it comes to handling such issues? Such questions should get answers in the following analysis.

Research Methodology The research will be conducted using an interpretivism philosophy which suggests that it is necessary for the researcher to understand differences between humans in our role as social actors (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2009). Since this project concerns stakeholders and the strategy of 2 companies, it will involve the opinions of different sets of people so I believe it is important to adopt a philosophy which allows the information gathered to be interpreted from the point of view of each information provider. The research approach which will be taken is inductive. This is because such an approach supports the interpretivism philosophy and allows room for qualitative data to be gathered in a non-fixed way. The situation of different events can be better understood without setting a hypothesis first hand; which is the case when using a deductive approach. Data for this research will be gathered from various sources which will include reliable media sources such as the Financial Times, Telegraph, the Economist, interviews with employees of Burger King and McDonalds and other reliable sources.

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