Which aspects of McDonald's organisational culture are considered to Dissertation - 1

Which aspects of McDonald's organisational culture are considered to be strong compared to competitors - Dissertation Example Organizational culture is a topic that is well-studied, and it basically means that organizations have a certain set of values and beliefs that are unique to that organization. Because culture needs to be spread, and there must be a method for this method to spread, this is a topic of consideration and is the focus of this paper. In particular, a vision is something that permeates organizations and, if this vision is positive and committed to by the employees of the company, the vision can make the organization great. This vision thus guides the organization, and underpins the culture. Another variable is that of leadership, as leadership has a great effect on organizational culture. Toxic leaders may lead to toxic work environments, so the organizational culture would be adversely affected. Conversely, effective leaders may lead to effective teams, and this would positively affect the organizational culture. The different kinds of leaders, and how these leaders operate, is another f ocus of this paper. Lastly, since McDonald’s is a multinational corporation, the concept of cultural distance must be touched upon. This is another focus. The results sections will extrapolate the data that was found on McDonald’s and relate this data to the information presented in the literature review. Hence, it can be shown why McDonald’s is the dominant player in the fast food market around the world. The literature review is divided into four sections – literature regarding organizational culture in general, followed by literature regarding vision, literature regarding leadership, and literature regarding cultural distance. The research section is next, and describes the kind of research undertaken, which is secondary research, and how the particular topic was researched. Next comes the results, which are tied into the literature found in the literature review. A conclusion tying it all together concludes the paper. Literature Review The Meaning of Organizational Culture Organizational culture is â€Å"the coding of values and deeply-held beliefs that mold an organization's decision patterns, guide its actions, and drive individual behavior† (Dauphinais & Price, 1998, p. 190). An organizational culture is made up of patterns of belief that are rooted in the values, norms and informal activities of the organization (Ivancevich et al., 2008, p. 503). Both members and outsiders are cognizant of a particular organization’s culture, as the organization makes its organizational culture visible (Dauphinais & Price, 1998, p. 190). At the same time, because it is comprised of beliefs, values and attitudes, all intangible qualities, it is subtle and invisible. The culture may be either beneficial or destructive. If based upon a positive vision, which is discussed below, the cultural organization is beneficial to the organization. Alternatively, if the belief system upon which the organizational culture is based is flawed, and does not fit the vision, then it can be destructive and will drive the organization on to mediocrity, not greatness. Moreover, the organizational culture is often driven by the bottom up, as opposed to top down, according to Dauphinais & Price, as the ways that the broad masses of the organization behave dictates the culture of the organization. Therefore, the organizational culture may be created by rewards, measures and â€Å"carefully structured people practices† Vision as a Part of Organizational Culture Part of the organizational culture is the vision that permeates throughout the organization, especially if the organization is strong and is able to have a shared vision. According to Senge (1990), a shared vision is vital for a successful company and should be one of the top priorities. The company’s vision is one to which the people of the organization must commit themselves. Yet, the successful company also realizes that there are thousands of individual vis ions for the companies, or, in the case of McDonald’s, millions of different visions, as each employee may have their