Day 268 - 24 Jun 96 - Page 30


     
     1        To control overheads one of the first action plans was to
     2        cut staff labour costs.  This meant that the shifts were
     3        run without adequate staff.  However, McDonald's pride
     4        themselves on QSC, quality, service, cleanliness.  When the
     5        stores were understaffed, the quality service and
     6        cleanliness were not as good as they otherwise had been.
     7        The staff who were working would have to do twice the level
     8        of work resulting in friction between staff and management
     9        team.  Consequently, customers would receive poor service.
    10
    11        Bossy management
    12        It seems in many cases that the majority of the managers
    13        are on an `ego trip' and are `power crazy'.  This
    14        behavioural pattern exists at all levels from senior
    15        supervisors down to floor managers.  If your post is above
    16        store level in the hierarchy system, a supervisor for
    17        example, your views would not be noticed at shop floor
    18        level.  For political reasons, decisions would be executed
    19        through the lower levels of management.  However, at store
    20        level, it is easy to identify the power crazy individual as
    21        he is directly in touch with the staff.  The simple ways to
    22        identify such individuals is by the unnecessary actions
    23        they take which make them stand out by the proverbial store
    24        thumb, such as:
    25        a. The issue of unnecessary verbal warnings.
    26        b. Condescending attitudes.
    27        c. Deliberate humiliation of staff members in front of
    28        peers.
    29        d. The constant derision and criticism about staff who are
    30        not members of your particular clique to both other members
    31        of staff and the management team itself.
    32        e. Fabrication of information against unpopular staff
    33        members in order to ensure the support of the rest of the
    34        team in attempt to get rid of the particular member of
    35        staff by making life unbearable using tactics such as
    36        1.  Reducing shift working hours.
    37        2.  Placing them on undesirable areas on a constant basis.
    38        3.  Placing them on that persons "hated area" on a constant
    39        basis.
    40        4.  Condescending and patronizing attitude towards staff
    41        member.
    42        5. Harassment and making life so unbearable that the staff
    43        member has no option but to resign as previous complains
    44        are ignored.
    45        6.  Victimization.
    46        7.  Discrimination.
    47        8.  If sufficient "proof" of a crime or misdemeanour can be
    48        found, members are asked to choose to resign or be sacked.
    49        If they resign they get a reference; if they are sacked
    50        they will not.
    51        f. Blackmailing staff to work double shifts using terms
    52        such as:
    53        1.  Lack of commitment to team.
    54        2.  Such lack will be remembered in future.
    55        3.  Won't get adequate shifts in future.
    56        4.  Will get poor performance review resulting in lack of
    57        pay rise.
    58        g.  Unnecessary verbal warnings - see copy of my case for
    59        race relations.
    60

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