Conduct a 30-minute observation at a local McDonalds or Starbucks restaurant (or large international chain as stated above), and document the following. Please find a video of the work at McDonald’s or Starbucks or use your past experiences to think about the actions of the employees!
– Look for specific examples of scientific management in practice. How are scientific management principles practiced across various positions at the restaurant? How would you assess the overall job design at the restaurant, according to our Contingency Analysis scale of highly mechanistic to highly non- mechanistic? Which jobs or positions are most mechanized versus least mechanized?
– Look for specific examples of classical/bureaucratic structure in practice. How are bureaucratic principles practiced at the restaurant? How would you assess the overall organization structure, according to our Contingency Analysis scale of highly bureaucratic (functional) to highly non-bureaucratic (network) structures?
– Prepare a one-page report summarizing your observations. In two columns, bullet- point the examples of work practices from the (a) bureaucratic/classical (organization structure) and (b) scientific management (job design) perspectives, and provide illustrative examples from your observations.