Business Communication Assignment
Business Communication Assignment
TITLE
Business Communication Practices at McDonald’s
LECTURER
Dr Syajarul Imna Mohd Amin
YOUTUBE LINK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rwXZivHpOU
GROUP MEMBERS
Anis Natasya bt Mohd Ghazali (A182062)
Hafizuddin bin Rosman (A182480)
Kuan Xin Hui (A180289)
Kuan Xin Yee (A180288)
Rheeima A/P Hari Krishnan (A182088)
Sangeet Kaur Dhillon (A182845)
Lam Ching Yee (A179985)
Executive Summary
Communication can be defining as the exchange of ideas, opinions, information, relationships
and so on that have a purpose and are presented personally or impersonally through symbols
or signals aimed at achieving organizational goals. The importance of business
communication is one of the things that is often overlooked. Most people assume that as long
as you can type sentences or speak, you can communicate. However, this is true, it does not
mean your communication is effective. For business, effective communication on several
levels is required. Otherwise, the business will not only suffer internally, but the essence will
also be adversely affected.
Our group had chosen McDonald’s as our research company to identify its business
communication as McDonald’s is one of the most famous restaurants in Malaysia. Therefore,
its business information can be easily reach and accessible. Generally, McDonald’s Malaysia
use Malay, which is the nation language and English to communicate with its employees and
customers. This is because its employees and customers are mostly Malays. Besides that,
McDonald’s also practices both vertical and horizontal communication to make
communication effectively.
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Table of Contents
No Title Page Number
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Purpose/Objective 1
1.2 Procedure 1
2.0 Background Information 2-3
3.0 Analysis
3.1 Organizational Communication 4
3.2 Written Communication 5
3.3 Oral Communication 6-9
3.4 Communication Technology 10-11
4.0 Conclusions
4.1 Communication in Organization 12
4.2 Written Communication 13
4.3 Oral Communication 14
4.4 Communication Technology 15
5.0 Recommendations 16-17
6.0 Referecnces 18
7.0 Appendix 19-23
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1.0 Introduction
1.1 Purpose/Objective
1.2 Procedure
In order to understand better about business communication, we had been given a task
which is we have to collect the information about their communication process that occurs in
the company. We have interviewing staff of McDonald’s to collecting information about their
company. We choose McDonald’s as our place to research because we know that McDonald’s
had achieve many successful achievements especially in communication either in oral or
written communication. In addition, after all information had been collected, we provide
some recommendation about way to overcome the communication barriers face by
McDonald’s to improve their quality business communication.
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2.0 Background Information
McDonald’s started operating in Malaysia over 35 years ago. its first restaurant
opened on 29 of April in 1982, located at Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. McDonald’s
Malaysia is wholly owned by Lionhorn Pte Ltd, under a franchise system known as
“Developmental Licensee” (DL). Through this system, McDonald’s Corporation in the
United States has transferred their ownership of McDonald’s Malaysia to Lionhorn company.
The system aims to accelerate the growth of the McDonald’s market in Malaysia, so that
Lionhorn is able to inject capital to open more McDonald’s restaurants in a shorter period.
Lionhorn Company is one of the subsidiaries of Reza Group led by Sheik Fahd and
Abdulrahman Alireza. They have over 20 years of experience operating approximately 100
McDonald’s restaurants in the western and southern parts of Saudi Arabia, including 23
McDonald’s restaurants in the Holy City of Mekah and Madinah. Lionhorn Company has
been licensed to fully operate McDonald’s operations in Malaysia and Singapore. In
Malaysia, McDonald’s serves more than 13.5 million customers monthly. Besides that,
McDonald’s has business relationships with over 400 local suppliers. McDonald’s also
employs over 14,000 Malaysians in its restaurants nationwide, providing career, training and
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development opportunities. So far, there are around 300 McDonald’s restaurants throughout
Malaysia. This number is expected to increase to 450 restaurants by 2025.
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3.0 ANALYSIS
Vertically and horizontally are the flow of communication among the employees in
McDonald’s. (Refer Picture1) Vertical communication is the most common form of
communication within a structured organizations follows an up-and-down vertical pattern. It
also involves communication between employees from different hierarchical levels in the
organization. This type of communication is important within the workplace. McDonald’s
also prepared a platform to customers to be able to give feedback via McDonald’s
application. Horizontal communication plays an important role in breaking down silos and
improving cross department collaboration in the workplace. With horizontal communication,
information is often shared among the department.
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3.2 WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Written communication involves any sort of interaction that creates use of word. It is
also pertaining to the method of conveying a message through the written symbols. In other
words, any message exchanged between two or more persons that make use of word is named
as written language. The written language is that the commonest and effective mode of
business communication. There are several written communications used in McDonald’s and
mostly it is done in Malay language.
Firstly, letters are used by McDonald’s and the letters are in Malay and English
language for internal communication, which is to communicate formal messages to
employees within an organization such sending a letter to request for a leave or a show cause
letter regarding short drawer. (Refer Picture 2) Letters also utilized in external
communication to deliver messages to individuals outside of the organization.
Secondly, memo and emails are used as written communication in McDonald’s. They
are usually less formal and shorter than letters. Social media plays its role as a memo in
delivering message to employee. For example, managers often use social media like
WhatsApp to tell a few meetings in order that the workers involved will have time to
organize. All the messages and memos through WhatsApp is supposed to be kept confidential
and the employees are not allowed to share it to anyone. Email is short for ‘electronic mail’.
Email is a platform to reach the customers easier and faster as well as sending important
messages to the workers. (Refer Picture 3) This can save you cost, and it can also save time.
Emails should reach the recipient within minutes, or at the most within a couple of hours.
Lastly, pamphlets are often used to promote the products and services available at
McDonald’s. Pamphlet of McDonalds are mostly written in English and Malay languages.
Pamphlets are often folded during a sort of ways, like in half, in thirds, or in fourths. This is
to make the customers aware of their new products.(Refer Picture 4,5,6)
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3.3 ORAL COMMUNICATION
Oral communication portrays any sort of interaction between people which involves
utilization of words and includes speaking and listening. In verbal communication, the sender
and collector trade their considerations or thoughts verbally either in face-to-face talk or
through any mechanical or electrical gadget or applications like Skype. The capacity to
communicate successfully through professional conversing skills is exceedingly esteemed in
business.
For McDonald’s, we are able divide the verbal communication into two, communication
between the director and staff members and the communication between customers and staff.
Based on bar chart 1, the workers at McDonald’s believe firmly that there
might not be much lacking with the communication that occurs between them and
their managers as communication in eateries is key to getting anything done, from
hygiene protocols to profitability of products. Weekly sit-down meetings are typically
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when and where things get done. It is not a five-minute tirade over what did not get
done at closing the night some time recently. It is a week after week, planned time, set
aside to survey objectives, desires and challenges and after that brainstorm
arrangements. Attendance is additionally compulsory. However, due to current
unfortunate circumstances such as the pandemic and the lockdown, meetings are
rarely held for all employees and staff, and are mostly done through a medium such as
WhatsApp or Telegram. Crucial meetings among the top managers, however, still
must be done face-to-face or through online platforms such as Zoom.
Within the organization in every branch, data streams from higher level to
lower level, beginning with restaurant manager to the middle level manager or shift
director, and further passed on to the group individuals by a team meeting or putting
the data on the group room so that everyone can peruse that data.
Clients are the bread and butter of any trade. Hence, any communication with
existing or potential clients ought to be tall quality, informative and honest.
McDonald’s has a certain method to oversee the clients which is portrayed by the
chief of McDonald’s. In the diagram below, communication is utilized to manage each
customer efficiently and professionally.
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The usage of such a system enables the employees communicating with
customers to be trained with a system that works by always inducing customer
satisfaction. If something were to go wrong such as misunderstandings, employees
must be well prepared to ensure the issue does not blow up by always putting the
customers' needs and requests first. The level of fulfilment a customer feels depends
on the review of benefit he/she individual gets. In McDonald’s, each representative
communicates well with the clients to satisfy the customer's needs by having good
English and Bahasa Malaysia conversing skills.
Bar Chart 2: Employee Perception toward Customer Satisfaction in terms of Oral Communication
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Bar Chart 3: Employee Response toward Frequency of Misunderstandings Amongst Customer-Staff
Despite such mannerisms and practices, McDonald’s staff members still believe that their
customer satisfaction may not be up to the mark. The ratios of responses in Bar Chart 2
indicate two-thirds of the employees do not believe their customers are quite comfortable
with the oral communication at the franchise. According to Bar Chart 3, none of the
employees responded that misunderstandings rarely happen, in fact they occur more often
than we think they do. After a short interview session with one of the crew members, they
mentioned that customers are even more unsatisfied due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, as
not only do they have to communicate through intercom and are rushed in with a very large
customer count at all times, but also because of how rushed the system must be. McDonald’s
employees work even harder during their current hours as they are much shorter and packed
than before, thus oral communication might be a slight problem as it is very overwhelming to
deal with such many customers’ requests every day, for every minute they are open until
closing.
Thus, they agree that oral communication with customers has to be improved to withstand the
daily floods of customers. This can be done by constantly rotating the communicator at drive-
thru’s, having more organized communication amongst staff and keeping a constant calm
attitude throughout the day.
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3.4 COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
One of the ways McDonald’s uses technology in their communication with daily
customers include self-ordering stands (SOKs), where clients can put their possess orders and
redo their suppers concurring to their preference, which was endorsed in 2017. Dual point
service enables client orders set through the SOKs or over the counter, to be picked up when
their docket numbers are flashed on screen, subsequently eliminating with long lines.
Cashless exchange comfort is provided so that customers can effectively pay for their dinners
utilizing credit or charge cards. Digital menu boards to showcase menu as well as new and
upcoming promotions, which directly helps improve customer experience when ordering over
the counter. This way, customers are constantly aware of the latest popular meals offered and
are clear about the menu updates, which change every now and then. This technology had
increased sales at McDonald’s since customers can opt for a more convenient, effective way
to order their meals, dine-in or to-go.
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Secondly, the Drive-Thru technology has gotten to be a basic component of its trade
procedure to promote McDonald’s showcase authority and keep its guarantee of conveying
delightful feel-good minutes to loyal clients anytime, anyplace. Between 2017 and 2018, the
McDonalds Malaysia opened 17 modern Drive-Thru eateries to complement its existing 167
Drive-Thru eateries. Right now, Drive-Thru window deals contribute near to 50 percent of
add up to deals for all McDonald’s Drive-Thru eateries. Moreover, the company is saw a
normal of 10 percent year-on-year development in its Drive-Thru deals for the primary
quarter of 2019. Communication at its utmost comfort for customers is the goal at the end of
the day, and the usage of the drive-thru innovation makes McDonalds one of the top choices
for fast-food outlets in the country.
McDonald’s also accepts feedback and comments from customers via their main
website, https://www.mcdonalds.com.my/. This makes the customer feel like a part of the
body that helps improve the performance of the outlets all over Malaysia. Social media pages
like Instagram are very popular and crucial for communication among customers and
stakeholders to alert people of promotions and new deals. Through engagement in social
media, McDonald’s resolves customer service issues, answers questions about its brand, and
changes its menu to deliver items customers want. McDonald’s pays particular attention to
the content of all social media posts and aggregates the data for analytics on trends.
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4.0 CONCLUSION
The main language used by McDonald’s is Malay language because most of the
employees are locals and using their mother tongue makes them feel more comfortable. They
also used English language to communicate with their customers who cannot understand
Malay language well to avoid misunderstandings. Messages can be delivered effectively and
in a short limit of time because employees can easily understand the messages.
McDonald’s did well by delivering messages for internal communication and external
communication. Messages can be delivered to employees and customers well. McDonald’s
has showed that they are willing to receive their employee’s ideas by vertical communication.
Departments in McDonald’s also carried out good communication among themselves and the
messages can be delivered effectively without any conflicts.
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4.2 WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Letter is much more formal and carries more weight in delivering important messages.
McDonald’s uses letters as their communication tool in the internal and external
communication to deliver messages to either employees or customers. This is because written
communication in black and white are always clearer and more official than spoken one.
Letters also can be used as evidence that employees and customers can reread it to prevent
any mistakes from happening in the future.
McDonald’s also uses the documents such as memos and email to communicate with
the employees, suppliers, and customers. Memo and emails are less formal but shorter than
letters. Managers of McDonald’s will use social media such as WhatsApp as a tool to deliver
important written messages to their employees. Other than that, email is used to deliver
written messages to employees and customers within a short limit of time and cost-saving. As
the world is slowing evolving and rely more towards technological advancements, these
methods are the best way to deliver and receive messages at the fastest pace.
McDonald’s had put in a lot of effort to make the pamphlet easier for their customers
to understand. The pamphlet of McDonald’s is in Malay and English Language. Having a
bilingual pamphlet helps to increase the sales of McDonald’s as the contents of pamphlets
which are related to sales and promotions will be easily understood by locals who are not
proficient in English language.
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4.3 ORAL COMMUNICATION
Oral communication is the exchange of information and ideas through spoken words.
This communication can be conducted using both direct and indirect methods. McDonald’s
did good communication between managers and staffs where a weekly meeting is conducted
to ensure information such as launching a new product, the changing of any rules or any other
important points from the top positions can be delivered correctly.
McDonald’s has a good relationship with their customers because the staffs at the
counter are always ready to serve the customers with a good attitude which is to smile and
greet them once they walk in the store. Furthermore, the languages used in McDonald’s are
Malay and English language likewise provides ease for the employees during formal and
informal conversation as they are languages within the comfort zone of Malaysians. The
staffs will speak based on the language that the customers are prefer with. Therefore,
misunderstandings or dissatisfaction can be avoided.
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4.4 COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
Communication between staffs and customers has become more convenient with the
use of self-ordering kiosk, digital menu boards and Drive-Thru. Self-ordering kiosk can
ensure that the customer’s order is accurate while McDonald’s uses digital menu boards to
deliver information on the latest offers and updates to the customers.
The innovation of Drive-Thru has makes the communication process easier because
customer does not need to walk into the store. McDonald’s also establishes its own website so
that they can receive feedbacks and comments from their customers. Not only that, but
McDonald’s also has its own Instagram account which is more attractive especially for the
younger generation because they are more familiar with it. Therefore, customers can keep in
touch with the latest product launched or new deals by McDonald’s. Customer service issues
or questions can be resolved by using Instagram where customers can chat with McDonald’s
through the chat box provided by Instagram. By that, it can be concluded that McDonald’s
has well used of its technology in improving the communication among staffs and customers.
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5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
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Oral communication is also essential between McDonald’s employees and customers.
It could be further improved by maintaining good customer service. According to an annual
Customer Experience Impact (CEI) survey published by RightNow Technologies, it is
revealed that 86% of buyers will pay more for better customer experience and 70% of buying
experiences are based on how customers feel when they are treated. For instance, when
customers enter McDonald's, a simple, warm welcome creates a favorable first impression.
First impressions have a lasting effect on the customers’ perspective of the whole eating
experience. A simple smile is an extremely effective nonverbal communication tool as it
makes the customer feel welcomed and puts them at ease. It implies that you have no ill
intent against them and are eager to listen. Though you are on the go, a smile recognizes
others' existence even when you do not have time to inquire how they are doing. Employees
should also be fluent in Malay and English languages as they can handle local and foreign
customers at the same time with ease.
McDonald’s already has a section on their website where customers can share their
feedback or submit a complaint. According to a Harris Interactive poll, 79% of consumers
who shared complaints about poor customer experience online had their complaints ignored.
Therefore, McDonald’s should not overlook this problem but rather take every complaint and
feedback from customers seriously. McDonald’s should promptly investigate customer
complaints and get back to the affected customer as fast as possible. By doing this, customers
feel reassured and begin to develop trust in McDonald’s. Not only that, the customers will
share their good experience with their friends and family, which will eventually persuade
them to buy from McDonald’s as well.
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6.0 REFERENCES
104 Customer Service Statistics & Facts of 2021 [UPDATED]. (2021). Retrieved 3
June 2021, from https://www.proprofschat.com/blog/customer-service-statistics/
86% of Customers Pay More For Better Customer Experience. (2021). Retrieved 3
June 2021, from http://winthecustomer.com/86-percent-of-u-s-adults-will-pay-more-
for-a-better-customer-experience/
How to Empower Your Managers to Make them Better Leaders. (2021). Retrieved 3
June 2021, from https://www.insightsforprofessionals.com/hr/leadership/how-to-
empower-managers-better-leaders
Want loyal customers? Make them feel good. (2021). Retrieved 3 June 2021, from
https://yourstory.com/2015/01/loyal-customers/amp
What Are 1:1s and Why Do You Need Them? • Employment Hero. (2021). Retrieved
3 June 2021, from https://employmenthero.com/blog/hr/what-are-1-1s/
Bates, C. (2017, October 26). McDonalds rolls out self service kiosks in Malaysia.
McDonald’s rolls out self-service kiosks in Malaysia.
https://soyacincau.com/2017/10/26/mcdonalds-rolls-out-self-service-kiosks-in-
malaysia/.
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7.0 APPENDIX
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(Picture 1: The organizational communication in McDonald’s)
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(Picture 2: Request of leave letter by one of the Mcdonald’s employees)
(Picture 3: Email received by customers when they registered an account with McDonald’s)
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(Picture 4: Pamphlets used to promote the new product of McDonald’s)
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