Mcdonalds reward and practices - Essay Example

McDonald’s Reward and Practices McDonald’s Reward and Practices The human resource department of any organization that aspiresto succeed and meet both its long-term and short-term goals has to invest heavily in improving and keeping the morale of its employees high. The level of motivation directly affects the overall performance of any organization and it is only prudent if effective structures and systems are put in place to foster this. McDonald’s has realized this secret and has, therefore, directed a lot of energy in motivating its workers through a reward system and structure that keeps the vibrancy and robustness amongst its workers quite high.

Its continued success in the food and service industry can be undoubtedly attributed, among other factors, to the right strategies it has devised in handling its human resources. This paper evaluates the reward structure and system that McDonald’s uses currently both monetary and non-monetary and relate their effect on employees’ motivation and eventual performance.Base PayMcDonald’s understands how much effective monetary compensation is to an employee. This is the money employees are paid for the job they do and it is structured based on the pay rates in the industry for the same nature and rank of job.

It is a motivational factor as workers who demonstrate great skills and perform highly receive pay rise making them strive to be the best.IncentivesThere is short term and long term incentives that are variedly offered based on one’s performance. Short term incentives are those that monetary ‘appreciations’ offered at the end of the year to reward exemplary performances while long term incentives are those offered at unknown future dates. These incentives have great influence as they maintain the employees focus on the future of the business; employees work for future rewards (Armstrong, 2007, p.100).Company Car ProgramAnother strategy that McDonald’s uses to motivate workers for high performance is through offering car that they can use for official and personal needs.

There is a laid down criteria through which these cars can be acquired (eligibility criteria). Captivating enough is the fact that maintenance and repair costs are all on the company. Worker’s stress of travelling has, therefore, been neutralized. The cars act as a tangible evidence of appreciation to the employees and this facilitates their commitment to work as they can relate their inputs to rewards.Recognition ProgramsThe business has non-monetary programs that aim at motivating the workers for their excellent performances.

Recognition programs are basically certificate awards that identify those employees who have performed well in their duties and include ‘President’s Award’, ‘Circle of Excellence Award’ among others (Armstrong, 2007, p.119). These are structures based on improving individual performance of the employees. The employees work even more when they are singled out as outstanding in a pool of human resource and this is the case at McDonald’s .ConclusionThe ability to motivate employees is a requirement for any business that is committed to achieving its production goals.

As demonstrated, McDonald’s ’ monetary and non monetary strategies in motivating workers work well and the great success that it has shown on the market is a result of this. The different reinforcement schedules (variable and fixed) makes the employees perform highly all time without stopping. The rewards structures at McDonald’s are, therefore, effective in ensuring high performance.ReferencesArmstrong, M. (2007). A handbook of employee reward management and practice. London: Kogan Page.