BUS FP

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Introduction

Technology has and continues to change the way businesses are transacted over the world. Implementation of information management systems, security control systems, order placement systems and online payment systems are some few examples of how technology is impacting business processes. While technology remain to be used as a key to creating a competitive advantage over ones competitors some technology system are not the best to be used in any business setup. McDonalds is one of the biggest fast food restaurants in the USA and in the world (Mathur 2017).

The restaurant serves the biggest population in the USA and in majority of the countries they have opened branches. The interesting part of the company is how they have managed to create a strong relationship with customers establishing long lasting loyalty. Also the company is able to meet the ever changing customer demands through ensuring that they respond to customer complains on their social media platforms within the shortest time possible. By ensuring they offer quality to the customers the company management have opted to be part of service delivery in ensuring effectiveness in the supply chain.

Over the recent past the company has mean able to digitize its activities by ensuring that they have a central information system whereby all customers' information and orders are received. While this is a very good initiative it is important for the stakeholders to realize that information systems can fail any time either because of power failure, intrusion by malicious people or even a natural disaster. This calls for a change which can be achieved only through reviewing the existing systems. There are several considerations to make when making a decision of whether to change an information system or to maintain the current one. Some of these considerations are:

Flexibility

Can the system be able to cater the changing business environment and customer needs? If the system is unable to accommodate the developing and growing environmental demands then a change is necessary.

Time management

One of the very crucial aspects of information system is time management. Any implemented system should enable users to spend less time that they used to spend prior its implementation.

Accountability

Accountability results to integrity. Systems should ensure that they are accountable and cannot be manipulated to favor either managers or supervisors Reliable The system must be reliable in delivering the best with the working environment. This means it must be able to function as it is intended to.

In McDonalds there is an integrated information system which is integrated and is accessed from one point. This mean all orders from different locations are sent to this central location where they are analyzed and processed for delivery. As we discussed earlier this is a very dangerous thing in any business set up. One needs to remember that disasters are inevitable and nobody can predict when a disaster will befall their company. Because of this therefore the company needs change in its information system so it can be able to effectively meet the ever changing technological needs in the business environment (Noe, Hollenbeck, and Gerhart & Wright 2017). 

The change and why it is important

The existing system in McDonald faces customer traffic, in cases of fire outrage orders are delayed or canceled this means it is in effective and a change is necessary. Also with this information system in place the company is called to install other system to manage payrolls and finances as well, something which is very expensive or a company. While the company attributes their current system with several successes, it is important to note the importance of implementing Point Of Purchase systems which will influence and transform all aspects of their business.

Point of purchase systems are integrated systems which enables customers to place order from a particular point the order is received and displayed on a screen which identifies the client and their geographical location, the merchant calculates the cost of the order prepares and prepares a receipt. After receipt preparation the information is forwarded to the customer who pays for the order. The identified location allows the business to locate the nearest branch to the client; upon establishing this order can be delivered from that branch instead of waiting for many hours. This system also is integrated with payroll features this enables the employer to carry out payment and keep payment records in secure manner reducing the amount of paperwork in the offices. Likewise all accounting activities can be carried out using the same system something which reduces the time required in completing financial statements. On the other hand the system ensures automated feedback through single messages or electronic mail something which increases the accountability levels of the system.

With the implementation of this system McDonald will be able to realize time management since the system is able to control error through eliminating human error. Likewise the time spends in preparing a single meal and serving one customer is reduced (Schneider 2018). By achieving this and reducing human error in preparation of financial records, order processing and staff management the company will be able to attract more customers and improve customer loyalty. On the same perspective the company will have created a competitive advantage over their competitor’s effective and timely service delivery. The POS system is also integrated with marketing features. The marketing tools in this system facilitate the business with a platform to sell their products and introduce any new product to the market through simple text messages, bulk emails among others. This reduces the marketing budgets increasing the brand popularity since the messages and emails are not targeted to customers only. Something which may result to increased profits.

Why McDonalds

McDonalds is one of the largest fast food restaurants in the world and in USA in particular. The company requires different tactics and systems to be on top of the game. Personally I love their products and with the increased competition due to change of living styles and change in technology it is good they adapt the very best in the market. Additionally it will meet customer needs and promote reliability, nobody will wish to experience a order delay or cancellation improving to the proposed system will enable the company to meet its customers effectively and within the shortest time they can (Schmid, & Gombert 2018). The system has been used in other companies and restaurants and for sure it has proved to be effective and reliable.

References

Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright (2017). Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Mathur (2017). Globalization in Fast Food Chains Glocalization in Fast Food Chains: A Case Study of McDonald's. In Strategic Marketing Management and Tactics in the Service Industry (pp. 330-347). IGI Global.

Schneider (2018). U.S. Patent Application No. 15/639,091.

Schmid, & Gombert, (2018). McDonald’s: Is the Fast Food Icon Reaching the Limits of Growth?. In Internationalization of Business (pp. 155-171). Springer, Cham.