Mcdonald’s Business Ethics
McDonald’s was founded in San Bernardino, CA in the year 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald. The two brothers sold their fast food restaurant to a milk shake salesman named Ray Kroc in the year of 1961. Kroc believed in conformity, uniformity and the ethic of mass production. Following the ethic of mass production Kroc began to use frozen beef patties and genetically-modified potatoes to ensure uniform taste.
McDonald’s also pays minimum wage to their workers, who essentially do assembly line, factory-type work. If you were to reclassify the work they do to factory work that would “add about 3. 5 million manufacturing jobs to the U. S. economy, at a time when such jobs are rapidly being exported overseas. From a statistical point of view, it would make the U. S. seem like an industrial powerhouse once again, instead of an ageing superpower threatened by low-cost competitors” (Schlosser, 2004).
Despite the objections of McDonald’s, the term “McJob” was added to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary in 2003. The word “McJob” means a low-paying job that requires little skill and provides little opportunity for advancement. McDonald’s is the world’s largest distributor of toys, which it includes with kids meals which were introduced in June 1979. It has been alleged that the use of popular toys encourages children to eat more McDonald’s food, thereby contributing to many children’s health problems, including a rise in obesity.
Many parents weren’t happy and said that giving toys with children’s meals circumvents parental control and teaches children unhealthy eating habits. One mother sued McDonald’s and went on to say, “I object to the fact that McDonald’s is getting into my kids’ heads without my permission and actually changing what my kids want to eat”. McDonald’s now features fruits, salad, and healthier drinks but continues to give out toys. This was not the first time McDonald’s has been sued. McDonald’s has been sued multiple times for health related issues.
They have also been fined twice for breaking child labor laws. In 2001 the company was fined 12,400 British Pounds Sterling by British magistrates for illegally employing and over-working child labor in one of its London restaurants. This is thought to be one of the largest fines imposed on a company for breaking laws relating to child working conditions. In April 2007 in Perth, Western Australia, McDonald’s pleaded guilty to five charges relating to the employment of children under the age of 15 in one of its outlets and was fined $8,000 AUD.
Still, McDonald’s has a few good ethics. They own the Ronald McDonald House Charities, an organization that helps families with critically ill or injured children who must travel to fulfill their healthcare needs. They also host an annual event at McDonald’s called “McHappy Day” where a percentage of the day’s sales go to charities. McDonald’s also tries to help the environment by using biomass power plants to cut its waste and carbon footprint in half where biomass power plants are available.
They’ve also reduced the amount of packing for their food by 46% since the year 1970. Overall, weight reductions in packaging and products, as well as the increased usage of bulk packaging ultimately decreased packaging by 24 million pounds annually.
References
- http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Happy_Meal
- http://www. neumann. edu/academics/divisions/business/journal/review_08/gibison. pdf
- http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Ray_Kroc#McDonald. 27s
- http://www. guardian. co. uk/business/2010/dec/19/mcdonalds-happy-meals-sued-california
- http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/McDonald’s#Criticism
