Organizations face many challenges that require readers to come up with strategic implementations that help the business overcome market challenges and achieve its goals (Redmond 1). No one could images McDonald could record reduced sales after a year of high sale volume and high profitability. The rapidd dramatic changes in the business world propagated by technology, globalization, rise of many emerging markets, and competition demand leaders to apply for strategic leadership roles. Thompson, the new McDonalds Chief Executive Officer (CEO), faces complex challenges in leading the company through achieving its three strategic goals. McDonald aims at optimizing and evolving its menu, modernizing customer experience, and broadening brand acceptability in existing and new customer segments (Arthaud-Day, Rothaermel, and Collins 1). Thompson can play two major roles of strategic leaders to overcome the challenge and make McDonald move to its original position. These are sustaining the effective organizational culture and determining the strategic direction.
Leadership roles
Sustaining an effective organizational culture
Leaders have a duty of maintaining the organizational culture at all times irrespective of the location of the organization. Organization culture acts as an important tool of competitive advantage by creating a platform that allows the organization to develop and implement its strategies (Redmond 6). McDonald has a culture of offering the best menu to customers. Thompson should use his strategic leadership skills to ensure maintenance of this culture by introducing new menus that fit customer’s needs, tastes, and preferences. One of the challenges affecting McDonald’s productivity and competitiveness was persistent staffing issues. Customers were losing loyalty with the company that they once used to respect because of the maintenance of high customer values. Second, McDonald needed to introduce new menus to the market such as “McHit” that helps sustain the culture of a perfect recipe (Arthaud-Day, Rothaermel, and Collins 8). Thompson has a role in shaping the company's culture as the new CEO by ensuring employees perform their duties effectively and challenging the research and development team responsible for creating new menus to come up with unique recipes to help maintain a high customer profile.
Determining strategic direction
The second role of strategic leadership of significant in achieving McDonald’s goal is the determination of strategic directions. Everybody in the organization looks upon the management to develop strategies. The strategic direction taken by any business must have clear and a well-formulated vision. McDonald's strategic plan aims at achieving three major goals. Thompson has a great role to play as a strategic leader in ensuring the company achieves these goals rapidly to increase sales volume and win again. One of the goals of McDonald’s is to broaden brand acceptability in both current and future markets. However, the company faces a major challenge of creating a new pool of customers by exploring new markets, but current customers already have problems with McDonald's menu combinations (Arthaud-Day, Rothaermel, and Collins 8). Entry into a new market environment requires an organization to overcome barriers present in the target market such as customer’s culture, competition, and developing brand identity. Thompson has a big role in creating effective strategic directions to ensure current customers accept the company's brand and eventually explore new target markets for its unique brands.
Leadership forms a basic part of management and determines the success of the organization in achieving its short-term and long-term goals. McDonald needs to get back to its original position and win the global competitive advantage in the challenging economic environment. Implementing effective roles of leaders helps an organization break its marketing barriers and create a balance in the contemporary business environment. The analysis shows that Thomson should adopt leadership roles requiring leaders to sustain the organizational culture and determine strategic directions.
Works Cited
Arthaud-Day, Marne, L., Rothaermel, Frank, T., and Collins, J. McDonald's (in 2013): How to
win again? Columbus, USA: McGraw-Hill Education. 2015. Print.
Redmond, James. Strategy and the importance of strategic leadership. CPA Ireland.n.d. Web: 15
April 2016.
