Executive summary
The risks chosen for this essay are country risks that impact the country’s operations and profitability. McDonald’s was chosen since it is one of the world’s largest food chains. The country crisis mentioned in this paper is the Ukraine-Russia dispute, which will have a huge economic impact on various American corporations, including McDonald’s. The following competing values in leadership have been discussed: collaborate, create, compete, and control. The relationship between the lack of McDonald’s operations resulting from the Ukraine war and competing leadership values is highly interesting. The firm leverages cross-functional teamwork to preserve McDonald’s growth, particularly during the Russia-Ukraine crisis. McDonald’s is managed by the company, and as a business, it must always endeavor to do things correctly to compete and stay afloat. As a result, the company decided to end its activities in Russia. For McDonald’s to thrive in the middle of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the executives must make better leadership decisions to allow the company to continue thriving even if it cannot operate in Russia.
Introduction
The risks that have been chosen for this essay are country risks that affect country operations and profitability. The company selected is McDonald’s as it is one of the biggest food chains in the world. The country crisis discussed in this paper s the Ukraine-Russia crisis since it will have a significant economic impact on several American companies, including Mcdonald’s. The incises have already caused problems in the oil and ga sectors, and many people worldwide have already been heavily affected. Putin, the Russian president, has recently commanded his solders to attack Ukraine (Jackson, 2022). Biden, the United States president, has condemned these actions and would result in the US imposing certain sanctions against Russia as a country to try and make Putin stop the war in Russia. Some of the world’s big companies have already cut ties with Russia to do business. Mcdonald’s, the biggest food chain globally, has already stopped dealing in Russia temporarily to allow the Russian president to reconsider stopping the unwanted war that is already hurting innocent civilians in Ukraine (Hernandez, 2022). This action has affected the profitability of Mcdonald’s company economically due to the political issues that are causing all the problems. Therefore, the Ukraine-Russia crisis s, therefore, a relevant critical risk that has recently affected the food industry, which in terms affects the relevant competing values of leadership issues of the Mcdonalds company as a “wicked” problem in the organization.
The figure below depicts how the country risk posed by Russia-Ukraine demonstrates competing Mcdonald’s leadership principles as a “wicked” dilemma in terms of organizational performance.
Macdonald the relevant competing values of leadership issues.
Collaborate – To maintain Mcdonald’s growth, especially during the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the company adopts cross-functional collaboration. This helps the company reach its objectives and performance targets. The company is now unable to collaborate with Russia as many other businesses and countries are now avoiding the country. Yet, they are already invested there, which could mean huge losses for the company.
Create – Mcdonald’s company is also associated with doing things first ahead of competitors. It empowers the restaurant crew while running very attractive restaurants. The country risks that arose as a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have caused immense problems as customers in Russia do not get these amazing services as a result of the sanctions by the US government, leading to significant financial losses for the company (Jackson, 2022).
Control – Mcdonald’s as a company has to always try and do things right in a manner that will allow the company to remain afloat and deal with competition. As a result, the company decided to halt its operations in Russia. Mcdonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski reported that the company decided to halt its operation in Russia as the Russian president was causing unspeakable suffering to innocent people in Ukraine. These political issues have caused losses for both the company and the US (Hernandez, 2022).
Compete – Mcdonald’s company is a leader globally when it comes to the fast-food industry. The company prides itself on its competitive advantage regarding hygiene, convenience, affordability, quality, and innovation. Leveraging her key strengths in the market makes the company remain competivetitive. The recent war between Russia and Ukraine has only allowed for oil and gas and other prices to go up; hence some of the items have been an issue in terms of affordability.
An interplay of the country risk and the relevant competing values of leadership issues in Mcdonald’s company
The interplay of the lack of Mcdonald’s operations resulting from the Ukraine war about the competing values of leadership is quite interesting. McDonald’s collaborates to sustain its growth, particularly during the Russia-Ukraine crisis; the corporation employs cross-functional teamwork. This assists the organization in meeting its objectives and performance targets. The corporation is now unable to do such cooperation with Russia because the country is now being avoided by many other enterprises and countries, even though they have previously invested there, which could result in significant losses for the company. Create – McDonald’s is also connected with being the first to do things ahead of competitors. It empowers restaurant staff while operating incredibly appealing restaurants. The country dangers that occurred due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine have generated enormous problems, as clients in Russia do not have access to these excellent services due to US sanctions.
McDonald’s is under the supervision of the company, and as a firm, it must always strive to do things correctly to stay afloat and compete. As a result, the company chose to discontinue its operations in Russia. McDonald’s CEO, Chris Kempczinski, announced that the company has decided to cease operations in Russia since the Russian president is bringing indescribable pain to innocent people in Ukraine (Hernandez, 2022). The company does well in competition. McDonald’s is a world leader when it comes to the fast-food market. The company takes pride in its competitive advantage in hygiene, convenience, price, quality, and innovation. The company can capitalize on the major market strengths that allow it to remain competitive.
Potential leadership implications are necessary to move towards a resolution of the consequences of Russia- the Ukraine war in terms of Mcdonald’s performance.
For McDonald’s to continue thriving well amidst the Russia-Ukraine war, it is important that the leaders can come up with better leadership decisions that will allow the company to continue thriving even if they can not operate in Russia. Some of the recommended actions include;
- Give a clear direction to the workers on how to deal with such a crisis and remain competitive. The leaders can give short or long-term regular updates on what is going on in the industry and what is necessary to decide which is the best move for the company to ensure that there are no serious losses.
- Focusing on the people or the corkers themselves amid a war crisis. The restriction on doing business in Russia would hinder the Mcdonald’s company from making the same profit that it is used to make. Therefore, the company needs to consider the human factor as employees may be uncertain about their future, which may lead to some of them not being as productive as they should be. Therefore leaders must offer engagement, support, and encouragement proactively(Goz, 2021).
- Government and business leaders must find a way to discover that humanity s important for those suffering due to the consequences of the war, i.e., the increase in oil and gas prices has also rendered every other item more expensive. There must be connections among team members that allow them to work together to maintain the company and the economy afloat and try to achieve that set goals (Masters, 2020).
- Leaders should aim to be transparent in the midst of the Russia-Ukraine crisis providing enough information about what they know or do not know. This would keep Mcdonald’s and its employees as calm as the inhabitants of the world. Hence, the people will develop trust in the organization, motivating them to keep working hard. Therefore the company avoids the country risk of being away from Russia, where they’ve already set u businesses. By being transparent, the leaders will also inspire hope in the people and their psychological resilience (Jackson, 2022).
Conclusion
The country risk caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict is critical to the success of the McDonald’s corporation. There are numerous approaches presented here that demonstrate the competitive ideals in leadership that are present and required in the firm. The relationship between the lack of McDonald’s operations resulting from the Ukraine war and competing leadership values is highly interesting. The firm leverages cross-functional teamwork to preserve McDonald’s growth, particularly during the Russia-Ukraine crisis. McDonald’s is managed by the company, and as a business, it must always endeavor to do things correctly to compete and stay afloat. For McDonald’s to prosper amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis, CEOs must make better leadership decisions that will allow the company to thrive even if it cannot operate in Russia. The Russia-Ukraine crisis has impacted the company and the rest of the world since many prices have risen and several McDonald’s services have become more expensive.
References
Goz, A. (2021, February 12). 7 Crisis Leadership Tactics the Best Leaders Use in Times of Crisis. Training Industry. https://trainingindustry.com/blog/leadership/7-things-the-best-leaders-do-in-times-of-crisis/
Hernandez. (2022, March 8). McDonald’s pulling out of Russia due to Ukraine war. Www.aa.com.tr. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/russia-ukraine-war/mcdonalds-pulling-out-of-russia-due-to-ukraine-war/2528134
Jackson, J. (2022, February 22). McDonald’s faces big problem in East as Russia mounts invasion of Ukraine. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/mcdonalds-faces-big-problem-east-russia-mounts-invasion-ukraine-1681418
Masters, J. (2020, February 5). Ukraine: Conflict at the Crossroads of Europe and Russia. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/ukraine-conflict-crossroads-europe-and-russia
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