McDonalds Organisational Structure: Case study & Culture (2024)

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Introduction to McDonald’s

McDonald's is an American fast food company founded by the McDonald brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1940 in San Bernardino, California, United States. They opened a hamburger stand which later on turned into a franchise. In 1955 Ray Kroc, a franchising agent, founded McDonald's System Inc., a predecessor of the McDonald's Corporation, and in 1961 bought the exclusive rights to the McDonald's name and operation technique. By revenue, it is currently the largest restaurant chain in the world with 38 thousand locations in over 100 countries, serving 68 million people daily.

Do you want to know more about how franchising works? Check out our explanation on Franchises.

McDonald's management structure

According to the most recent data from 2020, McDonald's employs around 200 thousand people. The company's employees consist of chief executive officer (CEO) Chris Kempczinski at the top and the board of directors. Below that, the company is divided into separate departments such as marketing, sales, finance, restaurant and supply. Each country or area has separate departments with its own country heads, managers and other staff members. All of them together make up for McDonald's organisational structure, a system that outlines how activities are managed in order to achieve the objectives of a business. It means that McDonald’s Corporation has a divisional organisational structure.

McDonald's organisational structure chart

Below, you can see McDonald's McDonald's organisational chart. Let's analyse it!

Fig. 1 - McDonald's Organisational Structure

McDonald's has several top-level executives. These include the chief executive officer and the other directors, such as the chairman of the board, senior marketing manager, senior sales manager, chief financial officer, chief restaurant officer, and chief operating officer, among others. They are responsible for making decisions, setting objectives, finances, operations and the overall supervision and functioning of the company.

After the top-level executives, there are five departments that have specific responsibilities:

• The marketing department is responsible for marketing and advertising. It takes care of maintaining the right exposure and brand image of the company. It consists of a country head, a marketing manager and an advertisem*nt manager. Each country has its own marketing department to maintain marketing and advertising in the area.
• The sales department is responsible for sales-related duties and tasks. It makes sure they are run properly and effectively. It consists of a country head and a regional sales manager. Each country has its own sales department taking care of sales in the region.
• The finance department is responsible for finance, accounting and anything related to money. It ensures the right money flow, investment and fund handling. It consists of a country head, finance manager and account manager. Each country has its own finance department taking care of money matters in the area.
• The restaurant department is responsible for ensuring that restaurants are run properly. It consists of a country head, restaurant manager, staff training and crew members such as cooks, servers and cleaners. Each country has its own restaurant department taking care of restaurants in the region.
• The supply department is responsible for ensuring that the company is supplied with all the necessary resources such as food items and packaging materials for restaurants. It consists of a country head, procurement, logistics and storehouse. Each country has its own supply department taking care of supplies in the area.

McDonald's organisational structure

There are many types of organisational structures, and most of large corporations implement a combination of different types of organisational structures:

• decision power (centralized and decentralised organisational structures),
• leaders and layers of management (flat and tall organisational structures),
• other types (functional, product-based and matrix organisational structures).

McDonald's organisational structure is a combination of centralized, hierarchical, and divisional structures.

McDonald's tall hierarchy is the most prominent feature, with decision-making authority flowing from the top down through a clear chain of command. However, the company also uses decentralized practices to balance global consistency with local responsiveness.

In addition, McDonald's also has separate divisions or departments for different areas of the business, such as marketing, finance, and operations. This divisional structure allows the company to focus on specific areas of the business while still maintaining centralised control and standardization.

A hierarchical organisational structure is a type of organisational structure in which there is a clear chain of command and decision-making authority flows from the top down.

Divisional organisational structure is a type of organisational structure in which the company is divided into separate divisions or departments, each responsible for a specific product, region, or function.

Centralized organisational structure is a type of organisational structure in which decision-making authority is concentrated at the top of the hierarchy, with little decision-making power given to lower levels of management.

Overall, McDonald's organisational structure is designed to ensure efficiency and consistency across its many franchises and locations around the world, while also allowing for some flexibility and innovation in response to local market conditions and customer preferences.

McDonald's organisational structure in the United Kingdom

Above, you were able to see McDonald's organisational structure globally. Although there are some main departments operating in every geographical area, each country can have some additional departments according to its needs. When it comes to the United Kingdom, below the chief executive officer and board of directors, departments are broken into:

• Corporate affairs,
• Marketing,
• Human Resources,
• National operations,
• Regional managers,
• Finance,
• Information,
• Strategic planning.

There are also other functional departments such as legal, customer services, franchising, safety, security and licensing, property and construction, supply chain and restaurant services.

To learn more about the different types of organisational structures, have a look at our explanation of organisational structures.

McDonald's organisational culture

Organisational culture is a collection of organisational shared values and practices that guide employees' actions and behaviours in the organisation. McDonald's organisational culture supports people, learning and diversity which aims to emphasize human resource development, operational efficiency and productivity.

People

The organisational culture of McDonald's prioritises employees' needs and development. Its values reflect the importance of people in the company and aim to support them - which is understandable as McDonald's is operating in the service industry. In doing so, the company promotes the engagement of management to help improve its processes.

Learning

The McDonald's organisational culture supports both individual and organisational learning. It believes that learning enhances productivity, quality and business performance and therefore the company offers various training and development opportunities. Additionally, it applies the knowledge to the organisation through programs and meetings where employees can give and receive feedback and share their knowledge.

Diversity

Diversity and inclusion are also key factors in McDonald's organisational culture. The company outlines the importance of these aspects by optimizing human resources capabilities to deal with the diverse market. It also promotes feedback and conversations between employees, suppliers, franchisees and customers to support these values.

To learn more about the importance of organisational culture in business, have a look at our explanation of managing organisational culture.

In conclusion, both organisational structure and culture have a huge impact on how McDonald's performs and fulfils its mission. The company's core values and its decentralized, tall and product-based structure shape the overall operations of the company.

What type of business is McDonald's?

McDonald's is an American fast-food company.

What Organisational structure is McDonald's?

The company's employees consist of chief executive officer (CEO) Chris Kempczinski at the top and the board of directors. Below that, the company is divided into separate departments such as marketing, sales, finance, restaurant and supply. Each country or area has separate departments with its own country heads, managers and other staff members. All of them together make up the McDonald's organizational structure, a system that outlines how activities are managed in order to achieve the objectives of a business.

Is McDonald's a decentralized organization?

McDonald's has a decentralized organizational structure. A decentralized organizational structure is when lower levels of a business hold the decision power.

How many people are employed by Mcdonald's globally?

According to the most recent data from 2020, McDonald's employs around 200 thousand people all over the World.

What are the functional areas of McDonald's?

The functional areas of McDonald's are the marketing, sales, finance, restaurant, and supply departments.

Is McDonald's centralized or decentralized?

McDonald's organizational structure is a combination of both centralized and decentralized elements. While the company has a clear chain of command and ultimate decision-making authority rests with the CEO and board of directors (a centralized feature), it also allows some decision-making power to regional and store managers (a decentralized feature) to better respond to local market conditions and customer preferences.

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