‘Fast nutrient for a fast universe ‘ ( Schlosser, 1998 ) – the fast nutrient industry has, over the old ages, experienced rapid growing and expanded at a breathtaking rate, with McDonald ‘s as the chief force behind the success of this industry. With over two million people being employed by McDonald ‘s across 118 states in the twelvemonth of 2002, there has to be many employment dealingss policies and patterns in topographic point, to guarantee net incomes despite the immense labor costs incurred.

This essay will research assorted facets of work and employment dealingss on the direction, and employees ‘ side, to compare and contrast the similarities and differences between the fast nutrient industry in Singapore with the fast nutrient industry in Germany and the United States ( US ) .

Basic employment patterns was similar amongst the three states, but Singapore ‘s employees in the fast nutrient industry get to bask more favorable on the job conditions due to its Human Resource Management and Torahs imposed by its authorities.

This essay will be utilizing the market leader of the fast nutrient industry, McDonald ‘s, as the cardinal illustration throughout the comparison and contrasting of work and employment dealingss across the three states.

THE MANAGEMENT

The direction of McDonald ‘s in its beginnings at the US, enjoys great freedom in set uping the footings and conditions of employment for its employees. This is due to its highly low rates of unionisation and minimum intercession from the federal and province authoritiess. ( Leidner, 2002 ) Employers in the US may by and large disregard any employee ‘at will ‘ , at any clip, for any ground, or even for no ground, with no legal duty of equity to the employees ( Leidner, 2002 ) . There is great instability in the power of employers and workers in McDonald ‘s at US, where employers have all the freedom to make up one’s mind its employment footings and conditions.

Some signifiers of Human Resource Management ( HRM ) were used in McDonald ‘s at the US. Work-evaluation Sessionss, incentive systems etc. work were what they would mention to as employees ‘ benefits, instead than supplying important stuff advantages. These policies are intended to advance squad spirit, energize workers, yet create the feeling that the direction is attentive to workers ‘ concerns ( Leidner, 2002 ) .

The direction in the US takes the unitarist attack and do non believe in trade brotherhoods. The direction was anti-union, and took on a strong and determined resistance against any Acts of the Apostless of unionisation within its company.

Like the US, McDonald ‘s direction in Germany adopts the same unitarist attack of non desiring the trade brotherhoods to be involved in their employment dealingss. Royle & A ; Towers ( 2002 ) stated that ‘McDonald ‘s early attack to brotherhoods and statutory signifiers of worker representation was hostile ‘ . This ill will shows a similarity between the German and US directions ‘ mentalities of being anti-union.

Unlike the US, although it was non compulsory for employees to fall in a trade brotherhood, it was a norm in Germany to hold plants council. Works council were given extended rights to information, audience and co-determination supported by the jurisprudence in Germany, and they can positively find employees ‘ working conditions ( Royle & A ; Towers, 2002 ) . ‘The German system provides workers with statutory rights to representation through plants councils at the workplace, and through supervisory boards at council chamber degree in larger houses ‘ ( Royle & A ; Towers, 2002 p.1 ) . Work council members besides enjoy some signifiers of protection against dismissal. These show the strong importance of plants councils and trade brotherhoods, in other words, employees ‘ rights and say, in the German employment jurisprudence and civilization, which is different from the US, of being more in favor of the employers.

Due to the norms and employment civilization in Germany, the stance and steps which McDonald ‘s took in non desiring brotherhoods and work councils to be involved, led to many unfavorable judgments from the brotherhoods and the populace. All these unfavorable judgments led to unwanted promotion, which finally made McDonald ‘s at Germany, despite non being supportive of trade brotherhoods and works councils, make up one’s mind to switch its policy. A new employers ‘ federation was established, and dialogues for a corporate understanding were made. The direction was no longer outspokenly anti-union in Germany. ( Royle & A ; Towers, 2002 ) This alteration in policy is a important difference between its direction and that of the US and Singapore.

However, even with the alteration of policy, the German direction, was still anti-union internally. They frequently delay plants council activities, and employ other indirect agencies to marginalise employees who join such plants council to seek for their rights, and do life hard for them. Examples are, directors will post menaces or really disregard those employees, despite the province protection from unlawful dismissal of employees ( Royle & A ; Towers, 2002 ) . Directors would besides change the work hours of such ‘undesirable ‘ employees such that they can merely work a certain peculiar displacement, or be scheduled really few working hours and finally take to discontinue the occupation due to miss of a stable income. Such a scenario is really similar to the US direction, who will non engage “ pro-union ” employees, and arrange hapless scheduling for such employees.

In Singapore, employment Torahs were by and large similar to the US in being “ pro-employer ” ( Pereira, 2002 ) . The Industrial Relations Act gave more authorization to employers in go forthing the determination of factors such as publicity, retrenchment, dismissal and work assignment between the employer and employee ( Pereira, 2002 ) , with no intervention from trade brotherhoods.

However, employees in Singapore, unlike those in the US, were besides protected by the jurisprudence despite the “ pro-employer ” prejudice. Unlike the jurisprudence in Germany which protects the rights of employees through their support for plants council, the employment jurisprudence in Singapore straight provided for equal sum of working hours, foliages and overtime wages of employees. Unlike the US, McDonald ‘s in Singapore adopted a disciplinary system – company had to ab initio give one verbal warning, followed by one written warning before dismissal could take topographic point for non-criminal Acts of the Apostless ( Pereira, 2002 ) . Hence, McDonald ‘s employees in Singapore are more well-taken attention of than their American and German opposite numbers.

Similar to the US and Germany, Singapore ‘s direction took the unitarist attack, whereby Bolshevism of brotherhoods was non preferred ( Pereira, 2002 ) . Like the US and Germany, the province did non do it compulsory for employees to fall in labour brotherhoods. Although unionization rates in Singapore, like in Germany, were comparatively high, the fast nutrient industry did non lend to these figures. As such, Singapore was able to present its ain HRM programme to further employee trueness and to maintain its employees satisfied through individualising employee dealingss ( Pereira, 2002 ) . However, in world, ‘individual bargaining and dialogue of employment footings and conditions is merely available to really few who are based at central offices ; otherwise, the corporation determines every facet of the footings of employment and its broader conditions ‘ ( Pereira, 2002 p.7 ) . This is the same for the US, whereby employees do non hold much say over their employment conditions since most were decided by the company.

However, Singapore ‘s direction, unlike the US and Germany, was more concerned about maintaining the crew satisfied, as they believe that ‘without them the eating houses merely could non work ‘ ( Pereira, 2002 p.10 ) . Although like the US and Germany, Singapore does non truly honor the employees through stuff advantages, they organized many activities through their HRM programme to do employees happy to work for McDonalds. The stance of the importance of maintaining employees satisfied, together with the province ‘s employment ordinances of equal work hours and foliages, allowed the employees in Singapore to profit more than the other states.

THE EMPLOYEES

A typical worker in an American fast-food eating house is a immature adult female who works part-time. The work force in McDonalds at US was dominated by the immature and inexperient, with 70 % of its employees being young person. Fast nutrient occupation were seen as appropriate first labour-force experience for them. The debut of the ‘welfare reform ‘ in the United states opened up occupations for many hapless individual female parents. Employers can gain revenue enhancement credits for engaging such workers, therefore increasing the pool of possible fast nutrient workers.

Employees ‘ working conditions in the US were hapless ; they were low paid, no benefits, and minimum or hapless calling promotion chances were made available to them. Employees experience unpredictable work hours and displacements, which affect their day-to-day life style, and consequences in the deficiency of a fixed and stable income. As employees do non see their occupations in McDonald ‘s as one that they intend to work for long, they would go forth the occupation at McDonald ‘s for a better paying occupation elsewhere, alternatively of forming trade brotherhoods to contend for their rights. Hence, labour turnover rates in McDonald ‘s at US was high.

Degree of item in work specification in the US was unusually high. McDonald ‘s can be classified under the ‘Post-fordism ‘ work class with its great preciseness in the day-to-day responsibilities. Due to the extremely specified and standardized modus operandis, the occupation Scopess of employees were by and large easy. This led to low outlooks for the occupation, and was one of the grounds why the employees accept the low wage and hapless on the job conditions. However, even with such apparently easy occupation modus operandis, employees had to work in pressurized on the job conditions, as directors tend to ‘understaff ‘ their displacements agendas so as to cut down on labor costs.

The German work force, like the US, was made up of portion clip employees, who are non dependent on the company for support and those who do non mean to remain on the occupation for long, illustrations are 2nd income earners and pupils. Therefore, like the US, the Germans experienced high labour turnover rates, whereby employees leave their occupations at McDonald ‘s for a higher paying occupation, alternatively of traveling through the fuss of contending for their rights. Unlike the US, the German work force was made up of big figure of foreign workers, economic migrators and guest workers. ( Royle & A ; Towers, 2002 ) . Employees work conditions are really similar to the US, with low wage, no benefits, and hapless calling promotion.

The work force in Singapore was made up of teenage crews, who were subsequently replaced by ‘older ‘ portion clip crew comprising of the retired persons and homemakers. This was a different group of employees as compared to the US and Germany. ‘The older crew frequently stressed that the occupation needed them more than they needed the occupation ‘ ( Pereira, 2002 ) . Many of them would take to go forth the company one time they were dissatisfied, as the ground why they choose to work, was non so much for fiscal wagess, but to remain healthy, pass clip productively and keep societal dealingss with others. This group of employees, unlike the work force in Germany and US, are more likely to maintain their occupation for a long tally, every bit long as they were happy working at that place.

Employees ‘ work conditions in Singapore were by and large better than those in US and Germany. The get downing wages for the crew were somewhat higher than the ‘market rate ‘ . Employees were entitled to benefits such as one-year paid leave, medical benefits and one-year fillips. This is really different from the employees at US and Germany, who do non have any benefits. The HRM programme in Singapore besides kept crews satisfied through its assorted signifiers of fringe benefits, benefits, inducements and parties. The older crews were good taken attention of by the direction through particular attending and greater forbearance for them. ( Pereira, 2002 ) This was really different from the US, which do non care for their employees at all.

The Singapore direction takes attempt in assuring better calling chances for its employees, such as by doing the employees feel more ‘professional ‘ . However, in world, calling promotions were by and large hapless like that in US and Germany, where limited calling promotions to work in the central offices were given.

Decision

Basic employment patterns and conditions like giving low wage and minimum benefits, and the greater say of employers, was really similar amongst the three states. The important difference between Singapore ‘s employees in the fast nutrient industry and those in Germany and US, is that they get to bask more favorable on the job conditions due to its HRM stance on maintaining employees satisfied through other non-material advantages means, every bit good as the Torahs imposed by its authorities, which guarantee fairer wages and working hours systems.