Evaluate the root causes and relevant factors (internal business environment) contributing to the main problems that you identified?

            It has been mentioned earlier that there are two root causes behind the problematic situation faced by the company. The first problem is the wrong decision made by John to go with downsizing and decrease the number of employees to deal with financial struggle. Moreover, the other major issue is the perception and wrong judgment of John, which is not based on any logic and creating lot of confusion as well as panic amongst company’s employees. These root causes are making the situation worse for the company and things are really going in wrong direction.

 Explain at least two causes using relevant management and OB concepts.

        The first major cause of the situation, which forced John to go with downsizing, is decrease in the consumer demand. But there was no thorough evaluation made by the company to assert that consumer demand is the actual problem, and it needs to be dealt with downsizing. It is a fact that when decisions are made on the basis of logic and rational, they are more likely to get better assessment and results. It happens because when rational decisions are made, they not only backed up with logic, but they are also reviewed in a context of the situation, which allows looking at all relevant factors of the actual situation (Vlaev 2018). So, it is crucial for John to assess the situation properly and identify the fact that why consumers’ demand has decreased with the passage of time. This is how a right decision-making approach can be adopted in next business processes.

        The leadership abilities of John also having big question mark in this situation, and major root cause. The leader stand firm in his/her approach and takes steps, which have encouragement and motivation as the biggest driving forces. But in this case, the situation is totally opposite as John has communicated the downsizing message to employees in a way that it is not only discouraging, but also creating a lot of panic as well as confusions in mind of the employees. They are not sure that what John is trying to achieve by doing so without having any concrete logic behind the decision. The leader’s role is that when company is going through tough times and situation is going nowhere, then leader must show his strong leadership abilities to motivate as well as encourage employees. A leader must remain his door open for discussion and suggestions so that employees’ feedback can be taken, and they feel that they are valued by their organization. The stress of a leader should not travel to the minds of employees; rather leaders should handle this stress and show strong character (Bhattcharyya 2017)

References of   contributing to the main problems that you identified

Bhattcharyya, Rica. 2017. How to Motivate Workers in Tough Times. Accessed April 1, 2019. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/how-to-motivate-staff-in-tough-times/articleshow/56881643.cms?from=mdr.

emirates247.com. 2019. 5 major problems that McDonald's is facing. april 1.

GREGORY, LAWRENCE. 2017. McDonald’s Operations Management, 10 Decisions, Productivity. feb 05.

Heracleous, Loizos Th. 1994. "Rational Decision Making: Myth or Reality?" Management Development Review 7 (4): 16-23.

Lupo, Lisa. 2007. [Best Practices] The Quality 'Cs' of McDonald's. june 29. https://www.qualityassurancemag.com/article/-best-practices--the-quality--cs--of-mcdonald-s/.

Ovenden, James. 2019. McDonald's’ Supply Chain Success Shows The Benefits Of Collaboration. https://channels.theinnovationenterprise.com/articles/mcdonalds-supply-chain-success-shows-the-benefits-of-collaboration.

Quain, Sampson. 2019. The Decision-Making Process in an Organization. Accessed March 31, 2019. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/decisionmaking-process-organization-21532.html.

Simon, Herbert A. 1979. "Rational Decision Making in Business Organizations." American Economic Review 69 (4): 493-513.

thomas, rachel. 2014. How Digital Technology is Changing McDonald’s Structure, Offer and Customer Relationships. april 17. https://www.business2community.com/digital-marketing/digital-technology-changing-mcdonalds-structure-offer-customer-relationships-0851153.

ukeaasys.com. 2016. Innovation and Technology Strategies of Mcdonalds. 12 5.

ukessays.com. 2016. Quality and Systems Management in McDonalds. 12 5. https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/quality-and-systems-management-in-mcdonalds-business-essay.php.

Vlaev, Ivo. 2018. "Local Choices: Rationality and the Contextuality of Decision-Making." Brain Sciences 8 (1): 1-22.