Introduction
Internships allow students to obtain valuable information regarding actual companies, as well as their approaches to marketing, planning, human resources, and management. Practical implementation of different methods is highly interesting for aspiring specialists aiming at getting relevant experience from large organizations. Premier Restaurants Latvia represents the international fast food market leader McDonald’s in this country, making it a useful example of a successful company. The purpose of this report is to provide an analysis of an internship at Premier Restaurants Latvia in terms of the organization’s approach to marketing, planning, human resources, and management.
Strategic Planning at Premier Restaurants Latvia
In general, Premier Restaurants Latvia is the official representative of the McDonald’s franchise in the Latvian market. It operates thirteen restaurants and eight McDrive points in the country and the number of company’s employees is currently over seven hundred. Being a franchisee of McDonald’s, Premier Restaurants Latvia remains in charge of implementing the company’s vision in its area of business. Therefore, the company must follow the overall strategic plan of the organization in terms of its operations and development. The strategic planning of McDonald’s is aimed at globalization and continuous growth (McDonald’s, n.d.). Such a focus on expansion has led the organization to resounding success worldwide.
The company makes an effort to maintain a quick pace of development while paying attention to the quality, as well as quantity. According to the growth strategy of McDonald’s (n.d.), the organization follows a customer-oriented approach in that it focuses on retaining its current customer base while attracting new clients and regaining those it lost for some reason. This complex objective is achieved by an accurate analysis of customer preferences in order to distinguish successful products and services, as well as add innovative ones. Overall, the experience at Premier Restaurants Latvia reflects the organization’s spirit of growth and innovation, leaving a positive impression of its global strategy.
Recommendations for Premier Restaurants Latvia Operation Improvement
An internship at Premier Restaurants Latvia provides valuable insight into the company’s structure and operations. While the overall business environment can be considered positive, there are several points which, while not crucial, may contribute to the company’s success and development. First of all, the introduction and training of new employees may be improved through more detailed guidelines. In addition, the first stages of internships are not always perfectly organized due to the mentors’ activities in other spheres.
Therefore, increased budget and staffing of the training department will facilitate new workers’ adaptation. On the other hand, the 21st century offers a variety of technological advancements that can be utilized by Premier Restaurants Latvia. Despite the company’s overall young average employee age, including the management, the amount of paperwork can still be reduced through the broader implementation of electronic systems and databases. Overall, the recommendations listed above aim at making the process of introducing new people to the company more efficient.
Human Resources at Premier Restaurants Latvia
Management Psychology
Modern business theories and methods are based on the principle of effective management and leadership. Today’s business environment can be characterized by an extreme level of changeability, which is why organizations must adjust accordingly and implement changes at a high pace. Nevertheless, all alterations in the company’s activities must be timely and accurate. In other words, it is not the presence of change that makes a difference but its precise implementation. In order to have this process contribute to the organization’s growth, there must be thorough prior analysis. Effective utilization of the company’s human resources is an essential component of research and development, but it depends on quality management, as well.
Nowadays, there is an array of examples reflecting the influence strong leadership has on the organization’s success. Such personalities, like Steve Jobs of Apple and Jeff Bezos of Amazon, are cases in point. It is universally accepted that their management style played a role of paramount importance in their companies’ growth. Generally, it is the priority for 21st-century management to inspire each member of their team, keeping the work process effective but taking into account the employees’ interests.
The management of Premier Restaurants Latvia reflects modern tendencies, attempting to conduct business activities in light of the workers’ interests. As mentioned above, the company’s staff counts about seven hundred people, which may not be a large number in comparison to major players worldwide. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that the company is a partner of McDonald’s, an international giant of fast food restaurant business. Therefore, the company’s values are translated to its Latvian partner, which directly affects the work of all seven hundred people. McDonald’s has always paid attention to the psychological aspects of its employees’ work, trying to reduce the level of job-related stress through a positive workplace environment. Premier Restaurants Latvia management follows this principle, and there is a general feeling of recognition present at all positions.
Labor Relationships
At the same time, a positive yet professional workplace environment remains a vital element of productivity. While managers play a crucial role in this respect, workplace relations between peers are just as important. Today’s business environment is highly competitive due to a large number of ambitious candidates for each position. Indeed, not everyone is capable of coping with excessive amounts of stress, making it possible for others to compromise their positions.
Premier Restaurants Latvia offered adequate labor conditions with overall positive workplace relations. Most colleagues and peers were supportive and friendly both within and after working hours. In addition, the company offers a range of outwork activities, comprising corporate meetings during weekends. It positively affects workplace mood and atmosphere, as colleagues are able to establish stronger relations on the personal level and become familiar with one another as human beings. Nevertheless, it rarely attracts more than half of the staff, leaving a large percentage of coworkers outside of social events. As a result, while connection and understanding between some colleagues grow deeper, particular social groups emerge among employees.
Improvement Recommendations
The management of Premier Restaurants Latvia makes an effort to ensure the proper utilization of human resources. The company’s leadership follows global trends in terms of closeness and transparency of decision-making, being able to clearly transmit their ideas to all employees. Furthermore, most workers demonstrate positive responses to the majority of decisions and new initiatives. The company follows the path of McDonald’s global strategy, and encourages all employees’ personal and professional development, allocating substantial funds to this purpose.
Nevertheless, there is room for improvement, as the company sometimes fails to engage most part of the workers in proposed activities during and after work. Positive workplace experience can be further enhanced by a more in-depth analysis of existing processes and issues aiming at distinguishing particular patterns. Strong relations between colleagues, which were mentioned above, exist primarily among employees who have worked at the company for several years. At the same time, new members of the team may at first feel excluded. If this feeling persists, it may negatively affect such people’s experience at Premier Restaurants Latvia and impair their productivity. Management must provide a viable solution to ensure that all employees are equally included in the process through new positive initiatives.
Premier Restaurants Latvia Marketing Assessment
Marketing Environment
Premier Restaurants Latvia exists within a particular marketing environment that makes the company distinct in the country’s market. As a McDonald’s franchisee, the organization is obliged to follow its general marketing direction, while taking into account the particularities of its market. In general, a company’s marketing environment can be examined in terms of internal and external factors. The first group comprises the organization’s assets, production, and human resources, as well as the ways in which they are utilized. Premier Restaurants Latvia has about seven hundred employees, including restaurants and headquarters staff. The company aims at making its facilities attractive to both potential and current customers, ensuring proper maintenance of existing restaurants, and placing new ones at favorable locations.
External factors of the Premier Restaurants Latvia marketing environment are also an area of intense interest, as the company operates in Latvia, which is Baltic State and an emerging European economy. Until the 1990s, the country was part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and, despite substantial progress over the last three decades, that period left a mark in the country’s business landscape.
Nowadays, Latvia has become an integral part of Western society, but the influence of the former USSR persists in the marketing environment. Data by the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (2020) indicates a large percentage of former USSR citizens in the country (Table 1). Therefore, any company aiming at successful business activities in Latvia must take into account the USSR-influenced customers that remain a substantial portion of the market. As far as the company’s marketing environment is concerned, it is substantially complex and particular, which requires a specific approach to campaigns.
Table 1. Usually resident population by ethnicity at the beginning of the year (Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, 2020).
Marketing Management Process
Being the representative of McDonald’s operations in the country, Premier Restaurants Latvia pays much attention to marketing management and conducts it in the same direction as the original company. The organization’s marketing managers constantly work on developing new strategies and analyzing the market. As mentioned above, the Latvian market is unusual in terms of its demographic variables, which is why marketing research remains a complex task and poses several challenges.
First of all, the primary objective of the company’s campaigns is to encompass as much of the nation’s population as possible. Therefore, the campaign in question must remain appealing to various social groups that differ in terms of their origins, ethnicities, and political views. The organization’s marketing department works in close cooperation with the McDonald’s headquarters in order to ensure that all its activities correspond with both local and global strategies.
Premier Restaurants Latvia carries out is marketing management process following several steps. First, the company gathers statistical data utilizing its vast research capabilities in the forms of surveys, as well as marketing and sales analysis. The promotion of new products and services is always based on the organization’s experience. This approach is related to the general vision of McDonald’s in terms of preserving the current customer base while creating favorable conditions for attracting new ones. Whenever new initiatives or seasonal products are launched, Premier Restaurants Latvia carefully examines the situation and reports it to McDonald’s. Overall, this process proves to be fruitful, and its nature correlates with the McDonald’s vision implemented in many markets across the globe.
Marketing Strategy
Similarly to McDonald’s itself, Premier Restaurants Latvia presents itself as a progressive and innovative company that cherishes its traditions and experiences, while being ready to venture in the field of innovations. As it is known, McDonald’s always underlines the company’s willingness to cooperate with and support local markets and suppliers. Following that strategy, Premier Restaurants Latvia focuses on collaboration with the country’s farmers and food industry. Its marketing strategy, in this respect, highlights the organization’s contribution to Latvia’s economy in terms of new jobs and state-of-the-art facilities. The purpose of this strategy is to ensure that the company is well received in the country, which is another priority for McDonald’s.
Indeed, the brand is often associated with the United States of America and the misconceptions regarding fast food. Whenever the company enters a market, there are always the public’s concerns that it will negatively affect local industries. In addition, there are prejudices regarding fast food in general, as it is believed to be extremely unhealthy. McDonald’s marketing strategy in Latvia carried out through Premier Restaurants Latvia, aims at creating an image of an environmentally friendly company offering products of local manufacturers.
Besides, the organization relies on familiar brands and positive associations when it comes to retaining its existing customer base. Clients who visit McDonald’s restaurants in Latvia are expected to form their own preferences of familiar dishes. Such preferences are examined by the company’s marketing department and used in future campaigns.
Improvement Recommendations
Premier Restaurants Latvia demonstrates excellent results in the field of marketing activities, which is justified by the influence of its franchisor. The company’s general direction almost entirely corresponds with McDonald’s marketing strategy. Moreover, it is based on the same principles of being affordable, familiar, supportive of local markets, and environmentally friendly. Such an approach appeals to the young and progressive audience of Latvia, bringing positive results in terms of sales revenues. Nevertheless, while this strategy responds to today’s global tendencies, it may not encompass all potential customers across the country.
As mentioned above, some aspects of Latvia remain influenced by its Soviet heritage, which is especially true for older generations. In the case of McDonald’s, this age group is particularly resistant to the company’s products, which are fueled by myths surrounding the fast-food industry. Premier Restaurants Latvia should analyze the views of the social group in question and attempt to attract them, as well. This can be achieved through alternative marketing campaigns aiming at fighting the prejudices and letting such people know that becoming a customer of Premier Restaurants Latvia would not contradict their philosophies.
Premier Restaurants Latvia Compliance Principles
Being a multinational company, McDonald’s pays much attention to local legislation in all of the markets where it is present. Premier Restaurants Latvia aims at making sure that the companies’ activities do not violate Latvian laws in the fields of business, restaurant industry, service, and others. At the same time, the company highlights the importance of internal regulations, as well. Premier Restaurants Latvia follows the principles established by McDonald’s in its divisions worldwide. The company remains committed to ethical business activities and stands strongly against any violations of both internal and external laws (McDonald’s, n.d.).
The company’s effective internal policies encompass all areas of work and regulate customer interactions and cooking procedures, as well as global issues. As for internal affairs, McDonald’s stands strongly against any sort of discrimination, harassment, or abuse, as the organization promotes equality and inclusiveness in all areas. Additionally, the company supports global anti-corruption policies, encouraging good faith and respect in all of its employees. Overall, all of McDonald’s codes and regulations remain in effect in the case of Premier Restaurants Latvia, and all workers must abide by these principles.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Premier Restaurants Latvia is a unique company, which represents McDonald’s, a worldwide leader of the fast-food industry, in the local market. Strong relations with the franchisor allow the organization to effectively implement its strategic vision in light of the Latvian market particularities. The company promotes a healthy and positive workplace environment, which is reflected in the everyday work process. Generally, Premier Restaurants Latvia can be characterized by strong leadership and increased attention to human resource utilization. Additionally, it promotes a customer-oriented approach to business and marketing, focusing on the image of a modern, progressive company. Evidently, Premier Restaurants Latvia still has room for improvement in several directions, but its current principles positively characterize the company, making it a suitable employment opportunity.
References
Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (2020). Usually resident population by ethnicity at the beginning of the year. Web.
McDonald’s. (n.d.). Codes of conduct. Web.
McDonald’s. (n.d.). Our growth strategy. Web.