[Internal Channels of Communication with Employees in McDonalds]

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would first like to express my gratitude for my research supervisor, colleagues, peers and family whose immense and constant support has been a source of continuous guidance and inspiration.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that the following dissertation/thesis and its entire content has been an individual, unaided effort and has not been submitted or published before. Furthermore, it reflects my opinion and take on the topic and is does not represent the opinion of the University.

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Abstract

In this study the concept of internal channels of communication in a holistic context is discussed in detail. The main focus of the research is on McDonalds and its relation with employees. The research will also analyse many aspects of channels used for internal communication and its strategies and will try to gauge its effect on the motivation and performance of employee and which channels are perceived as best for the communication.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTii

DECLARATIONiii

Abstractiv

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION1

Brief Introduction of Communication1

Role of Internal Communication and its Channels in Multinational Organisation2

History and Overview of Internal Communications4

Case Organisation7

Research Objectives and Questions8

Research Scope and importance9

The Impact of Technological Advances on Internal Communication11

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW16

The Role of Technology16

"Push" versus "Pull" Communication17

SIDEBAR - Push vs. Pull Communication18

Employees' Preferred Method by Topic19

The Four Push and Pull Variables20

Technology-based Communication Channels21

Intranets22

Mass E-mails23

E-newsletters23

Company's external Web site24

Interactive Technology25

Video26

Print as a Conventional Communication Method28

Face-to-Face Communication Channels29

One-on-one Conversations31

Meetings: Collaborative, town hall-style and briefing32

Collaborative meetings32

Town-hall style meetings33

Briefing meetings35

Supervisor briefing cards38

Video/satellite conferencing and broadcasting39

Communication Channels41

Oral Communication41

Written Communication42

Nonverbal Communication42

Importance of Effective Internal communication43

Employee-Employer relationship44

Communication on Stress Management45

Communication in Change Management47

Barriers to Effective Communication49

Selection of Channels of Communication50

CHAPTER 03: CASE STUDY - MCDONALDS51

Company Overview51

Case52

CHAPTER 04: METHODOLOGY54

Research Design54

Interviews54

Secondary Data Collection57

Literature Search58

Limitations58

Reliability and Validity58

Generalisability59

Ethical Considerations60

CHAPTER 05: DISCUSSION62

Differing Internal Communication Methods between Small Companies and Large Corporations62

Who Should Be the Face in Face-to-Face Communication?64

Supervisors - When the communication topic is business as usual65

Communicating Major Organizational Change Face-to-Face68

When Face-to-Face Is Not Possible75

Interview Analysis76

CHAPTER 06: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS79

Summary of Literature Review79

Conclusion80

Recommendations81

References83

Appendices87

Interview87

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

Brief Introduction of Communication

Communication in our life is not a new word as it begins with the born of a child. It is one of the foremost key elements which are needed in each and every aspect of life i.e. day to day activities. Indeed, it can be considered as the most critical element for modernising our primitive society to this stage. Various scholars define communication in their own way, but most of them have a common view towards it where they defined communication as “the process of transmitting information from one person to another” (Griffin, 2007, p.316; Williams, p.379; Phillips and Gully, 2008, p.248). In today's technological age, flow of information is very much essential whether it is in personal life or business and this flow of information is called communication in simple words. In this business era, communication is becoming imperative of our business process without which it cannot be thought. With the increasing competitiveness of business, the straight forward meaning of communication is gradually replaced by the effective communication day ...