In 2019 McDonalds fired its CEO Steve Easterbrook and its Chief People Officer, David Fairhurst, also left the company. What started off as a single event led to a whole can of worms being opened with far reaching consequences.
Explain:
The events that lead to Easterbrook’s dismissal.
The events and revelations that were made after his departure about him, Fairhurst and also sexual harassment in general at McDonalds.
How the above statement about leadership commitment can be linked to the ethical organisational culture at McDonalds that lead to this unfortunate state of affairs.
The eventual fallout for Easterbrook.
The fallout for McDonalds.
What now?
Explain what McDonalds did/promised to do about the situation
According to McDonalds they could not act on many of the sexual harassment complaints, and they also could not be sued by the victims. What was their reason for this?
Do you think this was a valid point or just an excuse? Motivate your answer How and why is the situation set to change in 2022?
In your studies you learned about institutionalisation of ethics in an organisation. Identify two ways that can be used to institutionalise ethics that McDonalds did not follow.
You have to support your answer with examples.