Question 2.1.

a) Flexible work structures are when firms use fewer core staff to improve their flexibility. Like in
McDonald’s case, most of the workers there are part-time, consisting of mainly students and
women.
b) Since most of McDonald’s workers are part-time, this enables them to operate for 24 hours.
Workers don’t actually have to be working for 24 hours straight, but there will be change of
shifts so workers won’t be as tired during work hours. This can enable the firm to cater for peak
and off-peak times. Having part time workers can lower the absenteeism rate rather than
employing full-time workers, especially when McDonald’s operate for 24 hours. Workers who
have to work for long hours may feel exhausted after working and when they come in for work
the next day, they won’t be focused on their work and can reduce the efficiency of the firm. This
can lead to slow orders, where customers may complain because of it and McDonald’s image
may be slightly damaged.
c) If McD’s hires flexible staff, they will constantly have to take time out to interview and hire new
staff because flexible staff. They might not invest on training their workers as much because
they are mostly working part-time anyways, there is no guarantee they will be staying with the
firm for the long term. Investing in training part-time workers will only be a waste in money as
they can use that money in other aspects of the business. They will be able to replace staff easily
and hire cheap staff who only want to work certain hours a week, which fits perfect for
McDonalds who want to hire cheap students and teenagers. They may only focus on training
their core staff and retaining them, key employees who have outstanding performances will be
paid higher. There is also less likely to be a traditional organisation structure, with an increase of
part-time staff. McDonalds may also start recruiting more flexible workers, in terms of location,
working hours and skills.

Question 2.1.7

a) To outsource is the practice of transferring internal business activities to an external firm as a

method of reducing costs. In Ashmount Primary School, they are a London based school but
transferred their operations to India.
b) Transferring their operations to India is beneficial for being more cost effective because costs in
India, such as rent or salary, may be relatively lower than in London. This way, they can provide
better services at a lower cost. Since India has a lower standard of living compared to London,
outsourcing to India may improve the standards of living of the people there. Employing a
private tutor costs way more than just signing up for an online class like what Ashmount is
offering. However, the initial movement of the firm may cost them a lot of money as they need
to transfer their employees to another country which is far away.