The Practice of Corporate Sanitation in the Fast Food Industry

Abstract

This study was conducted to provide a picture of how the fast food industry viewed corporate sanitation as a factor of organizational effectiveness. Organizational effectiveness, as described by the respondents, is the ability to accomplish goals. One of the major goals considered by the fast food industry was strict adherence to rules and regulations set by the company and the government. Considering the fast foods’ nature of operations, it was regarded necessary for them to put premium on cleanliness and sanitation, which are considered as two of the most important rules and regulations they should observe. The study employed one-shot interview to allow for an extensive collection and examination of a great deal of qualitative data on the concept of corporate sanitation in the fast food industry. The study focused on the Top Fast Foods in the Philippines based on the research conducted by the Center for Food and Agri Business of the University of Asia and the Pacific. The dominant key players in the fast food industry are the following: (1) Jollibee, (2) McDonald's, (3) Wendy's, (4) Kentucky Fried Chicken, (5) Kenny Rogers, (6) Shakey's, (7) Pizza Hut, (8) Greenwich, and (9) Chowking. Burger King was added as the top ten fast food since it is included among the famous fast foods in the quick service restaurant industry. The respondents for the study were the store managers. They were selected based on convenience sampling in which the selection was based on availability and accessibility of the store manager. The trade-off made for ease of sample abstention in using this sampling scheme is the representativeness of the sample. The information elicited, however, provided quite significant insights. All the interviews were transcribed for data analysis. After collecting all the data needed, the information were sorted into categories (conceptual clusters) to have a set of organized ideas. All key concepts were put in a master data sheet to aid in identifying consistent themes or concepts. Majority of the respondents perceived organizational effectiveness as effectiveness in specific aspects of the organization such as good management of people, appropriateness of the placements in the organization, and having good communication, and balance in the systems. They failed to see organizational effectiveness in terms of goal accomplishment by which the remaining four respondents used to describe organizational effectiveness. Managers attached importance to having healthy and self-actualized workers (happy, satisfied, and excellent workforce) making it a primary factor of their organizational effectiveness. This workforce must adhere to the rules and regulations of the organization to achieve good customer relations and excellent operations. While some managers were convinced that organizational members must adhere to the rules and regulations first before they can achieve good customer relations and excellent operations, other managers believed otherwise. They perceived these factors (good customer relations, excellent operations, and adherence to rules and regulations) on equal ground or level of importance primarily because these fast foods do not possess a solid sanitation framework or program to be observed (e.g. FSC, CHAMPS, QSC, QSCH). In the fast food industry, sanitation is definitely an implicit factor of organizational effectiveness. Sanitation was a factor of organizational effectiveness although not specifically stated by the respondents. Moreover, fast food managers did not have a full understanding of the concept of corporate sanitation since their descriptions of the term vary a lot from what is used to be a legal concept, thereby producing two non-purely legal dimensions: moral and metaphorical.