8 ‘McAunties' and ‘McUncles'

The major players in the global fast-food industry are multinational corporations. This chapter focuses on one such multinational: the McDonald's Corporation. McDonald's has led the way in developing the modern fast-food industry in Singapore and is currently the market leader. We examine whether or not and if so to what extent McDonald's has been able to impose its home based labour relations practices in Singapore. It is generally accepted that the McDonald's menu, machinery, restaurant design and service system appear to be fairly standarized all over the world (Leidner, 1993; Ritzer, 1996). However, less obvious to the public eye are the company's training programmes, organizational structures and management and labour relations practices; to what extent are these matters standardized across the globe? The logic of standardization can be understood as a form of rational organizational centralization where for reasons of profit maximization, McDonald's retains control over thousands of franchises and company-owned restaurants. It does this through careful monitoring of processes and practices ensuring adherence to the corporation's system. ¹ However, all global practices come up against social, economic and political structures in each society and country, where there may be unique (and sometimes incompatible) cultures, laws and practices. Royle's (2000) study suggests that, despite the diverse systems of labour relations in Europe, McDonald's has to a large extent been able to impose its host country system regardless of varying societal frameworks. In this light, this chapter analyses the case of McDonald's restaurants in Singapore in the period between 1979 and 1999.