1. Review the data collection methods described on pages 7-12. Which of these are appropriate for McDonald 's?
Due to the fact that McDonald 's is such a large company with over $20 billion in total annual revenues and more than 30,000 stores in 118 countries (Groebner, Shannon, Fry, p. 30), they must employ several different methods of data collection to assist the company 's management in making sound business decisions. Vice president of U.S. Menu Management for McDonald 's, Wade Thoma, says "When you 're as large as we are, we can 't run the business on simple gut instinct. We rely heavily on all kinds of statistical data to help us determine whether our products are meeting customer expectations, when products need to be …show more content…
Describe the type of data (Quantitative, Qualitative, time-series, cross-sectional) and measurement levels (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio) for McDonalds (based on the video) following the descriptions given between pages 20 -25 and under MyStatLab online course materials. McDonalds uses quantitative data to determine customer service times using information from the equipment within the restaurant. Quantitative data consist of “data values expressed in purely numerical terms such as in dollars, pounds, inches, or percentages” (Groebner, Shannon, Fry, p. 20.) This data would be considered time series as it is “data values observed at intervals over time” (Groebner, Shannon, Fry, p. 21.) McDonalds main concern is that they can provide quality service to its consumers in a set amount of time. The time it takes to serve customer at a counter or using the drive through would be examined and compared to a standard of time that should be met. These data would be considered interval data because “the distance between two data items can be measured on some scale and the data have ordinal properties” (Groebner, Shannon, Fry, p. 22.) However, McDonald’s also uses quantitative data to evaluate whether or not new equipment can be used by determining the length of time it takes to serve a customer using said equipment. This type of data collected cross-sectional because it “the data relates to a fixed point in time” (Groebner, Shannon, Fry, p. 21.) The data collected …show more content…
Qualitative data consists of “data whose measurement scale is inherently categorical” (Groebner, Shannon, Fry, p. 20.) This data is descriptive rather than numerical. The results of a focus group’s meeting would be considered cross-sectional but the comparison of surveys over a year would be considered time-series. The use of many types of data series assists McDonalds in its analysis of operations. The surveys, focus groups and one on one interviews would include nominal data such as age, sex, marital status as well as ordinal data in that “data elements can be rank-ordered on the basis of some relationship among them, with the assigned values indicating this order” (Groebner, Shannon, Fry, p. 22.) Most surveys have some form of ordinal data that requires the user to make a choice based on a scale from good to bad. McDonalds then analyzes the data received and uses the ordinal data to make decisions based on its customers