An Ethnographic Study of a Subway Restaurant Essay Example

of a multi complex building sharing its location with Sainsbury’s and Gregs, the building also faces the main road as its easily visible by people driving by, and it also has large windows so people inside the building get a good view of what’s going on outside as well. The building has stairs and also has disability facilities.

The decor is mainly green with wooden tables and tiled floors; I think it aims at giving a healthy atmosphere aura to the place. It’s a pretty small restaurant with few places to sit. The serving area is right in front of the restaurant with all the food options laid out strategically in an effort to speed up the service. After some research I found that the decor is pretty standard for any subway branch. Subway Restaurant Bradford: Description Most people come in and head straight to the counter, usually individuals or in groups of two’s and three’s.

The people who come in groups usually sit and eat their meals at the venue engaging in various conversations whilst the people who eat there alone tend to occupy themselves with magazines etc. People seemed to be dressed casually for the most part, usually students from the university which is really close by. Lunch time was the busiest as there was a flooding in of a variety of people from different ethnic backgrounds and different ages. People ranged from office workers dressed in suit and ties, students probably from a nearby college dressed in uniform and little kids who come along with their parents.

The place was sort of overcrowded due to the small venue, the queue stretched all the way to

the door, although the three members of staff working at the time seemed to do a pretty good job of serving everyone quickly. Most people present in the area seemed to be Asian and Middle Eastern descent and everyone seemed to relate really well with each other. The staff was also Asian and seemed to be friendly as they engaged in conversation with customers whenever they could.

Most people also seemed to go for the meal deals, probably because of the layout of the food and the customer loyalty cards which gives people and incentive (they get discounts and free meals when they accumulate a certain number of points). Overview of Globalisation The effects of globalisation are many and are “reflected in regard to trading in goods and services and in the movement of capital, labour and employment, environment. ” (Hartungi, 2006. p. 728). It can be defined as “a process of increasing connectivity, where ideas, capital, goods, services and people are transferred across country borders. ” (PRUS, 2001).

This on-going process spans a “gradual integration of economies and societies driven by new technologies, new economic relationships and the national and international policies of a wide range of actors, including governments, international organisations, business, labour and civil society” (Gunter & van der Hoeven, 2004, p. v). Globalisation is a multi-faceted concept and can be viewed either critically or as a functionalist. The latter would see globalisation as the “growing integration of economies and societies around the world as a result of flows of goods and services, capital, people, and ideas” (Dollar, 2001, p. ).

Communication technologies and commercial development have created a global cultural code, where for example,

a foreign exchange merchant can monitor the flow of currency in Europe just as easily as he can monitor the ones in Asia. A key determinant of globalisation is the increasing role of international trade across nations and also the increase in MNEs, between 1985 and 2002, trade integration grew faster than world Output in GDP – the former slightly more than tripled, the latter less than tripled (Gunter & van der Hoeven, 2004, p. ) – while the world’s flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) increased 10 times in the same period (2004, p. 6).

The liberal view on globalisation was that it was supposed to be mutually beneficial to both developed and developing nations i. e. create a win-win effect. Enthusiasts argued that there would be a transfer of technology, undermining of elite privilege and that globalisation would contribute to the general economic growth of nations. On the contrary, taking a more critical view on the effects of globalisation, the findings seem to differ.

The fact is that globalisation is pretty much centralised on only a few countries run by a handful of governments. China and India, For example, have been the only two countries to realise any advancements in terms of development and poverty eradication through globalisation, whilst trade openness has led to a rise in income inequalities and generally very uneven gains in the South American regions. And one entire continent, Africa, has actually become more marginalised (Tsikata, 2001, p. 12).

The governmental and economic institutions of the developing countries, especially the latter, put them at a disadvantage where weak political, economic and legal structures led to wide spread corruption, conflict and insecurity. Whereas,

developed countries already had good infrastructures coupled with high levels of skilled labour, managerial competence and advanced technology making it almost impossible for developing countries to compete. For example, the Japanese government vs. Indonesian government car industry case at the WTO Kompas, 19 July 1999 ed. ).

Anti-globalisation activists also argued labour and employment where being exploited, developing countries had to reduce their wage rates in other to attract MNC investment, For example, Nike invests in Indonesia, Vietnam and China due to their low wage costs and excess labour. Intellectual property rights regulations do not favour developing countries either; evidence is seen in the technological and pharmaceutical industries (higher cost of obtaining goods).

Internationalisation from an organisational standpoint is carried out using one of these four approaches; Selling: Export strategy, Licensing and franchising, subcontracting and overseas production. Management of a MNE has become easier due to improvements in communication and transportation technologies. A manager can now monitor the progress of goods being delivered from china to the USA in real time, they can plan ahead and speed up delivery and they can also communicate with factories as often or as urgently as they need to.

The most important challenge for an MNC located in different countries around the world comes from cultural differences. The values and beliefs that people hold about their work and their society differ from country to country. Point being that an organisation cannot motivate its employees in Tokyo the same way it motivates its employees in Germany, Leadership roles in Russia differs from roles in the United Kingdom and the same also goes for consumers as well, the tastes and beliefs of consumers are

different all over the world and an organisation has to adapt in order to market its presence effectively.

Problems also arise from differences in government laws (e. g. tax rates, import/export duties, subsides, infrastructure, wage rates etc). I am now going to show a relationship between some of the globalisation theories stated above and a company like subway, and how they have been able to adapt and contribute to the different regions they operate in. Organisational Analysis within the Globalisation Model The first thing that strikes you when you walk into the subway restaurant is its menu.

Subway prides its menu on being a healthier option to consumers and it maintains a core menu at all its branches worldwide, but there was one noticeable difference at this particular branch which was that the branch served ‘Halal’ meat, my reasoning was that it was because Bradford is an area with a high Muslim population. Can this be seen as a bi-product of globalisation? After further research, I found that subway restaurants do vary their menus by store, by country and by market. This is considered store optional programs (SOP), country optional programs (COP) and market only programs (MOP).

The variations to the menus are made to adapt to cultural and religious variations at different parts of the world, (the halal menu is served at all subway restaurants in Muslim countries and also at various locations worldwide with a vast Muslim population) this confirmed my earlier suspicion. The initiative is strategic on subways part as it shows local responsiveness to cultural and environmental factors at its locations and had been able to adapt to the native population (taking into account

their religious differences), which would make customers see the restaurant as being culturally friendly.

Other fast food restaurants also have similar initiatives like McDonalds for example; there we have seen the introduction of salads, the McDonalds pizza, the lamb burger in India and the teriyaki burger in Japan. Another noticeable feature about subways menu is that is shows global integration through its core products and the subway sandwiches, “world travellers can expect the same high quality of ingredients regardless of what nation they are visiting.

You can enjoy a foot long Turkey Breast Sub, with your choice of a variety of vegetables and condiments served on bread baked right in the restaurant in Jamaica, then travel to New Zealand and get the same foot long Turkey Breast Sub”! For the restaurant, its key issues with regards to a global presence would be that of control, profitability and predictability. Subways approach to internationalising its activities is through franchising and licensing, this way the company relies on the local knowledge and capital of investors to carry the brand.

Although, the investor still has to follow the subway model in terms of its core menu, decor, methods of cooking and customer service (this initiative makes it easier for subway to exact its presence at countless locations all over the world without risking any of its own capital). Subway educates the investors and their staff effectively through cross- cultural management. Cross-cultural management aims to study people’s behaviour around the world and trains staff to work effectively in employee and customer situations.

The initiative aims to understand and improve the relationship between co-workers, customers and suppliers form different countries and cultures (by doing this,

subway is able to maintain its globally integrated environment effectively). Through licensing and franchising, subway also faces potential disadvantages such as a loss of control over the brand which risks the brands reputation in the event of poor performance of franchises, lack of knowledge about changes in the market, which slows down the company’s ability to adapt its current products or develop new ones and also risk losing direct control over the whole production process.

Monitoring the franchisee will also my in-effective as it will become cost inefficient. Subway also asserts itself globally as an equal opportunities employer, “taking positive steps towards increasing the representation of women and minorities in business and the work force in general. The company is against any type of discrimination against employees on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, creed, religion, colour or national origin” (34 percent of subway franchisees are women and 24 percent of subway franchisees are members of minority groups).

The growth of fast food restaurants is outstanding and the fear is that the arrivals of companies like subway and McDonalds is westernising food habits globally. Also this sort of food is seen as being unhealthy and blamed as a major reason for the increase in obesity worldwide. Conclusion The subway restaurant franchise originated in the USA in 1965, since then it has been able to expand its franchise in every continent around the world (over 95 countries). This sort of presence would undoubtedly have an effect on the eating patterns around world, it might even change some.

The restaurant maintains its core menu and overall look in every country with a few exceptions where culture, religion

or tradition is taken into account. Subway like many other fast food restaurants have also been able to cultures around the world by being able to adapt some portions of its menu (in an effort to increase attractiveness in native country) and also improve staff effectiveness through cross-cultural training in those regions. The growth of the fast food industry has also brought about some criticism, with regards to imposing westernised cultures of food and consumption on foreign nations.

Companies like McDonalds have been directly criticised for the increase in obesity in countries like China and Japan. Some also fear that the rise in the number of fast food restaurants have reduced the need for people to buy farm produce, thereby reducing the demand for local famers (it is more convenient to buy readymade food than to cook). These are some of the reasons why subway has had to adapt some of their menus in an effort to merge the standard subway menu with the native/traditional menus.

While the food habits of people globally and the relationship between food and culture/tradition have gone through phenomenal changes, there is still a great population who retain vast amounts of their native culture (in terms of food production, preparation and consumption). At the same time, critics fear that a tremendous amount of the world population is adopting western orientation in their consumption patterns. Therefore, although globalisation is an unrelenting force, it is transparent that global cultures will continue to have their own way of accommodating the varieties.