Managing Change: The Key Competitive Advantage In The Fast Food Industry

If you could compare this month's to-do lists for executives of major restaurant chains to their lists 2 or 3 years ago, the tasks have likely changed. But examine the tasks closer and, you'll see a common thread, which is "how do we, as an organization, respond to or initiate change?" Have the competition moved into your most profitable region? Have they morphed their menu to mimic yours? Have they acquired or disposed of new concepts or new technology? Have they debuted new interiors, added new customer services, or rolled out new franchisee programs? Is your organization planning to preemptively do any of the above? What will it cost to do it? What will it cost to not do it? What are your chances of success? The questions are many, the topic is the same: is your organization agile enough to respond to and initiate change?

Key changes that fast-food restaurants make, range from simple, frequent changes such as adding new employees to complex changes such as remodeling a store. Managing these changes efficiently is the difference between an agile organization and a frustrated organization. Menu maintenance falls into this category. The rest of this white paper discusses this critical component of an organization's ability to adapt and win.