None of Us is As Good As All of Us: How McDonald's Prospers by Embracing Inclusion and Diversity

by Patricia Sowell Harris, Jim Skinner (Foreword)

An inside account of how McDonald's turns diversity into success

Everyone knows McDonald's, one of the most recognizable brand names in the world. But few know the extent to which McDonald's continued and ongoing success is due to the company's internal philosophy of inclusion and diversity. One of the biggest employers in the world, McDonald's staff is one of the world's most racially, culturally, and religiously diverse.

In None of Us Is As Good As All of Us , McDonald's Global Chief Diversity Officer, Patricia Sowell Harris, offers the first inside look at the company's philosophy of inclusion and diversity through interviews with more than 60 key employees and leaders. These accounts, of franchisees, suppliers, and employees, reveal how McDonald's embraces all races, creeds, and cultures to create unity and business achievement.

• Written by Patricia Sowell Harris, McDonald's global chief diversity officer
• Serves as a template for any business that wants to embrace wider diversity and use it to prosper
• With a Foreword by Jim Skinner, McDonald's CEO since 2004
• A first look at the inner workings of McDonald's impressive diversity and inclusion philosophy

For any business leader who wants to embrace diversity and encourage team unity, None of Us Is As Good As All of Us offers inspiration and guidance.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2009

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

totally read this for the corporate propaganda LULZ. on what planet was this written? "we got blacks, browns, and big macs!"

[Cem Yüksel · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a company’s diversity timeline with examples. It is good to see the initiatives, networks for diverse organisation through the company’s history. On the other side, it shows , this is a story of persistent diverse people considering they were given challenging stuff at the beginning like stores at difficult areas etc and it is understandable between lines that initiation of these efforts was about customer profile for business impact , at least at the beginning, not about endorsing diversity .

[Matt John · Rating 3 out of 5]

“ ‘It’s not the law that brings that quality [diversity] to McDonald’s – it’s an attitude we already have, and we mean to keep it’ “ (p. 116).
Place both sides of the arguments about capitalism, Americanisation of the world and the debatable health value of their food aside. McDonald’s, as one of the world’s largest employers, has been made up of a smorgasbord of diversity throughout the years, including numerous races, creeds and cultures. Patricia Sowell Harris, McDonald's Global Chief Diversity Officer, delves into how the culture of diversity came to be within the McDonald’s organisation. Not as a self-promoting exercise but as an example to the business world of how to embrace diversity in the workplace. The success of diversity within McDonald’s is broken down into four stages: quantitative measures; recognizing differences; valuing differences and managing diversity. Harris illustrates these stages in practice by telling the stories of how diversity came to be within McDonald’s and how this diversity was the result of initiative and hard work from both management and employees. This is a more relatable business-development book than one that includes just theories.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inside look at how McDonald’s handles diversity

McDonald’s statistics tell the story of its impressive business achievements. The company serves 58 million customers daily at 32,000 restaurants in 118 nations. It employs 1.6 million people, and had 2008 sales of more than $70 billion. That’s a lot of “secret sauce.” Through its vaunted Hamburger University, which opened in 1956 in an Illinois restaurant basement, McDonald’s teaches store managers, owners and operators how to do things “the McDonald’s way.” Author Patricia Sowell Harris is in charge of diversity at McDonald’s. She must be doing a good job, given that Fortune magazine cited McDonalds as the number one company for diversity two years in a row. Though Harris’s book is, by nature, promotional, she does a good job of explaining how diversity works at McDonald’s, why a diverse workforce is important and why it makes good business sense. getAbstract recommends her lessons on equitable employment to CEOs, as well as to human resource personnel, and training and hiring managers.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

COUNTDOWN: 4 DAYS!! New double-drive-thru I see you

[Caleb Abel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first part about the general history of McDonald's is actually quite interesting, but it quickly gets boring.

[Theodore Kinni · Rating 2 out of 5]

This officially-sanctioned history of diversity at McDonald's isn't all that impressive considering that this is a company with lots of low-paying jobs to fill and cheap food to sell.