Consultant Report Essay

1.0 Introduction: Burger King
Established in 1953, Burger King has become one of the most well-known fast food chains with almost 12,700 outlets worldwide. The purpose of this report examines the current issue that is faced by Burger King due to the inappropriate behaviour of one the employee, Timothy Tackett, who took a nude bubble bath in the stainless steel sink used for food preparation. Attributed to this incident, the reputation of Burger King is at stake as a result of the viral videos that were instantaneously published after the event. This report would discuss the key stakeholders affected and the communication mediums that Burger King could implement to overcome potential barriers.

2.0 The effects of social media:
Over the years, the internet and the effect of social media have revolutionized the way businesses operates, reaching new possibilities and greater level of achievement. According to Comscore (2011), the use of social media is growing at an astronomical rate, social networking sites now comprise of 82 percent of the world’s online population, representing 1.2 billion users around the world. The image of businesses nowadays have become more prevalent on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, and even LinkedIn. Social media have foster the performance of businesses as it establishes personal relationship with customers, leverage social pressure affecting purchase decisions and builds brand recognition. Qualman (2013) asserts that businesses have increased the pace of adopting social media strategies in order to strengthen their corporate brand image as it reaches customers in ways that no other form of media can. Additionally, the preponderance of consumer generated content through social media also builds customer loyalty and encourages repetitive purchase as consumers relies on word of mouth in their decision making process. Individuals worldwide are now able to voice their opinions through this medium, the spread of word of mouth through networking in social bookmarking, videos and photo sharing website undoubtedly impacts the reputation of the business (O'Leary, Sheehan, & Lentz, 2011). As the use of social media continues to evolve, businesses need to be more aware of their online presence as information can be released and view instantaneously. Merrill, Latham, Santalesa, and Navetta (2011) states that the reputational benefits of social media equates to the risks associated such as defamatory statements made employees or the public. Pertinent to Burger King’s situation, the company instigated a large amount of negative publicity due to the viral YouTube video of one of the company’s employees’ taking a bath in the sink. This incident generated bad word of mouth for the company and have impacted the brand image.

3.0 Root Issues
Based on the analysis of the video, as well as the case summary of burger king, the following can be classified as the root issues of the problem, and should be looked into to reduce the likelihood of situations similar to this happening again.

3.1 Recruitment and Selection Methods
Recruiting staff is a very costly exercise. It is also an essential part of any business and it pays to do it properly. As seen from the video, Timothy Tackett clearly demonstrated behavioral qualities that were not acceptable, not to mention his fellow co-workers having the knowledge that the sink is normally used to clean large pieces of equipment related to food preparation, and having him take a nude bubble bath in the sink is not only unsanitary but a potential hazard to the overall cleanliness of the food. This event also shows the lack of seriousness the employees have towards their jobs, as well as respect to the organization. Regardless of the type of organization, it is generally accepted that an employer’s success is closely tied to the type of individuals it employs (Dineen & Soltis 2011), hence Burger King might have to relook

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