INTRODUCTION

“Make men work together to show them that beyond their differences and geographical
boundaries there lies a common interest.” – Jean Monnet

What is the pursuit common to men? Is it money? fame? pure happiness?

health? or wealth?

When all of these are combined, perhaps, we can say that the interest that the
world is in constant work right now is success.

Success is subjective. Without limitation, many people have defined it by

themselves. In short, your success is what you decide it will be. However, in this world
full of voices and opinions, we cannot deny that it is hard to stay grounded to our real
selves. Be grounded anyway.

Remember that everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.

PART 1: HUMAN BEHAVIOR THEORIES ANALYSIS – The Founder

As we study organizational behavior, we scrutinize the linkages among human

behavior in organizational settings, organization itself, and the environment surrounding
the organization. Accordingly, this area of study allows us to learn how important the
existence of individuals in a group because it definitely affects the whole picture. In
every group, big or small it may be, the people in it largely contribute to the success or
failure of the organization where they belong.

The Founder is basically a film that narrates the real life story behind the
American fast food restaurant that we all know – McDonald’s. It is a simultaneous
portrayal of ambition, innovation, entrepreneurship, and persistence while being a
cautionary tale of greed, hypocrisy, non-respect agreements, and bad business ethics.
The film tells the true story of Ray Kroc, a salesman struggling to sell milkshake mixers
in Illinois, who turned McDonald brothers' innovative fast food eatery into the biggest
restaurant business in the world, with a combination of motivation and ruthlessness.

The MARS Model (Chapter 2)

Ray Kroc’s enthusiasm for all his actions can be analyzed using the MARS
Model. This model of individual behavior evaluates one’s voluntary behavior and
performance influenced by motivation, ability, role perceptions, and situational factors
represented by the acronym MARS.
 Motivation is one of the main reason why did Ray Kroc do what he did.
Motivation is an internal force that affects him to think without hesitation that the
McDonald brothers’ small business can expand and go global because it definitely has
potential. By being motivated to do something, one can simplify their goals and align
their actions with focus. The next measure is ability. Ability is composed of the natural
talents and learned capabilities required to successfully complete a task. From many
business experiences (carhop services, the beacon, hotdog stand, barbecue
restaurant), McDonald brothers applied what they have learned from their experiences
in order to build their restaurant with principles. Their abilities to analyze problems such
as customers’ dissatisfaction with self services system allow them to discover
alternatives and resolutions like replacing carhop services into takeout windows. This
experience is also the same for Ray Kroc since he is also a salesman. His ability to
exceed his customer expectations and deliver services is what made him fit for the job.
Third in the MARS is Role Perceptions. Role Perception is the extent to which people
understand the job duties and roles assigned or expected to them. Both Ray Kroc and
the McDonald brothers know why they exist. Aside from providing excellent services or
maintaining their businesses in the market, they exist because they decided to establish
something. As founders, they exist because they have the responsibility to continue and
reach their visions and missions. Understanding one’s role is a necessary because it
directs and guides. Knowing our purpose allows us to seek growth and discourage to
stay in our comfort zones. Lastly, S stands for Situational factors. These are
environmental conditions beyond the individual’s immediate control that constrain or
facilitate behavior and performance. The constraints that both of them faced in the
course of their business experiences are budget, facilities, consumer preferences, and
economic conditions like the Great Depression.

Values in the Workplace (Chapter 2)

Values in the workplace are integrated set of stable and evaluative beliefs that
guide our preferences for outcomes or courses of action in different of situations. To
simply say, values tell us what we “ought” to do. It defines the right or wrong and good
or bad. We use the values in the workplace as a moral compass that directs our
motivation, decisions, and actions.

Ethics is the study of moral principles or values that determine whether actions
are right or wrong and outcomes are good or bad. Most ethical dilemmas involve conflict
between the needs of the part and of the whole, the individual versus the organization,
or the organization versus the society as a whole.
 The story of Ray Kroc and the McDonald brothers is certainly a war on principles.
Both of them have their own sets of values rooted from the things they believe on. We
can agree that Ray Kroc and the McDonald brothers are very different people. But one
thing they do have in common is that they strive for the highest quality. McDonald
brothers ensure that every hamburger has two pickles and a precise shot of ketchup
and mustard. This is best illustrated in their conversation in the telephone where one of
the McDonald brothers told Ray that they have no interest in a milkshake that contains
no milk. Even though Ray Kroc insisted that they could save a bundle, they still disagree
to his idea. For them, a milk shake contains real milk and not a powdered one. The
McDonald brothers believe that quality must not be sacrificed for profit which is different
from what Mr. Kroc believes. In fact, consistent quality is what makes McDonald’s such
a global success.

The Three Ethical Principles (Chapter 2)

In dealing with ethical decision making, leaders or managers must adhere to

sensible ethical principles. These are utilitarianism, individual rights approach, and
justice approach.

Utilitarianism seeks the greatest good for the greatest number of people. It
focuses on the consequences of our actions, not on how we achieve those
consequences. Under this approach, a decision maker is expected to consider the
effect of each decision alternative on all parties and select the one that optimizes the
satisfaction of the greatest number of people. Should milkshakes shift from using real
milk to powdered milk benefiting the company but not the customers?

Next is the individual rights principle. This approach reflects the belief that
everyone has entitlements that let her or him act in a certain way. Right of free consent,
to privacy, of freedom of conscience, of free speech, of due process, and right life and
safety are some of the ethical concepts that moral decisions makers must highly
consider.

Lastly, the distributive justice principle is an approach that requires moral

decisions to base on standards of equity, fairness, and impartiality. People who are
similar should receive similar benefits and burdens. In this case, the McDonald brothers
deserve their fair share in Ray Kroc’s profits constituting their royalty and trademark but
Mr. Kroc never do it right. Inequalities are acceptable only when they benefit the least
well off.

Four “Selves” of Self Concept (Chapter 3)

 Our life should not be shaped by external factors. Many of our childhood beliefs
were products of what we learned while growing up. Being aware of this, we can make
the decisions to be self sufficient when it comes to knowing what works and what does
not work for us. Make an assessment of who you are and what part of you is from your
parents.

Self Concept is an individual’s self-beliefs and self-evaluations. It is the “Who am

I?” and “How do I feel about myself?” that people ask themselves to guide their
decisions and actions. We compare our images of a job with our current (perceived self)
and desired (ideal self) to determine it. There are four “selves” to self concept. These
are self enhancement, self verification, self evaluation, and social self.

Self-enhancement is what Mr. Ray Kroc definitely aimed to pursue. From being a
milk shake mixer salesman, he devoted all of his energy just to be called “The Founder”
of McDonalds. Self enhancement is the things we do to promote and protect our
positive self-view. For Mr. Kroc, he desired to be a smart businessman driven by
tenacity and motivation. An innate human drive to promote or protect a positive self-
view. Self enhancement is most evident in situations that are common and important
just like doing business with other business-minded people. People with a positive self-
concept have a better personal adjustment and mental physical health because this is
where the probability of success mostly lies. If one defines himself with positive marks, it
must be physically visible and true.

Self-verification is an act of affirming our existing self-concept. We often stabilize

our self concept through preferred feedbacks that is consistent with our own perspective
of our own self. There are conflicting opinions about the film “The Founders”. Some
opinions justified that there is nothing wrong on Mr. Kroc’s actions of stealing the idea
and the restaurant since the two brothers do not have the desire to expand it. If the two
brothers desire to have self verification, they will continually state that they are the
aggrieved party and they deserve to be indemnified for the loss they experienced. They
will not accept that because they did not see the potential of their business, it is only fair
that Mr. Kroc will treat it as his own because they are still the McDonald’s true founders.

Self-evaluation is the act of an individual of evaluating their selves through their

self-esteem, self-efficacy and locus of control. Ray Kroc is the man behind making a
small business bigger. It is because of his belief that is us who creates our own life
events. When Ray Kroc determines his goal of making McDonalds completely his own,
he began assessing his capabilities to achieve it. In his memoir he wrote, “The janitor
would arrive at the same time I did and if there was nothing else to be done I'd help him.
I've never been too proud to grab a mop and clean up the restrooms even if I happen to
be wearing a good suit.” Self evaluation can either make us or break us. It is important
not to overestimate and underestimate our own selves.
 Social self is branding. It is defining our own selves in terms of group
membership. We can learn that every franchisor/s, since they have invested money and
time for building a brand name and reputation, must never underestimate the value and
goodwill they have built. The movie highlighted how Mr. Kroc first had to approach
acquaintances to convince them to become a McDonalds’ franchisee but when the
business began to grow, the franchisees starts to approaching him. Moreover, in the
scene where one of the McDonald brothers and Ray talks about the one thing that
makes McDonalds special, it is mentioned that it is not only the system that makes the
business thrive. It is about the name “McDonalds” which is now the intellectual property
of Mr. Ray Kroc. Social self is divided into two: Personal and Social identity. Personal
identity is the attributes that highlight a person’s uniqueness. On the other hand, social
identity is what people define themselves by the groups to which they belong or have an
emotional attachment. We identify with groups that make us feel better about ourselves.
For example, Richard and Maurice McDonald are called McDonald brothers who
founded the McDonald's restaurant in San Bernardino, California, and inventors of the
"Speedee Service System" now commonly known as "fast food".

Two Dimensions of Emotions (Chapter 4)

The two dimensions of emotions are evaluation and activation. For instance,
fearful is a negative emotion that generates a high level of activation. When Ray Kroc
planted his desire in his heart to make McDonald his own, it is mixed with unknown of
whether it will be successful or not. The fear of the unknown made Ray Kroc more
determined to take action. “In his memoir he wrote that night in my motel room I did a
lot of heavy thinking about what I'd seen during the day visions of McDonald's
restaurants dotting crossroads all over the country paraded through my brain in each
store were eight multi mixers whirring away in paddling a steady flow of cash into my
pockets”.

The other emotional dimension shows than when the feeling is relaxed, it is a
pleasant emotion that has fairly low activation. Since McDonald brothers do not desire
to expand their business, they do not see it entering franchise. Since they are
contended with having a one small restaurant, they never dare take the advice of Mr.
Kroc on making it open to franchising. “Morris told him, see that big white house there
with the wide front porch that's our home and we love it. We sit out on the porch in the
evenings and watch the sunset and look down on our place. Here, it's peaceful we don't
need any more problems. We are in a position to enjoy life now and that's what we
intend to do. Richard said, it would be a lot of trouble”.

Emotional Intelligence (Chapter 4)

 When one of the McDonalds was asked if they are bitter about what happened
with their family’s business, he answered “No”. Even though it is now owned by person
not related to them by blood, He would never be bitter in his grandfathers’ work because
they have put their heart and lives on it. In dealing with different personality and
individual differences, business events expects us to be emotionally intelligent in
handling it in order for us to not to make irrational decisions. Emotional intelligence is an
understanding of the emotions of self and others and the ability to control them.
Emotional intelligence is the ability of a person to identify and recognize one’s own
emotions as well as others emotion and regulate them appropriately. Person with
emotional intelligence will be able to control and regulate their emotions effectively
without violating any norms or values. To simple define, emotional intelligence is the
capacity to recognize one’s own emotions and others as well and discriminate among
them appropriately. Having good emotional intelligence means the person knows
exactly what he is feeling, what can be its effect, and how to control that feeling. For
successful leadership, a person must possess the quality of emotional intelligence.

When people say to Mr. Ray Kroc that he is not the real and true founder of
McDonalds, he replies with principles of persistence, success, and hard work. A leader
can prove himself accountable if he keeps he is calm, in balanced mood, and stress-
free attitude. These qualities he can possess if he can his emotions under his control.
Hence emotional intelligence is an important trait for a successful leader. A leader and a
follower must both have self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social
skills. All these elements are essential traits of a well rounded person. Hence emotional
intelligence is of huge importance to leadership and in the workplace.

Foundation of Individual’s Motivation (Chapter 5)

Motivation is the force within a person that affects his/her direction, intensity, and
persistence of voluntary behavior. Motivated individuals, whether at school, home, or
work, are willing to exert a particular level of effort (intensity), for a certain amount of
time (persistence), toward a particular goal (direction). The boldest statement of Mr. Ray
Kroc continues to inspire us to persevere in life no matter what our circumstances we
are in.

Money in the Workplace (Chapter 6)

Rewarding people with money is one of the oldest and most widespread applied
performance practices but money means different things to different people. It can be a
symbol of achievement or success or status. For many, money serves as a reinforcer
and motivator. Since reward system is the basis of a job well done, money can be a
reflection of performance. However, money can also be the root of all evil which leads to
greediness because people tend to desire more and never become satisfied.

There is a reason why purpose matters to every organization: if it does not have
a definable purpose, it cannot measure progress towards it. Purpose dictates
appropriate measures and measures give manageability, the capacity to learn and
improve. The truth is simple and profound, but not the obvious. “There is a systematic
relationship between purpose (what we are here to do), measures (how we know how
we are doing) and method (how we do it)”. On its own, purpose is nothing more than an
aspiration. Measures and methods make purpose tangible and keep managers on the
straight and narrow. So what happens in most organization that has no overriding
purpose other than profit? They lose their customer focus, and ultimately, their
customers.

Aside from motivation, money is driving force why Mr. Kroc wanted to own the
McDonald brothers’ business. In his franchising idea, He sees its potential for growth
with commercial values when we narrated in his memoir “paraded through my brain in
each store were eight multi mixers whirring away in paddling a steady flow of cash into
my pockets”.

Mr. Kroc’s love for money and wealth allows him to do unfair business against
the McDonald brothers by breaching their agreement. Ray told the McDonald brothers
that the 1% royalty could not be in the document because of his negotiations with some
new investors can be interrupted. This was just his verbal commitment to them. They
shock hands on this. Ray quickly ran circles around them, set up a new store across the
road from the brothers and the brothers had to shut down. They never saw the 1%
royalty. While the McDonald brothers were more concerned about the quality of their
product and the customer experience, Ray was more concerned about making money
by growing the business exponentially. 

Self leadership (Chapter 6)

Self-leadership is the act of purposefully impacting your reasoning, feeling, and

activities towards your goal. Self-initiative (a.k.a Personal Mastery) is simply the
response to how would we create ourselves to endure and flourish in an uncertain and
complex world. Knowing how to lead one is about continually building up the 'inward
round' of intention, self-mindfulness, self-certainty and self-conviction to accomplish
Personal Mastery. To be extraordinary pioneers, just like Ray Kroc, we need to get
ourselves perform well to reach our goals.

PART 2: SELF ANALYSIS – The Founder

Inspirational Part

If you do not stand on something, you will for anything. - Alexander Hamilton

In my own opinion, I found the telephone scene where one of the McDonald
brothers told Ray that they have no interest in a milkshake that contains no milk as the
most inspirational part of the film. I choose it because it definitely illustrates what kind of
people McDonald brothers are.

We know that there are many ways how businesses maximize their profit. One of
those techniques is reducing the cost of their product in order to produce more without
changing the selling price. However, changing your principles just to gain money is a
sign that a person does not have accountability and self conviction in his beliefs. A
business must have reason to exist beyond that of making money and maximizing
shareholder value.

Profit cannot be the goal, vision, or the purpose of an organization. An

organization that posts great year end results doesn’t automatically earn the title of
being a great company. Seeking profit as a primary business purpose is like building a
house of cards or building a house on sand- it will eventually lead to collapse. Profit is
too temporary to guide a business by. If a business’ main purpose is to make a profit,
this will both lead to a lack of strategic direction and reduced staff motivation.

Learning Part from Human Behavior Issues

I firmly believe that a person is trustworthy of big or small things if he sticks to his
principles in life especially when he faces a difficult circumstance that tests the core of
his personality. People who are volatile, fickle-minded, and indecisive are dangerous
people because there is a big possibility of betrayal. Even in our personal relationships,
we tend to choose people who are loyal to us. We desire to build solid relationships that
last. As we get older, we lose people who are not in the same page with us. Therefore,
people who act according to their principles are not a two-faced person who can be
trusted and reliable at all times.

Secret Formula to Success

Nothing in the world can take the place of good old persistence. Talent will not.
Nothing is more common that unsuccessful men with talent. Genius won’t.
Unrecognized genius is practically a cliché. Education won’t. The world is full of
educated fools. Persistence and determination alone are powerful. – Ray Kroc
 Success is subjective. It is defined by us who want to experience it. We create
our own opportunities to grow. Whether success for us means living a simple or
luxurious life, it is acceptable. But then again, everything is permissible but not
everything is beneficial.

For Ray Kroc, the secret formula to success is Persistence. So what does
Persistence really mean? Persistence is the ability of one person to remain and
continue in a course of action in spite of difficulties and oppressions. One of the
distinguishing attributes of Mr. Ray Kroc is his ability to handle a challenge and make it
his opportunity. When people translate their desires into reality, they are often
rewarded. Opportunities become truly useful when we see in them creative ideas that
others would not see. Just like in the case of the Mr. Ray Kroc against McDonald
brothers. For him, anything that is actually created started as a creation of the mind.
When the mind begins to create, sky is the limit. It is important to dream big.

PART 3: LIFE LONG LEARNING – PERSONAL LIFE

The first video entitled “The Founder: A fast food story” teaches us the reality in
doing business with other people. What I have learned in this short documentary is we
must use competition in a positive way. It is not acceptable to become wealthy by taking
advantage of the other people. Ray Kroc climbed the ladder of success by stepping on
McDonald brothers’ back. He became bigger by making people small. In real world,
healthy competition determines your emotional and mental capability to deal with other
people fairly. It will also motivate one to succeed without being obsessed in putting
others down. Personally, I find healthy competition everywhere good for our overall
health and condition as a person. Sometimes I imagine an academic institute without
grades. Students just do their best without the pressure from others. We learn according
to our pace. Progress is monitored depending on how much we will respond.

Being a young adult, life does not work that way. In life, I have learned to become
valuable in every place I go – school, home, community. We are in the stage where we
need to work harder, think smarter, produce better, and just get more. It is healthy when
it does not push people down. Instead, it pushes us to reach our limits and give more of
what inside us. It is humble to realize that we have so much to learn and there are
people who are better than us. This serves as a challenge to work equally hard or even
harder than the work they do. Happiness is felt when you improve on and surpasses
your former skills – not necessarily when you outclass other people; and never when
you step on their back to get you on top.

PART 4: CHARATCER ANALYSIS

Struggles and Setbacks

Rau Kroc struggled in selling milkshake mixer machines and in convincing the
McDonald brothers to allow the franchising of their restaurant. Even though he has
several franchises of the restaurants, He also struggled in running out cash especially
when the bank threatened to foreclose on his house mortgage. Fortunately, with the
help of CFO Harry J. Sonneborn, they found a way out. He came up with an idea to
solve their money problems by starting a new company to buy land and buildings and
sublease them to franchises that same year they launched the franchise Realty
Corporation. Harry’s idea worked and the business significantly increased its revenue.
They signed up more franchises and promoted the slogan “business for yourself but not
by yourself”. It was one of the secrets to their success. On the other hand, the main
struggle of the McDonald brothers is when Ray Kroc eventually owned the rights to the
business that they started. Their failure to put their agreement on paper to receive
royalty allows them to lose a lot of money because Ray Kroc never honored it.

Cause of Failure

I can say the root cause of failure for the McDonald brothers is their lack of vision
and wide perspective. Maybe Ray Kroc do not have the idea of the speedy process but
he had the idea to get bigger with franchises all over America, and to be the owner of
the lands in which all the new McDonalds were built. It is all about the small view vs. the
big view. We cannot deny that McDonald thriving now because of Ray Kroc’ big vision
and the determination to expand. Idea is not enough if you are not brave enough to
have a "view" of where it could lead you.

PART 5: THE TRUE FOUNDER

Who is the True Founder?

Persistently Give Results

There are no useful excuses to a job well-done. A hundred and one alibis will not
do the job and are useless in comparison to the right action that produces the best of
results. People will eventually measure you not with the words you say but with the work
you do and the results you produce. Perform your work as a giver not as a getter. Be
willing to give more and do not be allergic to hard work and selfless service. Never run
away when troubles come. To walk away from life’s challenges is to walk away from the
life itself. Choose to do your job as if you are creating a masterpiece and never accept
any forms of defeat when it comes to your work. Be persistent. You may not be genius
but if you persist, you come to realize that being a genius is not necessary to success.
Learn to lead yourself. Only when you can lead yourself can you become a good leader
to others. A job well-done is your best defense and fruits in abundance are your best
publicity.

Main Lessons Learned from the Film

Be Aware That Your Greatest Asset is You.

You are your own product. Be the best product that you can be.

Your greatest asset is tangible, changeable, precious and magnificent. Your

greatest asset is YOU. You can be your greatest tool to success or you can be your
greatest hindrance to it. Identify your strength and weaknesses. Know what you can do
best and know what to improve. Capitalize on your strength and do not let your natural
defects hinder you from accepting opportunities. When you maximize your abilities, you
invite more opportunities to come into your life. Your life will depend on what you focus
on. Focus on your strengths all the time. They will make you confident and courageous.
Failure can come when we lack confidence and courage. We will be afraid to take the
risk. While we may not have the talents of the world, the talents that we have right now
are enough to change the world.

Associate with the Right People

While it is wise to learn from your experience, it is wiser to learn from the
experience of the wise.

Learn to use your limitations as stepping stones to experience the unlimited.

Learn from your own experiences. Your mistakes should teach you valuable lessons. It
is good to learn from the mistakes of others too. Doing the same things that didn’t work
could be the height of foolishness. Learn quickly by learning from the learned.
Be selective with people you associate with. People who mess up with their work
because of complaining, cheating or doing irrelevant things are not a good influence to
your career. If you want to get a refutation, you might as well emulate those who are
doing well in their job. People with negative mental attitude may drag you down. It is
better to travel alone than to be with a person who has a negative way of looking at
reality. Learn from people who have something positive to contribute to your career.

326. Grow in Yourself to Grow in Your Service

Quality should not be something we have to achieve but something we need to practice
on a daily basis. The kind of attitude we have reflects the kind of action we will show.
Believe that there is always a big room for improvement in the way you handle yourself
and your experiences. Ideas can grow, skills are enhanced, abilities are improved. We
have to assume an attitude that believes in adaptation, improvement and growth. It
takes a discerning attitude to realize that there is so much potential inside us, that we
can increase our abilities and that it is always possible to grow in so many areas of our
life. To be able to offer an up-to-date quality service, growth is a must.
 When you refuse to grow, people will outgrow you. Your personal growth is also
for people’s benefit.