Franchise
At first we should know what actually a ‘franchise’ is and why many companies are opting for it. Basically a ‘franchise’ is a mode of expanding business operation to other areas, mostly manufacturers utilizes ‘franchise’ option to sell their products in more areas. Franchises have a number of advantages that have encouraged their growth (Crothers, 2010). Considering the rapidly changing business strategies and global competition, ‘franchise’ is the most befitting mode for business expansion. Since last few years franchise business has expanded enormously. A franchise is the right to use a company name or business process in a specific way (Dlabay, Burrow & Kleindl, 2009).
Besides, in franchise products are made available to more areas it also generates employment opportunities, which aids in filling the gap of un-employment global issue. There are certain protocols that are to be followed by the franchisor and the franchisee; moreover each region where the franchisee seeks to operate has its own rules & regulations. The franchiser is likely to have a complex set of rules and regulations defining worker’s rights and responsibilities, a fact that means that franchisees do not have to develop rules and policies on their own (Crothers, 2010). Whereas the franchisee is bound to abide by the list of policies and rules as provided by the principals.
Being a part of the team created by the franchiser (fast food chain) assigned to facilitate a newly established franchise in an under developed country, my experience is as below.
The task we were assigned was to provide technical and professional support to the newly established franchisee. Establishing a new setup in a new location is not a one man show it requires a team of trained professional performing on the same platform with one common task. My team was to ensure that all the protocols laid by the principal company are followed promptly. Firstly we were to go through the rules for the franchisee of that country. There were certain restrictions for the franchisees, as according to the rule the raw material, even the ingredients of the food products should be all local. It was the biggest obstacle as the local ingredients will not be able to deliver the same original taste, of which the consumers were desirous. After a detailed local market survey ingredients were found that were nearly equivalent to the original. Many more barriers were faced like financial support, marketing, hiring of employees and their training. Initially it seems like a simple task but encountering multiple hurdles I believed it a challenging task. All the team members split their task and in case of any problem it was mutually discussed, sharing individual ideas and views.
After acquiring my academic degree it was my first practical experience. I experienced that team work always pays, as different individual presenting their own perception to resolve one common issue. Team work also aided in establishing the new setup in a given span of time. Team work does not only promoted the principal company but also proved to be beneficial for the franchisee as the new administration might work under pressure following the principals guidelines.
References:
Diablay, L. Burrow, J. & Kleindl, B. (2009) Intro to Business. USA: Cengage.
Crothers, L. (2010) Globalization and American Popular Culture. UK: Rowman.
