The Golden Arches at the Pearly Gates?
It's been fascinating tracking the frantic rebranding of McDonald's over the past year. Dirty plastic seating has been stripped out from many branches and replaced with smart, green 'linger zones', contemporary artwork and mood lighting. Alongside Big Macs, fresh salads are available for one's delectation, and only ethically certified coffee served. Rumours abound that a famous fashion designer will shortly redesign the employees' uniforms.
Now, in its latest coup, McDonald's has become an academic institution. It is one of only three organisations given 'awarding body' status by the Government, enabling it to grant A-level-style diplomas to its staff. An act of canny corporate largesse, or a genuine attempt to value its employees?
The corporation has also been busy taking on the Oxford English Dictionary. Arguing that the current definition of the word 'McJob' - 'an unstimulating, unskilled, low-paid job' - is 'out of touch with reality and ultimately insulting to the hard-working people who serve the public every day', McDonald's want it changed. It now gives the impression of being increasingly tormented by suggestions that it could be anything less than a responsible, ethical and excellent employer and increasingly desperate to prove its own worth.
So, are we witnessing an act of corporate repentance? Has McDonald's 'seen the light' and consequently modified its behaviour? Certainly, many of the recent changes are positive and we should guard against unqualified cynicism. Nevertheless, as far as McDonald's is concerned, nothing is changing - it has always been an ethical, caring employer and these latest moves simply confirm that. To suggest otherwise is to be out of touch with reality and to insult their employees (not the brand, of course).
Biblically speaking, repentance does indeed require action - specifically, the act of turning the focus of our existence entirely away from ourselves and entirely towards God. But, as the parable of the prodigal son illustrates (Luke 15:11-32), the motivation for such a turnaround is a coming to our senses about our need to change. This entails honesty about the past, not a denial of it. In order to embrace the new, we have to be able to publicly label the old ways 'old'.
There is certainly a new glimmer to the golden arches, but is McDonald's confronting its past or trying to rewrite it? Perhaps, before we answer that, we should first reflect on our own capacity for real repentance - for embracing a rebranding that goes far deeper than appearances.
Ben Care
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