An investigation of the impact of total reward packages on employee job satisfaction in a particular fast food industry: a case of McDonald’s, Pakistan

2017 dissertation for MSc in International Business Management. Selected by academic staff as a good example of a masters level dissertation. Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of total reward packages and their components, offered by McDonald’s in Pakistan to its employees, on employee job satisfaction. The study explored the factors that influenced the job satisfaction of employees in the sample. The study also examined the relationship between total reward packages and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – The research philosophy is positivism followed by exploratory study design. Mixed method research method was adopted to collect and analyse the quantitative and qualitative data. Data collection techniques included closed-ended employee survey questionnaire and semi-structured managers interview. Statistical data was analysed using IBM SPSS 23 software, whereas themes were constructed in Nvivo 11 software to analyse qualitative data. Internal reliability was confirmed by Cronbach’s Alpha. Template analysis was used for analysis and interpretation of interview data. Findings – The findings revealed that total reward packages offered at McDonalds are an important driver for employee job satisfaction. The overall relationship between total reward package and job satisfaction was found to be considerable. More specifically, this research study identified the employee perspective on how they perceive the total reward packages as a driver for job satisfaction. The managerial perspective helped the researcher to identify the factors that influence the employee job satisfaction. Research limitations – The exploratory nature of study means that there is a need to further research the relationship between total reward packages and employee job satisfaction. Due to shorter time duration, small sample was used to complete the research on time. Practical implications – The results showed interesting implications for employees and managers. Recommendations were suggested to conduct future research and to better understand the relationship between total reward packages and job satisfaction