McDonald’s sponsor PhD studentship at Dublin City University
Monday 13th March

Language and communications skills, work permit issues and separation from family are some of the issues experienced by overseas workers in Ireland which will be the subject of a new DCU/McDonald’s studentship. McDonald’s donated 60,000 Euros to DCU to sponsor a PhD research project on ‘working and managing in an intercultural workplace’.

This particular studentship is a particularly relevant research area for the new multicultural society of Ireland today. It is an initiative between McDonald’s and DCU, which has established a tradition of close cooperation with industrial partners and enterprise.

The Mc Donald’s studentship will enhance the ongoing work of DCU’s Intercultural Workplace Programme that is working with governmental, non-governmental and private sector partners on research and policy development in the crucial area of migration and social integration.

The Intercultural Workplace Programme is an initiative coordinated by DCU’s recently appointed Theme Leader for Internationalisation, Interculturalism and Social Development, Professor Ronaldo Munck. Prof Munck is an international authority in this area with a long research and publishing record, having been until recently Professor of Sociology at the University of Liverpool.

The PhD will be carried out under the supervision of Professor Kathy Monks of the DCU Business School who specialises in organisational development and human resource management.

According to Professor Monks the intercultural dimension is extremely important for employers in both the public and private sector.

“The increasing diversity of the Irish workforce creates both challenges and opportunities for employers. Investment in research in this area will enable an in depth exploration of the experience and management of diversity with the aim of providing insights that can be of benefit to a wide range of organisations”.

McDonald’s will receive regular feedback on the research progress. They are keen to emphasise that the results of the research will be of benefit not just to McDonald’s but to all employers, both public and private, of international workers. They also aim to implement the recommendations of the research.

“We are now living in a truly multi-cultural society and as a large organisation employing over 40 different nationalities, we at McDonald’s have an opportunity and a responsibility to support research to increase our understanding of working in and managing a multi-cultural environment. Through the research we want to gain an insight into the trends emerging in the field of diversity and inclusion to create a workplace with leading edge practices in this area. By understanding the issues, addressing them in the workplace and sharing our learning, we believe will help lead to positive societal inclusion,” said Michele Ryan, Head of HR and Training at McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland.