Day 145 - 29 Jun 95 - Page 47
1 take notes and they then in fact deal with their people to
2 accomplish what needs to be done.
3
4 Q. So they hand them some kind of report on what went on?
5 A. No, I would not say that. Given the nature of the
6 Company I think they would probably gather their people
7 together in the same fashion that I would and give
8 assignments. We are not formal about these things. Having
9 formal minutes or things like that does not mean you will
10 accomplish what you need to get done. Everybody
11 understands when we agree to do something that we are going
12 to do and, generally, we are going to do it in a timetable
13 or come back to the person who gave the assignment and say:
14 "I cannot do it within the timetable." That is how we
15 work.
16
17 Q. Would all personnel policies be decided at Board level?
18 A. No. I would decide a lot of them.
19
20 Q. What, you decide them on your own?
21 A. Sometimes I do and sometimes I would speak with
22 others. It depends upon if I feel that I have the
23 responsibility to do it.
24
25 Q. It would not be decided at a meeting of various Heads of
26 the Human Resources Department?
27 A. Well, there are things that I delegate down that my
28 people can make decisions on.
29
30 Q. Well, that you might want to discuss with other people
31 before you make a decision on whether or not you want to
32 make a new policy?
33 A. Sure I consult. Obviously I consult with others. If
34 I am making a decision on something I will ask others for
35 their input, their recommendations, and then I will make a
36 decision on what I think we should do.
37
38 Q. But you do not keep any kind of a record about how you came
39 to that decision, what input other people made?
40 A. No.
41
42 Q. How other people felt about it, the reasons for making that
43 new policy?
44 A. No. I think the beauty of McDonald's is the longevity
45 of its people. I do not know how many folks have
46 testified. I have been around 21 years. I know a great
47 deal of the history of the organisation. During that
48 21-year period I have a decent idea of what has transpired
49 during that period, the rationale behind decisions. There
50 is no need to have reams and reams of notebooks and filing
51 cabinets with this kind of stuff; it serves no purpose.
52 Frankly, we would need several buildings just to house this
53 kind of stuff. It does not make any sense. I may have
54 articulated to you that any given day I get mail from
55 various sources, that is very deep and I have got to get
56 rid of paper. You can drown in paper.
57
58 Q. I am not asking you about what mail you get. I am asking
59 you about decisions on new policies. You do not really
60 change your policies that often, do you, that you would
