McDonald's is very ingrown and not very open to ideas from outsiders. McDonald's values "nice" people over competent people. It's extremely important to not "rock the boat" - management at all levels is not open to suggestions. Success at McDonald's requires a lot of networking and office politics are very important. This isn't a bad thing, it's just something to be aware of. Knowing how the office game is played is important at every company but is especially important at McDonald's. There's a certain type of person who succeeds at McDonald's - very cheerful, kind of bland, willing to work long hours without complaining, able to be extremely tactful. Again, not all bad, just the way it is. I think it's telling that year after year, most departments score low on the employee survey area asking whether "a free exchange of ideas is encouraged." Many managers are of the mindset of "don't tell me any bad news."
The other thing to remember about McDonald's is that it's a very large company. There are small pockets of the company that do interesting and innovative work. The Romeoville Innovation Center is a great place to work. It doesn't seem to have the "play it safe" attitude that pervades much of McDonald's.
Overall, the company is not bad but in most of the office jobs, it's much more important to get along with people than to be innovative. Ideally, you want people who are both fun to work with and are great at their jobs and it's important that a company inspire a feeling of respect for all employees. McDonald's does try to do this. However, the social and networking aspects of the company and the need to "go along" are so important to an individual's success that someone who is at all outspoken will have a very difficult time here.
Everything I've said to this point has to do with professional jobs at McDonald's. Restaurant jobs are boring and poorly paid. Restaurant managers work extremely hard. In many ways, the success of McDonald's is built on the backs of poorly paid overworked restaurant managers and crew.
