Case Study: Pros and Cons About McDonalds Modernization Essay

The way that Burger King and other fast food restaurant chains do business and markets their products to consumers is due to the change in our society to where the consumer wants the biggest, fastest, and best product they can get for their money. This change in society can be attributed to a process known as McDonaldization. Although McDonaldization can be applied to many other parts of our society, this paper will focus on its impact on Burger King and Taco Bell restaurants. My belief is that the process of McDonaldization has lead our generations toward a more a much more efficient lifestyle, with much less quality. From my observations and studies of these fast food resturants, several themes have become

About everyone at some age, at some point or another, and in some country has gotten a sample of American's symbol for fast food through the golden arches of McDonald's. This report will attempt to analyze the external and internal sectors that affect the company's success. The external analysis will provide opportunities and threats while the internal analysis will show indicators of strength and weakness. It will then follow up with critical issues, strategic alternatives, recommendations and implementation. The case studied is found in Appendix 2 of Mary Coulter's "Strategic Management in Action" book.

It was designed for quick service, yet having great food to eat. That right there, will come back years later to haunt Americans. With a small menu of only 9 items, there was one food item that stuck out like a sore thumb when it came to the sales charts. That item would be the delicious fifteen cent hamburger. By 1958, McDonalds sold 100 million hamburgers. Over the years, they opened many more restaurants. Not only were they selling, they were expanding. Business was booming, so they had no choice rather than to expand their services. In the very next year, they had opened their 100th McDonalds restaurant. All this was in just four years, if time could tell how quickly things change, lets skip ahead another three years. The year 1962 truly marked an era of how Americans are today. Lazy and arrogant! A Denver, Colorado McDonalds introduced indoor seating for their McDonalds restaurant. This seems like everyday dining for most of everybody reading this. With just one food chain opening up, surely it could not be the only cause of obesity rates in the United States. Please remember, McDonalds is not the only fast food chain around. They inspired others along with their success. Burger King, Checkers, Hardees, Wendys and Sub Way are just a few example of fast food chains that have began to dominate the food industry.

Despite the shocking results of Spurlock’s film, the fast food industry and McDonald’s in particular declined to say that the documentary had any impact on their business. However, interestingly enough, one day before the release of the movie, McDonald’s introduced a new “Go Active” menu. Even though they claim to have not been affected by the documentary’s findings, they clearly felt the pressure to add healthy options on their menu before the general public viewed the

McDonald's a fast food company understand the damage in the food they are making but do nothing. Many if not all fast food companies do not feel accountable for their food company causing obesity. They do not care for the people’s health, rather they focus on profit rather on their people. They blame the people of their health when they do not even know the chemicals in their food, making them addicted to every food production

They are enhancing the customer’s experience. “Across their markets, they are making is easier for customers to enjoy a great McDonald’s experience. They are introducing drive-thru to the increasingly mobile populations in China and Russia, while in the U.S. and Canada, greater drive-thru efficiency and double drive-thru lanes enable them to serve even more customers quickly” (McDonald's, 2008, 13). In Germany, McDonald’s has a reimaging program that includes adding about 100 McCafes. They are also installing new kitchen operating systems so that they can continue to deliver high food quality. McDonald’s has already renovated about 10,000 restaurants worldwide. They want their restaurants to be an expression of their brand. The company is also delivering greater value to the customer with new menu selections. “By serving a locally relevant balance of new products, premium salads and sandwiches, classic menu favorites and everyday affordable offerings around the world, they create value for customers and satisfy their demand for choice and variety” (McDonald's, 15).

McDonald’s has been negatively publicized to be an unhealthy option. The food is perceived to be loaded with fat, sugar, salt and carb at a high rate. It has been disapproved by numerous people as being a promoter of unhealthy diet pattern especially for the young generation who are extremely obsessed with the ease of availability and cheaper rates. It has been blamed to cause weight gain among consumers. Due to these facts, the group of health conscious people avoid McDonald’s even after the healthier pickups introduction. (Kane, 2013)

In addition, McDonald’s sells very little fruit/vegetables; they do sell apples and salads, but “the Washington Post estimated that almost 98 percent of McDonald’s customers don’t order a salad.” [1] Students who go to McDonald’s would not buy a salad; they would buy an unhealthy sandwich and a sugary drink, which means that McDonald’s does not protect the health and well-being of children; it influences them to eat unhealthy food. Another piece of evidence that proves McDonald’s is harmful is the 2004 documentary Super Size Me, in which Morgan Spurlock ate only McDonald’s foods for a thirty-day period. Spurlock states, “In only 30 days of eating nothing but McDonald’s I gained 24.5 lbs., my liver turned to fat, and my cholesterol shot up 65 points [to 230]. My body fat percentage went from 11 to 18%... I nearly doubled my risk of coronary heart disease, making myself twice as likely to have heart failure. I felt depressed and exhausted most of the time, my mood swung on a dime... I craved this food more and more when I ate it, and got massive cravings when I didn’t. In my final blood test, many of my body functions showed signs of improvement, but the doctors were less than optimistic.” [3] Therefore, a fast-food diet is damaging toward people, and should not be served at school or anywhere else; fast food is bad for humans like

•In the recent times McDonalds has been blamed for the high fat content in its products and many consumers perceive that the food served at their outlets is not healthy. Also, the consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious these days. McDonalds

McDonalds changed menu with items such as porridge, smoothies and chicken wraps is on reason for the growing business

Did you know 75 McDonald’s hamburgers are sold every second? McDonald’s is a fast-food restaurant that serves people all over the world. McDonald’s is a bad choice to eat at. It’s not a good choice because it’s unhealthy, and they use harmful ingredients.

Here are some changes that McDonald’s implemented as a response to critique its unhealthy foods to give consumers more choices and healthier alternatives. Such initiatives include:

Obesity is probably the most significant issue facing the McDonald’s Company today. The corporation has been severally blamed for the menace due to its wide range of junk foods. As the world’s largest fast food company, it has become a target of most health related films such as Super Size Me. This is because the public blames the company for failing to give nutritional information concerning the items on its menu (Baron, 2010).

Since McDonald’s is the most well know fast food chain in the world with a market cap of 69.35 billion, brand recognition is their biggest strength. The secret of McDonald’s success is its willingness to innovate and maintain consistency in the operation of its many outlets. In recent years McDonald’s has introduced Premium Salads, Snack Wraps, fresh Apple Dippers in the United States, and Corn Cups in China. Also, McDonald 's products are priced so low that economic conditions are almost insignificant.

While, McDonalds is the world largest fast food chain that does not come without problems, the more knowledge that people have the more power they have, McDonalds has in recent years made many adjustments to preparation of certain food items, adjustments to the size food items as well as increased nutritional value to certain food items. Many