Business Ethics Minor Financial Markets Case 1 McEthics in Europe and Asia: should McDonald’s extend its response to ethical criticism in Europe? Introduction The “McEthics” case describes how Mc Donald’s, the fast food industry’s market leader, faces charges concerning growing health problems in Europe and Asia. 1) Set out the main criticisms that have been leveled at Mc Donald’s in Europe. To what extent are these criticisms likely to be replicated in Asia? What differences can be predicted? There are four main areas of critique that have been leveled at Mc Donald’s in Europe. First, the products are said to be fat and unhealthy, which fosters health problems, especially obesity and diabetes. …show more content…
For instance, they developed a healthier menu, introducing salads and fruit packages or launched sport initiatives and awareness campaigns. By contrast, in Asia Mc Donald’s is reacting very slowly, not answering to the peoples concern. One possible explanation for Mc Donald’s actions in Europe could be that European governments started taxing the fast food industry. In the meantime, Asian governments seem to show now interest in such measures. This observation is also a strong indicator that Mc Donald’s campaigns in Europe are not truly altruistic. It rather seems that Mc Donald’s is merely after profit and stakeholders satisfaction rather than providing healthy food. 3) Should Mc Donald’s offer healthy alternatives to the same extent in all the countries in which it operates, or just those where it has been criticized in the past, or is it expecting further regulation? What if customers overseas do not want healthy options? Mc Donald’s should offer healthy alternatives in every country as long as customers accept and buy them. If customers do not want healthy options, Mc Donald’s should offer other alternatives such like sport programs or simple information packages. Scientific research clearly proofs that fast food, consumed on a regular basis, is extremely unhealthy. Mc Donald’s could be said to have an ethical responsibility to educate its customers about fast food and healthy alternatives. 4) How could Mc Donald’s seek to avoid further criticism
McDonald’s is the global foodservice business with more than 20,000 local restaurants serving more than 30 million customers each day. McDonald’s has spread through over 100 countries, including countries in East Asia (Watson, 3). In the book “Golden Arches East: McDonald’s in East Asia” by James L. Watson, he studied three countries which were Beijing, Seoul, and Japan. Also, he wrote how McDonald’s has played a role in each countries cultures that he mentioned. He mentioned how different countries McDonald’s share similarities and differences the way cultures were impacted economically and politically, and also, how people viewed the American cultures coming to their countries. In this essay, I’ll be writing about how McDonald’s has been
In a 2003 court case, “Caesar Barber v. McDonald’s Corporation, et al.,” Barber claimed he was unaware of the nutritional and fat content of the fast food he ate on a near-daily basis for decades, and which he claimed caused his multiple illnesses (Daily Caller). The people of the court ruled that Barber’s choice of food was the cause of his many health issues, not the restaurants which supplied the fast food. In this case, the court held the consumer responsible for his selections; however, the court’s expectation of personal responsibility in food selection will most likely become anachronous. The article “Is Fast Food the New Tobacco?” addresses the issue of rapidly growing fast-food chain restaurants, such as McDonalds, Burger King, and Taco Bell, and the health issues that perpetuate from an increased amount of these restaurants. Anywhere we travel today, out of town, to a big city or a small village, consumers are bound to see some sort of advertising for fast food. Many billboards display life-size pictures of steaming hot sandwiches, fresh-cut fries, or an ice cold beverage. The streets are lined with bright, golden arches, fluorescent bells, or a red-headed, smiling little girl. All of these modes of advertisement draw consumers in, whether they be hungry or simply in a rush with no time to cook dinner at home, and feed them food that just isn’t up to par with healthy-eating standards. Notice, these restaurants don’t use force to bring customers in by the masses;
“Our purpose goes beyond what we sell. We’re using our reach to be a positive force. For our customers. Our people. Our communities. Our world.” This is what Mc Donalds has in place for their mission statement, or as they call it their “ambition”. Although on the surface it seems genuine and wholehearted, one must look beyond the words being stated and towards the actions that follow. According to Eric Schlosser, the author of Fast Food Nation, Mc Donalds does not follow said mission statement. He argues how there is a danger with fast food, yet many people are blinded by the golden arches and unaware of its harmful effects. I for one agree with Eric Schlosser, based on the findings I discovered regarding their food, employees,
North America in the last 15 years has become engulfed in the fast food trend creating enormous individuals. The billion dollar sales of the MacDonald’s burgers have invaded society and now are seen as a daily activity. Not only has the sale of fast food affected people weights the sheer size of each meal also contributes as well. This new concept of “bigger is better” has swept across North America forcing people to buy more fast food that is needed at each visited. I believe that something need to be done to stop this “growing” epidemic.
Schlosser’s ‘Fast Food Nation’ and Wendell Berry’s ‘The Pleasures of Eating’ have undeniably altered the manner in which I will forever view fast and processed foods. After reviewing the two readings, I am convinced that fast and processed food consumers are the victims of large franchises seeking to make a quick buck at the expense of the consumer’s health. Fast food and processed food consumers are ignorant of the quality of the food that they choose to purchase, solely depending on franchises for the information. Franchisees, on the other hand, choose to conceal this information as revealing it would spell huge losses. They manipulate and decorate food items so as to get consumers to purchase them, with no regard for the health implications they subject their consumers.
I have selected Mc Donald’s advertisement introducing milk and fruit as a healthy option to replace items in the happy meal. Mc Donald’s had used the cartoon characters the Minions to allure or target kids to choose milk as a substitute to the high sugar soft drinks that is currently available also introducing fruit as a substitute for fries. Moreover they also subsequently target the parents as they improve the unhealthy American meal for children easing the minds of the parents to a sense of assurance that they are doing the right thing by feeding their children healthier foods. As a parent I would buy and feed my child the happy meal from Mc Donald’s as we all know that our lives in America is very hectic and fast pace and Mc Donald’s offer
Hospital food is not known to be delicious, until McDonald’s becomes that food; that’s right, hospitals contain some of the thousands of McDonald’s franchises found worldwide. This is a prime factor to why the United States has become the fattest country in the world. Consumers are quick to blame the government or perhaps their own self-control with food, but they are overlooking who is perhaps the biggest culprit in the obesity epidemic: processed food franchise owners. Franchise owners are at fault for causing the epidemic because of the excessive alteration of their food, their “food education” diplomacy that has normalized eating out multiple times a week, and its effect on public opinion using lobbyists.
McDonalds is one of the largest food chains globally and in the U.S. It has one of the most recognized symbols with the golden arches. There are more than 34,000 local McDonalds around the world and they serve approximately 69 million people in 118 countries every single day. They also spend about two billion dollars on advertisements each year. The ethical issue that I want to address in this essay is whether or not McDonalds is ethical for advertising and selling obese and unhealthy foods to its customers. I believe it is important to explore this organization because McDonalds is one of the largest and most well-known food chains around the world. It is important to know that an organization as successful and large as them is also
Much like a smile, the “Golden Arches” can be understood in any language. The McDonalds brand is the most well-known, internationally embraced fast food empire. McDonalds operates over 31,000 franchises throughout the world, with the United States leading the way with a whopping 13,381outlets as of May 2009 [1]. McDonalds has the fast food market cornered, offering an increasing variety of food of beverages, marketed to people of all ages to eat at any time of the day. However, being a corporate giant has its issues. McDonalds has faced a lot of criticism for its high-fat, high-sugar, potentially addictive menu. While the corporation is not likely to outright admit responsible for its actions, McDonalds has seen some changes to address
I have chosen the company named by Mc Donald’s for my assignment topic as it is a worldwide and well-known fast food company covered in Asia and Europe countries .
Previously, there has been controversy over the Mc Donald’s menu. The Mc Donald’s restaurant has continuously survived law suits involving the high fat contents in their food. I agree with the text that citizen’s health must be the priority concern for the food companies. Today, many food companies have adopted the fast food habit that places the human health at higher risks. It is therefore a challenge for the Mc Donald Company to incorporate fresh foods and to measure the fat contents for its food as a way of ensuring healthy standards of the company. Again, even though the government gets a lot of revenue for big companies like Mc Donald, it must not cease from regulating the quality of food that are offered for citizens’ consumption. From
•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
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).
Such menu offering prompts Mc Donald’s menu has been protest by many organisations that fight obesity and hence decreases Mc Donald’s popularity.
Mc Donald’s have an un-healthy image, considered to unfriendly to weight watchers and cause obesity amongst children.