Mcdonald 's : The Biggest Fast Food Chain

McDonald’s Corporation are the most successful and popular fast food brand in the world, holding the largest fast food market share and being the leading fast food restaurant chain in terms of world sales (8%). They are the second greatest outlet operator with more than 34,000 outlets, serving worldwide to 69 million customers daily, across 119 countries. Their brand is the seventh most valuable and

McDonaldization of society- the process by which ordinary aspects of life are rationalized and efficiency comes to rule them, including such things as food preparation p. 173

McDonald's has successfully created a brand/name for itself as the leading fast food retailer in the world. It is somewhat of impossibility for one to not come across a McDonald's with over 30,000 local restaurants in over 100 countries (McDonald's, 2011). Those restaurants are owned either by a franchise owner or a corporation; a percentage of all the earnings from a franchise owner, including a percentage from their annual revenue go to McDonald's.

Now, in 1954, a man named Ray Kroc joined McDonald’s and helped create it into a fast food empire by spreading the idea of the Speedee Service System nationwide. He had originally went to McDonald’s to convince the brothers who owned to by his milkshake machine, but fell in love with their Speedee Service System. He convinced the brothers to let him buy the franchise and helped developed the business nationwide. After finalizing the agreement, he wrote to his old friend, Walt Disney to ask if he (Kroc) could place a McDonald’s in his amusement park, Disneyland. Disney forwarded the idea to the executives over the park and in return the executives demanded that Kroc raise the prices on the food so that they could make a profit off of it. Kroc refused.

Since Richard and Maurice McDonald founded in 1948, McDonald's has grown from a small restaurant in California into one of the most recognized brands in the world with a chain of outlets that spans the globe. For over 50 years, McDonald's defined the fast food industry while indelibly etching its golden arches logo on the face of both American and global culture through such icons as character Ronald McDonald and the Big Mac sandwich. Millions of people started their very first jobs at McDonalds while even more began to have their eating habits redefined by the chain. Concepts like the drive-thru window were introduced along with the Happy Meal for children in order to provide a fast, affordable, and enjoyable dining. Ray Kroc, saleman

First, Schlosser and Wilson describe the history of fast food. Everything started with a fifteen-year-old boy named Charlie Nagreen at a county fair squishing a meatball between two slices of bread, creating the hamburger. The authors then go on to talk about how McDonald’s was the first restaurant to introduce a quick system for customers to get their food. After seeing the success of the McDonald brothers, a businessman named Ray Kroc made a deal with them to travel the country, spreading the chain. Later, Ray Kroc would buy McDonald’s from the McDonald brothers. When other restaurants, such as Wendy’s and Burger King, saw the success of McDonald’s, they began to do the same thing, having a chain of identical restaurants across the United States. Not only did restaurants adopt this idea of complete sameness, but so did other companies such as

“McDonald’s.” When people hear that word, the first things they visualize are the Golden Arches, the Big Mac, or Ronald McDonald. McDonald 's has had a profound effect on the fast-food industry and on the U.S.; in the 20th century, the creators/owners of McDonald 's, Richard McDonald, Maurice McDonald, and Ray Kroc (a traveling salesman) created the Speedee Service System, which made restaurants like a factory, and improved on franchising, an easy way to set up businesses and make money. Other restaurants began basing themselves off of McDonald’s. As of McDonald’s influence on America: “We believe that the McDonald’s brand is… omnipresent… in America,”

Chapter ten begins with the author talking about his visit to Plauen, Germany. He then gives a description of the population before, during, and after World War 2, informing its readers that Plauen was abandoned after Britain bombed the city. Plauen was occupied by the U. S.A. and the Soviet Union during and after the war, and was a common place where protests broke out. According to the book, after the war ended McDonald’s was the first corporation to open a new building in the city.

REFERENCES•www.mcdonalds.com, accessed on 18 July, 2008•www.mcdonldsindia.net, accessed on 18 July, 2008•en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald's, accessed on 19 July, 2008•http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/263943/mcdonalds_strategic_marketing_mix.html?cat=4, accessed on 19 July, 2008•www.kfc.com, accessed on 25 August, 2008

McDonald’s corporation started in 1944 as a drive-in restaurant in California. This single location was started by Dick and Mac McDonald. That location was altered in 1948, when the start of the 19 cent cheeseburger became popular. They had continued growth over the years and by 1965 there were over 700 restaurants in service. Since that time they have grown dramatically. As of 2011, they are operating in 119 different countries. They have more than 35,000 restaurants and over 1,8 million employees. McDonald’s direct competitors are Burger King and Yum brands (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut). Forbes profile describes McDonald’s as “As of December 31, 2011, of the 33,510 restaurants in 119 countries 27,075 were franchised or licensed (including 19,527 franchised to conventional franchisees, 3,929 licensed to developmental licensees and 3,619 licensed to foreign affiliates (affiliates)-primarily Japan) and 6,435 were operated by the Company. McDonald's menu includes hamburgers and cheeseburgers, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Filet-O-Fish, several chicken sandwiches, Chicken McNuggets, Snack Wraps, French fries, salads, oatmeal, shakes, McFlurry desserts, sundaes, soft serve cones, pies, soft drinks, coffee, McCafe beverages and other beverages.” They are considered #6 by Forbes on the World’s Most Valuable Brands. Their dollar menu and attention given to children’s products in their much marketed Happy Meal’s have brought them much attention and wealth.

Because McDonalds is such a known-worldwide corporation, you have to wonder what kind of man was brilliant enough to come up with the idea. Ray Kroc is the man behind the yellow arches. Ray Kroc was born in 1902 and was known for having various jobs until 1954 when he visited a San Bernardino, CA restaurant and was impressed by how effective and organized the operation of the restaurant was (Ray). He admired their “limited menu… which allowed them to focus on quality and quick service” (Ray). So in 1955, Kroc presented his idea of building McDonald’s restaurants across the country and founded McDonald’s System, Inc. (Ray). Kroc was very successful even from the beginning seeing that as of 1958, the 100 millionth burger had been sold by McDonald’s (Ray). Since then McDonalds has expanded considerably and has caused Americans to affiliate their yellow arches with hamburgers and quick

McDonald’s began as a barbeque, and the brothers strictly offered burgers, fries, and pop. Ray Kroc heard about McDonald’s one day and went to visit the restaurant. Kroc was surprised by their efficiency and the quality of the food. Kroc liked the fact that the brothers could focus on the quality of food, due to the limited menu items. Subsequently Kroc realized their success could amount to much more and shared his vision. Kroc told the McDonald brothers that McDonald’s could be a national business serving people across the country. (At this point, Kroc did not even think about being international). Dick and Mac were thrilled with what they heard, so in 1955 Kroc founded the McDonald’s Corporation and opened the first McDonald’s in Des Plaines, Illinois. By 1960 Kroc had bought exclusive rights to McDonald’s. In 1961, Kroc developed Hamburger University where new employees were trained on how to run a successful McDonald's. Kroc wanted to develop the most efficient methods to store, cook, and sell food, so he had a laboratory built at Hamburger University where students' test different ways to make McDonald's more productive. Hamburger University is still in use today in the search for ways to better McDonald’s. McDonald’s had their first sit-down restaurant in 1962, and then in 1975, McDonald’s had opened their first drive-thru restaurant in Arizona. The first drive-thru restaurant was

Fast food is currently one of the biggest businesses in the United States due to the hectic schedules that the average person has to deal with. It is often necessary to grab food on the go because there just isn’t enough time to cook at home. This is the main reason behind the tremendous success of fast food giants such as McDonalds and Burger King. McDonald 's Corporation is the world 's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948 they reorganized their business as a hamburger stand using production line principles.

McDonald has been a well-known and valuable brand for over half a century. The company’s mission and vision is striving to be the world’s best quick service restaurant and formalizing their beliefs into “People, Vision, and People Promise”. “Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value” also became the company’s motto. The company’s first McDonald store was built “in 1940 by the original McDonald brothers, Dick and Mac. Later in 1954, Ray Kroc became the first official franchisee appointed by Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California” (Chandiramani, Ravi). Soon after, Mr. Kroc opened his first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, and the McDonald’s corporation was created. The new franchise began to grow rapidly as a result of its

The company researched for the purpose of this paper is McDonald 's. This company 's history dates back since 1940 when Mac and Dick McDonald initially opened McDonald 's BBQ restaurant located in San Bernardino, CA. In 1948 they shut down the restaurant, just to reopen it as a self-service drive-in restaurant. According to About McDonald’s (2012), their menu included only 9 items, such as: milk, coffee, soft drinks, cheeseburger, hamburger, potato chips, and a slice of pie. Potato chips were then replaced by French fries. The history of this company is significantly market by Ray Kroc, who in 1954 at a visit to McDonald 's in San Bernardino decides to have a franchise of McDonald 's. A year later, in 1955, he opens his first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois. The franchising plan allowed growth and by 1965 there were more than 700 restaurants across United States. McDonald 's