Mcdonald's Case Study

The key elements of strategy were setting the standards for the operation of McDonalds’ stores,

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.

McDonald's Corporation is considered to be the largest fast-food operator in the entire World and was initially formed in 1955 after Ray Kroc had pitched the idea of opening up numerous restaurants founded on the original which was owned by Mac and Dick Mac McDonald. McDonald's in 1965 decided to go public and then introduced its flagship product, which was the Big Mac, sometime in 1968 (Botterill, 2007). Today, McDonald's functions beyond 40,000 restaurants in over 200 nations and have one of the world's most extensively recognized brand names. McDonald's sales started hitting around the mark of $58 billion corporation -wide and over $30 billion in the United States alone in 2012 (S&P).

“McDonald's brand mission is to be our customers' favorite place and way to eat and drink. Our worldwide operations are aligned around a global strategy called the Plan to Win, which center on an exceptional customer experience – People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion. We are committed to continuously improving our operations and enhancing our customers' experience”. [1]

McDonald’s has been in business since 1955. Through many years of great strategic and financial planning, it has become one of the most successful food chains in the world. In order to continue its great success, McDonald’s must continue to adapt to change. In this paper we will discuss the strategic and financial planning that would be necessary to keep McDonald’s on top of the food chain.

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

Marketing is a mix of business activities that work towards a bigger goal of building a brand and creating lasting relationships to capture value from customers. Implementing a marketing strategy is vital as it examines every aspect of a business by identifying customer needs and meeting these in a better way than competitors (Armstrong et al. 2015). McDonald’s and Hungry Jack’s are examples of companies with excellent customer-driven marketing strategies, strategically deciding which customers to serve (segmentation and targeting) and how (positioning & differentiation). Using this as a guideline they’ve incorporated the marketing mix consisting of; product, price, promotion and place to produce the response it wants in the target market.

McDonald’s emphasizes cleanliness and food safety, in addition to quality and value service (QSC&V), through which it has succeeded in obtaining customer trust. The company also stresses ethical practices, dependability, and truthfulness in dealing with customers (McDonald’s, 2012, p. 1). Moreover, McDonald’s employs a coordinated marketing strategy that involves analyzing customer wants, creating products to satisfy his or her needs, setting the right prices and enhancing awareness of

In the article “The Franchisees Are Not Lovin’ It,” the authors, Gruley and Patton, discuss the difficulties of the McDonalds franchise, the struggles of the franchisees, and the inability to solve these problems. The article goes on to talk about how McDonalds needs to get back to basics, just as they say themselves. Yet, they continue to make the menu more complex by the constant introduction of new foods. They are getting away from their identity as a burger joint. As a result they are closing restaurants and are continuing to experience declining revenue. McDonalds isn’t what they used to be and something needs to be done to improve the well-being of the company, the franchisees, the employees, and most importantly the customers.

Michael Porter investigated why nations have a competitive advantage in specific industries his findings saw two basic types of competitive advantage that firms could pose low cost or differentiation. If you combine the two types of competitive advantage and allow room for a way in which firm wish to achieve them this will lead to three generic strategies which will achieve higher average performances in industries: cost leadership, differentiation and focus.

I, Tayneata M. Starr, decided to discuss McDonald’s for this strategy report. McDonald’s began in the 1940’s as a “mom & pop” bar-b-que diner in San Bernardino, California by Dick and Mac McDonald (“McDonald’s History,” n.d.). In December of 1948, McDonald’s was rebranded as a self-serve drive-in restaurant (“McDonald’s History,” n.d.). The original menu was comprised of nine items, with the staple product being the “15-cent hamburger” (“McDonald’s History,” n.d.). Today, McDonald’s is a publicly traded organization that operates in the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada, and Latin America (“MCD Profile,” n.d.). As of December 2015, McDonald’s has 36, 525 restaurants in operation, offering products such as soft drinks, hamburgers,

By focusing on product innovations and upgrades of its properties, McDonald’s was able to achieve strategic competitiveness and above average returns.

In a recent analysis study, it was found that “There are over 200,000 fast food restaurants in the United States and it is estimated that 50 million Americans eat at one of them every single day” (Fast Food Industry Analysis 2016). With so many options, how can any fast food business thrive? The answer is through standing out. A company must figure out the easiest and most effective way for consumers to think of their business. The master of this concept is the well known multi-billion dollar company: McDonald 's. However; their success cannot be credited from only their products; advertising is what has helped McDonald 's become so successful in brand recognition. Not only have they been able to successfully capture an audience of all ages, but they have seized opportunities to make changes to appeal to consumers.

In order to do this, McDonalds store must be efficient and keep everyday operations costs as low as possible. In this way, this will allow for the stores to be superior to other fast food restaurants because McDonalds can serve it food at lower prices than any other fast food company. Besides, another important competitive advantage is at McDonalds they have the speedy delivery of the food. In order to maintain this advantage over other fast food chains, McDonalds must make the process of cooking food simple for all the employees. It must be easy to learn and easy to achieve with a low failure rate to make sure the quick production and delivery of the food. These two competitive advantages obey with the vision of the company which is as follow: “McDonald’s vision is to be the world’s best quick service restaurant experience. To be the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness and value, so as to make every customer in every restaurant

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.