a) PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS BRIEFLY.b) RELATE THE BUSINESS DECISIONS (BUDGET DECISIONS VS FINANCING DECISIONS VS INVESTMENT DECISIONS) OF THE COMPANY. McDonald's responds to the pandemic with fasterdrive-thrus, loyalty points, and a new chickensandwichMcDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski is positioning the fast food giant to be a winner in alandscape transformed by COVID-19.COURTESY OF MCDONALD'SMcDonald's today announced a new growth strategy that's designed for the fast food giant tocapitalize on a consumer landscape radically altered by COVID-19."We think we have an opportunity to get aggressive, and that's what we're trying to do,"McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski told Fortune in an exclusive interview. "We expect to be awinner in this."McDonald's entered the pandemic well positioned to operate in an environment where dinersare looking to minimize contact with others. Nearly 95% of McDonald's U.S. restaurants have adrive-thru, and the company expects digital sales that come through its app, a kiosk, or viadelivery to surpass $10 billion, or nearly 20% of its sales, across its top six markets this year.Kempczinski says these trends will only continue to gather steam."I do think that this idea of a contactless experience-one that I'm able to control for myself, onethat I'm able to do as fast and as quickly as I want to-that's something that will be enduring,"Kempczinski says. "Our expectation is we're going to need to be living with the virus for aprolonged period of time."McDonald's new holistic strategy, called Accelerating the Arches, is focused on not just thecompany's food but how consumers will order it, with an emphasis on drive-thru, delivery, anddigital (the "three Ds" in McDonald's parlance). The company is bringing together these threechannels in what it is calling MyMcDonald's an experience that includes elements like mobileordering and digital menu boards and kiosks. It also incorporates a point-based loyalty programthat the company will start piloting in Phoenix in the next few weeks.Kempczinski says the company entered the pandemic in a healthy financial place, which helpedit weather a 24% decline in same-store sales an important industry metric-during the secondquarter. But by the fall business had bounced back, and in September the company reported itsbest monthly performance in almost a decade.After suspending guidance earlier this year for any outlook for the business, Kempczinski saysthe company is "now at a point where we can start talking with some good confidence" aboutwhat the future holds. Based on current conditions, McDonald's expects mid-single-digit salesgrowth in 2021 (compared with 2019) and in 2022.Kempczinski says several elements of McDonald's new strategy were already underway beforethe pandemic, and that the company had been laying the groundwork by upgrading bandwidthand installing digital drive-thru menu boards. Last year the company acquired machine-learningstartup Dynamic Yield to use A.I. to make order suggestions, and voice-activation startupApprente to speed up time customers spend at the drive-thru.McDonald's says it has shaved 30 seconds off its drive-thru times over the past two years in itsbiggest markets, and Kempczinski says the goal is to make the McDonald's experience evenfaster and more convenient. The company plans to test the likes of express drive-thru pickuplanes for digital orders and a restaurant concept that offers only drive-thru, delivery, andtakeaway.Kempczinski says that faster service is also answering a new emerging consumer need:"Convenience now has also evolved to encompass safety," he says. "The idea of 'The fastercan get in and out of a place, the safer it is."Kempczinski told Fortune that smaller restaurants and those focused on dine-in will strugglethrough this period. "The idea of eating out is now blurring," he says, with many consumersbringing what used to be an eating-out experience back to their homes-a practice that waspreviously dominated by pizza.The company has also upped the speed of its service during the pandemic by simplifying itsmenu as customers opted for their familiar favorites. It plans to continue its focus on coreproducts like Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, McNuggets, and fries, which make up about 70% ofits menu. Kempczinski says the company is making small twists to certain items like its spicyline of McNuggets, which it launched in September, or offering products that don't add a lot ofcomplexity, such as new bakery items like apple fritters.One exception is in the chicken category, which McDonald's says is growing faster than beef.McDonald's was only a bit player in the fast food chicken sandwich wars in 2019 and plans tointroduce a new crispy sandwich early next year to up its game.The company is also announcing a "refreshed purpose" that ranges from focusing on climatechange to equity. The company says it will launch a new advertising campaign, called "ServingHere," which highlights the company's values.The new emphasis on purpose comes as McDonald's has faced a slew of major issues in thepast 12 months that go beyond the pandemic. The company is locked in a legal battle with itsformer CEO, Steve Easterbrook, who the company alleges had multiple sexual relationshipswith employees. McDonald's is also being sued by a group of Black franchisees who claim thecompany discriminated against them. And that is on top of ongoing criticism about fast food'scontribution to the obesity crisis in the U.S.Kempczinski predicts a more challenged economic environment with increased unemploymentrates as stimulus activity in the U.S. and Europe rolls off-something that, he says, "shielded theeconomy from the full impact of COVID. Making sure that we are very focused on providinggreat value, which is one of our strengths," he notes, "is going to be critical.

Question

a) PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS BRIEFLY.b) RELATE THE BUSINESS DECISIONS (BUDGET DECISIONS VS FINANCING DECISIONS VS INVESTMENT DECISIONS) OF THE COMPANY. McDonald's responds to the pandemic with fasterdrive-thrus, loyalty points, and a new chickensandwichMcDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski is positioning the fast food giant to be a winner in alandscape transformed by COVID-19.COURTESY OF MCDONALD'SMcDonald's today announced a new growth strategy that's designed for the fast food giant tocapitalize on a consumer landscape radically altered by COVID-19.&#34;We think we have an opportunity to get aggressive, and that's what we're trying to do,&#34;McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski told Fortune in an exclusive interview. &#34;We expect to be awinner in this.&#34;McDonald's entered the pandemic well positioned to operate in an environment where dinersare looking to minimize contact with others. Nearly 95% of McDonald's U.S. restaurants have adrive-thru, and the company expects digital sales that come through its app, a kiosk, or viadelivery to surpass $10 billion, or nearly 20% of its sales, across its top six markets this year.Kempczinski says these trends will only continue to gather steam.&#34;I do think that this idea of a contactless experience-one that I'm able to control for myself, onethat I'm able to do as fast and as quickly as I want to-that's something that will be enduring,&#34;Kempczinski says. &#34;Our expectation is we're going to need to be living with the virus for aprolonged period of time.&#34;McDonald's new holistic strategy, called Accelerating the Arches, is focused on not just thecompany's food but how consumers will order it, with an emphasis on drive-thru, delivery, anddigital (the &#34;three Ds&#34; in McDonald's parlance). The company is bringing together these threechannels in what it is calling MyMcDonald's an experience that includes elements like mobileordering and digital menu boards and kiosks. It also incorporates a point-based loyalty programthat the company will start piloting in Phoenix in the next few weeks.Kempczinski says the company entered the pandemic in a healthy financial place, which helpedit weather a 24% decline in same-store sales an important industry metric-during the secondquarter. But by the fall business had bounced back, and in September the company reported itsbest monthly performance in almost a decade.After suspending guidance earlier this year for any outlook for the business, Kempczinski saysthe company is &#34;now at a point where we can start talking with some good confidence&#34; aboutwhat the future holds. Based on current conditions, McDonald's expects mid-single-digit salesgrowth in 2021 (compared with 2019) and in 2022.Kempczinski says several elements of McDonald's new strategy were already underway beforethe pandemic, and that the company had been laying the groundwork by upgrading bandwidthand installing digital drive-thru menu boards. Last year the company acquired machine-learningstartup Dynamic Yield to use A.I. to make order suggestions, and voice-activation startupApprente to speed up time customers spend at the drive-thru.McDonald's says it has shaved 30 seconds off its drive-thru times over the past two years in itsbiggest markets, and Kempczinski says the goal is to make the McDonald's experience evenfaster and more convenient. The company plans to test the likes of express drive-thru pickuplanes for digital orders and a restaurant concept that offers only drive-thru, delivery, andtakeaway.Kempczinski says that faster service is also answering a new emerging consumer need:&#34;Convenience now has also evolved to encompass safety,&#34; he says. &#34;The idea of 'The fastercan get in and out of a place, the safer it is.&#34;Kempczinski told Fortune that smaller restaurants and those focused on dine-in will strugglethrough this period. &#34;The idea of eating out is now blurring,&#34; he says, with many consumersbringing what used to be an eating-out experience back to their homes-a practice that waspreviously dominated by pizza.The company has also upped the speed of its service during the pandemic by simplifying itsmenu as customers opted for their familiar favorites. It plans to continue its focus on coreproducts like Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, McNuggets, and fries, which make up about 70% ofits menu. Kempczinski says the company is making small twists to certain items like its spicyline of McNuggets, which it launched in September, or offering products that don't add a lot ofcomplexity, such as new bakery items like apple fritters.One exception is in the chicken category, which McDonald's says is growing faster than beef.McDonald's was only a bit player in the fast food chicken sandwich wars in 2019 and plans tointroduce a new crispy sandwich early next year to up its game.The company is also announcing a &#34;refreshed purpose&#34; that ranges from focusing on climatechange to equity. The company says it will launch a new advertising campaign, called &#34;ServingHere,&#34; which highlights the company's values.The new emphasis on purpose comes as McDonald's has faced a slew of major issues in thepast 12 months that go beyond the pandemic. The company is locked in a legal battle with itsformer CEO, Steve Easterbrook, who the company alleges had multiple sexual relationshipswith employees. McDonald's is also being sued by a group of Black franchisees who claim thecompany discriminated against them. And that is on top of ongoing criticism about fast food'scontribution to the obesity crisis in the U.S.Kempczinski predicts a more challenged economic environment with increased unemploymentrates as stimulus activity in the U.S. and Europe rolls off-something that, he says, &#34;shielded theeconomy from the full impact of COVID. Making sure that we are very focused on providinggreat value, which is one of our strengths,&#34; he notes, &#34;is going to be critical.

Accepted Answer

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