Retailing

If you ask most people regardless of where in the world to name fast food restaurants I can almost guarantee that McDonald's will be in the first three that call. That is because McDonald's has 33,000 different locations spread out across the world that spans across 119 countries. Franchising plays a big role in McDonald's growth and success. Almost eighty percent of McDonald's stores are owned by independent people. That means the big boys at top don't really do much work but sit back and watch the money come in as random people all over the world do all the work. Must be hard work too,seeing that McDonald's is at the top of it's industry and one of the biggest franchises in the world.

However they are not that lazy. The success of a franchise also depends on the amount of support it gets from the parent company. In this particular area McDonald's is second to none.  Owner/operators of McDonald's franchises receive their initial training and support during the first year, and then ongoing support throughout their ownership with newsletters, cooperative purchasing, 24-hour telephone support, and field operations.

I recently visited a McDonald's location at 57 Empire Boulevard in Brooklyn. I've been there before and it is generally a good place to go, sometimes. But if I was to judge the store off that one experience,  I probably would never go back. It was super packed and they had the audacity to only have two registers open. I mean your billions of dollars rich and you can't afford to have another worker on the pay roll. The line was moving so slow.


The worst part was that when i finally got to the register that's when they wanted to start rushing, I didn't even get my exact order because the lady at the counter was very intimidating. Their lucky I know that it is usually not that crazy otherwise I would not be going back.

Consumer Decision Making

Many is very well advertised. It has many commercials on television, handing out coupons on the streets, and it has many posters and billboards. This is the reason why many people choose to eat there. McDonald's isn't promoted in it's home country but all over the world. There is more than one in almost every major city in the world. McDonald's advertising catches the attention of everyone, from kids to adults of all races. McDonald's is now selling selling other items to compete with other stores. For example coffee to compete with starbucks. Now its easier for a customer to get a quick bite to eat with coffee withot having to make two stops in two different stores. McDonald's even its internationally store changes it menu to have some special dish in the country its in. Theses are just a few things it does to influences it customer to buy their products.

Developing A Global Vision

McDonald's is the leading global food service retailer with more than 32,000 local restaurants serving more than 60 million people in 119 countries each day. More than 75% of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local men and women. Many McDonald's around the world have made minor or many changes to the menu or store decoration. Theses changes were made so McDonald's would become popular in the country it was in. They wanted to show the customer that they could adapt to their culture.

In India, there are no Big Macs because the Hindu people don't eat beef. However, they have the Maharaja Mac, which is a Big Mac made of lamb or chicken meat. There is also a vegetarian burger called the McAloo Tikki.

The Marketing Environment

McDonald's has been able to survive for so many years because it always finds a way to adapt to the changing marketing environment. With the down fall of the stock markets, McDonald's still manage to attract customers. They know there are many unemployed people and with the dollar menu it will attract them many new customers as well. In order to compete in this economy they have expanded their dollar menu and have done many promotions on there burger like the big mac 2 for 5$ and coupons for the mccafe drinks and value meals. Also in part of its success has to do with its. many locations. There is almost no neighborhood that doesn't have a McDonald's in walking distance.

Ethics and Social Resposibilty

Ethics is referred to as the moral principles or value that generally govern the conduct of an individual or a group. Social responsibility  is the concern for society's welfare. Both ethics and social responsibility play big roles in business and marketing. It isn't ethical the companies lie about their products just for the sake of selling and it is expected that corporations do their best to help society anyway they can. For example, they can go green, or use less waste etc.

McDonald's, despite the fact that many say it is only promoting unhealthy products are actually more ethical and society responsible than people know. They now have added more healthy items to the menu. To the  current items they have found ways to make them with less chemicals and calories. Also, they use less plastic in their packaging and they have dedicated themselves to energy conservation in order to use less money decrease their impact on the environment.

However, all of that was just the tip of the iceberg. McDonald's practices sustainability. Sustainability is the idea that socially responsible companies will outperform their peers by focusing on the world's social problems and viewing them as opportunities to build profits and help the world at the same time. One way they practice this is the Green restaurant design. This is to enhance their strict building standards to incorporate further opportunities for environmental efficiencies and innovation in the design and construction of their restaurants. Another way is through sustainable packaging and waste management. They continue exploring ways to reduce the environmental impacts of our consumer packaging and waste in our restaurant operations.

On all of these priorities and more they continue to engage with experts and NGOs like World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, Environmental Defense Fund, the U.S. Green Building Council and similar organizations around the world to get their best thinking on how they can improve their environmental performance. I guess sustainability does work because they are the leading company within their industry.

Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

                  Competitive Advantage
Competitive advantage is when a company has unique features and products that consumers believe to be than it's competition. Their are currently three types of competitive advantages, niche, cost and product/service orientation. Performing a SWOT analysis helps firms to identify their competitive advantage.


McDonald's has done many things over the years to give itself a competitive advantage over the competition. For example, it has started to sell more salads and other food products that are more healthy. Just recently they decided to open veggie only restaurants in India and other countries.

They even decided to renovate every single franchise within the United States by 2015 to make it more people friendly. They've even changed the packaging to make it more environment friendly. McDonald's really has some competitive advantages going for them.

History and Mission Statement

                            History
McDonald's is the world's largest chain of  hamburger fast food restaurants. It was originally established as a barbecue restaurant in 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald. They later recognized it as a hamburger stand eight years later but it was bought from them in 1955 by Ray Kroc.

Thanks to him McDonald's became worldwide. It now serves 68 million customers 119 countries. As opposed to around the time McDonald's first started it now serves more than hamburgers. The menu includes wraps, dessert, salads, breakfast items and etc.

                                        Mission Statement
McDonald's brand mission is to be our customers' favorite place and way to eat. 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 experiences.