McDonalds: A Case Study
McDonalds: A Case Study
Case Study: Mcdonalds
McDonalds is widely considered the “king” of fast food restaurants. Started as one restaurant in 1955 by Ray Kroc, McDonalds is now a worldwide chain offering everything from a traditional hamburger to Frappuccino’s and everything in between. The McDonalds website states” Ray Kroc wanted to build a restaurant system that would be famous for food of consistently high quality and uniform methods of preparation. He wanted to serve burgers, buns, fries and beverages that tasted just the same in Alaska as they did in Alabama.” This vision is the underlying cause of success over time that McDonalds has achieved. However, not all is well as the saying goes you can never judge a book by its cover. McDonalds earnings have declined since the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. In 2001, McDonalds profit decreased by 17 percent and there are a variety of factors, which lead to this decrease. A major reason for the sales decline is market saturation. There are many more alternative restaurants today including Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell and also the not as formal sit down restaurants such as Panera and Boston Market who are taking business away from McDonalds. “Burger King is currently featuring a gingerbread cookie shake, while Wendy 's new Garden Sensations salads are doing well. On Thursday, Wendy 's announced that its same-store sales in North America were up 2.7 percent in the third quarter” (Storm 2012). A cause for concern is McDonalds worldwide image. Despite the efforts of McDonalds marketing and PR staff, the fast food super power is known around the world as unhealthy and is associated with obesity. Parents who were once taking
Case Study: Mcdonalds
their children to McDonalds on a regular basis are now decided on healthier options. The problem for McDonalds is that even though many of these restaurants can be just as bad for a person, the others do
Case Study: Mcdonalds
McDonalds is widely considered the “king” of fast food restaurants. Started as one restaurant in 1955 by Ray Kroc, McDonalds is now a worldwide chain offering everything from a traditional hamburger to Frappuccino’s and everything in between. The McDonalds website states” Ray Kroc wanted to build a restaurant system that would be famous for food of consistently high quality and uniform methods of preparation. He wanted to serve burgers, buns, fries and beverages that tasted just the same in Alaska as they did in Alabama.” This vision is the underlying cause of success over time that McDonalds has achieved. However, not all is well as the saying goes you can never judge a book by its cover. McDonalds earnings have declined since the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. In 2001, McDonalds profit decreased by 17 percent and there are a variety of factors, which lead to this decrease. A major reason for the sales decline is market saturation. There are many more alternative restaurants today including Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell and also the not as formal sit down restaurants such as Panera and Boston Market who are taking business away from McDonalds. “Burger King is currently featuring a gingerbread cookie shake, while Wendy 's new Garden Sensations salads are doing well. On Thursday, Wendy 's announced that its same-store sales in North America were up 2.7 percent in the third quarter” (Storm 2012). A cause for concern is McDonalds worldwide image. Despite the efforts of McDonalds marketing and PR staff, the fast food super power is known around the world as unhealthy and is associated with obesity. Parents who were once taking
Case Study: Mcdonalds
their children to McDonalds on a regular basis are now decided on healthier options. The problem for McDonalds is that even though many of these restaurants can be just as bad for a person, the others do
Cited: Adams, C. (2007). Reframing the Obesity Debate: McDonald 's Role May Surprise You. Journal Of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 35(1), 154-157. doi:10.1111/j.1748-720X.2007.00120.x STROM, S. (2012, November 9). McDonald 's Reports Unexpectedly Sharp Drop in Sales. New York Times. p. 5. Warner, M. (2005, January 29). Sales Growth at McDonald 's Is the Highest in 17 Years. New York Times. p. C5.