A Comprehensive Analysis of The Global Fast Food Giant

The brand that I have chosen is one of the most iconic and powerful brands in history of this nation and also the whole entire world. They are one of the most successful brands globally and almost everyone has come through their doors for something to eat. The brand that I chose sells a variety of foods like hamburgers, chicken, French fries, salads and etc. This iconic and influential brand that has been around for years and continuing to go strong is the fast food chain called McDonalds.

This company was started in 1948 by two brothers their names were Richard and Maurice McDonalds. The first restaurant was in San Bernardino, California.  They bought most of their appliances and such from for their burger restaurant from a specials salesman by the name of Ray Kroc, he was very intrigued by their request for shake mixers and eight malt. Kroc visited the store and he was so intrigued by how such a small shop can sell so much milkshakes. He saw a great promise in the McDonald’s brand and he offered to start a franchise program for the two brothers. (Britannica, 2018)

Fast forward to today, McDonald’s is the world largest restaurant chain by revenue. They serve over 69 customers every day in over 100 countries across approximately 36,900 outlets of 2016. The managerial functions of McDonalds has contributed heavily to its success as a brand an all-around effective company. The managerial functions of the companies guarantees that all of the restaurants under the McDonald’s name works toward achievement of objectives and common goals. What makes this company so successful and awesome in their brand is that they are heavily associated with great customer relationship and they are also known for being very innovative with their brand which is heavily maintained by their managerial functioning. The planning function is used to develop the company objectives, while the controlling function measures and monitors company resources.

What makes this company so successful and awesome in their brand is that they are heavily associated with great customer relationship and they are also known for being very innovative with their brand which is heavily maintained by their managerial functioning. The planning function is used to develop the company objectives, while the controlling function measures and monitors company resources (Bailey R, 2017).

What the organizing function assists in doing is basically building a very strong human resource in harmony and to lead the function organization with certain activities to achieve very efficient and effective results. Therefore, these management functions greatly influence competitiveness and performance of McDonald’s overall.

Also, the planning function makes sure that their organization of the brand pinpoints and selects reasonable goals that measures to achieve the objectives. The company considers this a very serious role and managerial function because it basically confirms that all of its restaurants should work towards the shared objectives. The managers of these stores benefit heavily from these goals because they are there to make sure the resources that are available will be heavily effective in achieving the set goals that McDonald’s has put in place. The value offering of McDonald’s is very good.  What differentiate McDonalds from some of its competitors when it comes to the value offering is that they have very convenient locations and they have very comfortable seating and in store facilities which would be nice for people who are looking to relax while they have something to eat and they can socialize with their other peers.

Their service is very fast and heavily efficient.  They are very consistent with their quality menu items and they have a lot of acclaimed products most notably the Big Mac. They are very reasonable with their pricing and they are very broad with their food that any age can choose to enjoy. What is unique about their value offering and such is that they target a majority of audiences. The food choices that they have a McDonalds can appeal to a whole family. Like happy meals, Quarter Pounders, Salads, Big Macs, etc.

In overall, McDonalds has a distinct brand over its competitors due to all of these reasons. They give customers a reason on why they should be a loyal customer to the McDonald’s brand.  This is what makes them to have the longevity that they have today in their markets.

Next we have is the analysis of the business environment. It’s a very true fact that every organization or corporation in this society including McDonald’s is affected by the business environment. Not because this company is so successful it means that they aren’t affected by the business environment.

McDonald’s is under what is called PESTEL which stands for political factors, economical factors, social factors, technological factors, environmental factors, legal factors and last but not least political factors. Organizational business operations are always being influenced by the state policies and also the government. The McDonald’s business itself has always been under control of the government's laws and regulation. Some of the most important issues concerning the government and its control over McDonalds and other restaurants includes health, tax issues, employee license and other major issues or concerns. (Greenspan, 2017). The company follows its local government policies and also foreign investment policies for the strategy of the business for the franchise. Political stagnicity also affects the McDonald’s business.

The economical factors also come as a serious issue to many or almost all business organizations. Some examples include, all companies can be majorly affected by an ongoing economic decrease that is worldwide. Because of the international business operation, McDonald has faced a lot of different scales of tax and revenue measurement in many different countries around the world.  McDonald’s has also faced some major problems due to the fact that there is an international currency especially with its food distribution that is actually global. Others include, local economical conditions that could affect McDonald's operation. If the local economy is critical it can affect the company because people will feel highly discouraged to spend money on their food.

Next comes the social factors. Throughout time people’s lifestyle change and in result of that change it affects McDonald’s due to the demand of it. Technology today plays a big role in that factor and the people that are in touch with the modern society expect much updated service and technological advancement from McDonald’s when it comes to the organizational hospitality. That is why today McDonald’s has a touch screen menu to order food or you can download apps from them for certain benefits. At the same time McDonald’s is a global brand and their restaurants run all across the world. The changing demand is different in these societies and countries. McDonald’s is also in India, there are many Indians, Hindu that would rather have vegetables and Muslims strongly avoid pork foods.  McDonald’s is known for selling greasy and meaty foods but their approach needs to be different in that country which means research has to be done in order to know what would satisfy the customers in India especially with the menu. (Kannan, 2014)

After that you have the technology factor, technology plays such a major and crucial role in meeting the customer’s expectation or needs. There are so many food chains around like Burger King, Dominos, KFC, Wendy’s, Popeye’s etc. that are all competing with each other. McDonald’s has to make sure that they are not behind and in order to do that they must use all of their technology access to impact their customers. From almost perfect Wi-Fi, equipment that can entertain customers, and also as I stated new touch screen order menus. That is what plays a major role in McDonald’s still being successful as it is today.

With positive, can come a negative. Environmental factors have a played a negative factor in the McDonald’s brand due to them using some quite harmful elements. For example it is noted that McDonald’s uses non-biodegradable substances for its drinking glasses. Also remember that McDonald’s uses Styrofoam containers and it is heavily discouraged to be used. Other problems that Environmentalist have with the company is that there food packaging is based on. Due to the issues that concerns these environmentalist. They are calling of the franchises to not take any of these issues lightly and too handle it to spread awareness.

Then you have the legal issues, It is highly important that you follow the rules, regulation and procedures to make sure the operation that is being ran is smooth. Some examples include, safety rules, stuff laws, registration, taxes and such. In Islamic countries it is crucial to have the Halal food authorization and McDonald’s should note how the customer’s belief is about it. When every company makes sure they follow the legal process and not just a company but also

Everyone and everything in society that is governed by rules and regulation that we practice will exceedingly benefit majorly from our co-operation from it. Though McDonald’s is such a huge company. They are and have to be majorly responsible with such legal issue.

When it comes to target marketing, McDonalds is one of the best today. They’re target market is anywhere from a little toddler to an older senior. Their environment is very family friendly and they are much known and celebrated for their family-friendly. It is obvious from their commercials, to their food, to even their mascot clown Ronald McDonald and the play place they have for kids. McDonald’s environment can include anyone who just want something to eat.

They don’t only just appeal to family that have kids but they also appeals to workers that are on the go with their breakfast menu and the coffee that is served. It can also appeal to teenagers that just want a spot to chill and relax in. They could have social gathering with friends and just have a good time getting something to eat. Not only that, but McDonald’s targets audiences that are into to living a very healthy lifestyle from the salad’s they sell or even the fruits that they sell. McDonald’s audience is a very broad and that has been one of the key elements in the success of the McDonald’s brand.

The positioning of the McDonald’s brand is another key element in the success of that company. They have been using a very adaptive type of product positioning whereas their company is heavily engaged in repositioning the product and service according to some of the changes. Here’s a quote from the company itself: “McDonald’s has made itself to be the family friendly low cost restaurant in the fast food business. We have a narrow scope for a customer base and a low cost strategy” (McDonalds 2016).

Next we will be analyzing McDonald’s competitive force analysis. The competition is very fierce for McDonald’s. Most of their competition comes from quick service eating establishments, street stalls or kiosks, casual dining full services, takeaway delivery serves etc. Some of McDonald’s biggest competition include Starbucks, Subway, Burger King, KFC, and Domino’s Pizza etc. the threat of substituting meals for McDonald’s is very strong. Not only could that but people who prefer a home cook meal be another threat to the McDonald’s brand.

The bargaining power is involved for McDonald’s it is very low. Though it is low McDonald still does work with some large suppliers I.e., Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Coco Cola Company, Clorox Company, and International Paper Company, Sealed Air Corporation etc. The affiliates of McDonald’s and its corporation usually does not supply food, paper or other related items. Some of the important factors like such as the abundance for supplies, a very low level of uniqueness in products by supplier that is actually provided and other related issues to that is the reason on why each supplier reduces the bargaining power of McDonald’s suppliers.

The threat of new entrants trying to compete with McDonald’s is heavily weak. In order to be in the mix and become a successful competitor with the McDonald’s brand you would have to create such a huge number of outlets that is across the globe. That inquires so much time and effort and massive capital investments. A lot of the others work has to be involved too but it is extremely difficult for and new entrant to compete with the McDonald’s Brand when Subway,

Starbuck, Dominos are already struggling to compete with the McDonald’s brand itself. A lot will have to done to be added to the conversation of McDonald’s biggest competitors.

When it comes promotional strategies. McDonalds spends a huge amount of money on their advertising campaigns which makes up of television which is their prime marketing tool, newspaper ads, billboards, sponsoring of huge sporting programs like the Olympic Games, little leagues, FIFA world cup and so much more. When it comes to promoting McDonald is very aggressive in their approach. But another positive trait when it comes to McDonald’s campaign is the fact that they do not use negative campaigns against their competitors. They do this because they want the focus to be on the McDonald’s brand and not its competitors.

Also, they have a very catchy and fun slogan which everybody knows “I’m Lovin It” which was created by Heye and Partner. They have also use popular celebrities to be spokesperson for the brand. For example. Michael Jordan, Justin Timberlake, Kobe Bryant, Venus Williams and more have all been a spokesperson for the McDonald’s brand.

Some of the working and educational experience for training at McDonald’s is going through the Hamburger university. It is a training facility created by McDonalds to teach and to also train people into learning restaurant management. They believe and heavily emphasize the normal procedures in a restaurant which is cleanliness, good service, and having such qualities on behalf the McDonald’s brand for the customers (n,d).

From doing my research, I have learned that there is a lot of work that is being done behind the scenes to make sure McDonald’s remains on top of the market that they compete in. There is so much time, energy, and resource that is put in place for McDonald’s to keep their success. It is very commendable and all of this is the testament to how good it is in business to market your brand properly in such a way.

In conclusion, though there are so much competition that McDonald’s as long as they keep up with their audiences they will continue to remain relevant and on top of the food chain for years to come.

Work Cite Page

1. Home. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2018, from https://www.franchisedirect.com/information/markettrendsfactsaboutfranchising/thesuccessofmcdonalds/8/1111/
2. McDonald's Restaurant Management Training System. (2017, September 26). Retrieved March 30, 2018, from https://www.geckohospitality.com/restaurant-management-training-system/
3. Kannan, S. (2014, November 19). How McDonald's conquered India. Retrieved March 30, 2018, from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30115555
4. Britannica, T. E. (2018, February 05). McDonald's. Retrieved March 30, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/McDonalds
5. McDonalds' segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy. (2016, April 13). Retrieved March 30, 2018, from https://mpk732t12016clusterb.wordpress.com/2016/04/10/mcdonalds-segmentation-targeting-and-positioning-strategy/
6. Greenspan, R. (2017, February 05). McDonald's PESTEL/PESTLE Analysis & Recommendations. Retrieved March 30, 2018, from http://panmore.com/mcdonalds-pestel-pestle-analysis-recommendations