Marketing Management 3-4:30
Current Issues Paper
McDonald’s, What Does It Mean to You?
McDonald’s Corporation has held a prominent position in the fast-food market for much of its existence. A person would be hard pressed to find consumers who would not readily recognize the famous golden arches, as the company has expanded its market globally. However, as global consumer tastes shift to a more heath-conscious public which cares less about “super sizing” and more about “slenderizing” the popular burger chain has been experiencing a drop in sales. McDonald’s strategy for its globalization plan has included the concept of localizing their product (to a degree) for an international market; for example, local managers in British versions of the restaurant are able to make their own decisions that pertain to adapting to the current market. A difficult challenge for the corporation’s marketing team is how to reposition this wildly successful brand in a stagnant British market.
McDonald’s, which has operated in London successfully for thirty years, has recently become aware of dropping sales which have been attributed to the country’s growing health concerns. The plan the British marketing team has developed includes sending the famous “golden arches” on hiatus while a new campaign will attempt to reposition the fast-food chain as a healthy choice for consumers. The theory is interesting, due to McDonald’s strong consu...
McDonalds. What had started as a humble family owned drive-through has become a multi-million dollar industry. Everywhere one goes, there are reminders of how amazingly widespread this company has become, whether it be seeing McDonald’s famous golden arches on a billboard or hearing the catchy “I’m Lovin’ It” tune in a commercial. But more than this, McDonalds has become part of our global identity– our McWorld.
McDonaldization is the process in which the principles of popular fast food companies such as McDonald’s are appearing throughout the world in many aspects of our modern society. As McDonaldization sweeps across the globe, The authors of McDonaldization Revisited argue that “‘Americanisation’ is so often a synonym for cultural decline” (Alfino, Caputo, & Wynyard , 1998, p. 8). George Ritzer claims that this is due to the rationalization of society as McDonaldization is meant to signify the optimal fusion of efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control (Ritzer, 2011). The intricacies of the human touch are utterly eliminated from this process, and what is left is an uninviting, cold, and unforgiving concept. When the novelty of something so foreign and American wears off, adaptation is needed to sustain one’s position in other countries. One research design type that researchers might utilize to view McDonaldization would be observation of the adaptation and cultural assimilation across different parts the world. This can be measured with ethnographies, the systematic study of the customs of people and cultures.
"McDonaldization.com - What Is It?" McDonaldization.com - What Is It? Rogue Valley Group, 2009. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. .
There is no doubt of how important education is in a free society. Articles like “America Skips School” by Benjamin R. Barber and “The Dumbest Generation? Don’t Be Dumb” by Sharon Begley and Jeneen Interlandi, discuss the education that younger generations are receiving, and its effectiveness. In a free society every individual should be able to combine their creativity with their resources to strengthen knowledge, which is where the importance of education comes in. Education is one of the many services that the market is able to offer. In our culture today, there is a greater importance on education, especially higher education. However, the question of what it means to have a higher education have arisen. Barber, Begley, and Interlandi,
McDonalds promotes the construct of “healthiness” as a justification as to why a consumer should purchase their food. This article introduces an interesting viewpoint that despite these claims of “healthiness” or even the inclusion of low calorie options does not ensure that the consumer will not overconsume their food. I will use this source to expand the findings in "Nutritional Quality at Eight U.S. Fast-Food Chains 14-Year Trends” which argues that despite the addition of “healthy” options at fast food restaurants, the overall nutritional quality of the menu remained poor. An analysis of these two sources will be used to help answer my research questions: what consists of healthy food in the McDonalds “Questions” campaign and what are the implications of this definition of healthy food? I will use these sources to support the significance of my claim. Specifically, I will use Downs as evidence for my claim that despite marketing campaigns aimed at redefining McDonald’s as a healthy option, the definition of healthy food that these commercials promote is too limited and ultimately attempts to conform to new definitions of healthy food without actually changing their
The broad issue facing McDonald’s U.K is the current attitude toward rising obesity, The Company seems to have tried many different approaches to deal with the problem, but the problem persists. List all the problems facing McDonald’s and critique its various approaches to solve the
Since an early age, parents, teachers, and society in general have penetrated the idea into students’ head that we must go to college. Maybe you remember when you were 5 years old in the kinder garden drawing in the classroom, when the lovely teacher asked the “what you want to be when you grow up” question. Since that day students are bombarded with the concept that they have to go to college in order to be successful in life. If students don’t go to a four-year college and have good grades, their life will be a complete disaster. But what happens when you have a 4.0 GPA, have been in the honor roll for 4 straight years, and perhaps been the valedictorian of your high school, but can’t afford college? What if you don’t want to go to college but to a trade school or get a simple certificate instead? That is when we start to deeply think what role college is playing in our society. Should college be an option? What’s the real purpose of going to college anyways? The real question is if by going to a university it would be really preparing students for real world.
The American life has been transformed by the fast food industry not just changing the American diet but also the culture, workplace, economy, and the landscape. “Today about half of the money used to buy food is spent at restaurants-mainly fast food restaurants.” (Schlosser) This could be due to the fact that about two-thirds of working women are mothers. The impact of fast food on the American culture is transparent when just looking at McDonald’s. McDonald’s has become the world’s most famous brand; the golden arches are more known than the Christian cross. “A survey of American schoolchildren found that 96 percent could identify Ronald McDonald.” (Schlosser) McDonald’s is responsible for 90 percent of new jobs in The United States. The landscape has changed due to the fast food ...
McDonald’s was the first company to try to export America’s fast food and changes in eating habits to other nations. McDonald’s has over
A world without the Big Mac, Happy Meals, Chicken McNuggets, and the phrase “I’m lovin’ it,” is almost inconceivable. People around the globe have become accustomed to the high gleaming golden arches that make up the famous emblem for McDonald’s. McDonald’s has grasped the concept that culture flows from power. In this case, the American culture flows through the veins of this fast-food giant and the more that is supplied, the greater the demand. It is no secret that McDonald’s has become one of the world’s largest fast-food retailers. It has become a well known icon that has played a huge part in globalization, with chains located in many different countries… transforming the meaning of fast-food all around the world.
It is easy to think college is not worth the cost to become better, but getting educated molds a better person, and creates happier people in the future and occasionally they become better in health (Leonhardt 25 ). Becoming a better and happier person is pleasing for everyone. Even former President Obama says “‘Education helps us be better people. It helps us be better citizens. You came to college to learn about the world and to engage with new ideas and to discover the things you're passionate about -- and maybe have a little fun’” (Procon.org). Learning and engaging in everything is a skill everyone should have, so like he said we should go to college to be able to do that. Additionally, education shows people to develop more intellectual skill and become more responsible (Pew Social and Demographic Trends). Thus said, being educated and smart is something everyone can do and college helps with that. Likewise, college can encourage someone to be more educated and happier. Reaching the point of happier and more educated is worth the cost.
According to Royle (1999) McDonald’s is a very large multinational enterprise (MNE) and the largest food service operation in the world. Currently the company has 1.5 million workers with 23,500 stores in over 110 countries with the United Kingdom and Germany amongst the corporation’s six biggest markets, and over 12,000 restaurants in the United States. In 1974 the United Kingdom corporation was established and in 1971 the Germany corporation was established, currently the combined corporation has over 900 restaurants and close to 50,000 employees in each of these countries (Royle, 1999).
"Studying McDonald's ABroad: Overseas Branches Merge Regional Preferences, Corporate Directives." Editorial. Nations Restaurant News 11 Nov. 2005: n. pag. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.
People in the past did not stress value of receiving a higher education because it was not as indispensable as it is today. Now, people perceive others not only by their appearances, but by their accomplishments. Employers always hire people with the most education and experience. The majority of students are concerned about getting a higher education throughout the years. Nevertheless, some people question the purposes of getting educated, and consider it meaningless. The concept of education has a significant meaning. It enables one to take control of knowledge and apply it. It is education what prepares the mind to comprehend and learn important ideas. A higher education is very important for an individual's success in life. It offers students skills that prepare them mentally, physically and socially for the world of work later in life. A higher education should not be a choice, because it is the foundation of our society. It helps students with their personal development, provides economic growth, helps students understand and interpret the world around them, and affects individuals’ job positions. It will promote new interests, economic stability, help students understand others, and prepare better individuals for the future.
Overall, McDonalds are able to reach customers all around the globe and they market their products inexpensively. According to Naim (2001, p. 1) it is acknowledged that, “McDonald 's is a global brand, but we run our business in a fundamentally different way that ought to appeal to some critics of globalization. We are a decentralized entrepreneurial network of locally owned stores that is very flexible and adapts very well to local conditions. We offer an opportunity to entrepreneurs to run a local business with local people supplied by a local infrastructure. Each creates a lot of small businesses around