BBB4M
We Live In A Global Economy
Global Golden Arches Case and QuestionsInstructions: Read the case and answer the questions. Save as “yourlastname - McDonalds”
If you have every thought about having “saimin” for breakfast or a “Bolshoi Mac” for lunch, you were probably at a McDonald’s restaurant in another country. Each day, millions of people eat at one of the 25,000 McDonald’s restaurants around the world.
When McDonald’s started in 1955 with a limited menu (hamburgers, french fries, milkshakes, and soft drinks), few people would have imagined that the company would be serving meals in over 110 countries. When sales growth in the United States slowed, McDonald’s management looked for new markets in other countries.
In 1967, McDonald’s opened its first restaurants outside the United States – in Canada and Puerto Rico. These restaurants were follwed by openings in other nations. McDonald’s however, did not ventrue into Mexico until 1985 because the company couldn’t obtain the same quality meat used at its other restuarants.
During the first 20 years of international expansion, McDonald’s averaged two new countries per year. During the next ten years, the company doubled the number of countries in which it operated. McDonald’s opened restaurants in 12 new markets in 1996 alone. McDonald’s menu has been adapted to the tastes of various countries. For example, mixed spaghetti is served in the Philipines, and corn soup is available to customers in Japan.
The company’s success has not been without difficulties. In the late 1970's political trouble in Iran forced McDonald’s to close its restaurants there. In early 1992, after being open only a few months in Taiwan, McDonald’s shut down its 57 restaurants there due to bomb explosions in or near some of its business locations. As McDonald’s and many other companies have discovered, doing business in other countries can have rewards and risks.
Critical Thinking Formative Questions:
1. Why do companies frequently expand their business operations into other countries?
2. What are the benefits and drawbacks of doing business in other countries?
3. What factors prompted McDonald’s to open restaurants outside the United States?
4. How have social and cultural factors affected the company’s international business activities?
5. What risks has the company faced when opening restaurants in other countries?
6. What actions would you suggest for McDonald’s to continue to be successful in international business?
Application Formative Questions
Using the McDonald’s web site (www.mcdonalds.com), research the following questions about the company
7. What is McDonald’s looking for in an employee.
8. Search one of the available corporate positions.
- What type of position is available?
- In what country is it available?
- Where is the home office?
- What are the requirements?
-
9. In what countries are McDonald’s restaurants located (List 10)? Choose one country and find out how the restaurant has adapted to the market in that country. What are the various and different menu items? What is the cost of 2 combos in their currency and also covert it to Canadian dollars.
10. What difficulties has McDonald’s had in entering foreign markets? Why?
11. What is the purpose of Hamburger University?
12. How does McDonald’s demonstrate its “social conscience” in the various countries it operates in?
We Live In A Global Economy
Global Golden Arches Case and QuestionsInstructions: Read the case and answer the questions. Save as “yourlastname - McDonalds”
If you have every thought about having “saimin” for breakfast or a “Bolshoi Mac” for lunch, you were probably at a McDonald’s restaurant in another country. Each day, millions of people eat at one of the 25,000 McDonald’s restaurants around the world.
When McDonald’s started in 1955 with a limited menu (hamburgers, french fries, milkshakes, and soft drinks), few people would have imagined that the company would be serving meals in over 110 countries. When sales growth in the United States slowed, McDonald’s management looked for new markets in other countries.
In 1967, McDonald’s opened its first restaurants outside the United States – in Canada and Puerto Rico. These restaurants were follwed by openings in other nations. McDonald’s however, did not ventrue into Mexico until 1985 because the company couldn’t obtain the same quality meat used at its other restuarants.
During the first 20 years of international expansion, McDonald’s averaged two new countries per year. During the next ten years, the company doubled the number of countries in which it operated. McDonald’s opened restaurants in 12 new markets in 1996 alone. McDonald’s menu has been adapted to the tastes of various countries. For example, mixed spaghetti is served in the Philipines, and corn soup is available to customers in Japan.
The company’s success has not been without difficulties. In the late 1970's political trouble in Iran forced McDonald’s to close its restaurants there. In early 1992, after being open only a few months in Taiwan, McDonald’s shut down its 57 restaurants there due to bomb explosions in or near some of its business locations. As McDonald’s and many other companies have discovered, doing business in other countries can have rewards and risks.
Critical Thinking Formative Questions:
1. Why do companies frequently expand their business operations into other countries?
2. What are the benefits and drawbacks of doing business in other countries?
3. What factors prompted McDonald’s to open restaurants outside the United States?
4. How have social and cultural factors affected the company’s international business activities?
5. What risks has the company faced when opening restaurants in other countries?
6. What actions would you suggest for McDonald’s to continue to be successful in international business?
Application Formative Questions
Using the McDonald’s web site (www.mcdonalds.com), research the following questions about the company
7. What is McDonald’s looking for in an employee.
8. Search one of the available corporate positions.
- What type of position is available?
- In what country is it available?
- Where is the home office?
- What are the requirements?
-
9. In what countries are McDonald’s restaurants located (List 10)? Choose one country and find out how the restaurant has adapted to the market in that country. What are the various and different menu items? What is the cost of 2 combos in their currency and also covert it to Canadian dollars.
10. What difficulties has McDonald’s had in entering foreign markets? Why?
11. What is the purpose of Hamburger University?
12. How does McDonald’s demonstrate its “social conscience” in the various countries it operates in?