From modest beginnings in 1954, McDonald's experienced a steady growth until the end of 1980, reaching more than 5200 units catering to the United States on 31st December of the same year. This explosive growth was the result of a combination of three ideas which distinguished McDonald's from its competitors of at that time: offering a menu type, prepared as quickly as possible according to the industrial methods of work in the chain; accelerate the rotation of customers, by restricting drivers, served soon, to leave the place as quickly as possible to eat their hamburger elsewhere; and finally, increase profitability by eliminating young people to turn around the waitresses. Thus, the first "fast food" decided to turn to a focused family clientele, more profitable than young people. The liberal acceleration in the United States aroused the real take-off of McDonald's, which now exceeds 12 000 units in the U.S. and more abroad, exceeding the wildest expectations of its founder, Ray Kroc. Michael Quinlan, president of McDonald's until 1998, dreamt of an America where "no one has more than 4 minutes of a Big Mac".
[...] As for suppliers of meat, vegetables and cardboard and plastic packaging, Mc Donald's has a strong transport facility, in any country in the world in which it is located. Thus their power is from low to medium. Thus, after analyzing the pattern of Porter, we can better understand why Mc Donald's had recently been subjected to fierce competition. This is mainly due to fickle customers and strong competition prevailing in the fast food sector and in the restaurant business worldwide. [...]
[...] A STRATEGY OF LOW PRICE AND VOLUME Mc Donald's has a policy of low prices and volume throughout the world, major elements of its competitive advantage. To deliver as many dishes daily, prices must be affordable. We can't go to McDonald's just as we go to a standard restaurant. McDonald's goal is to attract customers in the most regular way possible, it should therefore not offer menus at very high prices. The products prices are not identical in all the countries, and within the same country also we can find price differences depending on the location. [...]
[...] STRATEGIC CUISINE OF MC DONALD'S To retain consumers, the strategy of McDonald's based on the standardization of production and distribution which are strictly controlled at the central level. According to The Operators' Manual - Large volume of 600 pages - the must have a beautiful appearance, but above all it must be the same. All stages of manufacturing are carefully monitored and detailed. For example, for a normal hamburger the standards imposed are: - The bread crust should measure 16 mm thick - Its diameter must be of 9.5 cm; height of 4.1 cm - Its weight after cooking must be 638 grams. [...]
[...] ACTIONS OF MC DONALD'S TO RESTORE ITS IMAGE The best action taken by the McDonald's group is the creation of the “Ronald McDonald House Charities”. The aim of this association is to help sick children in different ways. We can find the association in almost every country in the world. First, there was the Ronald McDonald House which allowed parents to live properly near to the hospital in which their child is admitted. In exchange, families made a donation of 5 to 20 $ per day if they could, otherwise, they could stay there freely. [...]
[...] IMPORTANCE OF PRODUCTS IN FRANCE Putting forward the traceability of products In 1991, the company had developed a strategy for meat, milk and flour products by creating a specific supply chain for these products. Thus it allows it to identify the origin of products. On this occasion a joint venture company was created with meat producers. Since of the meat comes from France and it is traced. They also set up traceability on all their products. Menus: Meals are composed of 100% French products. [...]
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