Question:
Case Study
Instruction: Kindly read the case below and answer the questions regarding the case.
McDonald’s is the world’s leading hamburger fast-food chain, with over 32,000
restaurants in 118 countries. More than 75 percent of McDonald’s restaurants are
owned and operated by franchisees, which decreases the risk associated with expansion
and ensures longterm tenants for the company. McDonald’s serves 58 million people
each day and promises a simple, easy, and enjoyable food experience for its customers.
The history of the McDonald’s Corporation dates back to 1955 when Ray Kroc, a
multimixer salesman, franchised a hamburger restaurant from the McDonald brothers,
named it McDonald’s, and offered simple foods such as the famous 15 cent hamburger.
Kroc helped design the building, which featured red and white sides and a single golden
arch to attract local attention. Ten years later, 700 McDonald’s restaurants existed
around the country, and the brand was on its way to becoming a household name.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Kroc led McDonald’s growth domestically and
internationally while pushing the importance of quality, service, cleanliness, and value.
The menu expanded to include the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Happy Meal, Filet-O-
Fish, and breakfast items like the Egg McMuffin. Kroc also nderstood early on that his
core audience consisted of children and families. Therefore, he focused
McDonald’s advertising efforts at these groups and introduced Ronald McDonald in
1965 during a 60-second commercial. Soon, characters such as Grimace, the
Hamburgler, and Mayor McCheese made their debut in McDonald’s advertising
campaigns and helped lure children into its restaurants for simple, good-tasting food,
and a fun experience. It was also during this time that McDonald’s created the Ronald
McDonald House, which opened in 1974 tohelp children with leukemia. Since then, it has
expanded into a global charity effort called Ronald McDonald House Charities that
strives to improve children’s lives, health,
and well-being through three major programs: Ronald McDonald House, Ronald
McDonald Family Room, and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile. McDonald’s aggressively
expanded overseas throughout the 1980s by adding locations throughout Europe, Asia,
the Philippines, and Malaysia. This rapid expansion, however, led to many struggles
during the 1990s and early 2000s. The company lost focus and direction, expanding by as
many as 2,000 new restaurants a year. New employees weren’t trained fast or well
enough, all of which led to poor customer service and dirtier restaurants. New
competitors popped up and the company acquired nonburger companies, Chipotle and
Boston Market (which were eventually sold in 2006 and 2007). Consumer tastes changed,
and new products like pizza, the Arch Deluxe, and deli sandwiches failed to
connect with consumers, as did tweaks to the current menu including multiple changes to
the Big Mac special sauce. Jim Skinner, McDonald’s chief executive explained, “We got
distracted from the most important thing: hot, high-quality food at a great value at the
speed and convenience of McDonald’s.”
In 2003, McDonald’s implemented a strategic effort called the “Plan to Win.” The
framework, which still exists today, helped McDonald’s restaurants refocus on offering a
better, higher-quality consumer experience rather than a quick and cheap fast-food
option. The Plan to Win “playbook” provided strategic insight on how to improve on the
Case Study
Instruction: Kindly read the case below and answer the questions regarding the case.
McDonald’s is the world’s leading hamburger fast-food chain, with over 32,000
restaurants in 118 countries. More than 75 percent of McDonald’s restaurants are
owned and operated by franchisees, which decreases the risk associated with expansion
and ensures longterm tenants for the company. McDonald’s serves 58 million people
each day and promises a simple, easy, and enjoyable food experience for its customers.
The history of the McDonald’s Corporation dates back to 1955 when Ray Kroc, a
multimixer salesman, franchised a hamburger restaurant from the McDonald brothers,
named it McDonald’s, and offered simple foods such as the famous 15 cent hamburger.
Kroc helped design the building, which featured red and white sides and a single golden
arch to attract local attention. Ten years later, 700 McDonald’s restaurants existed
around the country, and the brand was on its way to becoming a household name.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Kroc led McDonald’s growth domestically and
internationally while pushing the importance of quality, service, cleanliness, and value.
The menu expanded to include the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Happy Meal, Filet-O-
Fish, and breakfast items like the Egg McMuffin. Kroc also nderstood early on that his
core audience consisted of children and families. Therefore, he focused
McDonald’s advertising efforts at these groups and introduced Ronald McDonald in
1965 during a 60-second commercial. Soon, characters such as Grimace, the
Hamburgler, and Mayor McCheese made their debut in McDonald’s advertising
campaigns and helped lure children into its restaurants for simple, good-tasting food,
and a fun experience. It was also during this time that McDonald’s created the Ronald
McDonald House, which opened in 1974 tohelp children with leukemia. Since then, it has
expanded into a global charity effort called Ronald McDonald House Charities that
strives to improve children’s lives, health,
and well-being through three major programs: Ronald McDonald House, Ronald
McDonald Family Room, and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile. McDonald’s aggressively
expanded overseas throughout the 1980s by adding locations throughout Europe, Asia,
the Philippines, and Malaysia. This rapid expansion, however, led to many struggles
during the 1990s and early 2000s. The company lost focus and direction, expanding by as
many as 2,000 new restaurants a year. New employees weren’t trained fast or well
enough, all of which led to poor customer service and dirtier restaurants. New
competitors popped up and the company acquired nonburger companies, Chipotle and
Boston Market (which were eventually sold in 2006 and 2007). Consumer tastes changed,
and new products like pizza, the Arch Deluxe, and deli sandwiches failed to
connect with consumers, as did tweaks to the current menu including multiple changes to
the Big Mac special sauce. Jim Skinner, McDonald’s chief executive explained, “We got
distracted from the most important thing: hot, high-quality food at a great value at the
speed and convenience of McDonald’s.”
In 2003, McDonald’s implemented a strategic effort called the “Plan to Win.” The
framework, which still exists today, helped McDonald’s restaurants refocus on offering a
better, higher-quality consumer experience rather than a quick and cheap fast-food
option. The Plan to Win “playbook” provided strategic insight on how to improve on the
