McDonald Empire

John Cullen
Professor Fleury-Lawson
Business & Society
18 September 2011
Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire
In 1948 was a big year in the start of the fast food industry. Two people named Richard and Maurice McDonald opened up a fast food restaurant called McDonald’s. Little do they know this business would soon turn into an empire. After just 50 years in this business, McDonald’s is now operating in 119 countries. That is the largest franchise in the entire universe. When having a big franchise like this, it can have many of its up’s and down’s. Up’s can consist of having a good year and down’s can consist of having a big money lose due to people suing a company.
A risk to having a big franchise like McDonald’s is people know you are wealthy. When people know you are wealthy then they try to find reasons to sue you. After a while of research, there has been no exact count on how many times McDonald’s have been sued. These law suits range from people blaming it on them being too heavy and having stuff in their food or even getting sick because of it. Another risk to having a big franchise is that it has its own standards. If McDonald’s does not change the menu up, people will start to get bored of it. You do not want that because when they get bored of the menu, they will resort to other fast food restaurants. Having a big franchise has its shares of risks.
On the other hand, owning a big franchise can have great opportunities. When you own a big franchise all you want to do is too keep expanding. McDonalds started in one little town and it turned into the most popular restaurant in the world. Each franchise has its own opportunities and goals. McDonald’s surpassed its goals and is off the charts. With the expanding and popularity of McDonald’s it has now going down in history. It has been a success.
When owning a franchise it obviously has its risks and opportunities. As long as you don’t touch upon the risks, you will be okay. Today, I know people who go to McDonald’s once a day. It has been a success through the United States and many other countries.

Poverty

Poverty is all over the world. Microfinance helps to grow and help get people out of poverty. There is a need for organizations like Opportunity International, because people need get out of poverty and they need help getting their business to grow. Opportunity International is really effective in helping to grow a free market economy. In the video they use the example, “give a man a fish feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, feed him for a life time, teach a person to open a fish farm, feed the community.” Poor people can’t get loans from the banks and other sources because they have no credit. If they are in poverty, the banks who offer loans would deny them.  The role I could offer in helping less developed countries grow and prosper is joining an organization. Yes I would donate money and go to countries that have poverty and help as much as I could into getting business started and helping people get out of poverty. I would look up Opportunity International on the internet and find out more information, and also look up more information for joining different organizations. In a communist country the government makes almost all decisions, which means human rights suffers. The United States is a mixed economy. Two policies factor how the US controls the country. Fiscal policy means the federal government increases and decreases taxes and government spending, to keep the economy stable. Monetary policy manages money for supply and interest.

Inside The McDonalds Empire

Guy DePlacido
September 18, 2011
Business and Society
Professor Fleury-Lawson

McDonalds is the largest fast food chain restaurant in the world. They originated in 1948 by Dick and Mac McDonald and they only had nine items on the menu. The McDonalds we know today has over a hundred different options to choose from. Over the years, McDonalds has grown so much and have become very successful and are even known world-wide. Being so well known can be a very good and bad thing. It can be very good because it has a lot of consumers who eat their food every day. What goes along with all of its consumers are critics.
They have gotten so much negative feedback about their health options. Being completely honest, I don’t think that anyone can place the blame of obesity on McDonalds. Where a person eats is completely up to that person. If they want to eat healthy they can go somewhere else and eat. Many people do go to McDonalds and there aren’t many healthy options when you go there.
They do however; offer some healthy meals including salads, apples, fruit and yogurt parfait, and oatmeal. If McDonalds is offering all these choices, there is no reason to be blamed for our countries obesity. People say that it is their fault because with the economy today McDonalds is the only place that people can afford to eat. Even if that is true, you still can’t blame McDonalds because they are making an effort to make it healthier.
People today are obese for one reason and one reason only. They have no self-control. They eat whatever they want, whenever they want. People go to McDonalds because the food is cheap and it tastes good. Instead of eating healthy and ordering a salad, people still order cheeseburgers and fries. They always have the option to eating healthy and they don’t so there is no one but the people that are to blame for obesity.

McDonalds

McDonalds is a very successful business but it does have it’s ups and downs in the industry even though it is very famous people have a lot of bad things to say about it. Throughout the years they had to make a number of changes because people would complain about the food. A few people actually have sued them because of their food, so they were looking for a change. They now have healthier choices that people can choose from such as apples, salads and other low calorie things. The people that order at Mcdonald’s seem to order large amounts of food because Mcdonalds has a large choice on the dollar menu which makes people want to buy more because it’s so cheap.

Mcdonalds states that it’s not their problem that people eat their food in large proportions because it is their choice. Even though they are trying to change the way they make things they still have to have the original taste that everyone enjoys because it they change that not a lot of people will go anymore.

There is a culinary expert that works for Mcdonald’s and this name is Dan Coudreaut. He is in charge of all the food things and the person that makes the new ideas for new food and to try find healthier ways for people to eat and still enjoy the food. Mcdonalds now has the calorie watch and what is in the sandwiches on the wrappers so people can know what they are eating. Even though no one really reads the wrappers at least they have a warning on how many calories they are consuming.

Carter Rouleau- Opportunity International

Opportunity International is a great company to have in developing countries

because poor people need loans but can’t get them because they are poor. 

Opportunity International provides small loans to poor people in developing

countries to try to help them maybe start a business of their own.  This video said

that it only takes about forty dollars for a person to start their own business.  This is

true; anyone with a great idea can start a successful business for not much money at

all.  This is what Opportunity International brings to the table.  This company is

trying to spread to many countries all over Africa to see what they can do for the

people in need.  Poor people cannot get loans from other banks because banks do

not give out small loans like Opportunity International does, banks only give out

decent sized loans the middle to upper class.

            Just giving a little bit of money could really help Opportunity International

help others in need.  I, myself, would not give money to these organizations,

although, I would look into maybe traveling to one of these developing countries

and helping their business.  When I was in Mexico, I helped rebuild a orphanage and

I played soccer with the kids while I was there.  It was a great experience and the

children really appreciated what we did for them.  If you wanted to look more into

an organization such as this, you could just look them up on Google and figure out

what you could do to help.

            What the United States is doing is somewhat socialistic.  Socialistic countries

get involved in their economy and control businesses.  The United States is trying so

hard to get out of the recession, that we are acting like a socialistic country to get

there.  President Obama bailed out General Motors, that is an example of the

government getting involved in the economy and businesses. 

Shawn Shannon- Micky D's

McDonalds is one of the most successful industry’s that has gone through many adversities throughout its history. Ray Croc started his small burger joint back in the 40s and no one could have ever guessed how successful it would turn out to be today. Ray went from selling hamburgers and cheeseburgers to all of the many options that McDonalds has today. McDonalds has taken a lot of heat in the past for how unhealthy their food is and how they are contributing to Americas obesity. In the film one of McDonalds executives says that the customers have free will, and that they can choose whatever they want to put in your body. If someone just wants a quick meal then they can go to McDonalds and get one of many options they have.

Mcdonald's has such great advertising scheme that it draws kids in when they are young and they become lifelong buyers. They use the character Ronald McDonald, who is one of the most recognizable characters in the world to kids. He is such a friendly person that it draws the kids in and they want their parents to bring them to the restaurant. If you ask a little kid if they want to go to McDonalds they will never turn it down. They offer the happy meal to kids, which they want to buy because they get a perfectly portioned meal and it comes with a toy.

McDonalds has tried to incorporate healthier options on their menu to please the complaints, but hey still have a lot of calories in them. There has been much stipulation that the salad has more calories than a big mac. Its good that McDonalds is attempting to make healthier options but for I personally think their better off sticking with what they do best because that’s what the majority of their customers want.

The best thing that they have going for them is that they make their food very fast. A lot of people have busy schedules and hardly ever have time to sit down and have a meal. This is when McDonalds comes in clutch. You can just go through the drive thru without having to even get out of your car. You can get a whole meal in approximately 3 minutes instead of waiting an hour or more at a normal sit down restaurant. Although I personally don’t enjoy the food at McDonalds I applaud them for being such a successful industry and I can predict that they will remain to be for a very long time.

Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire

CNBC did a special on the world's largest restaurant company in the world called "Big Mac: Inside the McDonald's Empire". In this video they tell about all of McDonald's huge successes and how far they come since they started in 1955. Everyone knows how well they do year after year, but a lot of people don't know about the struggles they have gone through and are still dealing with today. According to this video, in 2002 McDonald's reaching a point where they got so overwhelmed and had their first quarterly loss ever. They blame this on trying to open so many stores at once and lack of attention being paid to the branches they already had opened leaving customers unhappy. They got back on track by refocusing on the basics of what makes a restaurant business successful, like clean bathrooms and serving food that isn't cold.
Another issue that McDonald's still has to deal with is the growing concerns about how unhealthy their food is. They have made attempts to add healthier options to their menu, but let's be real: not a lot of people go to McDonald's to get a salad and some apples. They go for their famous burgers and fries. That is what they have been selling since they opened and shouldn't have to change that. It is good that they are at least giving people the choice to pick a healthier meal. By doing this they are conforming to outside standards and avoiding criminal misconduct. These precautions are mentioned in our book and are features of compliance-based ethics codes. McDonald's did not have to change their menu, because it is not against the law to have a menu without healthy alternatives. However, they still decided it was unethical to continue just serving foods that are high in calories and fat.

McDonalds Empire

Sarah Whitestone

Inside the McDonalds empire

I have
just viewed CNBC’s , Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire, it led me to see
all of the challenges they go through and all the opportunities that McDonald’s goes through. McDonalds
started up in 1955, their main goal was to “sell the most food” which in good
and bad. McDonalds goes through so much to make a change on the menu, they have
to have it tested multiple times until they get them all exactly the same, and
can easily be preformed, it can take years to get something added to the menu.
Most people don’t realize that McDonalds has a main chef who creates all of the
ideas handed to him, and he has to simplify them for every McDonalds all over
the world to be able to repeat it exactly the same. McDonalds also struggles
with the fact of the obesity rate, they get blamed for it by all of the
critics. This led McDonalds to make changed to the menu, by adding healthier
meals, such as the snack wraps, salads, apples, and milk.

McDonalds
went through another struggle in 2002, they had to announce their first
quarterly loss. The reason this happened was because they began opening to many
stores and not paying attention to the ones that already existed. This led to
other McDonalds being messed and unsanitary, so they loss business. They
realized that they needed to change their tactics and stopped opening new ones
until the stores that already existed were in the best quality. McDonalds has a
lot of opportunities, it is growing, they are continuing to build new ones they
even have them opening in China. This is a whole new scene for the people
living in China, they have to get used to all of the everyday routines of the
Americans. They had to be thought how to use a drive through. McDonalds also
has the big guy, Ronald McDonald, he is #2 on the charts following Santa
Clause. The kids love him, it is a great advertising technique, most parents
end up giving in to the begging to go see Ronald McDonald for dinner. They also
have the catchy jingle “ba da ba ba ba, I’m lovin’ it,” it gets stuck in
peoples head very easily. McDonalds is going to be around for awhile, you will
always see those golden arches everywhere you go.

Sean Coates - McDonalds

CNBC’s Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire was a real eye opener as to how such a large company works.  It has turned into much more than just hamburgers and cheeseburgers.  Ray Croc started his little burger joint hoping to make it big and it turned out to be much more of a success than anyone could have predicted.

                The biggest advantage McDonalds has is that everyone is constantly on the move.  Everyone has something to do and somewhere to be.  McDonalds takes advantage of this because they make their food very quick.  No one wants to take too much time out of their busy schedules to get lunch and McDonalds provides a fast and cheap option.

                The biggest problem that McDonalds faces is the growing obesity problem that the United States is facing.  McDonalds knows that they have extremely unhealthy food, so they are trying to add some healthier options to their menu.  The FDA told McDonalds that they had to show their customers the nutritional facts about all their products, so they put them on the back of the tray papers where no one can see them.  McDonalds knows they are serving unhealthy food but they believe it is up to the customer to decide what they put into their bodies.  McDonalds is only in it for the profit, not about what it does to the people that eat their food.  If everyone knew exactly how bad McDonald’s food was for you then I believe that nothing would really happen to their sales.  They have such a strong advertising campaign with Ronald McDonald, who is one of the most recognizable characters in the world.  Every kid wants to go to McDonalds and eat their food and play in the play areas.  I mean what five year old kid could ever resist going to McDonalds.

                On the financial side of the company though, they are doing extremely well.  As long as people are still getting hungry then McDonalds will always be a strong fast food company.  They are selling thousands of their products every day, and making a lot of money every day.  McDonalds will be a strong and financially sound company for many years to come.

McDonald's key challenges and oppurtunities

As we know McDonalds is a million dollar business, it is the largest food-service company in the world. It is operating more than 31,00 restaurants in over 119 countries. With every business comes a challenge. The main key challenge that McDonalds faces is health issues. In the video we learn that McDonalds is the only company that adapts to local culture. While listening to their customers and providing good services, McDonalds is developing more and more restaurants.

Twenty six million people a day go to McDonalds, which tells you that their business is doing tremendously well. As mentioned in the video McDonalds is being criticized for the amount of calories per item. The biggest challenge for McDonalds is being criticized for their food and how it has caused customers to be overweight. Although there have been lawsuits claiming its food has caused customers to be overweight, McDonalds says that it is the customers choice what to eat not theirs. McDonalds has added healthier alternatives to its menu.

With reasonable prices and delicious food ready for you in five minutes, how can you say no to McDonalds? There are many opportunities for McDonalds to grow even more, healthier choices like salads, yogurts, and snack wraps have been added to their menu. Recently McDonalds announced that they have switched to transfat- free cooking oil for its fries. McDonald’s is providing healthier options to their menu in order to reduce this key problem of obesity. Chef Dan states in the video” McDonalds is fun and that people want fun food." Chef Dan is trying to add more spices and ingredients in order to catapult this restuarunt to the next level. McDonalds is a wide world business and is continuing to provide more selections in order to please their customers.

McDonalds adapts to other cultures and preferences. For example, in the book it states that McDonalds set up its first franchises in Hong Kong in 1975, McDonald's altered the breakfast menu after realizing customers there liked burgers for breakfast, and chicken or fish for the rest of the day. McDonalds is willing to listen to their customers and wants to enhance their menu so the customers have more choices, than just a burger and fries. Despite these challenges McDonalds remains the world's top restaurant chain, serving more than 47 million global customers a day.

Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire

Today McDonald's is the worlds biggest fast food hamburger restaurant. They serve over fifty million people each and everyday. Over the past years people have brought forward to Americas attention that one of the main reasons our country is overweight is because of McDonald's and other business's that provide unhealthy fat foods. A couple years ago McDonald's came out with a new product line to their food 'super size' that was a huge downfall to their establishment. With that event occurring McDonald's took to a new idea of making healthier foods on their menu, including snack wraps, salads, smoothies and fruit. But still continuing to make their signature hamburgers, cheeseburgers, shakes and fries because that's what McDonald's is a fast food hamburger restaurant. But still with McDonald's healthier menu, the people still find ways to complain about their highly successful business venture. At least now people have the choice to either eat the delicious fattening foods or knowing there overweight be smart and buy a salad or what not. I find it ridiculous that a major contributor to stimulating are economy faces so many problems with their own creation, its your choice whether or not your body can handle eating foods with high calories. When will McDonald's ever catch a break, they have been in numerous cases for so many different legal reasons. In all I believe McDonald's is a major icon not only to the U.S. but every country that 31,000 restaurants are in.

The McDonalds Life

McDonald’s is easily one of the biggest franchises across the entire world in today’s food society. Before it was, what it is today, it was once a little burger shop that started the speedee service system which had made a huge impact on what is now that fast food industry. The speedee service system was one of the few things McDonald’s came up with to get the business up and going, but a lot of challenges have came McDonald’s way as the years have gone by from the food portions increasing and the healthiness of the food they are serving. When McDonalds was looking for new ideas, they came up with the idea to super size their food so the customer could get more at a better price, which was a big hit for the McDonalds franchise. However, since McDonald’s came up with the super size idea they have been sued countless of times because of there food for supposable making there customs fat. When in reality it was the customers choice to eat what they want and how much to eat at there local McDonalds. So Morgan Spurlock decided to make a movie about having McDonalds for thirty days to prove that McDonald’s is not the healthy choice, even though their commercials say they are. Thirty pounds later I think McDonalds might of got the message that they needed to make some changes. As a result of the movie, McDonalds discontinued their super size menu. Due to all of these conflicts, McDonald’s has recently decided to start making healthier food for there company as a new look and to open peoples minds that would not natural go to McDonald’s and there famous Big Mac. The food is not something you always see at your McDonalds, with greasy food on a grill. McDonalds are now hiring chief to make cleaner and healthier food for their new image. With their new healthy menu soon to come out, it makes McDonalds more of a family restaurant to sit down and eat at and not feel bad about yourself afterwards. If McDonald’s continues to go in this direction, who knows how long the Big Mac will be around for.

McDonalds

Samantha MacMillan

One of McDonald’s key challenges is to deal with the criticism they receive from food critics. Although McDonalds is trying to produce healthier foods, they still have the horrible nutrition reputation that they are typically known for. Chef Dan Coudreaut, and other professional chefs, has become McDonalds new window of opportunities. They have acquired real chefs to think up new ways to improve the McDonalds menu and attract more customers with the fact that McDonalds is almost like a real restaurant. The challenge now is to prove to the customers that their food is now healthier and yet still tasty. They have to work hard and consistently to kill their old well-known reputation of McDonalds being the number 1 fast food fattener company. I personally like how they are taking this risk by changing some of their menu items to satisfy the ever-changing society as well as make their items healthier. Another opportunity that the McDonalds Corporation has jumped on is global franchising. They have become a global business now where some McDonalds even reside in China. McDonald specialists give foreign franchises the ability to operate, use their name and sell their products. They also train the foreign individuals to service the public in the way in which they want them to. This leads to the other challenge of getting these new foreign franchises to work in a different society. McDonalds had to change their menu depending on what the consumers typically eat so that their company sticks. This relates to how Sheikha Lubna al-Qasimi changed her appearance and manners in different crowds and cultures. She did her research to become appealing to her listeners and fellow business people. To make the foreign business work, McDonalds has to cultivate beforehand knowledge of how the community works and what is offensive to those in the community. With getting all of these facts, the company has a better chance of getting foreign customers to try their products, as did Sheikha with hers.

McDonald's Global Market- Alyssa Bufis

Today McDonald’s is a household name. It does not matter if one decides to eat McDonald’s or not, one still knows about those special golden arches. Since the mid-1900s McDonald’s has grown exponential in sales; however, the infamous chain still faces some challenges and opportunities as it continues to expand. One challenge regarding McDonald’s is their food and its nutritional level. Many customers are shocked to learn that McDonald’s burgers are so high in calories and fat; therefore, McDonald’s is beginning to advertise healthier options for customers included apples slices, milk, yogurt, and salads, while still focusing on selling endless burgers and fries. I believe if McDonald’s did not begin to advertise healthier options then a certain portion of their clientele would have eventually left because not all parents are willing to feed their kids a 250 calorie hamburger with a 230 calorie order of fries finished with a 150 calorie soda for lunch.[1] Nutrition is a key challenge for McDonald’s, but like stated in the video by CNBC Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire, McDonald’s is a business, it does not care what it sells, but rather that it sells. Which means that nutrition will not stop McDonald’s from growing, they will overcome that challenge.

Therefore, McDonald’s has numerous opportunities to grow their clientele and one way is by going international. A key example of an international opportunity is McDonald’s expansion in China, a country with a 1.3 billion population. Mentioned in the CNBC video, Jeff Schwartz, the CEO of McDonald’s China imagines over 10,000 restaurants opening in the next few years. Schwartz’s vision demonstrates how McDonald’s does not plan to slow down anytime soon when it comes to their growth. However, as McDonald’s expands to other countries, the company will need to be aware that different countries and clienteles will demand different food than the American clientele. An example of these is reflected in our textbook regarding Domino’s pizza. Domino’s learned that people in Japan prefer pizza topped with squid and sweet mayonnaise. But McDonald’s is catching on to those preferences, too. For example, McDonald’s restaurants in Israel offers 100 percent kosher beef. As the company begins to learn more about the countries they are serving in the company will be able to expand even more.

McDonalds’ opportunities are endless. The chain restaurant serves over 64 million a daily and they will not stopping soon. The increasing restaurants around the world also can help lower unemployment rates in certain countries and help developing areas become more economically successful.

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[1] http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food.html

McDonalds

After viewing CNBC’s Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire, I learned the ups and downs to owning the company that has spread worldwide. I learned many new things about the McDonalds company, some being good and most being not so good. Things such as their efforts to becoming a healthier choice and there ways of making the food make me question how sanitary each store is. After watching this video I want to cut fast food out of my choices of meals when I am on the go. I saw things that they do in the kitchen that I wish I never saw because I have
had McDonalds in my life and I never realized how unsanitary it is.

One of the key problems that McDonalds has is making people obese.
They have been blamed for making children obese in their early ages because
they have the most calories in their products. Their food is very unhealthy and
many people don’t choice to go there because the amount of calories that one
happy meal ha. Also, after watching the movie it makes me wondering how long
ago my meal has been cooked and has just been sitting under a heater to keep it
warm. This video also makes me wonder how often they clean their machines and
trays that they use every day.

Another thing that surprised me is how much food they sell every day. I would never have guessed that they sell that much knowing how un-healthy it is. They do have healthier option such as salads, apples, and milk for a drink but a majority of the customers go for the burgers and fries. Another thing that shocked me was that they have personal chiefs that brainstorm new meals for the company. They try to
come up with healthier food to better the menu.

Even though on top of all that, McDonalds is still the most
profitable company in the world and has many restaurants all over spreading
from the east coast to China. I believe that they will keep growing and being profitable
by making the consumers satisfied and add healthier choices to the menu. Over
all, McDonalds is a growing franchise that has the ability to keep spreading
throughout the world.

Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire - Alexandra Euglow

Alexandra Euglow
Professor Fleury-Lawson
Business and Society
19 September 2011

Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire

After viewing CNBC’s, Big Mac: Inside the McDonald’s Empire, I believe there are many challenges and opportunities that McDonald’s faces. It was 1955, when the first McDonalds opened. McDonald’s key is to “sell the most food” which is both a positive and a negative. McDonald’s does face some challenges, which include the nationwide obesity problem. “More than 9 million children in the U.S. are obese.” There are many critics that have tried to get McDonald’s to change their menu to more contain healthier selections, that is why there are now many salads, snack wraps, fruit cups, yogurt, apple slices, milk, etc. on the McDonald’s menu. All of these choices were made possible by McDonald’s head chef, Dan Crugo. Dan Crugo graduated top of his class at the Culinary Institute of America and has made his way by creating many new and delicious items for the McDonald’s menu. These creations go through very extensive tests that can take years to even get the item on the menu. McDonalds has tried to go healthier by adding these new items, as well as putting all the calories on their website, on all the packaging and on the back of the tray liners. Another problem that McDonalds has faced was in 2002, when they “announced their first ever quarterly loss.” They were mainly opening too many stores and not focusing enough on the stores they had. They realized that change was necessary; they knew they needed “quality” again, so they focused more on their existing stores to make them the best they can be. McDonald’s does face their challenges, just like every other chain or restaurant.

While McDonald’s has challenges, it also has great opportunities. McDonald’s is a well-known name; “Ronald McDonald is #2 only having Santa beating him on being the most recognized face across the country.” McDonald’s is a fast growing business which is spreading across to China and to 30,000 gas stations which was approved in 2006. “McDonald’s sells over 2 million cups of hot coffee a day in the United States.” While McDonalds keeps adding new items to their menu, their main priority will always be their famous hamburgers and French fries. McDonalds has done an amazing job with marketing, they spend $2 billion dollars on advertising. Their commercials and billboards make you want to go and eat there. Plus, there slogan is very catchy, “I’m lovin’ it.” All in all, McDonalds is not going anywhere anytime soon, there is a reason why the “golden arches” are so well known, and it was not by accident.

Steve Copeland-Mcdonalds Empire

       After viewing CNBC’s Big Mac:  Inside the McDonald’s Empire, I got a general idea on how this food empire started and how it became so successful. This fast food chain all started in 1940 when the first McDonald’s restaurant was built. Throughout the years McDonald’s has expanded worldwide hitting countries as far as China. Like every restaurant, McDonald’s faces a number of problems as well as bringing some positives to the table.

       McDonald’s has expanded their food chain such a significant amount that it is nearly impossible to drive within a five to ten mile radius and not spot a McDonald’s. They are on every highway and the center of towns. Due to their success, they have been able to expand their franchise to your town. What makes McDonald’s so special is that they provide customers with a big meal; it’s cheap as well as fast. Another big perk to this restaurant is their play pins. McDonald’s provides an appetizing meal and play pin gives the kids something to look forward to after their meal. These play pins are big enough to attract kids who are passing by and really help reel in large sums of money in revenue. McDonald’s advertisements play a very large role in their success. It’s as simple as putting a few kids in their commercials enjoying some chicken nuggets or a burger with Ronald McDonald. Ronald McDonald is a clown who is used as the primary mascot of McDonald’s helping to attract kids and their families to a meal or two at McDonald’s.

       Obesity is becoming very common all over the world due to the fast food intake and disregarding a trip to the gym from the daily routine. A big problem McDonald’s faces every day is the health content in their food, but they are not forcing anyone to eat their food product. It is a choice and they also post the nutrition facts such as calorie intake on their wrappers. McDonald’s has been trying to improve this issue by adding some healthier items to the menu and still continue to do so today. Overall, I find McDonald’s to be a successful food franchise and will continue to be throughout the years and continue to expand the McDonald’s empire.

Mcdonald's

Hillary White
Professor Fleury-Lawson
Business and Society
9/16/11



McDonald’s is one of the world’s largest businesses. McDonalds started out with about 30,000 stores and now has about one million stores all across the world today. I found out that today it can cost about one million or more to buy a McDonald’s franchise. This was very surprising to me. It’s crazy to think about how much a fast food restaurant can go for. In this video they talked about McDonald’s busiest location in the world, the expansion of the business across the world and there nutrition and many other important points.
McDonald’s busiest location is located in Darien, Connecticut right off of I-95 North. I was surprised that McDonald’s busiest location is not that far from where most of us are from. I’m sure I have driving by this location without even realizing that this is the busiest location in the world. They have what they call “bus loads” of people about five to fifty times a day. Each day there is about 120 thousands of cars that drive by this location. It’s in the perfect place to attract customers who are traveling long distances. They treat the bus driver’s like royalty by giving those many advantages such a free food most of the time. This helps there business because they are basically saying if you bring us lots of customers, then we will give you a good deal. I also thought it was interesting how in china they had to teach their customers how to use a drive thru properly. It will make it easier for customers to grab something to eat in a rush. And it will most definitely help their business.
In this video I remember them talking about McDonalds nutrition and how some people think that McDonalds is the one that is causing obesity in America. A Big Mac, large fries and a large coke is 1400 calories and 59 grams of fat. That is almost the amount of calories that you need in about a day. Not in one sitting. Business wise this is not a good reputation. In order to have more customers they had to add some healthier options to the menu such as apple slices, salads, grilled chicken sandwiches ect. To expand their business they need these options to have an even higher income. They have actual chefs that make their food and make healthier options for their customers, which I was very surprised by. I figured that all of their food was just processed. The food that they make has to go through different test before they can put them in the stores. I remember them saying that even though it’s called fast food each entre has a particular way it can be made and it takes some time. They also talked about the movie” Super-Size Me” and by people watching that it also gave McDonald’s a bad reputation. McDonald’s needs to look into more of a variety of different healthy options on their menu or they might start to lose a lot of their customers in the future.

McDonalds from a differnt perspective

As I watched the documentary on McDonald’s there were numerous things that surprised me such as the number of customers a day and the amount of food that is processed in a single day. The two main things that caught my eyes was the time each meal takes to be processed and the effort McDonalds is making to produce a healthier diet.

The first thing that surprised me was that they said that even though it’s called fast food each entre has a particular way it can be made and it takes some time. This made me stop and think if each entre takes time to make then how long could your food be sitting in a warming tray before it is served to you? While I was contemplating that question more things began to run through my mind such as how clean are the warming trays, because they could be ridden with diseases. These are some of the main reasons I have tried to cut fast food out of my diet.

Another surprising fact was although McDonalds offer healthier snacks such as apples and milk, it is not enough to counteract the burger or chicken that you get as the main portion. Also, another problem I find is that when you order a kids meal I is the only time they ask you if you would like apples instead of fries. When you order anything from the regular menu it just comes with fires and they don’t even offer you a healthier side. This is where and why I believe that Americans are considered overweight because we are told that McDonalds is getting better food for you but we are not actually eating it.

Even with all of these negative things I just said about McDonalds they are still one of the most profitable companies in America. They are in the process of making there company a worldwide franchise that is the greatest fast food restaurant. Another amazing thing that McDonalds has is that since there foundation in 1940, they have seen only one quarterly loss. This is impressive because that means they are running a fundamentally sound company in which there always a flow of profit into the company which will allow them to keep expanding.    

Big Mac - Billy

Global Mcdonalds

In the movie we watched in class, I learned numerous things. I learned that McDonalds is not just a fast food restaurant that has teenage cookers who is experiencing their first time cooking. The restaurant also has many healthy options instead of the fatty foods most eat. Finally, I came into knowledge of the actual amount of people that McDonalds actually serves per day. I would have never known these facts, if I never had watched this movie.

As I began to watch this movie Big Mac, I was shocked to find out that McDonalds has professional cookers, even worked at the Four Seasons to cook there. The chef works on many numerous things and has made things like the McDonalds parfait, and all the salads that they have there too. He later on explained that the food has to be simple enough that all the cooks around the world can make it, but also taste adequate to every customer as well. This movie taught me a lot about what goes on behind the counter of McDonalds as well.

Moreover, I came to the realization that McDonald’s regular customers are so heavy, by their own choice. It is just as simple to order one of McDonald’s salads and water off the menu, which only would be 100 calories. Yet, instead people want to eat a Big Mac, large fry, and a soda which would be about 1,280 calories instead. All in all, you get what you paid for, a meal for over 1,000 calories or a meal for 100 calories. You can decide! Look for yourself http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/full_menu_explorer.html

Last but not least, the fact that most was most outstanding in my opinion, would be the actual amount of people that McDonald’s serves in a day. In the movie, it stated that in the United States alone, McDonald’s serves over fifteen million customers per day! Approximately, two million pounds of beef per day! Also, McDonald’s is moving, and expanding to China, where there population is about 1.3 billion.

In conclusion, McDonald’s is not only pretty much the most dominate fast food chain in America, but is also expanding globally. McDonald’s has people working in it from teenagers in high school, to professional chefs that have worked in the four seasons. They also have healthy, well balanced choices for everyone to eat. Finally, the amount of people that they serve in a day is already staggering, yet it is still increasing.