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. In 1940, McDonalds was not the multi-million dollar industry that people recognize today. In fact, it started out as a small drive-in style BBQ restaurant, owned by Dick and Mac McDonald, in San Bernadino, California. However in 1948, the entire workings of the restaurant were altered, making it the dawn of the McDonald’s empire. This new drive-in, like other drive-in restaurants of its time, struggled to make a large amount of profit, due to selling low-priced food using traditional methods, which were often labor intensive and expensive. But the McDonald brothers fixed this problem by reducing their menu 25 items to nine items: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips, and a slice of pie. Their staple item, the 30 cent hamburger, accounted for 80 percent of their total sales. Later, the brothers altered the production to that of the Fordist assembly line in order to make the whole operation fast and efficient, halving the price of their items, including their prized hamburger. (http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mcdonalds_history_timeline.html?DCSext.destination=http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company/mcd_history.html). When, why, and where did McDonalds globalize? In1954, Ray Kroc, a multimixer salesman came upon the McDonald brother’s restaurant and was inspired to join the bu... ... middle of paper ... ...1 Oct 2013. . Doctor, Vikram. "Think globally, act locally | Features | Research." Research-live.com – news, analysis and jobs for market researchers. N.p., Oct. 2001. Web. 26 Oct. 2013. . Roy, K. N.p., n. d. 21 Oct 2013. . Von Worley, S.. N.p.. Web. 10 Nov 2013. Vignali, Claudio. "McDonald’s: “think global, act local” – the marketing mix." British Food Journal 103.2 (1899): 97-111. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. . www.personal.psu.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2013. .
The way that Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers does business and markets it's product to consumers is due to the change in our society to where the consumer wants the biggest, fastest, and best product they can get for their money. This change in society can be attributed to a process known as McDonaldization. Although McDonaldization can be applied to many other parts of our society, this paper will focus on its impact on Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers. My belief is that the process of McDonaldization, where the ideology of McDonald's has come to dominate the world, has caused Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers to emulate McDonald's style of running a franchised restaurant chain in terms of efficiency, calculability, and control. However, since McDonald's has become the epitome of "fast-food" in our society, Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers has had to change their focus to giving the consumer a higher quality product in a relatively fast amount of time. So, Wendy's still caters to a McDonaldized society in terms of giving them a meal as fast as possible but making quality their number one priority to give people a viable option from McDonald's. In addition, I have used my girlfriend who manages at Wendy's and observations I gathered while at McDonald's as further information for this paper.
They are everywhere! From downtown Chicago to a rural town in Nebraska, fast-food restaurants have become a trademark of how Americans live today. Hurrying to make time for an afternoon appointment, a woman decides to make a short stop for lunch. Pulling her sports utility vehicle up to the window, she quickly grabs a delicious meal for a small price. But where did the idea come from? In the small town of San Bernadino, California, during the fifties, a young man named Ray Kroc had an idea that would drastically revolutionize the food industry with the efficient use of a multimixer, new ideas, and incredible entrepreneurship, the McDonalds corporation began a remarkable empire in the American and worldwide fast-food industry.
sociologist George Ritzer argues that the relationship between McDonald’s and our society runs even deeper. Beyond its commercial propaganda and symbolism, Ritzer says, McDonald’s is a potent manifestation of the rational processes that define modern society.
Ray Kroc bought out the McDonald brothers, Mac and Dick, for $2.7 Million in cash in 1961. Kroc’s prototype store in Des Plaines, Illinois, is now a museum.
America has a wide variety of identifiers; however, one thing in particular that stands out is America’s interest in fast food. During the mid-20th century, the McDonald brothers opened their first drive-through McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, California. The drive-through was significant because at the time “the number of single-parent families and the number of women working outside the home have increased greatly” which means that people did not have time to go home and cook a homemade meal every day (Ritzer). When Ray Kroc came across the McDonald brother’s restaurant in 1954, he saw a gold mine and wanted to invest (Ray Kroc Businessman). He came up with a moneymaking concept, later known as franchising, where he would open the
I observed three East Side Mario’s Restaurant’s establishments while the dinner menu was being served on Saturday evenings between 6pm and 8pm to evaluate the ways in which McDonaldization has affected their company. On January 29th I visited East Side Mario’s in London, Ontario, on February 19th I visited East Side Mario’s in Plano, Texas (I used to hold a job as a server at this location) and on February 26th I visited East Side Mario’s in Orange, California. With the diversity of locations I was able to observe, I compared and contrasted many angles of the East Side Mario’s concept. East Side Mario’s Restaurants Inc. is one of the millions of businesses’ that have implemented the four principles of McDonaldization, which are: efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. With the assistance of Bernard Platt, Vice President of Marie Callender’s Pie Shops, Inc., and former Vice President of East Side Mario’s Restaurant, Inc., I will offer a condensed presentation of East Side Mario’s history to get you familiar with the business.
Malone, Elizabeth, and George Ritzer. "Globalization Theory: Lessons from the Exportation of McDonaldization and the New Means of Consumption." Amerstud (2008): 97-112. Web. 26 Apr 2011. .
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).
Founded in 1940, the McDonald’s Corporation, renowned for their delicious fast foods such as hamburgers, is an embodiment of economic activity that has yielded success. Although it has experienced significant challenges in its growth, the corporation has managed to establish over 32,500 restaurants in 118 countries worldwide. In 2012, the BBC report ranked McDonald’s as the second largest employer in the private sector after Wal-Mart with approximately 1.9 million employees (Schlosser, 2012). Therefore, the Corporation plays a significant role in the world’s economy, making it one of the major international trades that investors eye. From the statistics, it is evident that the economic activities of the
Ray Kroc was a shrewd entrepreneur who was all business. When buying out the McDonald’s brothers from their partnership the brothers had refused to sell Kroc their first store “The Big M”, Kroc then opened up a McDonald’s right across the street and drove them out of business. Not only do franchisees operate under the McDonald’s name but they also own the land they operate on which puts McDonald’s into the real estate business as well as the fast food business. This quote from Kroc puts into perspective how shrewd of a businessman he truly was, “If any of my competitors were drowning, I’d stick a hose in their mouth and turn on the water,” he said. “It is ridiculous to call this an industry. This is not. Th...
"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.
McDonald’s is such an iconic fast food restaurant that almost every American and a good part of world relates the golden arch with McDonald’s. In its journey to be the most recognized brand, McDonald’s had its humble beginning and many turbulent fights of survival. McDonald’s marketing journey is a noteworthy one for anyone studying the marketing.
In today’s market, McDonalds faces numerous challenges such as fierce competition, a more health conscious customer, and the continual need for improved customer satisfaction and menu. McDonalds needs to go through some changes in order to remain ahead in the fast-food industry.
Vignali, C. (2001). McDonald’s: “think global, act local”--the marketing mix. British Food Journal, 103(2), pp.97--111.
“McDonald 's is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 35,000 local restaurants serving nearly 70 million people in more than 100 countries each day” (About McDonald’s 2014).