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McDonaldization and globalization
McDonaldization and globalization
Impact of global marketing on marketing strategies
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Introduction
A great example of an organization that practiced successful global marketing strategies and became one of the most famous brands - is McDonalds. What is the secret of such successful global strategy that made the company the biggest fast food chain in the world? This paper discusses the McDonald’s global strategy that established a successful international presence for the company. Report analysis the cultural differences that are managed by the McDonald and suggests a strategy for future global growth.
McDonald’s global strategy
Part of MacDonald’s success stems from their product development strategy and experimentation. This strategy is used to reach target customers. Indeed, the concept of “Glocaliztion”, which means thinking
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This strategy ensures that there is always something familiar for consumers on the menu. When expanding internationally, McDonald creates several products to meet consumer demand in the local markets. In the Netherlands, for example, they have developed the McKroket, a burger featuring a typically Dutch kroket, a deep-fried, ragout-filled patty. In the Canadian province of Quebec, McDonald 's offers poutine, a traditional dish of french fries, gravy and curd cheese. In Japan, apart from the traditional menu you can find seasonal and limited-time items such as “The Teri Tama Burger”, served during spring or “The Tsukimi Burger”, served during Tsukimi season (in the autumn). In the US there are the popular “McRibs”, just available for a short time each year (Howard, 2014). In addition, the company respects the countries’ environmental policies and their enforcement in foreign countries. According to McDonalds, the company not only complies with local laws everywhere they operate, but they often go above and beyond legal mandates to provide additional benefits and compensation, deliver training that develops both professional and life skills, and to help protect the health and safety of crew and managers in their restaurants” (http://business-humanrights.org). This confirms once again that company practices a glocalization …show more content…
The company has failed to make their food healthier. When comparing with Subway or other more natural and fresh fast food brands, McDonalds has made only minimal efforts. It seems as though McDonald’s has almost become the symbol for the unhealthy eating habits of Americans, along with the widespread obesity epidemic plaguing the United States over recent years. . Many people no longer prefer low cost over quality, shifting popularity away from McDonald’s and towards other fast food providers
Therefore, I think the next strategy for future global growth, should be more focus on healthy and organic food option. In addition, the company should use strong marketing tools, from menu boards to national television advertising campaigns, to help customers understand the nutritional choices
The obesity problem in this country has gotten worse, a lot worse, and the surge in obesity can be tied directly to fast food. I was appalled by the fact that since 1980 the number of people either fat of obese has doubled, and in that time frame there are twice as many overweight children and three times as many overweight adolescents. Looking strictly at the numbers, it is very easy to find a direct correlation between the number of overweight or obese individuals and the number of fast food establishments. However these fast food outlets are not created in a vacuum, they are servicing a demand. Each day one in four Americans visits a fast food restaurant. Our culture has evolved to one of immediate gratification, we want it convenient, and we want it now. The fast food industry has simply seized that cultural demand and has taken advantage of it all the way to the bank. I think we have a cultural weakness that looks for someone to blame for our problems and McDonalds certainly makes a nice target.
A world without the Big Mac, Happy Meals, Chicken McNuggets, and the phrase “I’m lovin’ it,” is almost inconceivable. People around the globe have become accustomed to the high gleaming golden arches that make up the famous emblem for McDonald’s. McDonald’s has grasped the concept that culture flows from power. In this case, the American culture flows through the veins of this fast-food giant and the more that is supplied, the greater the demand. It is no secret that McDonald’s has become one of the world’s largest fast-food retailers. It has become a well known icon that has played a huge part in globalization, with chains located in many different countries… transforming the meaning of fast-food all around the world.
When Ray Kroc opened his first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, the famous chain was born. The company has become very successful with having sold over one billion hamburgers within just eight years of business (McSpotlight - History of McDonalds). So if this chain is so popular, why has McDonalds been criticised so much lately? Mostly because their food options are very high in calories and fat. The most caloric item on their menu is the Triple Thick Chocolate Shake - 1160 calories, 27g of fat, 168g of sugar, and 510mg of sodium. The most fattening menu item is the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese - 740 calories, 42g of fat (19g Saturated), and 1380mg of sodium! “It delivers the highest calorie, fat, and sodium content of any sandwich or burger at McDonalds.” The other three most unhealthy foods on the top five list are: Chicken Selects with 660 calories, Grilled Chicken Club with 570 calories, and the Big Mac with 540 calories (Fitzpatrick). Only seven items on the McMenu contain no sugar - fries, sausage, coffee, Chicken McNuggets, hash browns, Diet Coke, and iced tea (Super Size ...
McDonalds also uses diversification in its global marketing. McDonalds recognizes that different countries have different values, customs, and tastes. Therefore, McDonalds satisfies these diverse global tastes by diversifying the menu according to each country’s unique preferences. This added diversification tactic, allows McDonalds to stay competitive in a global market. Examples of McDonalds globally diversified menu would be that McDonalds offers an exclusive beefless menu to its customers who live in India. This is because eating beef in India is sacrilegious. To meet the tastes of customers in India, McDonalds created new offerings such as the “Pizza McPuff” and the “McVeggie.” McDonalds considers the cultural tastes in every country it opens its doors
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).
Their constant changes are more directed at customer satisfaction than keeping in line with their competitors. New market entrants, although small and initially insignificant, are exerting the most force over McDonalds Canada. They are able to cater to individuals a lot easier than a multinational company is and it should be these that McDonalds model any future changes on. As mentioned above, the introduction of organic products and the presentation of ‘greener’ images are essential for McDonalds to compete in a changing consumer environment.
McDonald’s is one of the popular fast food chains in Hong Kong and the success of McDonald’s is due to it is able to create a homogeneous “global” culture that suit to the demands of a capitalist world. In Hong Kong, Time is money thus McDonald’s strategy is consistently fit to the fast food industry. The company has both economic strategy targeting at customer globally and locally.
McDonald's is the world’s leading food service retailer with more than 30,000 local restaurants in 121 countries serving 45 million customers each day.
Vignali, C. (2001). McDonald’s: “think global, act local”--the marketing mix. British Food Journal, 103(2), pp.97--111.
MacDonald’s campaigns have branded its values through good food products in MacDonald’s marketing. An example is MacDonald’s have strategically produced their public relation in China to improve recognition of Mc China Wrap burger using unique brand names (Shah, 2008). The campaign has captured new clients and spread to new provinces by positioning itself as efficient compared to its competitors.
"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.
Trend towards a healthier lifestyle – as more people are beginning to transition to becoming healthier, the demand for McDonalds and various other fast food restaurants may slowly decrease as people opt for food with lower calories and fats.
McDonald’s has proven over time that the business practices they utilize work well and have led them to obtaining the title of the largest food retailer in the world. The founder of the company made a tactical decision in franchising the idea of providing fast food at a cheap price. Today, fast food has become a staple of not only American life but a viable food option all over the world. For McDonald’s a critical factor in them reaching the level of growth they currently experience has been franchising. It can be assured that McDonald’s will continue to grow through the usage of the franchising techniques as new food markets continue to develop all over the world.
When society thinks about the local McDonald’s, they probably do not think “innovation’. That is because everyone has become accustomed to the many novelties that McDonald’s has introduced over the years. Some people do not even know that McDonalds was the leader in innovation being the first major international fast food restaurant, with the first drive-through window. What many people do not realize is that McDonald’s continues to drive innovation in fast food. Some times the innovation is well advertised, but other times they are designed so that customers will never even notice (Ritzer, 2004).
Overall, McDonalds are able to reach customers all around the globe and they market their products inexpensively. According to Naim (2001, p. 1) it is acknowledged that, “McDonald 's is a global brand, but we run our business in a fundamentally different way that ought to appeal to some critics of globalization. We are a decentralized entrepreneurial network of locally owned stores that is very flexible and adapts very well to local conditions. We offer an opportunity to entrepreneurs to run a local business with local people supplied by a local infrastructure. Each creates a lot of small businesses around