2. McDonald’s Corporation Overview
● McDonald’s Corporation is an American public quick service restaurant chain
known for its hamburger and cheeseburger.
● The company headquarters is in Chicago,Illinois, U.S.A.
● The number of locations around the world are approximately 38,695 outlets as
2019.
● The company products include, Chicken, french fries, hamburgers, salads,
pancakes, desserts, breakfirst, coffee, milkshakes and soft drinks.
3. SWOT Analysis
● The SWOT Analysis is a strategy used by businesses to determine the following
aspects in respect to the performance of the company in question.
❖ The Strength of the company
❖ The Weaknesses of the company
❖ The Opportunities relevant to the company’s operation.
❖ And the threats to the company’s operation and performance.
4. Strengths
● Strong brand value and recognition
● Success in the marketing campaigns and franchising strategies
● Consistency in food quality
● Application of the latest technology to improve customer experience
● Long and successful history in the industry
● Low and affordable prices
● Efficiency
5. Weaknesses
● Income is based on the franchisee
● Little exposure in the world thriving markets
● Unbalanced meals.
● Difficulty in serving the large customer base.
● Simple menu items that can easily be copied
● Supply chain disruption
● High dependence on the suppliers
● Low wages and poor working conditions
6. Opportunities
● McCafe brand investment
● Introduction of healthy meals to attract new customers
● Extension of customer base into countries like China and India
● Enter partnership with UberEats and Door dash for food delivery
● Change of operation mode to own royalty.
7. Threats
● Trends in healthy living affects the consumers demand for fast food.
● New government regulations restricts fast food to control obesity
● Packaging materials used in McDonald’s restaurants pose risks to the
environment.
● New fast food brands impose stiff competition to McDonalds
8. Competitive Strategies
● Increasing Profitability
❖ Market research
❖ Financial statement analysis
❖ Reorganizing the physical work environment
❖ Conducting vast training programs
❖ Creation of budget and decreasing waste in the company.
● Increasing Competitiveness
❖ Attraction and retention of top talents
❖ Customer centric basis of operation
❖ Concentration on the core competencies of the organization
❖ Expansion of the organization’s operations globally.
❖ Cost moderation
9. Communication plans and Ethical Responsibilities
● Communication plans
❖ Internal communication model
❖ Regular communication plan
❖ Multi-channel communication method
❖ Intranet/Online channels such as video conferencing
❖ Weekly newsletters/prints
● Ethical Responsibilities
❖ The adoption of operation code of ethics
❖ Application of safety health programs for employees and consumers.
❖ Engagement in charitable donations
❖ Maintaining strong brand that creates a community with the consumers.
10. References
● Ariana and Virginia. (2021). McDonald’s International Market Communications Strategy. Global Marketing Professor.
https://globalmarketingprofessor.com/mcdonalds-international-market-communications-strategy/
● Britannica, T. E. of E. (2021). McDonald’s American corporation. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/McDonalds
● Indeed, E. T. (2021). 17 Strategies for Increasing the Profitability of a Business. Indeed. https://www.indeed.com/career-
advice/career-development/increase-profitability
● Manzella, J. (2014). Five Essential Strategies To Enhance Competitiveness. The Manzella Report.
http://www.manzellareport.com/index.php/strategies-section/826-five-essential-strategies-to-enhance-competitiveness
● Remote Tools. (2021). McDonald’s SWOT Analysis (2021) - In-depth Analysis. Remote Tools. https://www.remote.tools/remote-
work/mcdonalds-swot-analysis#a
Editor's Notes
The fast-food company is headed by Chris Kempczinski as the Chief Executive Officer(CEO). McDonald’s is one of the biggest fast-food companies around the world with a reputable brand known to many people in the industry. After rising to be one of the top brands in the world, the company has been in operation for more than 75 years. However, the taste and quality of the products that bring the customer experience have since remained constantly affordable and comfortable. The number of outlets continues to increase every year, therefore, not limited to the figure shown in the slide. The 38, 695, number of outlets is according to the report released in 2019 (Britannica, 2021).
Using the strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis in study McDonald’s Corporation, this research presentation aims to evaluate the areas where the company’s performance is remarkable in the economic environment. In addition, the SWOT Analysis helps the management of the company also determine key areas in the company that require improvements through evaluation of the weaknesses and threats that may prevent the firm from meeting the set goals. Through this analysis, the company has a competitive advantage over its competitors in the business environment (Remote Tools, 2021).
The major strength of McDonald’s is the strong brand that the company has built around the world since its emergence in the fast-food industry. The company has maintained a strong brand image that has penetrated all the demographics of its customer base through flexibility and blending ability. In light of this, the brand value is ranked 9th globally which has enabled the company to attract more investors as well as make more profits through sales (Remote Tools, 2021).
Moreover, the company incorporates technology to allow self-service operation through kiosks accessible to customers without interacting with agents or employees. In addition, McDonald’s operates 90% of its restaurants as franchising outlets which enables the company to successfully generate profits more flexibly (Remote Tools, 2021).
In pricing, McDonald’s provides the customers with affordable prices of their products and efficiency in service throughout all their outlets.
Since the McDonald’s Corporation own independently operated franchises, the income is heavily rested on the sales of each franchise. In light of this, there is the possibility of sales and profit decline with the main company having no direct control over the restaurants. Despite having a long history in the fast-food industry, the company has little exposure in the other world's big markets such as China, Malaysia, India, and Singapore (Remote Tools, 2021).
Another weak point in the Corporation is the unbalanced meals served in all the outlets. Since the company works in the line of fast food, the meals have so many calories that can cause heart attack to consumers on consistent consumption. McDonald’s has a large customer base that is served daily causing congestion in the service (Remote Tools, 2021).
On the other hand, in some locations employees complain of low wages and poor working conditions that cause discomfort. In addition, the restaurants running independently to provide the same product, depend highly on the suppliers for raw materials. As a result, a slight disruption in the supply chain is disadvantageous to the company by inconveniencing the whole cycle of supply to customers (Remote Tools, 2021).
A few branches of McDonald’s operate an extension of McCafe which is reported to serve the customer base successfully. Moreover, the McCafe featured outlets make 15% more sales compared to normal McDonald’s restaurants. This is an opportunity for the company to increase its operation scope for high customer satisfaction and revenue generation. With the changing times, customer preferences change as a result of healthy choices. In light of this, McDonald’s should capitalize on the provision of healthy meals to attract new and more customers (Remote Tools, 2021).
McDonald’s brand is much concentrated in geographical locations such as the United Kingdom, United States, and Europe. Therefore, it is prudent for the company to extend its operation into large markets such as China, India, Singapore, and Malaysia.
An increase in technology has enabled the online delivery of products and services to customers at the comfort of their homes and offices. McDonald’s therefore should focus on building a strong partnership with online delivery apps such as UberEats and Door dash to increase customer satisfaction and efficiency (Remote Tools, 2021).
In addition, the company should change its mode of operation to have full control of the outlets for easy management of revenue flow and employees.
Health demands have dictated the preferences of customers in terms of fast food. McDonald’s is no exception when it comes to the impact of the changes. As a result, the sales of fast food at the outlets decline significantly (Remote Tools, 2021).
In addition, the government also puts new regulations in different countries accordingly to control the amount of calorie intake to prevent cases of obesity. This impacts McDonald’s directly since the food contents have fats that may scare away consumers.
Moreover, the packaging materials used in the company’s outlets such as plastic straws, wrappers, cups, and boxes are not environmentally friendly, therefore causing pollution. Lastly, new fast food companies such as Yum! Brands cause stiff competition to Mcdonald's which requires more sophisticated strategies to remain on top (Remote Tools, 2021).
Every business has the aim to make profits in their operations. Business managers, as well as the shareholders, will always look for more effective strategies to increase the profitability of the organization. Focusing on this metric enables the company to determine its fate in terms of growth. This strategy involves elevating revenue generation while limiting expenses (Indeed, 2021).
On the other hand, maintaining market positions is one of the goals of every company given the rise in new regulations and strong competitors in the business environment. Implementation of effective strategies helps the companies to redesign their operating models and remain a competitive advantage ahead of other companies (Manzella, 2014).
McDonald’s as a reputable company can utilize different communication plans such as online platforms, intranet, and print media to communicate its recommended strategies to the stakeholders for implementation. The communication on the recommended strategies can be done every week to be as regular as possible (Ariana and Virginia, 2021).
On the other hand, the company has maintained an ethical operation model through engagements that allow for giving back to the community. This involves giving donations to the charity homes and building a community with the employees and consumers.