Business Intelligence project

1. Business Intelligence Project Proposal
Title of Project Analysis of McDonald’s low cost Global Expansion Strategy
What are the aims and
objectives of the
project? (Consider what
the target audience
would want to see in
the report).
 To conduct an analysis of how McDonald’s was able to
sustain its rapid expansion across the world. This objective
will aid franchise operations in the fast food industry to
improve their global expansion strategies.
 To identify how McDonald’s was able to resolve the
challenges it faced during its global expansion. By learning
from McDonald’s fast food franchises planning on
expanding globally will be able to identify the expected
challenges as well as how they can best be able to resolve
these challenges.
Who is the target
audience of the report?
The main target audience of this report are the companies
operating in the restaurant franchise businesses as their business
models are similar to the one used by McDonald’s. However,the
report will also be found to be applicable to the operations of
other enterprises such as restaurant store chains.
What is the importance
to the target audience of
doing this research?
The target audience stands to benefit from this research as it will
provide an essential template that they came replicate to aid
them in expanding their global operations at a relatively low
cost.
What do you want to
know more about and
better understand?
In developing this paper, I will aim at knowing more about how
McDonald’s was able to sustain the rapid expansion of its
operations across the world. Such undertakings are usually cost
intensive endeavours that are frequently wrought with numerous
challenges. However,McDonald’s was seemingly able to
overcome all these challenges and finally emerge as the global
giant that it is today.
Which models,
concepts or theories
from core modules
could be utilised in the
analysis?
There are two main theories that will be utilized in the analysis
of this paper, these are the internationalization theory which is a
behavioural theory that suggests that firms will always try to
minimize the uncertainty that is usually associated with
expanding abroad by first starting with modes entry such as
franchising and exporting and only proceeding to increase their
overall level of involvement in the markets that have proven to
be successful. Another theory that will be used in the
development of this paper is the economic theory which suggests
that a firm will continuously try to pursue the best opportunities
across the different markets. These theories will be used to
illustrate how McDonald’s drove it’s global expansion.
What methods will be
used to gather data?
The research will primarily utilize a mix of both the quantitative
and qualitative method of data collection whereby to conduct the
qualitative research data will be collected from relevant, books,
journals, and credible websites. Information will also be gleaned
from the sales figures presented in past McDonald’s annual
reports.

2. In conducting the quantitative research,the research will conduct
a phone interview with a McDonald’s employee who aids in the
handling the company’s global expansion strategy.
Are there any ethical
concerns?
There are no major ethical concerns that will be encountered in
the development of this paper.
Are there any detailed
analyses/primary
research that should be
included in
Appendices? (You
should include
transcripts of
interviews, full details
of surveys,
spreadsheets,if
applicable etc).
Most of the detailed analyses that will be used in this paper will
be drawn from McDonald’s Annual reports starting from the
early 1990’s to the present day.
Name of BPP
supervisor and e-mail
Kevin Sharman
kevinsharman@bpp.com
Initial meeting date
with supervisor
Any areas to clarify
with supervisor?
None.