McDonald Corporation is probably the largest chain of junk food restaurants in the United Kingdom. It primarily markets French fires, rooster, hamburgers, carbonated drinks and breakfast. This paper attracts on the view that McDonalds fast food continue to remain competitive in the junk food market area of interest by virtue of strategic management which views it bettering the taste of sandwiches as well as adding a menu lost that is new for its customers. To comprehend the success of McDonald over time, it's important to notice the strategic management of the junk food corporation in the united kingdom. Area of the proper drive of McDonalds to increase its competitive border has gone to overhaul the system of preparing food and since evidenced in its recent preparing food system dubbed "DESIGNED FOR You", McDonald developed a mutual relationship with its customers since fresher as well as hotter food are delivered to customers; an aspect that contributes to more consumption of McDonalds food (Stuart et al, 2007). The entire point in the tactical thinking and management of McDonalds rests on the increased overall flexibility on its customer service, business model, getting and studying the strategic edge in light of competitive gain and business level strategies. This paper seeks to investigate the wider environment in which McDonalds operates competition within the fast food industry, strategic concentration, and how to handle challenges that arise within the industry.
Introduction
McDonalds Fast Food Company is among the largest food service retail corporation. Known because of its hot and fresh fries, hamburgers, burgers and soft drinks, McDonalds performs about 30, 000 restaurants in over 199 countries. In the united kingdom, a majority of the McDonalds works on the franchise basis. The proper emphasis and organizational management has placed McDonalds to remain competitive effectively within an already competitive industry and therefore border a competitive base in the industrial environment and enjoy a market niche market because of its business. Customers visit its wall socket on the daily basis due to capacity of McDonalds to make a company's image that enhances people to become accustomed to the culture of excess fat food (McDonalds Firm, 2010). As a result, there can be an apt customer base which McDonalds uses as market entry strategy. As well as advertising companies that leaves the brand image in the consumer's head, McDonalds continue not only to penetrate the marketplace but also increase their market size. Because of this, there are a variety of strategies that McDonald creates on to continue to be competitive in the industry and achieve t business and organizational objective.
McDonalds Company Overview
As one of the major fast food corporation in the UK that specializes in burgers, French fries, tender foods and breakfast time, McDonalds has in the most recent introduced salads, treat wraps, fruits and carrot sticks. McDonald is a small business that dates back in 1940. It was an idea that grew and became operational as the two brothers Apple pc McDonald and Dick exposed a restaurant in the United States (Walsh, 2009). The first McDonalds controlled on the basic principle of modern fast food restaurant which later propagate across Europe. The present McDonald is therefore of the successful expansion of the McDonald into a bunch of junk food markets. The company is just about the image of globalization and it prominence in the united kingdom is dependant on the idea of consumer responsibility as well as commercial ethics (McDonalds Corporation, 2010). Essentially, McDonald serves around one million customers every day.
Business Environment and Research of McDonalds
The environment in which McDonalds operates is very competitive that managers have been pressured to adopt a strategic framework upon that they exercise their ability to recognize, cultivate as well as exploit the main competencies that ensures that you can find business and market progress. Thompson (2005) asserts that in order to arrive at this proper threshold, McDonalds as a company has been the emphasis of the tactical policy formulation. Furthermore, Brown (2002) highlights that there is no way where the organization can are present in the vacuum. In such a sense, McDonalds operate within the competitive environment and the building blocks of its strategic management rests on its ability to analyze its competitor in the junk food industry. Because of this, this not only enables McDonalds to realize its advantages and weakness but also help it to formulate a posture on which it recognizes the opportunities that are present for the organizations well as the dangers it can face from its wider professional environment. This proper research best positions McDonalds in its market topic and is thus a technique that shows the best march for McDonalds tactical management.
The competencies exhibited by McDonalds form yet another aspect of its overall proper management. Parsa (2002) contends that among the largest food string companies in the UK, it identifies its success from its talents and opportunities. This is actually the distinctive competitive strategy that enhances the corporation's competitive gain on the market. A case in point is the financial opportunities, market leadership, image of the business to the marketplace as well as the partnership between the company and its own customer forms the strengths as well as opportunities than McDonald has achieved on its wider proper management plan.
To achieve an improved and much more profitable market topic, McDonalds creates an effective image in the customers' minds and draws from it mission and vision declaration to introduce to widespread customers a culture of junk food. This is evidenced by the fundamental concept that this will serve over one million customers in UK each day and continues to add on its menu a fresh list of fast food items well prepared. Furthermore, customer support relations, delivery velocity as well as high hygienic conditions make the basic strengths which McDonalds expands on. Cole (2003) articulates that McDonald has created a corporate mark that is reinforced by the advertisement campaigns in the united kingdom. Accordingly, it develops on this pedestal to foundationally set up a brand image that has continued to be in the minds of millions of individuals living in the UK. As such, the brand image positions McDonalds an edge higher than its major competition in the meals chain industries and its own marketing strategies successfully addresses important business businesses factors such as inner resources and the core competencies in relation to the exterior environment where it functions (Kendrick, 2008).
Moreover, business experts have taken care of that the product value of McDonalds has added to the proper focus of its functions. With regard to the, customers are aware of what things to expect from the McDonalds restaurants every time they go to the McDonalds. Thus giving emphasis on the actual fact that human source draws their satisfaction from satisfying their customers and will keep the employees ready to adopt the progressive strategy of the company where they create newer products on the market in a bid to remain on edge with the newer tastes and trends of its customers and market size. The variety of McDonalds into other related business forms the framework on which economists respect the McDonalds as the successful corporate and business group within the fast food industry (Enz, 2009).
Competitive Environment within the Businesses of McDonalds
Every fast food restaurant working whether as a business or individual business is aimed at creating a fresh wave in the performance; all directed towards utilizing and sustaining the brand quality and the advancement of the business plan. Many junk food restaurants in the united kingdom continue to assess the external as well as interior business opportunities and for that reason develop marketing programs that see them with a major market shares. These make food string industry an extremely competitive industry in the UK. Relating to Hetrick et al (2006), McDonalds appreciates that competition for market is stiff and has tasked its management to constantly talk, compare their services with those of other fast food restaurants and finally improve on the service delivery and incorporate the advancements of technology including the internet to basically motivate their clients and improve on the overall center performance.
In addition, many junk food organizations undoubtedly improve their food production rendering it futile to make use of the product quality by themselves as the online marketing strategy. As this may create a scenario where you are graded average, McDonalds has gone a notch higher in edging its competitive benefits by changing every marketing and business technique to suit its eyesight statement. Therefore, Heath and Palacher (2008) argues that bearing in mind the already available resources is one point towards success but making use of all the primary competencies has allowed McDonalds to support its devote the competitive market. Consequently, as the chief executive officer of McDonalds said, "the planet has extensively altered therefore have the clients. This calls for a dire need for any business business to change in light with the customers change" (Walsh, 2009).
McDonalds Competitive Position within the meals Chain Industry
McDonalds has achieved the title of the primary and largest junk food restaurant in the united kingdom from its overall strategic management concept of lasting competitive market. With emphasis, this proper plan has been behind the McDonalds potential to make it difficult for other food chain industries to penetrate its stronghold industry. Hill and Jones (2007) make clear that McDonalds competitive position is attributed to its dynamic customer care relations, brand imaging, cost framework as well as its patent. With regard to the, the organizational as well as the managerial process has devoted to sharing coordination and integration to formulate guidelines that drives the McDonalds on the pedestal of success. Believing in the customer and product value, McDonalds has generated a situation where every staff strives to improve the common goal.
Similarly, McDonald, through its proper management has shown its power in having the ability to learn and perform changes according to the needs of the market segments. From this conceptualization, it offers commanded a competitive position by being flexible to change within the milieu of technical advancements and customer fads (Stuart et al, 2007). As such, Kendrick (2008) further postulates a case in point for McDonalds success and market position falls on the paradigm of its long time organizational culture of focusing on its benefit such as organizational conducts as well as skills to achieve success in every aspect of its objective. In the past, McDonald paid little attention on the concept of competitive advantage and so though it opened many retailers across Britain, its revenue did not change to the better.
The structural, technological and financial investments will be the excellent market position of McDonalds. It therefore comes after that McDonalds not only identifies but also implements these property in the right path in a bid to enhance the services of the company in the market. Bordering the advantage on the eye-sight which guides the company, McDonalds pulls its strengths to achieve the competitive position when you are committed to the sustainability of its perspective. For example, considering that a brand or product revolves around the business's perspective, McDonalds works in lieu with this idea and thus features its competitive gain on its faithfulness to the quest, vision and goals as well as objectives of the organization (Thompson, 2005). In light of the, McDonalds operates on the guide of serving those who have little if any time to prepare an therefore provides a solution of a proper restaurant. In this case, the vision provides not only quality products but also quick service and desirable satisfaction among its customers.
The ecological competitive gain has undoubtedly intended well for the McDonalds and utilizing these strategies is based on incorporating the best value strategies which will make McDonalds unique and hard to be emulated by its challengers. It is apparent that competitive advantages has helped and continue to help McDonalds to realize a great investment through an integrated, sensible and dynamic human resources as well as tactical management (brown, 2003). Because of this, McDonald caters for the problem where risk attitudes change and entirely vary the environmental doubt and volatility. This predicated on the product, price, advertising and place has provided a good starting place for the competitive position of McDonalds. Towards utilizing the marketing function, the management of McDonalds constantly uses elements of marketing mix to appropriate plan about how to achieve the popularity on the market place (Enz, 2009).
McDonalds Marketing Strategy
McDonalds is known because of its market entry on which it introduces people to the culture of junk food through the career of emotive and highly persuasive ad promotions. As Hetrick et al (2006) explain, McDonalds uses well structured advertisement campaigns to make a corporate system that penetrates the market as well as expands it. With regard to this, Parsa (2002) notes that McDonalds have set up strategies that offer with the growing variety of junk food customers in the UK. Towards reaching this, McDonalds stresses on customer care, acceleration in the delivery and high hygienic conditions about the McDonald premises. Connected with the concept of market entry strategy, McDonalds evenly develops on its brand image; a factor that recognizes it as an independent company. Accordingly, the business has taken into account business environment to accomplish a competitive edge predicated on the service delivery, product and price.
In addition, McDonalds have used the diversity strategy in its businesses. Hill and Jones (2007) contends that McDonalds uses this plan to project into other business; a factor that has helped the company to keep in touch with the market developments a middle the rising completion in the meals string industry. Towards this, McDonald's emphasis on health food, benefits of new items such as salads on the menu, changed the overall appearance of the stores among adopting newer strategies. In light of the, McDonalds can achieve a competitive position in the marketing environment that is getting more competitive by day s due to access of new players in the industry.
Heath and Palacher (2008) further assert that a lot of enhancements where McDonalds produces services display another strategy used for the McDonalds to catch up with the latest market development. Because of this, it is able to react to the ever changing tastes and concerns of customers. For instance, McDonalds continues to develop new recipes within it tactical formulation to appeal to medical issues and concerns of the clients in UK.
McDonalds continue with the franchising model and uses over 60000 employees in roughly 1200 restaurants. The success behind all theses is typical of the effective marketing strategies that lead to the creation of popular for fast food (Cole, 2003). The purpose of successful marketing rests on making superfluous sales. Understanding the customer as well as the merchandise that fits them has definitely made the building blocks of McDonalds marketing strategy. Instead of other fast food restaurant whose entry in the market somehow takes the customer for granted and ends at providing quick service, McDonalds exploits the underlying concept of marketing which pulls on the idea that client satisfaction is the primary business concern.
Comparatively, many fast food restaurants in the UK are motivated in making profit and even though they offer quality services, they miss out on putting their customers' satisfaction on the fist goal. McDonalds has created business strategies that purpose at satisfying the creation of customer satisfaction. Fundamentally, McDonalds has invested in understanding the needs of a group or groups of customers in what is called market segmentation (Brown, 2002). As such, McDonalds defines these band of customers in conditions of demography such as how old they are, region and gender in a way that each group of customers have a efficiently and specifically tailored products and a marketing mixture.
Future Developments in the Fast Industry
It is important to notice that following the market styles of body fat food industry, outsourcing of employees might not be effective. It is clear that everything in today's business community outsources but McDonalds should be ready to be mindful when outsourcing because in future, outsourcing will stop in its value following whole sale notion of outsourcing competencies of the fast food string store (Hetrick et al, 2006). Towards cushioning the effect of the, McDonald can outsource other business businesses but not its main competencies. As a result, it will keep abreast with the fact that the advantages of outsourcing which includes knowledge of market offshore, dealer relations and enlargement of business operation. In so doing McDonalds will have set up an order center to pillow itself against competition, business failing and reduced profit percentage.
In addition, the question of increased competition will be a future development due to the extensive entry in the fast food industry. As such, McDonalds will have to face a range of market risks and also other business setbacks. However, what will make it strong and continue steadily to enjoy the position of a leading fast food company is the continuous formulation and implementation of strategic regulations predicated on its knowledge of the customer needs. In other words, the taste, choices and satisfactions of the customer should be their frequent priority to face this challenging situation (Parsa, 2002). With the near future market function taking a consumer oriented approach, the marketing decisions are health care going to be afflicted by the careful identification of the needs of the customers. As such McDonalds will need to devise marketing strategies that meet the customers needs and a business circulation system that bring the brands closer to the needs of the customer.
Recommendation for McDonalds Future Strategy
McDonalds should in future design a small business plan that addresses the interpersonal changes spearheaded by the government and consumer categories which border encouraging balanced diet and so make types of foods that on the diet of the customer as well as their healthy lifestyles. Essentially, additionally, it may develop a joint venture with other organizations such as the supermarkets in that a few of its food is sold in the supermarkets. This comes with the marketing repository which will help it to more effectively reach out to specific target sets of consumers. The customer id could be based on modeling and shoppers profiles; a factor which will enhance the prevention of band switching. In addition, McDonalds should concentrate on the corporate social responsibility and border closer to those organizations with a value impact on the society (Enz, 2009).
Similarly, McDonalds should recognize that campaign of its products is not merely an advertising function. It will produce both promotional initiatives and promotional strategy that is defined by the nature of the marketplace, the size of the market and the tastes as well as personal preferences of the customers. In so doing, McDonalds should design on the promotional blend that address the factor of price, product and market in the way the client will feel obliged to consume the product.
Conclusion
From the above conversation, it is visible that the proper management plan of McDonalds has placed it as the major fast food organization in the UK. Which means that its business model is evidently different form other junk food chains. . Part of the tactical drive of McDonalds to increase its competitive advantage has been to overhaul the machine of food preparation and as evidenced in its recent food preparation system dubbed "DESIGNED FOR You" McDonalds developed a mutual relationship using its customers since fresher as well as hotter food was delivered to customers; an element that resulted in more usage of McDonalds food. The entire point in the tactical thinking and management of McDonalds rests on the improved flexibility on its customer service, business design and analyzing the strategic advantage in light of competitive gain, business level strategies among others.
