McDonald’s and the Power of Globalization

Introduction

Money is one of the basic needs for human survival. This is because it facilitates the provision of the human needs and can be obtained through means such as formal and informal employment. Both the informal and formal employment involves business, which is simply defined as the purchase and sale of goods and services in order to gain profit (Zikmund et al. 2013). Presence of money to cater for the human needs is dependent on the growth of the business field. The availability of money is one aspect of wealth, which is the ultimate fulfilment in a person. When a person has money, they are considered to be more wealthy and powerful than those that have less money. This is evident in the manner in which managers of successful businesses are highly esteemed in the society. They are consulted and emulated for mentorship in ‘success’. Therefore, growth and success in business influences the place of the stakeholders in the society in terms of power and influence. Still, power and influence affects the success of a business (Merry, Davis and Kingsbury 2015).

In order for a business to grow, there are several measures that are used to assess the rate and height of growth and development of that business. Global marketing is one of the main areas in business that is used to measure the success of a business. It is based on the belief that if a business operates in more than one place, then that business in highly influential, and so is its management. ‘Success’ in business is believed to be directly proportional to the high rank that stakeholders in such businesses hold in the society, which is determined by the size of the scope of influence through expansion (Falkner 2017).This paper outlines the given topic of ‘The Global Marketing Strategy of McDonald’s’ and its impact to the world of marketing strategy. We will use the case study of the infamous booming brand; McDonald’s and how the growth and the stability of this organisation can be accounted for through its marketing strategies.

This report will reveal why globalization is one of main key success of effective business today. Globalisation is defined as the process of growth and expansion from the internal and local level to the universal or global level (Finoti, Didonet, Toaldo, and Martins 2017). It is the expansion of the scope of market and influence of a certain business or company. This means that the business increases in terms of market and areas of operation. This study will use exploratory research methods and development strategies like Mintzberg to brainstorm marketing and growth managements. It will be a tool to demonstrate how the growth of McDonald’s derived from planning and innovation and for decades how they practised ‘glocal’ achievements in marketing. We will focus on the main strategies including advertising, social responsibility, pricing and competitors. This paper will also outline the contrasting prospective of Anti- Globalisation. Despite its positive outcome of economic integration, the notion of Anti-globalization movement, theories and Brexit, has created an immense anti-globalization mood. Not only has it caused problems amid countries and its cultures but it has also resulted to disagreements in human relationships and extreme exploitation of natural resources (Shamsuddoha,2008).

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Literature Review

Marketing strategy involves the deliberate plan laid by an organisation in the attempt to explore a greater market for its products and services (Ferreira, Pessôa, and Dos Santos 2016). The exploration of market is progressive in nature, where it starts outside the current location, then outside the country or region to the rest of the world. Therefore, companies and organisations have a sequence of growth, which ranges from local to international and global markets. At the local level, the organisation mostly reaches its products to the locals. It has not gained stamina in term of market. At the local level, there are other sub-categories of business in terms of range of products. Most successful businesses, including McDonald’s, have a variety of products or services that they offer. Tracing back to the history of such companies, it is evident that they started with one product or service, from which they grew to more varieties before considering internalisation and globalisation. The market expands as the company grows, such that at some point the products get demand beyond the local setting. This also applies to the increased variety of products, which has a higher chance of attracting a bigger market than a smaller variety (Wheelen et al. 2017). For example, the burger as the original product stood a narrower chance of enlarged market compared to the endless variety of foods offered at the McDonald’s restaurants. Still, services increased from foods only to other services such as hospitality, which further increased their scope of influence across the US and later, globally. A maintained growth sees a company growing to the universal or global level, where the products and services are not only known but are also in demand. This process of growth and expansion from the internal and local level to the universal or global level is called globalisation. Internalisation is the expansion of a business from one state or country to another, while globalisation is wider as it focuses on sharing laws and rules of business with countries and regions of the world (Finoti, Didonet, Toaldo, and Martins 2017). Globalisation is the ultimate level of growth of a company or organisation, and several companies have reached this stage. McDonald’s is one of these companies. McDonald’s is a fast-food company, which is was first started as a local fast-food restaurant in California. The company has since grown to currently being among the most developed and widespread companies. McDonald’s has restaurants all over the world starting from the States, India, Japan, France, China, Indonesia, among other countries. The growth of this organisation can be accounted for, and the stability of the organisation can be attributed to its growth strategies.

Theory in marketing strategy

Theory is central to research because it provides approaches and frameworks necessary for data collection and provides guidelines for the analysis of the acquired data. The hierarchy of needs influences the marketing strategies to be used by a certain company. Closely related to these are the factors that have been proved to influence marketing strategies which are summarised into three main factors. Finally, principles of the 5Ps of strategic planning approach are the backbone to the analysis of the findings in this study.

Hierarchy of Needs Model

The marketing strategy of a business is proposed and implemented by the management of that business. The management analyses their prospective market and business environment in order to determine the most appropriate and needed commodity (Burns and Dewhurst 2016). One of the strategies of marketing is based on the understanding of the place of human needs in providing ready market for goods and services. Customers purchase goods and pay for services according to how important the goods are and depending on their monetary abilities. The importance of the goods and services can be analysed through the hierarchy of needs as suggested by Maslow (Kaur 2013), which is central in providing relevant services and goods to the prospective market. The human needs are classified into physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualisation. Physiological needs are the most basic for human survival such as food, shelter and health (Cherry 2014). These needs are central to human survival and they inform most of business ideas. The rest of the needs are important with self-actualisation as the last stage, which is mostly reached in old age due to the lengthy time that it takes to be satisfied. Of great importance to marketing is the place of the product on sale in the hierarchy of needs. The more a product or service is relevant to the basic needs, the higher the chances of ready and reliable market. McDonald’s started on food, which is at the very base of human survival (Ryan and Deci 2017). Fast foods are convenient in terms if ease of preparation and efficiency in terms of access and use, that is, it is easier to purchase a burger as a snack than to buy the ingredients and prepare a homemade burger. This efficiency of fast-food is mostly accountable for the rapid growth of McDonald’s. The expansion in terms of variety of the foods offered solved the issue of time in the US, especially to employees who had busy schedules. For such and the youths who may find fast foods fancy, stopping at these restaurants is the most convenient meal time. Still, the restaurants offering hospitality and accommodation are convenient for travellers across the world (Brotherton 2015). The rich culture of foods offered at McDonald’s has increased their sales outside US, because the natives of the other countries find their indigenous foods at McDonald’s restaurants. The fact that McDonald stood out despite the presence of other related businesses could have been provided by this important factors alongside other managerial strategies.

Factors influencing marketing strategies

In connection to the marketing strategy, there are three factors that influence the success of the marketing strategy of a business. Customer intimacy is the distance between the business and the potential customers. The distance is in terms of space and relevance. Space is the distance between the customer and the business. The closer the business is to the potential customers, the more the chances of the customers visiting the business. Space is one of the strategic points to consider when starting a business. It should be such that the customers find it easiest and most convenient to access that business than any other (West, Ford and Ibrahim 2015). Some of the means that successful companies have used to make the distance accessible and convenient include starting the business along busy streets and in highly populated places such as towns and economic centres. These places are mostly frequent to the public, hence stand a higher chance of having customers. This is in contrast with businesses in the back streets of towns, where some people may never know about their existence. Still, the busy and more developed areas have a richer market that is needed for the wide variety of products because customers are exposed to variety that is present in the restaurants. This is in contrast to the remote areas, where people are more inclined to their cultures, and some products may be strange to such cultures, thus incurring losses to the business (Ang and Van Dyne 2015). The other dimension of intimacy is the understanding of the preferences of the customers. In order to win the attention of the customers, the management of the business should ensure that the products on sale are customised to the preferences of the customers (Osterwalder et al. 2014). Innovation is the second factor, which enhances the distinction between a certain product and the other similar products. Innovation enables the company to produce a product or service that is unique, hence, earning the preference of the customers (Baden-Fuller and Haefliger 2013). Competition is one of the most dreaded threats to businesses. In the current world where there could be several related businesses in one locality, competition has been proved as one of the fears of most business managers. Innovation is an ancient strategy to outdo competitors in a healthy manner. Some of the innovations made to ease competition include price offers and discounts and other related services such as delivery services. These services increase the convenience of buying from that particular company compared to others where more cost on transit is incurred (Cameron and Molina-Azorin 2014). Customers have proved to be more inclined to where the price of the commodity is inclined. Finally, brand health is the stability of that brand in the market. It involves public perceptions of the company and the products on sale so that predictions on the consistency of the market can be made (Keller and Brexendorf 2017). The health of the brand is determined through research, whether subjective or partial. In most cases, subjective or full research provides more details, which are reliable in the prospection of the future of the business. For example, the company may have an open day when they interact with the community around. Through such process, appointed members of the company have had chances to enquire from the community and customers on various areas of the company such as quality of services, pricing and value of products. This has informed the concerned the companies of the ratings by the community, which are action plans to making the company and its products better (Berlin 2014). It is important that businesses have updated feedback from their customers in order to ensure consistency of relations with those customers as this enhances the security of those businesses. The feedback can also be acquired through feedback websites and hotlines.

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In relation to these factors is the 5Ps model of strategic planning. The Ps represent place, promotion, people, product and price. These elements are central to a business and they affect the operations of that business and the growth of the business over time. Relationship marketing is another theory in strategic marketing. It emphasises on the need to please the customer through methods such as offering quality services and providing quality and unique variety that recognises the value for the customer’s money (Reason, Løvlie and Flu 2015). A more detailed discussion on each of these elements and the theory of relationship marketing will be provided later in this study.

Research Aim

Previous studies have been conducted in the attempt to provide theoretical models of marketing strategies at the local level. However, this study seeks to evaluate business and marketing strategy beyond the geographical boundaries of the native location of a company. With the case study of McDonald’s cooperation, the finding of the study will be based on evidence and reliable reference. This study is generally intended to discuss globalisation, critically evaluate the factors that have favoured globalisation, assess challenges that the case organisation has faced in the process, conclude on the success of McDonald’s and comprehensively recommend action plans. This information will provide a reflection on the hitherto progress of the organisation as well as strategies that can be implemented for improvement in the organisation, and which could also be points of reference for other organisations that aspire to achieve what the organisation under study has achieved in the ladder of business and marketing strategies (Maylor, Blackmon and Huemann 2016).

Research Objectives

i. To investigate the factors which have contributed to the growth of McDonald’s

Identifying and discussing these factors with evidence from the company will prove their effectiveness, which also means that they are applicable to any other company that anticipates similar results. The discussion will also provide a basis for McDonald’s and other organisations to evaluate the most efficient model to use or the key factor to emphasise on in order to achieve better results in future.

ii. To explore the challenges that the organisation has faced

Discussing the challenges in details will provide enough room of reflection for McDonald as well as create awareness to other organisations such that they will not follow the factors engaged in McDonald’s blindly. Reflection creates room for learning by experience, which is important in formulating relevant strategies to minimise challenges in the future. The discussion on challenges will also enhance open-mindedness in making decisions about globalisation as a marketing strategy in business.

iii. To conclusively establish that McDonald’s has succeeded in globalisation

Based on the provided evidence and analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation in relation to globalisation, the level of achievement of McDonald’s will be declared. This will confirm the effectiveness of the discussed factors and strategies.

iv. To deduce applicable and measurable recommendations for McDonald’s and other companies

After an analysis, recommendations need to be made in order to facilitate action on the provided information. The recommendations provided towards the end of the study will guide McDonald’s and other organisations in their quest to succeed or remain successful in business. The simplicity with which they will be discussed will make them easy to apply, innovate or develop further.

Further objectives

When I have completed this paper, I will be able to differentiate similarities and differences between Globalisation and Internationalism. Even though there is a very fine line between the two, my objective is to be confident in referring to both ideas. While, globalisation refers to the upsurge of the future and global economic integration, internationalism points out more of international trade and relations amongst nations. I will also, be able to distinguish between research and methodology more visibly in my thesis and identify that good researches depends on the methodology and techniques. Possibly one of the main important tools to use is to understand approaches and the implications I will make out of it. Finally, a relevant models in key areas of this paper such as marketing strategies, such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, will also be critically evaluated so that their effectiveness, reliability and credibility of results is determined.

Research Hypotheses

In order to incorporate previous studies on marketing strategies to prove the success of globalisation as a marketing strategy, the following hypotheses have been formulated:

H1: Globalisation is one of the successful marketing strategies

H2: Globalisation as a marketing strategy is effective despite identified challenges

Methodology and data collection

This section of the study will analyse the chosen methods of research and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. The methods used will be justified despite their shortcomings. The ethics involved in research will also be presented and demonstrated in use.

Research approach

Deductive approach in research involves the formulation of hypotheses from theory, which are proven through the research. Deductive approach is used in this study based on the following advantages. First, deductive research is simple and convenient to the researcher. The research is carried out through simple and convenient methods such as use of secondary data (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2012). This is because the approach seeks to confirm the stated generalisations. In this study, globalisation is the marketing strategy under study, and its effectiveness is confirmed through a case study of McDonald’s. Secondly, the approach is analytical in nature. Research requires analytic skills in order to discuss findings in the correct manner. The analysis takes a sequential form that develops the hypotheses as the objectives are achieved. This study analyses the factors that contributed to the effectiveness of globalisation in McDonald’s cooperation and the challenges that the organisation has faced in the process of implementing the strategy. Thirdly, the logical reasoning used in the approach makes it clear and precise (Sekaran and Bougie 2016). From the findings and the analysis of the findings, the effectiveness of globalisation as a marketing strategy in McDonald’s can be clearly deduced. On the other hand, one of the disadvantages of this approach to research is that generalisations could be faulty. This means that a research could be headed towards a faulty conclusion, hence making the research null. This can be controlled through case studies, which provide evidence of the hypotheses such that facts are used to approve or disapprove them (Bell, Bryman and Harley 2018). Still, the abstract nature of the approach provides a narrow scope of evidence. The minimal use of facts such as statistics makes the evidence dependent on records of other researches and observations.

Research design

A qualitative design is explorative in nature such that the obtained data is used to approve the theories applied in the research process. Qualitative explorative design is central to case studies because the truths are observable in the case study, hence provide enough proof to confirm the hypotheses (Bell 2018). Another advantage is that it increases understanding through testing the concept. When a case study is conducted, the researcher has the opportunity to test the theoretical concepts, hence obtain a deeper understanding of such concepts. For example, the encounter with secondary data concerning globalisation in McDonald’s provided the researcher with deeper knowledge and facts about the organisations. This knowledge deepened the understanding of the strategy through the study of the logical analysis of the success of the organisation (Megheirkouni 2016). Secondly, qualitative explorative design of research is flexible in terms of methods of data collection. Due to the abstract nature of exploration, the design allows the researcher to be flexible unlike other designs that require facts. Such designs restrict the researcher to the field, while exploratory allows the researcher to be in or out of the field. Wherever they are, they can access credible information through sources such as books and journals (Hughes 2016). Finally, exploratory research design is convenient and reliable in achieving the goals of decision-makers in organisations. Through the researched and proven hypotheses, the persons involved in making decisions have enough information to inform their decisions. These facts are also reliable because they are deduced from a case study (Zsambok and Klein 2014). However, the main disadvantage of the explorative design is that its influence on decision making makes organisations prone to poor decisions. The absence of facts and the abstract nature of the data provided could result to misguided conclusions, which can mislead decision making in organisations that may not conduct a research of their own. Some researchers could provide faulty information, resulting to misguidance of institutions that depend on the findings of such a research to make decisions. Books, scholarly journals among other reliable and credible sources of secondary data were used in this study. Information from these sources was compared and critically analysed to present facts that have been tested before. Still, information that had weak proof was overlooked in order to ensure that that which is presented here can be relied on to make decisions that will benefit other organisations. The data is analysed along relevant models and frameworks including those discussed in the literature review of this paper. This helped to ensure that the information could be supported by the findings and theories that were formulated before this research, hence proofing the dependability of this research and the findings discussed herein (Bryman 2016). Therefore, secondary data was solely used for this research study with minimal consultation from key elements to McDonald’s such as the community around. Informal discussions were an efficient support method of data collection in ensuring that any information was not pre-conceived or manipulated. As a result, unclear information from the secondary sources was clarified through the informal discussions among randomly chosen communities in which McDonald restaurants are found. The assistant nature of the method is insisted as only a support of the data from secondary sources.

Ethics

Ethics in research restrict the researcher to the conventionalised rules and guidelines of the practice. In a qualitative explorative design of research, researchers are prone to quoting faulty information. Such cases could have costly consequences such as incurring losses to an organisation because of misinformed decisions (Bucheli and Wadhwani 2014). The research in this study is based on an identified organisation, which restricted the researcher to information that is strictly relevant and observable in the organisation under study. Secondary data was extracted and compared from various sources referenced towards the end of the paper. Comparison of data from different scholarly journals and bools as well as relevant websites helped the researcher to ensure that all the unsupported information in such sources were not recorded here. Only the facts that appeared in more than two materials used in the research were recorded, thus the credibility of the consequent analysis of findings is unquestionable (Bryman 2016). The used sources are properly cited within the text and a list of references provided at the end of the paper.

Data analysis methods

As mentioned earlier, the qualitative exploratory design of research is more abstract than it is factual. Main points are deduced from the analysis of the findings. Therefore, explanation and description will be used to critically analyse and evaluate the findings. This method will allow the researcher to exhibit their understanding of the concept under study from a wide range of secondary sources (Saunders 2012). To ensure that the information is relevant to the study, citations and references of relevant frameworks and models relevant to the issues of marketing strategy will be used to align the collected information to the topic of study and arrange it in a logical manner. Patterns will be identified and connections between variables established in order to explain the findings and draw a comprehensive conclusion from which applicable recommendations derived.

Findings

From a close reference to McDonald’s and support from relevant secondary sources referenced in this paper, the findings of the research will be presented in this section and analysed in the next. First, factors that have led to the growth of McDonald’s is planning and implementation as well as creativity and innovation. The 5Ps of strategic planning mentioned earlier in this paper will be used to explain these factors. Slogans in the organisation, feedback from the clients, the franchise management involved within the organisation and the unwavering focus on remaining the best in the industry are other factors that have contributed to the growth of McDonald’s in terms of globalisation. Through PESTLE analysis, economic and technological factors were found to be more influential to the organisation than the other factors. Despite all these positive factors, the organisation has faced challenges in implementing globalisation as a marketing strategy including the current Brexit affair, legislative requirements and cultural issues. These have impaired the growth of the organisation to some extent even though the envied rank is sustained.

A critical analysis and evaluation of Findings

This section of the paper will logically present the findings, explain them and critically evaluate them in relation to the effectiveness of globalisation as a business strategy in McDonald’s.

Factors that influenced globalisation in McDonald’s

To begin with, one of the very key factors that have led to the growth of McDonald’s is planning and implementation, as well as creativity and innovation. Close to this is the 5Ps of strategic planning (TB 2018). This methodology is one of my preferred methodological approach as till today it is still being used by professionals, lecturers and organisations. It has a very easy skeleton framework and simple to follow. It provides a positive comprehensive plan to start your own business even from home and really helps with creative thinking. On the contrary, I have regarded other alternative analysis including Porters 5 forces (The 5P Approach, 2018). Even though, Porters method is a well guideline demonstrating competition in the market, I found that it does not take into account the dynamics of McDonald’s market and not a good source of business model. Porters approach may be more appropriate for simpler and smaller markets. The 5Ps represent the five elements of an organisation, which are place, promotion, people, product and price. These elements are related and interdependent, and are explored so as to enhance growth of a company. Place refers to the physical positioning of the company (Rondović, Djuričković, and Kašćelan 2019). Place should be strategic, in that it should be open to access by consumers of the product. McDonald’s is situated in many countries, where in most cases it is within the capital cities or major cities of the host countries. For example, it was founded in California, which is a major state in America. Promotion refers to the deliberate means that a company uses to make its products known to the public. It involves making the company and its products known to the potential market, such that this public not only buys the available products but also checks out for new developments. McDonald’s has been involved in various promotional activities such as sponsoring Olympics (McDonald 2018). Due to the universal nature of the Olympics, McDonald’s explores the opportunity of exposure to the entire world. Also, the organisation partners with other known organisations such as Red-Cross, Global Summit of Women, and Asia Society. These further expose McDonald’s to a potential market. People refers to the specific feature of the target population. The element of people is a new development in the study of strategic elements, which has proved effective to the growth of organisations such as McDonald’s. The characteristics of the population inform the features of the product (Hamdan 2019). The population is surrounded by a culture, where certain nature of products is in higher demand than others. As a result, specific aspects of the local culture inform the nature of the products to be offered. In McDonald’s, there are common menus that cut across all restaurants across the countries. In addition to these common dishes are other dishes that are specific to the people that live in the immediate culture. For example, McDonald’s opened a vegetarian restaurant in India to serve the almost 40% citizens who do not take meat at all (UK Essays 2013). Product is the very entity on sale (Fu and Elliott 2013). The product is the trademark of the company, meaning that a company will be known according to the products that are offered. There are chances that a product is offered by several organisations, which directly translates to competition. The uniqueness of the product of one company distinguishes it from the products of the other companies. This results to an added advantage, because the uniqueness provides the ‘face’ of the company. Food, for example, is a product that is widespread across the globe. However, other organisations tend to struggle in the attempt to remain relevant to the immediate culture while at the same time incorporating foreign dishes. This art of incorporating foreign cultures to the local culture is one of the strongholds of McDonald’s, because it allows the restaurants to serve the locals as well as outsiders with the same enthusiasm. For instance, milk-shake is one of the signature items that the McDonald’s restaurants offer across the globe. However, in New Zealand, the local lamb meat is also offered. As a result, a native that visits the restaurant will be equally satisfied with the local delicacies as a foreigner would enjoy finding their own food on offer in that restaurant (Sinclair and Campbell 2014). Finally, price is the cost of the product. It involves the cost of production, the cost of delivery to the customer as well as the profit margin achieved through the sales of the product. Within this element, the organisation compares the total cost with the returns. It is the responsibility of the organisation to ensure that the product is made available at the most convenient price, which is also competitive. The price should match the quality of the product because the consumer is interested in the value for their money. The prices at McDonald’s are way friendly to any customer, with the menu being a clear evidence of the interest to give the best food at an affordable and reasonable price (Millson 2013).

Among other key factors that have contributed to the globalisation in McDonald’s include activities within the organisation such as slogans, objectives and culture. Mintzberg's approach to management suggests that managers of businesses and organisations have responsibilities including being an entrepreneur, among other responsibilities (Kumar 2015). An entrepreneur schemes ways of winning the customers to the products of their business. In relation to this, McDonald’s cooperation has a popular slogan, ‘I’m living it’. This slogan is a mime of the reactions of the consumers to the food varieties offered in the restaurants. Such slogans tend to trend and get popular with the public, and in the process the organisation and its products also become popular. This later translates to more sales (Solomon et al., 2014). Still, McDonald’s’ values the customer. The reaction of the customer is upheld, and this is evident through the decisions that are made as well as subsequent changes in order to fit into the preferences of the customer. A good example is the preparation of local dishes, with the specified procedures of preparation, which are sometimes challenging. In connection to the specific procedures, there are rules that restrict the field of food services. Such include the religious bans, where some religions ban certain foods to their followers. This means that there are foods that are not marketable within the environs of such cultures, which affects the sales and revenue of such a company (Rani 2014). In such cases, McDonald’s has adjusted by all means so that every customer from every culture is satisfied with the services offered. The adjustment involves preparing other varieties of food that is friendly to that culture, which earns the company the preference of more customers from such a culture. Franchise management of the organisation in most countries helps to sustain the culture of the organisation. With the French culture forming the basis of the restaurants, the management has worked by all means to sustain that culture. For example, where the chosen managers of the various restaurants are not Franchise, then they are trained and equipped such that they are well exposed to the French culture with French food as the primary characteristic. Also, workers are trained to efficiently and perfectly prepare French dishes as well as be flexible to fit into diverse cultures of the world (TWPJ 2012). This puts McDonald’s restaurants at a competitive state, where growth is constant leading to expansion of the organisation. Still, McDonald’s focuses on winning. In other words, being the best option there is and maintaining that position has facilitated the sustained growth to the global level. The organisation recognises the place of other organisations in marketing the products. In relation to this, the organisation is in partnership with several organisations that further expose the restaurants and their services. For example, a Red Cross camp can be served food by a nearby restaurant, where the public also encounters the organisation and its products at a close distance. The close distance facilitates interaction between the organisation and the public, which further widens the scope of influence (Thorson and Moore 2013). PESTLE analysis provides facts in terms of political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental factors. This analysis points out the contribution of these factors to the growth of the organisation (Gause 2016). In the case of McDonald’s, the most distinctive factors are the economic and technological factors. Economic factors include the reported food inflation in China and the economic growth in individual countries. China is one of the host nations of McDonald’s restaurants, where the reported shortage of food led to increases profits on the food industry. McDonald’s profited in the process (UK Essays 2013). Still, economic growth has been reported in some countries such as Indonesia. This growth subsequently caused increased profits on the restaurants in Indonesia. McDonald’s was among the beneficiaries of the growth, where the foods could be easily afforded by more people resulting to more sales. In the current times, technological advancements are in flux and innovations are being made as the days pass (Westerman, Bonnet and McAfee 2014). McDonald’s is one of the organisations that embraced technology during the early stages of development, which has contributed to its constant growth so far. Technological advancements in this organisation include the development of more efficient kitchen equipment, which make work easier and the working environment favourable. For example, energy renewal schemes are in use in order to manage energy; hence, managing the cost of production (Medhora 2017). Such advancements increase the efficiency of work among the employees leading to quality products. Still, it allows room for innovation and creativity, where the employees such as the chefs have enough equipment to come up with new recipes in order to increase the variety of the products. Finally, the advancements tend to make work easier and the employees enjoy working. Intrinsic motivation results from contentment of an employee at work and it improves efficiency and consequently, productivity at work (Shields et al. 2015). This section has enabled the researcher to achieve objective (i), where factors that led to the effectiveness of globalisation in McDonald were critically analysed and evaluated.

Challenges that the organisation has faced

Despite the above described positive factors, McDonald’s cooperation has faced challenges in the implementation of globalisation as a marketing strategy such as the brexit and legal factors. Brexit has affected the relations between Britain and other countries, which has further led to economical strains. Globalisation and international cohesion are intertwined, where countries that have hosted each other in terms of investment establish some level of dependence on each other. This means that if the relationship and previous agreements are interfered with, then the companies are also affected because the legislation in the foreign countries will be manipulated by the change. For example, the McDonald’s restaurants within Britain suffer the subsidence of the pound in value, as well as increased rates, tariffs and dues that are involved in international business (TWPJ 2012). Still, legal issues have also affected the restaurants in various countries and regions. Acquisition of legal documentation is one of the procedures that most directly affect the operations of a business, hence its profitability. For example, there is a requirement of the law that any business, especially food business that is operating in Islamic countries should have a HALAL certificate. The procedures involved in the acquisition of that certificate as well as the conditions surrounding such businesses in such regions are strict and expensive to adhere. Some organisations may even count it unworthy the hustle. For example, the religious laws are specific even to the very preparation of the food. Such restrictions are expensive for companies in the food industry because the market is narrowed and other food products may not source income, resulting to a slower rate of growth because the business has to depend on the allowed foods (Wilson 2015). Still, the health awareness that has gained momentum across the French countries is another threat. The increased cases of obesity due to unhealthy eating have affected the business of fast foods, which are suggested as the major causes of obesity. This is because most of these foods are prepared through deep-frying, for example, fries (The Guardian 2018). This has affected the sales in the restaurants that are based on such countries. The stability the McDonald’s has gained over the years has played a big part in sustaining the organisation despite such challenges that otherwise choke related businesses (Rao-Nicholson and Khan 2017). This section has successfully achieved objective (ii) by discussing and analysing the challenges associated with globalisation.

Conclusion

Globalisation is evident in the sequential growth of McDonald’s restaurants from a single unit in California to the current universal business, which is among the most widespread and stable businesses worldwide. The effectiveness of globalisation as a marketing strategy can be attributed to various factors surrounding the business, as well as within the organisation (Durie and Imiru 2018). For example, the 5Ps represent place, promotion, people, product and price. These are the basic elements, which can be explored strategically to support the growth and expansion of a business. Principles of theories of strategic marketing such as the hierarchy of needs discussed earlier provide the logical guidelines towards unearthing and understanding the key concepts that are relevant to the success of an organisation in terms of marketing strategies such as globalisation. Other factors such as the environmental and economic factors support the business externally; hence, strengthening the foundation of the business further. They inform the market of the business, such that the company can creatively and innovatively create ways of most appropriately fitting into the community. Consequently, the business or organisation affectively takes advantage of opportunities that are present within such communities. It is clear that despite the rate growth, every slight move towards the positive direction is important to the company, and can be an advantage to that company because others may not seize it (). A good example is the food restrictions in Islamic regions where other companies my cower to invest in. as a result McDonald’s remains as the sore product and service provider, which translates to ready market with minimal competition. This increases the chances of the company to closely interact with the community and together create more varieties of products, hence general growth of the company. Despite challenges in the global market as well as local issues, the already established stability of McDonald’s sustains its position among the top organisations of the world, especially in food industry. For example, the Brexit is an internal issue in Britain, which results to overall loss to the restaurants that are in the affected countries; hence, the whole organisation is affected. However, McDonald’s restaurants rise above these challenges, thus still remains unshaken. This, therefore confirms both of the hypotheses of this study, that globalisation is one of the most effective marketing strategy with evidence from McDonald’s discussed in this paper and that the challenges associated with globalisation explained in this study affect the growth but do not terminate the success of the strategy. Finally, this conclusion has helped the researcher to achieve objective (iii), that McDonald’s has succeeded in employing globalisation as a marketing strategy.

Recommendations and implications

Kolb (2014) emphasises of the place of experience in learning and planning for the future. This section of the study will deduce applicable areas of improvement for McDonald’s. It will also be a secondary source of information and basis for further research into the concept of globalisation. In relation to this, other organisations can also refer to this section of the study in order to strategically plan as they climb the hierarchy of business growth and development. Therefore, the action plans in this section will be identified, explained and where possible examples will be given. This will increase the applicability of the recommendations, hence motivate more organisations into considering them in future. To begin with, differentiation is central to marketing strategy. From earlier discussions it is clear that McDonald’s have attempted to outdo their competitors. However, there is still more that can be done in this field. With the expansion of the business in terms of variety of products, the management should consider other ways of being different from their competitors (Swaty 2016). For example, they may consider deliveries of the foods at a subsidised fee. Most of the McDonald’s restaurants are located in towns and along busy streets as mentioned before. This means that most of the target customers around those places are the busy employees in organisations, who have tight schedules. Therefore, providing door-step deliveries at their offices would be convenient for them. Closely related to this is that McDonald’s should consider the health of clients. One of the discussed issues that the business faced was the issue of obesity and the resultant restrictions and movements against fast foods. McDonald’s as well as other businesses in the industry should prioritise the health of their customers such that the products that they make will be healthy while at the same time attracting the customers. Healthy ingredients such as vegetables and natural products such as milk and eggs are healthier to use. On the same note, methods of preparation such as shallow frying are healthier than deep frying (Begley, Gallegos and Vidgen 2017). Such measures will also instil a sense of belonging to the customers because they will be convinced that the company cares for them. Their loyalty will be inclined to the company that cares for them (Baker 2014). This is economically achievable because some of those offices are located across streets, hence cheap to deliver services. Secondly, product augmentation involves expansion of the variety of products. McDonald’s should continue investing in customising their menu in order to satisfy the diverse needs of their customers. Food industry is one of the diverse industries in terms of market characteristics. Products are determined by various factors such as climatic changes, health needs of the market and cultural practices of the customers (Jisana 2014). This means that the organisation should motivate innovation and creativity among the employees and critically evaluate new ideas in order to beat competition in a healthy manner. Another recommendation is adopting into new markets and flexibility in order to widen the scope of influence. It is clear from previous discussions in this study that

Feedback enhances communication between the service providers and their customers. Feedback is important as it provides the means through which the service providers inform their customers about their products and services, and the customers inform their service providers of their opinions on the same. This means that both the service provider and the customer are in constant communication, which is essential for planning (Bargiela-Chiappini and Nickerson 2014). For example, customers complain or comment directly to the service providers thus action is taken immediately. The constant communication enables the company involved to improve their products and services in order to satisfy their customers. Attention to feedback is one of the strategic plans that are effective in providing facts to the company. When the customers are listened to and their opinions upheld, their loyalty to the company is enhanced. Finally, McDonald’s should enhance employees in order to increase their loyalty to the company. When employees are loyal, they are motivated to please their employer through productivity at work (Yousaf et al. 2014). It is the responsibility of the employer to win the loyalty of the employees if quality products and services are expected. This can be done through effective and efficient communication with the employee, empowerment, guidance, equipping and further developing the employees. Effective communication with employees makes working enjoyable because they are informed in time and through the correct channels (Putnam and Mumby 2013). In situations that require immediate action such as complain from customers, employees feel involved when their employer entrusts the action to them. They work towards solving the problem because their employer has entrusted them with that task. Empowerment, guidance, equipping and further development enhance the knowledge and skills of the employees for their own sake and that of the company. For example, providing trainings and mentorship programs and platforms for the employees advance their knowledge and abilities, hence they become more effective and productive at work. Investing in employees contributes to the rise of a business (Ganta 2014).

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