McDonald's Corporation - Case Study Example

Still, the organization has increasingly experimented with foods on the fringe of its menu, including health options such as salads and snack wraps, as well as regional specific restaurant items. Company History Founders Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California established McDonald’s in 1940 as a barbeque restaurant. In 1948 the brothers stopped serving barbeque and began a hamburger and fries based approach, implementing streamlined production methods (Sowell, 2009). While McDonald’s would ultimately experience the most long-lasting gains as a result of the implementation of these production methods, they was first established in 1928 by the White Castle food chain (Sowell, 2009).

For McDonald’s the switch resulted in tremendous success for the small company and it was not long before they experienced demand for expansion. In 1955 Ray Kroc would join the company as the first franchise agent. Kroc would establish a McDonald’s in Des Plaines, Illinois and kick off the organization’s staggering growth numbers (Sowell, 2009). While Kroc was not an organization founder today he is perhaps most recognized as the revolutionizing organizational force. Building on the original restaurant model, Ray Kroc would establish many of the elements that continue to the present day.

Most prominently Kroc would establish the rigid standards for franchises, ensuring that the McDonald’s experience was uniform throughout every restaurant. The 1960s would witness many of these innovations including the establishment of the iconic ‘Golden Arches’ logo in 1961 (Sowell, 2009). Kroc would go on to institute the first-large scale advertising campaign this year with the slogan “look for the Golden Arches” (Sowell, 2009). A year later the organization would introduce the Ronald McDonald character as an advertising spokesman.

In large part these early advertising efforts, an approach that would come to be characteristic of the McDonald’s empire, greatly contributed to the organization’s long-term success. In 1965 McDonald’s would go public on the New York Stock Exchange the ticker symbol MCD. Throughout the years small but significant contributions would be made to the organization, including the introduction of the now seminal Big Mac in 1968 and the Happy Meal in 1979 (Sowell, 2009). Organization There are a number of prominent organizational elements within McDonald’s Corporation.

While McDonald’s is a multinational corporation they retain a centralized organizational structure, headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. In terms of supply chain management procedures, all McDonald’s stores receive products from the same vendors, ensuring uniformity among supplier stores. All corporate decisions are made in the United States headquarters. The organization’s chief executive officer is Jim Skinner ("Organizational chart mcdonald's," 2011). Skinner is responsible to McDonald’s board members, the chairman of whom is Andrew McKenna ("Organizational chart mcdonald's," 2011).

Skinner oversees a number of structural divisions, including brand, cfo, human resources, legal and secretary, restaurant, supply chain and franchising, coo, Europe, and APAC and MEA ("Organizational chart mcdonald's," 2011). These organizations have further oversight on a variety of other prominent structural elements.