Issues in managment - Essay Example

In 1961 Kroc purchased the McDonald brothers’ equity share of $2.7 million and changed the name to McDonald’s Corporation. In 1965 McDonald’s went public and is currently headquartered in Illinois. McDonald’s follows a different business model from other fast food chains. In addition to the franchisee fees, supplies and a percentage of sales, they also collect rents partially linked to sales. Approximately 70% of McDonalds restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local men and women.

McDonald’s offers flexible menus with different tastes and different sizes to fit every active lifestyle. It has a global presence with successful expansion into 120 countries and they serve nearly 54 million customers each day. By 2001, they had 30,093 restaurants all over the world with sales of $24 billion. They offer both counter service and drive through service. The company operates other brands such as Piles Café and Boston Market and has a minority stake in Pret a Manger. They had a majority stake in Chiptole Mexican Grill – an 18-restaurant chain in the US until they completely divested it in October 2006.

It also owned Donatos Pizza until December 2003. It has a subsidiary called Redbox, an automated convenience store started in 2003 and since 2005 they focus on DVD rental machine. Their global presence has caused McDonaldization of the society. As it is closely identified with the lifestyle and culture of America, the business expansion has also been termed as Americanization. McDonalds has often been the target of anti-globalization protesters. At the end of 2003 it employed more than 1.6 million people and is considered to be America’s largest job training program.

They claim to make the world a better place and claim to respect and value their employees, but reports suggest that pay and working conditions are far from being ‘overwhelmingly