麦当劳快餐食品

管理学原理：
简介：众所周知，麦当劳因为它美味食品而文明，例如汉堡和薯条。其食品的流行让麦当劳成为全球领先的食品服务零售商。在全世界超过120个国家里开店。如今，麦当劳成为快餐文化的标志，然而公众健康意识已经加强，饮食习惯意识加强。因此，公众已经关注起麦当劳的食品，特别是它的超大型餐。超大型意味着超过麦当劳常规餐的食物分量。2004年，一个名为Morgan Spurlock的独立导演，制作了一部名为《超码的我》的纪录片。这部电影在社会上形成了巨大影响，它提升了对超大型问题的关注，这是公众认为超大型食品引起肥胖的原因之一。因此，这份报告通过PEST分析，找出麦当劳终端超大型食品的原因。我们也会分析麦当劳企业社会责任的战略，案例里面也会应用到一些例子。

案例亮点：为了和竞争对手竞争，麦当劳在20世纪90年代，做出了添加超大型餐的决定。只要39美分，顾客可以得到比常规餐多得多的食品。

 

 

 

管理学原理--PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT

 

简介--INTRODUCTION

As everyone knows, McDonald's is famous from its delicious food such as burgers and French fries. The popularity of its foods makes McDonald's the leading food service retailer globally. There are stores around the world in more than 120 countries. Nowadays, McDonald's became the icon of the fast food culture. However, the public health conscious was enhanced and they are aware of their eating habits. Therefore, the public has concerns on McDonald's foods especially its “supersized” meals. “Supersize” means increasing the portion size of the regular meals of McDonald's. In 2004, an independent filmmaker, Morgan Spurlock, produced a documentary film “Supersize Me”. The movie made a huge impact in the society and it rose up the “supersize” issue, which was one of the reasons that the public thought the supersized food lead to obesity. Therefore, the report is to find out the reason of McDonald's discontinuouing the supersized meal by the PEST anaylsis. We will also analysis the strategies of the CSR of McDonald's and some examples will be applied to the case.

 

案例亮点--CASE HIGHLIGHT

 

To compete with the competitors, McDonald's made a decision to the addition of the Supersized meal in the 1990s. With only 39 cents, the customers can get extra large portion of the regular meals. However, the public found that the primary products of McDonald's were addictive and it was the cause of obesity. In 2004, a producer made a documentary film and he had an experiment of himself of having McDonald's foods in every meals for each meals in 30 days. With the changes in public health consciousness, competitive pressures and the impact of the movie, McDonald's discontinued the supersized offerings. It claimed that the action was to simplify its menu and to promote the efficiency in the organization. Besides, McDonald's started to alter its menu and introduced some salads in low fat content. The action was driven its market share and sales. McDonald's was losing the market share due to the health consciousness. Therefore, McDonald's is moving onto healthier lifestyles and to be responsive for the changing market environment.

 

结论——Conclusion

 

McDonaldization is the process and a management skill by which a society takes on the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant. McDonaldization is a reconceptualization of rationalization, or moving from traditional to rational modes of thought, and scientific management. Fast-food restaurant becomes more representative contemporary paradigm.

 

McDonaldization could understand as four primary components:

 

• Efficiency - the optimal method for accomplishing a task. In this context, Ritzer has a very specific meaning of "efficiency". Here, the optimal method equates to the fastest method to get from point A to point B. In the example of McDonald's customers, it is the fastest way to get from being hungry to being full. Efficiency in McDonaldization means that every aspect of the organization is geared toward the minimization of time.[1]

 

• Calculability - objective should be quantifiable (i.e., sales) rather than subjective (i.e., taste). McDonaldization developed the notion that quantity equals quality, and that a large amount of product delivered to the customer in a short amount of time is the same as a high quality product. This allows people to quantify how much they're getting versus how much they're paying. Organizations want consumers to believe that they are getting a large amount of product for not a lot of money. Workers in these organizations are judged by how fast they are instead of the quality of work they do.[2]

 

• Predictability - standardized and uniform services. "Predictability" means that no matter where a person goes, they will receive the same service and receive the same product every time when interacting with the McDonaldized organization. This also applies to the workers in those organizations. Their task are highly repetitive, highly routine, and predictable.[3]

• Control - standardized and uniform employees, replacement of human by non-human technologies

 

The process of McDonaldization can be summarized as the way in which "the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world.”

 

In this project, we know that the environment has affected McDonald's planed to discontinue offering supersized meals.

 

Health consciousness expands around the world and at all levels of society. People are educated to the fact that debilitation and chronic illnesses are both directly and indirectly caused by the increasing consumption of fast food. Nowadays, people are much more aware that healthy eating is important. Expectations to the quality of food continue to grow. It is considered that McDonald's action of altering its menu, offering salads as an entrée meal as a growth strategy. Growth strategy often involves the business increasing the number of products, diversifying its range of products made available to the market they serve, but also focusing on its primary line products.

 

This applies to McDonald's while still focusing on its primary products- burgers and French fries, but at the same time introducing new products- salads and other healthier substitutes. Not only to gain back the loss of market share caused by public concerns, but also demonstrating responsive behaviors to the criticism against them.

 

McDonald's added entree salads with great success last year and has been moving to provide more fruit, vegetable and yogurt options with its Happy Meals. The other changes include making bagels an optional breakfast product, dropping 2 percent milk in favor of exclusively 1 percent and otherwise tweaking the size and choice of items in order to come up with a “core” menu that reflects customers' preferences.

 

Nutritionists and critics have welcomed McDonald's move and urge other fast food chains to follow suit.

 

"McDonald's made a move in the right direction by stopping sales of 'super-sized' French fries and soft drinks," says Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), in a news release. "I hope it is an indication that the company is paying more attention to obesity, heart disease, and other diet-related diseases. McDonald's competitors should immediately follow suit and begin normal-sizing their largest menu items."

 

Experts say cutting back on portion sizes is a good start to helping people get their fast food eating habits under control.

 

"Phasing out supersized fries and drinks is a great move because it appeals to so many people because it's such an inexpensive option," says Kathleen Zelman, RD, director of nutrition for the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic. "But in terms of health and calories, it's a very expensive option."

 

But they also say the company could do more than just reduce portion sizes to improve the nutritional value of its menu options.

 

"How about adding some nutritional goodness with a whole-grain bun, more vegetables, and baby carrots as a side option instead of french fries?"

 

Applications to Self/Company/Industry/Hong Kong

 

Corporate social responsibility is an important concept for business organization since the 20th century. By establishing a harmonious relationship between enterprises and society, social responsibilities of corporations are used as main criterions for evaluating the performance of an enterprise. For a corporation to be successful in he long term, they should not only focus solely on the economic concern of their own but also the concern of the public. In other words, by making decisions to maximizing profits and interests in favor of shareholders, the corporation also should take serious concern about the public interest. As a whole a corporation decision would consider factors which includes employee interests, consumer interests, creditor interests, environmental interests communities and so on. As a result to that, the enterprise while making profits in implementing CSR, not only gains reputation and social recognition, but also create a win-win situation where enterprise and society together share and enjoy the expectable development. (Wikipedia, 2008)

 

In Hong Kong, McDonald is making more effort on running the CSR issue which covers community activities, environmental protection and quality assurance. They always strive hard to provide rehabilitated services to disable peoples in order to develop their potentials for moving towards self-reliance and integrating into the community. In the future there would also be vocational training in actual working environment is also provided for disabled. In 1995, McDonald use superior oil in producing their food showing their care about the public health. Recently, they also promote "No straw day" to enhance environmental protection sense to the public.

 

Some of large and well known business organization in Hong Kong given us good examples as a role model for it success by implementing CSR mission respectively. For instance, another fast food company, KFC, encourage people to protect environment and remind customer to have balance nutrition by giving healthy eating tips from their advertisement and in their website. Furthermore, Park'n Shop supermarket suspended its policy of dishing out plastic bags and become the first chain supermarket in Hong Kong to adopt the green step. The no-plastic bag campaign is part of a step of measures by the supermarket to save 30 million bags this year by encouraging shoppers to bring their own bags. However such campaign was eventually terminated cause of customer's objection and without proper planning in implementation.

 

Lessons to be learnt

 

This case has illustrated the impacts caused by media and how greatly it can affect a well-established business.

 

Media power can hugely impact a business irrespective of its size. Creating moral panics and criticisms, businesses cannot neglect nor be immune to the crisis brought about by the media.

 

Morgan Spurlock worked in the media industry for many years and used his intimate knowledge of the media to disseminate information across to the public on health concerns. His determination to achieving his goals in proving that fast food causes chronic illnesses and the debilitating health condition, such as the increase risk of heart disease which are commonly caused by obesity by risking his own health. He effectively broadcasted the message, attracted a great deal of attention from the public and was believed to be the motive behind the elimination of McDonald's supersize meals.

 

McDonald's responded to the crisis by performing the combination strategy. Adopting strategies like the growth strategy by introducing new healthy substitutes and retrenchment strategy by eliminating the option for supersizing the meals to cease the expansion of the crisis. Crisis management has stimulated new ideas for McDonald's to provide healthy food and with this advantage; they can promote the business as being more health conscious and at the same time demonstrate social responsibility. At the end, this created a win-win situation for McDonald's as this has led McDonald's innovating new products and moreover, received free advertisements them.

 

参考文献--REFERENCES

 

1.Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, McDonald's. Availiable from :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mcdonald%27s[ Accessed 10 March 2008].

 

2. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Supersize . Availiable from :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersize [ Accessed 10 March 2008].

 

• (Wikipedia,2008).¹

Wikipedia, 2008. Corporate social responsibility. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility

 

• (KFC, 2008)

KFC, 2008. Nutrition. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from

http://www.kfc.com/nutrition/default.asp

 

• (KFC, 2008)

KFC, 2008. Social Responsibility. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from

http://www.kfc.com/about/responsibility.asp

 

• (Press Releases, 2006)

Press Releases, 2006. "No Plastic Bag Day" becoming a habit. Retrieved December 5, 2006, from

http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200612/05/P200612050212.htm

 

• Morgan Spurlock's Awards Retrieved March 9, 2008, from

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1041597/awards

 

• Crisis Management Retrieved Mar 9, 2008, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisis_management