McDonald’s, Inc.
COMPANY NAME: McDonald’s, Inc.
INDUSTRY: Food Service
COMPANY WEBSITE: www.mcdonalds.com
COMPANY BACKGROUND: As a company, McDonald’s was first introduced in Des Plaines, Illinois in 1955. This was the very first McDonald’s restaurant, which all started in San Bernardino, California in 1954 when Ray Kroc approached the McDonald brothers with a business proposition to start a new company. In 1965 McDonald’s went public and was later, in 1985 added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. (www.mcdonalds.com) The company has gone through quite a few changes with its changing CEO’s over the years, but the company seems to be on track with CEO Jim Skinner, named in 2004. Skinner was named the new CEO just in time to clean up after McDonald’s first ever quarterly loss. He succeeded by showing that McDonald’s revenue had climbed 11% during 2006 and net profits had climbed 36%. (Dess, Case 40 Pg. 1)
SWOT ANALYSIS: STRENGTHS: Jim Skinner had to clean up a big mess after the 2003 slump, and did so by coming up with a strategy to turn everything around. His strategy had to consist of staying competitive with the numerous other fast-food restaurants popping up all over the world. In order to maintain this, they had to reorganize the way they presented themselves to the community. Jim Skinner did so by cleaning up the customer service, cleaning up and modernizing the physical buildings, and changing the menu to the changing tastes of their customers. McDonald’s also introduced their slogan “I’m Loving It” to reach out to the younger customers. The advertising is very much targeted toward teens and young adults. (Dess, Case 40) WEAKNESSES: The first weakness was the changing of three different CEOs in only one year. These were unexpected changes, but all had to be dealt with by the newest CEO Jim Skinner, and directly after McDonald’s first ever quarterly loss in 2003. The second weakness is an issue with trying to find
References: Dess, G., Lumpkin, G. & Eisner, A. (2008). Strategic Management (4e). Boston:McGraw-Hill Irwin. Siehoyono, L. (2005). The McDonald’s Case: Strategies for Growth. McDonald’s History. (2007). Available on www.mcdonalds.com. Accessed on September 17th, 2008.