A SWOT analysis looks at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and trends of an organization. In reading the article about McDonald’s I found that their strengths are their strong brand name. As well as getting a new CEO to make some changes for the better of the company. Their menu has grown by 42.4% over the last several years.
The weaknesses I see are the quality of the food. With the more menu items this causes a slow down with the staff in getting the food out to customers in a timely manner, which then leads to loss of profit and unhappy customers. One thing that I also saw in them is simplifying their menu, but then they want to add new products. I can see this as a strength but also a weakness. As a strength I see it increasing sales, but as a weakness slowing the staff down.
Some of the opportunities for McDonald’s are they are expanding globally. They also are partnering up with delivery options, such as with door dash to meet customer needs. Some of the stores have where you can order yourself in the store, or have where you can order ahead of time and just pick your order up.
Some of the threats are the aging of the stores, customers want a more contemporary environment, but it is putting a strain on the franchises. Asking or trying to raise wages for the employees when sales are down. Another threat that I see that has become an issue for many businesses, not just McDonald’s is trying to get their products. One the prices of everything go up, people are not wanting to work such as the truck drivers that bring the product or the boats with the ports. This has just been a big issue for the last year and a half due to Covid-19. McDonald’s already gets the ingredients for the Big Mac from seven different locations and if they can not get all of them, this can be a big threat.
One of the trends that McDonald’s has is that throughout the year there are different specialty items that they offer for a limited time. Such as the Mcrib or the shamrock shakes during St. Patrick’s Day.
Part 2:
Provide an argument for the success of the strategies that a fast food franchise has instituted.
McDonald’s is ranked number two in the world as one of the largest businesses, Walmart is ranked number one. They have done this by maintaining its consistency within all their stores world wide. No matter where you are and you visit a McDonald’s the stores all look the same, the menus are all the same. Their brand speaks for itself, from their arches to their slogans. They are always looking for ways to better their menu, to add the health information for each of their items, to even adding some healthier items. They meet and listen to their customers and meet their ever changing needs. By extending their value menu which helps customers that may be on fixed incomes or have very little income. By conducting a SWOT analysis McDonald’s is able to reach all customers worldwide and retain their feedback to better them as a whole and give back to the customer. The customers are what make them even stronger and more successful as well.