Global Market

 When thinking about McDonald's and there international strategy, being a global corporation comes to mind first.  It is currently the largest fast food restaurant, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries. There are 34,000 restaurants worldwide including the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Mexico, Poland, and many more which employ over 1.7 million people. In order for McDonald’s to keep succeeding in being the largest fast food corporation they need to understand the needs of the different cultures they are providing too and establish great communication with all of their global restaurants.

McDonald's in the USA

There are numerous reasons why McDonald’s has gone globally; and by far the best decision that they have made. First, it helped increase the size of potential markets for the firm’s products & services. Second, there is a greater trend for outsourcing their products. Third, they took advantage of arbitrage opportunities. They were buying their products for a cheap price but then selling them in different countries and selling them at a higher price based on needs.  Lastly, they optimized the physical location for their business. They are succeeding in this area because restaurants are being placed in the most developed and established countries and where they are able to meet the customer’s needs, while still making a profit. I am glad that McDonald’s made the decision to go globally because it allowed them to expand their products, knowledge, and experience with others everywhere across the globe.

McDonald's in China 

Having overcome the political, economic, and management risks involved with expanding to being global, McDonald's is one of the largest global fast food corporations today. McDonald’s strategy to go globally was not something that happened right away. It took lots of planning, communicating, patience, and most of all hard work from everyone involved in the process. The corporation had to establish where they wanted all of their restaurants to be located, what they would serve based on their customers wants, and mainly to succeed in the process. I am a proud customer to say that they do a great job in all countries, well at least in the USA and Australia. McDonald’s has worked hard to get where they are today globally and have overcome many different risks but they are just beginning on their journey of changing fast food globally.