McDonald's Corporation

In beginning a new century the McDonald's Corporation is looking

towards the future, more specially in the area of global expansion.

Gone is the traditional style McDonald's that many people are

accustomed with, McDonald's are focusing on new innovative

modifications to their menu, depending upon the regions culture,

customs, and traditions. Opening coffee bars in the United States is also on the agenda for

the world's largest fast- food behemoth. McDonald's, realizing a need for global

expansion, diversified into other areas of the fast- food industry. Some of the company's

most recent and notable acquisitions were the Boston Market restaurant chain and taking

a 33% stake in the United Kingdom's Pret A Manger, a sandwich bar chain with more

than 100 outlets across the United Kingdom (). When a firm decides to do business

internationally, there are many considerations the entity McDonald's weighed to choose

the best strategy in going overseas. Some of the cross-cultural issues facing McDonald's

management are similar, however many practices vary depending upon which country the

global fast- food chain decides to do business. Management has to prepare for the

uncontrollable events such as the grave concerns over "mad cow" disease, which has

recently sprung into the limelight once again in Europe and how this event could damage

McDonald's profits all over the globe. In this report we will evaluate the choices

McDonald's has made in expanding internationally, as provide some recommendations as

to how the company should continue with plans for global expansion. "To know where

one is going, one must take a look at where they have been." In other words lets analyze

the extraordinary his tory of this outstanding company.

B. McDonald's Corporation

1. The beginning of an empire: Many people believe that Ray Kroc, a salesman

from Oak Park, Illinois was the founder of McDonald's. This idea is a misconceived

notion. In 1954, Kroc heard of two brothers, Mac and