The Effects Of Globalisation On McDonalds

The Effects Of Globalisation On McDonalds Globalization has led to movement towards the integration of several different markets. Over the past years we can observe how markets from all over the world have transitioned to function together, being more interrelated and interdependent to each other. The shift towards one world economy was made possible because globalization has brought forward several benefits which enabled the ease of movement of business operations from one country to another. Technology has rapidly advanced over the years which made it much simpler to operate internationally and the increase in the power and importance of global organizations (like World Trade Organization) to discourage trade barriers among countries and promote international business and trade. Globalization has encouraged firms to go global and operate outside their local market. International expansion are done through various ways, firms can export their products and sell in international markets, franchising and licensing involve perm itting a business operation in other markets or allowing production of goods and services in other markets, e-business also helps reach out to customers all around the world. Businesses find it healthy and beneficial to operate in international markets because it can be seen as a method of spreading risk, challenging their way across new competitors and attracting new customers towards the companys goods and services. McDonalds, a well known and valued fast food company would be used as a case of how international business has helped the company achieve their goals and succeed overall. McDonalds was first established in 1940, two brothers Richard McDonald and Maurice McDonald partnered up and opened up a restaurant in California, moved towards self-service drive-in restaurant with a limited menu which consisted of cheeseburgers, milkshakes, pie and the world famous French fries of McDonalds. They differentiated their service by focusing on saving time [their Speedee Service System] to satisfy customers. Later, McDonalds had successfully created a unique brand image which was trademarked. The success of McDonalds outlets in the US has encouraged them to go global. They were able to open restaurants in Canada, Japan, Germany, Australia and France. McDonalds main form of expansion was through franchising themselves to different markets. The company was able to successfully open over 30000 outlets aro und the world in more than 120 countries. McDonalds international success has earned them to be ranked 8th in the Top 100 of the Worlds most valuable brands in 2008. Every international business success depends on its approach towards a new market. When it comes to entering new different markets it is very important for any company to analyze the market it wishes to operate in. Here, they will need to study all the aspects that makes the market different from its local market, the competition that exists in that market, as well as the markets macroeconomic environment. A countrys macroeconomic environment can have a great impact on a companys performance. The macroeconomic environment basically consists of four major factors which influences the market function. The first factor is the economic factor of the market. This focuses on the economys well-being, i.e. income level, employment, inflation and how these can influence decision making of international businesses. The second factor focuses on the countrys legislation overview, the rules and regulations that companies may follow if they wish to operate in that market. The third, political fact or mainly sums up to the exercising power of the countrys government. Political status and stability of a country can greatly influence the attractiveness of foreign direct investment into the country. The last factor which has an impact on international business operations is the culture of the market. Culture refers to a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people, -Hofstede. Culture differs from country to country. It is usually determined by the countrys ethnicity, religious views, education, language spoken etc. This factor of macroeconomic environment makes it difficult for international businesses to determine their success in operating in new markets. In the case of McDonalds, the four factors of macroeconomic environment did have an affect McDonalds products and their standard method of operating their fast food restaurants. From the economic factor, McDonalds have positioned their brand as one of the best fast food outlets with the greatest value meals offered. Differences in income levels did not influence McDonalds because they offer their meals at low reasonable prices. For example in Dubai, McDonalds offers the lowest economic prices for their value meals when compared to the other fast food outlets such as Hardees or Burger King. McDonalds is now known to rank the 6th most valuable global brands in 2010. The legal factor of macroeconomic environment did affect the products of McDonalds. Rules and regulations that were followed by every company in a particular market had to be followed by McDonalds too. For example, McDonalds toys which were given in Kids Happy Meals should be approved by safety measures. The labeling of their products such as the green dot which symbolizes suitable for vegetarians is also another example which McDonalds adapts with relation to labeling laws to inform consumers. In Muslim countries, any meat products had to be Halal, McDonalds sandwiches had to adjust to meet religious standards. When it came to promotion, McDonalds advertising also had to be controlled and approved by certain markets like Saudi Arabia. Certain TV Commercials that use attractive female models may be seen as an inappropriate way for McDonalds to advertise in Saudi Arabia. The political factor of macroeconomic environment does not directly affect McDonalds operations but governments in different countries do have control on what products a business is allowed to sell in their markets. Political reasons can affect McDonalds performance internally through taxation etc affecting their pr ofitability. The cultural factor of every market can be used as an advantage for every international business to differentiate their products and adapt to these cultural differences thus valuing their brand image among local consumers. McDonalds operates in over a hundred countries and they have deeply focused on using cultural views to differentiate their products in different markets. McDonalds products respond to local taste and preferences. There are many examples which show us how McDonalds have adjusted to offer differentiated products, having special offers on special occasions and events that are held in different countries. McDonalds had recently introduced a dessert offer during Ramadan in Dubai. This was the McBrownie Sundae which was advertised around bringing in the Ramadan atmosphere into the picture using the moon, emphasis of historical background, colors etc. McDonalds respond to catering to local customers tastes too. In India, McDonalds offers a sandwich exclusively to that country, the McAloo Tikki Burger. McDonalds also has their famous McArabia value meals in the Middle East. In terms of language dimensions McDonalds are referred to differently in different markets around the world. Most of the West refers to McDonalds as Mickey Ds, in Australia their slang for McDonalds is Maccas. When it comes to religion McDonalds does take religious standards into consideration, this way it shows how they value their customers. McDonalds advertisements, way of packaging all come under appropriateness towards the market they are serving. All of McDonalds meals in Muslim countries are Halal. McDonalds outlets in different markets restrict them to sell certain type of products in those markets. The McPork burger was inappropriate to sell in Middle East or Muslim countries, even all their beef products were not offered in outlets located in India because it was seen prohibited and against Hindu religion. Businesses that tend to go global always plan out and adapt a global strategy which will help assist them towards achieving their objectives and long term goals. When a company decides for global expansion there are usually four common strategies that they can choose from in relation to their approach towards the market, either follow an international strategy, localization strategy, global standardization strategy or transnational strategy. These four strategies are influenced by the pressure of two dimensions. The first is the pressure faced from cost reduction measures, where this depends usually on the competition of the market. Profitability and survival mainly depends on this measure, so if a company wishes to operate in a different market they should make sure that they are in line with other competitors when it comes to cost related or price related products. The other dimension is the pressure of local responsiveness, depending on a companys flexibility towards adjusting to local consumers taste and preferences. The nature of the product would influence this pressure, food products tend to be more local responsive because it is directly related to satisfying consumers taste and preferences. McDonalds is often cited as a clear example of standardization, the president of McDonalds International has insisted that the company is as much a part of local culture as possible (Ritzer, 2004, p. 179) and its standard menu has been glocalised to accommodate local foods. McDonalds focus on following a more hybrid type of global strategy when entering international markets. They associate with transnational strategy measures. The company has over 3000 fast food outlets around the world and so McDonalds found that it was more beneficial for their outlets to gain competitive advantage in these different markets by differentiating their menu and meal offers that would cater to and satisfy consumers taste and preferences in various different markets. Based on ethnicity, culture, religion, trend people taste and preferences differed from country to country. For example, India is famous for their savory spiced food. Most of Indian Cuisine tends to be hotter in flavor than compared to tastes of people in the West. Therefore the McAloo Tikki, a spicy traditional flavored burger, is a specially differentiated product of McDonalds which suits the taste of consumers in India. By differentiating their sandwiches and meals to market requirements McDonalds finds it easier to operate in these markets because this reduces the risk of uncertainty of their success or failure in operating in these new markets. Differentiated products also add value to brand name because customers find themselves attracted to their differentiated products. McDonalds always focused on cost pressures to avoid threats from competitive fast food outlets. Costs are always kept at its lowers so that McDonalds selling prices wouldnt be high enough for customers to doubt their purchase and change their mind over McDonalds. Catering to consumer responsiveness towards taste and flavor, and focusing on low costing/pricing enhances the brand reputation and value, thus positively affecting their sales figures. Although, food related businesses follow localization or transnational strategy, McDonalds also tries to adapt a global standardization strategy for some of its meal products. McDonalds menu is mostly standardized because the company wishes to protect some of its original ideas which were innovated from home. Some examples of McDonalds products which they wish to keep standard in all markets are the McFries, McNuggets and Big Mac Sandwich. These products remained unchanged or adjusted towards local responsiveness and so were offered to markets as a representation of McDonalds culture. These products had the McDonaldization approach where these products mainly standardized and focused on efficiency and predictability. McDonalds hybrid approach towards global expansion does have its limitations. Apart from having more pressure on focusing on following two different directions of strategy they would not be able to make sure how successful their standard menu would profit them. As seen earlier people have different tastes and preferences, especially when it comes to food products. So McDonalds offering their home-based standard menu would be seen as a risk to enter new different markets. They would have to spend a lot on research and innovation to adjusting to consumer responsiveness. Not only does McDonalds make sandwiches which would satisfy local consumer. They would also need to spend a great deal on differentiated advertising, coming up with innovative offers on special occasions like Eid, Diwali, Christmas etc. McDonalds current position in the global economy is very strong so its limitations wouldnt affect them as much. They possess great strengths compared to any other international business. McDonalds opportunities are wide to them, further expansion and differentiation of their standard meal menu in different markets would reap in even greater sales and profit to the company. Their hybrid strategy not only gives them the competitive advantage to compete with rivals, it also protects the corporate culture and historical values by keeping some aspects of McDonalds standardized. McDonalds makes sure it doesnt let any factor affect them provided they behave flexible to changes and adapt to what consumers want, valuing their opinions, tastes and preferences. With the help of macroeconomic environment analysis, international businesses like McDonalds find it simple to plot down their steps towards achieving their objectives and long term goals. Economic, legal, political and cultural reasons do have an impact on every business that operates internationally which is why it is crucial for these international businesses to follow an appropriate approach and adapt an effective global strategy. Any external factors can influence business operations and so by being as flexible as possible to the changing environmental factors, international businesses like McDonalds can prosper into becoming a major successful well recognized valued corporation.

Is There Nowhere Else Where We Can Meet

?This short story, by Nadine Gordimer, overall, speaks on the deep-seethed racial tension that influenced the individuals in this story. In essence it is about a presumably white woman being mugged by an equally presumable black male (Gordimer is from South Africa and frequently wrote about racial tension). The tension in this story is so saturating that it even manages to conquer the language, imagery, and actions of the two people involved. The first paragraph reads, â€Å"It was a cool grey morning and the air was like smoke.In that reversal of the elements that sometimes takes place, the grey, soft, muffled sky moved like the sea on a silent day. † In the very first sentence it is established that there is a smoggy, perhaps suffocating quality in the air. Smoke is a hazardous, cancer causing gas that is also an agent of concealment; these attributes can also apply to the effects of apartheid. Like cancer, racial tension spread rampantly through South Africa and concealed a person’s character by his skin color. Even in the morning the â€Å"air was like smoke† as if to almost say, no matter how early you wake up racial tension is prevalent.In the very next sentence, it is stated that a reversal of elements has taken place which foreshadows a reversal of sorts in the later part of the story in which the woman becomes a victim. As she walks by the man her concentration is directed towards the scent of pine needles that were formerly held in her hand. A thudding is heard and the man appears unexpectedly panting in her face. This sequence of events inspires another theme in the story—fear. A fear of the unknown is evident early in the story, if only subtly, and evolves into an overwhelming sense of dread.As the woman first notices the red-capped figure in the distance, she inexplicably switches her â€Å"bag and parcel from one arm to the other†. This is a common defense mechanism for women fearing a mugging from a perceived so urce or to simply add a sense of security. Later, as she nears the figure on the path, she grabs â€Å"a little sheath of pine needles†¦and as she walked she ran them against her thumb. † An innocuous action that seems to hold her attention until the visage of the man steals it away.After passing the now weary, raggedy man, she realizes that the pine needles were no longer in her hand (she doesn’t know when this happened which would lead to the conclusion that she was transfixed on the man when the needles were dropped). The woman then decides to sniff her hand in order to remember what the needles smelled like in order to compare them to a similar scent from her childhood. The pine needles, which leave a residue on her fingers, leaves the woman with a need to wash them for, â€Å"Unless her hands were quite clean, she could not lose consciousness of them, they obtruded upon her.†By being keen on washing her hands, she would no longer be wary of the figure in which she passed and therefore relinquish her caution. This sets up the next scene as just when the woman decides to let her mind linger on her hands, the man makes his move. â€Å"†¦and then he was there in front of her, so startling, so utterly unexpected, panting right into her face. He stood dead still and she stood dead still. Every vestige of control, of sense, of thought, went out of her as a room plunges into dark at the failure of power and she found herself whimpering like an idiot or a child. Animal sounds came out of her throat.She gibbered. For a moment it was Fear itself that had her by the arms, the legs, the throat; not fear of the man, of any single menace he might present, but Fear, absolute, abstract. If the earth had opened up in fire at her feet, if a wild beast had opened its terrible mouth to receive her, she could not have been reduced to less than she was now. † It is expressly stated that she did not fear the man, so why does Fear present its elf only when he bounds to her? Such terror is realized when preconceived notions of class barriers are shattered unexpectedly and what’s to come next remains a mystery.The language changes to reflect the horror that the woman experiences in this moment. She does not simply stand still but dead still, a simile is used to express the fleeting feelings of control, and animal (inhuman) sounds are produced from her throat. Fear also becomes personified by being made a proper noun and entangling her in its grip. Throughout the story the man is made to seem opposite of the woman. As the woman in the story is traveling along a path, she spots a figure (a â€Å"native†) with a red cap.Upon reaching the man, by following the path, it is expressed that his trouser leg is torn off, revealing â€Å"the peculiarly dead, powdery black of cold† (the effects of the weather on his cracked skin); his eyes are also red and he smells of sweat. When the confrontation occurs, his dep iction of something different from her becomes more pronounced. His foot is stated to be â€Å"†¦cracked from exposure until it looked like broken wood†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , his face is sullen, voice is deep and hoarse, and he has a pink injury on his skin. Such a distinct contrast with the woman is made to emphasize the cause of the tension.After the woman escapes, she desperately runs from the scene in order to get back on the road. The language that follows gives a sense of one escaping a foreign world, â€Å"And she was out. She was on the road†¦. She could hear a faint hum, as of life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her once encompassing fear has now eased slightly and the cause seems to be her flight from the velds and brush. The setting of where the â€Å"native† resided and where the woman wants to go are also contrasts that make-up the difference between the two and only add to the foreignness of the encounter.The last two paragraphs of the story are most interesting in that afte r the tussle, the woman decides, after some deliberation, that she would not tell anyone of what just happened. â€Å"Why did I fight, she thought suddenly. What did I fight for? Why didn't I give him the money and let him go? † Perhaps she felt pity for the man? He was obviously poor and tired with severe exposure to the elements â€Å"His red eyes, and the smell and those cracks in his feet, fissures, erosion.†Perhaps her story would appear shady to the people she told, â€Å"She thought of the woman coming to the door, of the explanations, of the woman’s face, and the police. † It is evident from her previous behavior that a mugging was in the realm of possibility, and from the man’s appearance it was also evident that such an action was not beneath him. The woman doesn't tell anyone of her encounter because of the social difference between the two. At the end of the day, the woman can most likely replenish her lost items but, from the descripti on of the man, his survival could have been at stake if he didn't acquire assets or funds.The is described walking down the road, â€Å"like an invalid†, because she was robbed and such an occurrence leaves a hollow feeling but she realizes that she must move on, signified by her picking the â€Å"blackjacks from her stockings. † â€Å"Is There Nowhere Else Where We Can Meet? † is a unique title, firstly in its use of ‘nowhere’ instead of ‘anywhere’ and secondly, that the meeting between the two characters in the story is an undesirable one because of the racial tension in South Africa. Had these two people met in a different country things might have been different.

The Benefits of Old College Personal Essay Topics

The Benefits of Old College Personal Essay Topics Ideas, Formulas and Shortcuts for Old College Personal Essay Topics It's therefore important to cautiously consider different college essay topics. You ought to make sure your essay isn't just interesting to read, but it's also thorough and actually informative for your reader. The great thing about scholarship essay prompts is they're repetitive. Simply take a look at a number of the exemplification essay topics offered in our exemplification essay topics list. Your essays ought to be unique. 1 important thing which you should do when writing your essay is to allow it to be personal. Writing a college essay can be a challenging task in the beginning, but understanding how different topics of college essays work may help you later on. If you haven't been supplied a prompt to write about, you must produce your own interesting creative essays. Facts, finally, will always win out against how folks are feeling at a specific moment. Some people today live their lives depending on their religion even though others don't think you should factor that into decision making in regards to determining rules for everybody. Select a distinctive topic that others may not think of, and whatever you select, make sure that you know a lot about it! Well, the response isn't too obvious here. Know the sort of essay that you're writing. Informative essays are somewhat more descriptive. Argumentative essay topics are so important since they are debatabl eand it's essential to at all times be critically contemplating the world around us. Topics like death and divorce are cautionary as they can be exceedingly tough to write about. The author starts with a rather comprehensive story of an event or description of an individual or place. Sit down, consider the story you would like to write. Your stories aren't debatable. How to begin writing a book. The Unexposed Secret of Old College Personal Essay Topics If you wish to go personal and select a relative, be certain to get a memorable and distinctive reason. F. Bacon The main intention of the capital isn't to get as much money as possible, yet to guarantee that money causes a better life. If you own a friend or relative who reads a good deal of books in their spare time, I bet you believe they're pretty intelligent. It is preferable to grow up in a family with plenty of brothers and sisters. Suddenly, you're in a brand-new situation, and will need to do something, but you need zero idea what. Man isn't a thing but a creature that may only be understood in the very long procedure of development. The issue is that everybody's interpretation of what make s a great society differs. There are invariably a wide variety of opinions on the field of technology, and here are our favourite things to consider on this issue. The main purpose of topic choice for a proposal essay is to show the idea can be put into place in practice. While having the ability to write about whatever you wish sounds great in theory, some students findespecially at the start of the brainstorming processthat they are debilitated by the subject of your choice option for the reason that it offers an excessive amount of alternative. Usually an application will provide an extremely wide topic with which you can do almost anything, or else they will make it possible for you to write about whatever topic you want. Simply give your reader a last statement on what you've been discussing so they can put off your article and be contented with what they have read. Don't forget to make abstract claims concrete, or so the reader knows precisely what you mean. You ought to make sure your reader keep s on reading. Furthermore, don't forget to spell out why the reader is to execute each step and what the general objective is. Let's have a peek at some strategies for getting started and the way you can be certain you attain the grades you want to at college. Possessing a very clear and structured plan is the foundation for any superior bit of writing, and a college essay is the same. The essay is easily among the most troublesome sections of the college application approach. Fine, but you must be ready to write whatever you really feel like writing from a college that might not be your first alternative. Failure to do so might have caused a critical injury, as farm machinery isn't forgiving. Preparation is the secret to success and you shouldn't ever rush your creativity. Colleges want a feeling of maturity and introspectionpinpoint the transformation and demonstrate your private growth. There are a large array of suggestions to consider on all kinds of topics, so choose one that best interests you. Writing about nuclear weapons is always a great idea. Describe some tasks which you have accomplished over the last two years which do not have any connection to academic studies. Try to remember that a high degree of detailing is a feature of all decent narrative essay examples. Colleges are not searching for perfect folks. They are more likely to admit students who can articulate specific reasons why the school is a good fit for them beyond its reputation or ranking on any list. Students know the way to be creative. They lead busy lives and often forget about an upcoming deadline.

Benjamin Bloom and Critical Thinking Skills

Benjamin Bloom was a U.S. psychiatrist who made several significant contributions to education, mastery learning, and talent development. Born in 1913 in Lansford, Pennsylvania, he exhibited a passion for reading and research from an early age. Bloom attended Pennsylvania State University and earned a bachelor’s degree and a masters degree, then he became a member of the University of Chicago’s Board of Examinations in 1940. He also served internationally as an educational adviser, working with Israel, India and several other nations. The Ford Foundation sent him to India in 1957 where he ran workshops on educational evaluation.   Model of Critical Thinking Blooms taxonomy, in which he describes the major areas in the cognitive domain, is perhaps the most familiar of his  work. This information is drawn from the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook 1: Cognitive Domain (1956). The taxonomy begins by defining knowledge as remembering previously learned material. According to Bloom, knowledge represents the lowest level of learning outcomes in the cognitive domain. Knowledge is followed by comprehension, or  the ability to grasp the meaning of material. This goes just beyond the knowledge level. Comprehension is the lowest level of understanding. Application is the next area in the hierarchy. It refers to the ability to use learned material in new and concrete principles and theories. Application requires a higher level of understanding than comprehension. Analysis is the next area of the taxonomy in which  the learning outcomes require an understanding of both the content and the structural form of material. Next is synthesis, which refers to the ability to put parts together to form a new whole. Learning outcomes at this level stress creative behaviors with a major emphasis on the formulation of new patterns or structures. The last level of the taxonomy is evaluation, which concerns the ability to judge the value of material for a given purpose. The judgments are to be based on definite criteria. Learning outcomes in this area are the highest in the cognitive hierarchy because they incorporate or contain elements of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, and synthesis. In addition, they contain conscious value judgments based on clearly defined criteria. Inventing encourages the four highest levels of learning—application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation—in addition to knowledge and comprehension. Blooms Publications Bloom’s contributions to education have been memorialized in a series of books over the years.   Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Handbook 1: Cognitive Domain. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. Bloom, Benjamin S. 1956.  Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals. Longman. Bloom, Benjamin S. 1956.  All Our Children Learning. New York: McGraw-Hill. Bloom, Benjamin S. 1980.  Developing Talent in Young People. New York: Ballantine Books. Bloom, B. S., Sosniak, L.A. 1985.   One of Bloom’s last studies was conducted in 1985. It concluded that recognition in a respected field requires 10 years of dedication and learning at a minimum, regardless of IQ, innate abilities or talents. Bloom died in 1999 at the age of 86.