Fast food has long won the hearts of fans of fast and delicious food. The McDonald’s brand, which is the world’s largest chain of fast-food restaurants, is in particular demand for the entire existence of this type of food. The situation described in the case reports the decline of McDonald’s in many areas. While competitors were beginning to take over most of the market, Mr. Thompson looked for something that would pull the restaurant business out of the slump. Managing such a large business, he faced such problems as high competitiveness, the human factor associated with service, and attracting new customers to the brand, which depended on economic trends and trends aimed at health.
One of the main problems faced by Mr. Thompson is highly competitive. It began to appear in the 1980s of the last century when competing companies tried to capture a part of the market owned by McDonald’s. Another critical obstacle for the development of McDonald’s during the 1990s and 2000s was the human factor. At that time, brilliant executives who were doing a great job with the business and expanding it on a global scale were experiencing personal difficulties or health problems. That forced them to abandon their plans and ambitions in a company that thrived thanks to their clear leadership. The third significant issue that does not give business development is the economic trends that objectively affect the number of purchased products put forward in the Quick-Service Restaurant Industry. Clients eat less out of the house because the price of ready-made products is much higher than those that they will prepare themselves for at home during economic crises. Moreover, customers often focus on the prices announced on the menu rather than on their taste preferences.
The fourth fundamental problem may also be the health factor, as more and more people are paying attention to healthy food. Furthermore, the Quick-Service Restaurant Industry does not position itself as healthy food industry. However, it is important to supply more diverse products for McDonald’s to position itself as a healthy food business. It is the logistics industry that is most affected by economic downturns. Because of this, managers have to increase the prices of the company’s products to cover the costs of production and delivery.
One of the most effective strategies for solving such obstacles is the Five P’s – people, products, price, place, and promotion. That is a reasonably logical solution to possible problems since it does not aim only at one area but uses many to improve the situation globally. Furthermore, Porter’s Five Forces analysis helps to understand the threats from alternatives and new entrants. This method becomes a global solution for problems that may arise with external factors. Managers will initially be able to track down the points that raise questions from specialists and stop them. Moreover, if a person-centered approach is applied in Promotion, which can be attributed to the Five P’s, customers will be much more subjective and optimistic about the business and products. The Five P’s method can answer 3 of the above issues: competition, economic trends, and health trends. Furthermore, McDonald’s managers have already actively used this strategy, and it was valuable and practical.
The second strategy for solving the above difficulties is to automate most of the processes. At a time of world globalization, it is essential that processes that do not require human intervention, or those that consume much human effort and are purely mechanical, are performed by robotic technology. This technical solution will be an additional step towards solving many economic issues. In particular, the number of taxes paid by the company will be sharply reduced (Rajendra Akerkar & Springer International Publishing Ag, 2019). Also, the artificial intelligence introduced into the company’s work will be available one hundred percent of the time, while human employees must have specific working hours. This strategy is the answer to the two dilemmas listed above: the human factor and economic trends. When the processes are automated, the person will have influence only on the most global issues (Rajendra Akerkar & Springer International Publishing Ag, 2019). At the same time, the company’s economic data will increase due to the rational use of labor.
One potential problem that could undermine the first proposed strategy is the human factor, which will still actively influence the execution and control of all work. Simultaneously, some economic trends will become a difficulty for business development due to the human performance of mechanical work. At the same time, the second proposed strategy may be undermined due to the high prices for the establishment and application of artificial intelligence. An additional factor will be that artificial intelligence cannot constantly assess the current situation objectively.
The best strategy is to automate all processes that are physically heavy or intellectually simple for people. The implementation plan for this recommendation will be consist of the following steps. To begin with, that is important to determine which work needs to be automated. Then allocate a budget for the automation of these works and find suppliers of all the necessary equipment and specialists who will deal with automation. At the same time, in parallel with these actions, it is essential to accompany those employees whose positions will be replaced by robotics with letters of thanks and transfer to other types of work. The introduction of artificial intelligence in work will bring many positive aspects to the economy, despite the first resistance of people. That is an innovative way of doing business and the development of a successful company.
Reference
Rajendra Akerkar, & Springer International Publishing Ag. (2019). Artificial Intelligence for Business. Cham Springer.