1 Global Business
Our company is interested in expanding its business overseas. Globalization is a modern term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that result from dramatically increased international trade and cultural exchange. Globalization leads to a more efficient share of resources, with all countries involved in the trade benefiting. Because of globalization, prices of goods are lower; there is more employment around the world, life expectancy rates are doubling in the developing world and democracy has spread rapidly across the borders. Upper management has requested that I pick a well-known company that has undergone this feat and analyze its successes, the obstacles they faced and how they overcame these obstacles. As McDonalds has a large overseas presence, I chose to examine how they persevered. My results are as follows:
Today, the company operates more than 20,000 restaurants in 100 countries on six continents. McDonald's first began to expand internationally in 1967 with the opening of restaurants in Canada (Country no.2) and Puerto Rico (Country no.3). In late 2002, a CNN article read that McDonald's, which has been struggling with lower sales due in part to worries about tainted beef in Asia and Europe, hinted that it planned to curb spending and growth in 2003 (money.cnn.com, 2002). "These actions are the right things to do for McDonald's shareholders, the brand and our business," CEO Jack Greenberg said. "We remain focused on growing our existing restaurants' sales and we're committed to making the changes necessary to succeed in the challenging worldwide economic and competitive environments in which we operate." However, this year, the world's largest restaurant chain reported higher second-quarter margins and strong sales, particularly in Europe, as the World Cup soccer tournament lifted demand in host country Germany. (Reuters, 2006)
A yearly analysis of the industry giant would show that overseas experiences have its...
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