Mcdonalds vs Burger King - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1177 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/09/15 Category Advertising Essay Type Compare and contrast essay Did you like this example? For years, McDonald’s and Burger King (BK) have been the world’s two largest and most successful fast food chains. Both have battled out all these years over their operational differences which form the core of their corporate culture. The â€Å"Doing It All For You† (McDonald’s) vs. â€Å"Having It Your Way† (BK’s) stems from their respective production methods. McDonald’s â€Å"Made to Stock† vs. BK’s â€Å"Made to Order† also originate from the differences in their respective processes. Exhibits 1 and 2 show the Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs) of McDonald’s and BK respectively. Exhibit 3 provides a detailed comparative analysis of the PFDs of these two fast food chains. The main operational difference between McDonald’s and BK is that McDonald’s cooks their hamburgers on grills using a â€Å"batch process† (a batch of upto 12 patties/grill) with human intervention to turn, sear, and pull. BK uses the machine based – Continuous Chain Broiler assembly process (8 burgers/meat chain) for the production of their burgers – similar to an assembly line in a manufacturing process thus, requiring no human intervention. For a â€Å"made to stock† process, it requires burgers in bulk and hence the batch process in McDonald’s. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Mcdonalds vs Burger King" essay for you Create order Whereas, for a â€Å"made to order† process, it requires an assembly chain process where meat patties are placed at one end and after 80 seconds they come out the other end, cooked – one by one. Also, since BK harps on â€Å"make to order† process, it requires a semi-finished inventory – Steam Table in which mated buns and patties sit for 10 minutes and then discarded. In McDonald’s â€Å"continuous process† there is no such inventory and all the buns and patties are mated during the assembly process following the dressing. It should be noted that mating of the buns and patties before the assembly process in BK is a result of BK’s variety of menu. Whoppers and Burgers both are of different sizes and hence the mating before assembly process. McDonald’s menu â€Å"Less product more often† offers standardized burgers. This cost of complexity is a huge cost driver for BK. The â€Å"dressing process† of McDonald’s is standardized with lever based dispensers and portion controlled condiments. In BK, dressing is done by humans using plastic squeezed bottles without pre-measured quantity. This is where McDonald’s is ahead of BK as can be seen from the statements – BK spends 1. 1% of their sales in condiments (wastage). Exhibit 4 provides a comparative analysis of the operating results of both chains. Also, absence of pre-determined quantity of sauces/condiments causes variation and can affect taste and quality. Due to their â€Å"made to order† philosophy, BK uses microwave ovens to produce warm and fresh burgers. The high costs incurred by BK in â€Å"utilities† (2% more than McDonald’s) is a direct result of both a machine based cooking process and use of microwave ovens. Finally, once the burgers are ready – McDonald’s keeps them in â€Å"bin† – a finished goods inventory – a result of their â€Å"made to stock† concept. The burgers sit in the bin for 10 minutes before being discarded which produces waste costs for McDonald’s. As a result, the cost of â€Å"food† for McDonald’s is roughly 1. 5% higher. Paper is also wasted (wrapped sandwiches) due to the food wastage. Statistics show that McDonald’s spends 1 cent/revenue dollar on paper costs – a $15 million dollar systemwide savings for BK. BK manages its inventory efficiently, partly because of its â€Å"made to order† process. During slow periods, BK strictly follows â€Å"made to order† compared to McDonald’s minimum inventory. Also, whereas McDonald maintains a paper inventory at the basement, BK stores its paperware in shelves in the production area. This adds to McDonald’s rent costs (1% higher than BK). Moreover, BK calls for local supplies of milk/buns 3-4 times a week indicating fewer inventories compared to once a week by McDonald’s. The operational difference also reflects on the corporate culture. Batch Process requires that workers maintain a sense of teamwork, especially during busy periods. Speed becomes a key element and it requires the workers to be motivated and willing to help. At BK where the broiler paces the process (one burger comes out at 8/minute), there is not much teamwork required. Hence, McDonald’s gives better motivational and non-salary rewards. McDonald’s also spends around 2. % higher than BK on the salaries of their workers which include incentives. A major similarity between the two corporations is their effort to deskill the process (minimize human intervention). McDonald’s deskill at assembly process (automated dispensers) whereas BK aims at deskilling at the cooking phase by machine based broiler. Both are extremely customer centric which can be gauged from their tag lines – â€Å"Doing it all for you† vs. â€Å"Having it your way†. The other processes – hiring, counter, drive-through, and fry products (fries, etc) are also mostly similar barring few exceptions. At McDonald’s, the counter specialist takes payment after assembling the order. In BK, the counter specialist takes the payment and then starts assembling the order. The information flow is also different. BK counter specialists use microphones to relay the order in the production area (a potential error producing process during busy periods) and register slips to assemble orders. McDonald’s have display monitors to assemble orders. During busy periods, a dedicated individual at bin relays the demand to the grill workers at McDonald’s. At BK, a level indicator at the top of chutes operated by the manager relays the demand requirement to the production area. During peak periods, McDonald’s batch process allows for much greater throughput and faster speed of service. Though both McDonald’s and BK meet the hourly peak demand for Friday noon based on the case facts (Exhibits 5 and 6), there is significant operational difference in their approach to peak demand. McDonald’s philosophy of â€Å"keep more in the bin than make customer wait† is at the heart of its peak demand operations. During busy periods, McDonald’s appoint additional â€Å"backers† or â€Å"expeditors† both in the production area and service area including a dedicated worker at the bin to maintain uninterrupted flow of supply. They also employ â€Å"on the turn† technique to allow for burgers at different stages of cooking. BK prefers to open extra cash registers than using an â€Å"expeditor† in the service area. In the production area, BK workers use microwave time of 12 s to work on other sandwiches. Hence, McDonald’s is systemically better equipped to handle busy periods whereas the assembly process is a huge bottleneck for BK. 60 burgers/hr vs. 200 burgers/hr and a target TAT of 90 s for McDonald’s vs. 3 min door-to-door for BK accounts for at least some of the tremendous difference between the annual sales of both chains at Hillybourne. ($1. 1 million for McDonald’s vs. $700,000 for BK). It is only during off-peak periods when BK comes close in dollar volume and is more efficient because of less waste, paper, and salary expense. Hence, it is safe to say that most of the operational differences at the heart of the two chains stem from their methods of production.

Is Classical Sociology Still Relevant Today Essay

Choose any one concept or argument developed within classical sociology. Critically evaluate the use made of this concept or argument by contemporary sociology in trying to understand a current social issue This essay looks at the argument taken from a classical sociologist called Weber, throughout this essay it explains rationalization and how it has become modernized using Ritzer to explain this by demonstrating his McDonaldization theory. The theory will be clarified by contemporary sociologists by looking at their strengths and weaknesses and how rationalization relates to a current social issue such as globalisation becoming such a problem in today’s society due to a wide population of fast food restaurants causing obesity to rise†¦show more content†¦Max Weber used the bureaucracy to represent how the society changes over time whereas Ritzer sees fast food restaurants as a better way to describe how societies change and become more of a contemporary thought pattern. Ritzer understands McDonaldization as a process in which it is slowly taking over the world, he says it can be summarised by just one small quote â€Å"the principle of fast food restaurants are coming to dominate more and more sectors of the American society as well as the rest of the world† (Ritzer 2008). He states that the past, present and future of McDonalization has appeared from the iron cage to fast food restaurants which shows that rationalisation is still developing, the iron cage is a way to describe it in the past and McDonaldization helps to describe it in today’s society, rationalisation will continue to progress until other contemporary sociologist find different ways to define it. Although McDonaldization offers many advantages as it gives customers quick food at low prices it also has disadvantages just like the bureaucracy they both suffer from irrationality, like fast food restaurants a bureaucracy can be a ‘dehumanising’ place to work and be served by. Many things are developed by technical devises rather than the human hand (Wynyard 1998) McDonaldization is viewed to be one of the reasons behind obesity. This is due to peopleShow MoreRelatedMarxism, Feminism And The Works Of Max Weber1584 Words   |  7 Pagesterms of the stratification of society and the lack of access of workers to the means of production today. We still currently live in a capitalist society but debate continues about whether or not Marx’s ideology is relevant to contemporary society. 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Family free essay sample

When asked what I am most proud of, I automatically think of my family. I have been raised to believe that family is the most important thing in life, and I completely agree that they are. I wear my last name with pride, engraved in the very being I am. I know for a fact, that because I am a Brentano, I am who I am. My family has instilled love, faith, and strength into my character. Together, my family has celebrated triumphs and grieved over tragedies. Seven years ago, my grandfather was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The man we knew walked into the hospital, and was wheeled out a changed man. Some people would think this would separate a family, but it only brought my family closer. I witnessed my grandmother display her strength by staying strong, her love by never leaving his side, and her patience by never doubting God. We will write a custom essay sample on Family or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I can only aspire to become the woman that my grandmother is. I am not only proud of my grandmother during this time, but every member of my family. Each member contributed their own strengths to help us make it through this trial. While we unveiled many strengths, we also opened up about our fears. Our grandfather getting sick was both a tragedy and an eye opener. It helped us realize that the most important people in our lives, were standing beside us the whole time. I suffer from Depression and Anxiety. I have opted to not take medication, to use other coping tools, like therapy, faith and writing to keep me strong. My family is at the core of those tools, they are the rock in my personal storm. I won’t say that every day is easy; everyday is difficult. It takes love and patience from my parents and sisters to get through every day, but it also taught me to be patient with myself, to love myself. As alone as the depression and the anxiety makes me feel, I know that I will never be alone. My family is always there, holding my hand, or pushing me to fight my storm. I know that I can walk through the hallways, and my sister or my cousin will pull me into their arms and lend me their smile. I can drive to my grandparent’s house and come away with a new found sense of pride in the family we are. Like every family, we have had our achievements and our struggles, our good days and our bad days, our little arguments and our moments of laughter. Yet when you ask me what I am most proud of, no matter what we go through or what happens, I know in my heart that my greatest pride in life is my family. And it always will be. Family reminds you that you are not alone, that you are strong, and important. My family has prepared me for the future, and I am very thankful for every thing they are. Family free essay sample The values of family members have direct effect on people’s behaviour and thingking. That is to say, the values of the society rely on people’s family values in a large degree. However, due to the difference of geographical and historical background, religion and belief, different nations have their own family values. A clear and direct contrast between Chinese and American family values can bridge over their communication gap. As a result, people start to acknowledge the existence of the two different family values, gradually get familiar with them, admit them and then finally melt. The paper analyzes family values from the following aspects including filial piety, marriage and family education. Chapter one is the introduction which studies the background of the research on family values including present studies at home and abroad, main contents and objectives of this paper. Chapter two manifests the definitions of family, values, and Chinese and American family values. We will write a custom essay sample on Family or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The paper elaborates different attitudes towards filial piety, marriage and family education in Chapter three.

Strategic Management and Walmart free essay sample

Founded by Sam Walton in 1962, Walmart has grown tremendously, enabling it to become one of the largest companies in the world. With more than 8,416 stores in 15 countries, close to $401 billion in sales and over 2. 1 million employees; it is clear that has been extremely successful at expanding its operations and expansion plans for over 300 new stores in the U. S and approximately 150 international stores in pre-existing markets (Walmart, 2010). Despite this success, Walmart must take into consideration increasing competition. As the domestic market reaches saturation, the main issue facing Walmart is how to sustain its extraordinary growth. To ensure that it maintain its growth at a rate equal to or better that its sales, it will have to implement a strategic plan that address internal and external opportunities and threats. Lastly, I will perform a SWOT analysis of the company’s strengths and weaknesses opportunities and threats. History: Walmart is a general merchandise discount retailer, which was incorporated in 1962. We will write a custom essay sample on Strategic Management and Walmart or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Walmart’s history is based on Sam Walton, who changed the way retail business is conducted. Sam Walton first entered retailing when he was a management trainee at J. C. Penny Co. in 1940 in Des Moines, Iowa (Walmart, 2010). After serving in the Army in World War II, Walton acquired a Ben Franklin variety store franchise with his brother James Walton in Newport Arkansas, until they lost the lease to the store in 1950. By 1962, the first Walmart Discount City was opened in Rogers Arkansas. Limited pricing, low gross margins, and high inventory turnover characterized these stores (Walmart, 2010). Walton’s focus in 1976 changed on to the emerging Walmart stores and he came to the realization that successful discount retailing did not just involve getting the best price from suppliers, but also meant passing those savings onto customers. In 1978, the first distribution center was built, followed by the first Wal-Mart Supercenter in 1983 and a Sam’s Club in 1988 (Walmart, 2010). Strategic Planning: A vision statement presents the firm’s strategic intent that focuses their energy and resources of the company on achieving a desirable future. However, in practice, the mission and vision statements are frequently combined into a single statement. When they are separated, the vision statement is often a single sentence, designed to be memorable (Pearce, Robinson, 2009). Walmart does not have an official mission statement on their web page, but they do have a section that is titled about us. Saving people money to help them live better was the goal that Sam Walton envisioned when he opened the doors to the first Walmart more than 40 years ago. Today, this mission is more important than ever to our customers and members around the world. We work hard every day in all our markets to deliver on this promise. We operate with the same level of integrity and respect that Mr. Sam put in place. It is because of these values and culture that Walmart continues to make a difference in the lives of our customers, members and associates. Saving people money to help them live better was the goal that Sam Walton envisioned when he opened the doors to the first Walmart more than 40 years ago. Today, this mission is more important than ever to our customers and members around the world. We work hard every day in all our markets to deliver on this promise. We operate with the same level of integrity and respect that Mr. Sam put in place. It is because of these values and culture that Walmart continues to make a difference in the lives of our customers, members and associates (Walmart, 2010). Walmart has always been about low prices and saving the customer money every since Sam Walton started Walmart. Most companies have mission statements and like Pearce and Robinson (2009) state: â€Å"The company’s mission describes the company’s product, market, and technological areas of emphasis in a way that reflects the values and priorities of strategic decision makers†. Everything you read on their web page is all about low prices and customer satisfaction. A key element in Walmart’s long term objectives instilled by Sam Walton back when he started Walmart and still true to this date with Michael Duke CEO and President of Walmart Inc. Internal Analysis: A scan of the internal and external environment is an important part of the strategic planning process. Environment factors internal to Walmart are classified as strengths (S) or weaknesses (W), and the factors external are classified as opportunities (O) or threats (T), otherwise known as a SWOT analysis (Pearce, Robinson, 2009). The SWOT analysis provides information that is helpful in matching the company’s resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates. Walmart’s SWOT analysis is below. Strengths: 1. Buying power 2. Reputation for keeping prices low. 3. Wide geographic distribution coverage and effectively use of logistic management techniques. 4. Walmart production skills result in reliable yet affordable Walmart brand products. 5. Combining retail shopping with groceries and a pharmacy and a optometry all in the same store. 6. Wal-Mart has grown substantially over recent years, and has experienced global expansion. . A focused strategy is in place for human resource management and development. â€Å" People are key to Wal-Marts business and it invests time and money in training people, and retaining a developing them†. (Stewart Brown, 2009) 8. Customer service. Under the ten-foot rule, any member of staff within ten feet of a customer must offer them assistance (Walmart, 2010). 9. Its labor relations are exceptional. Workers are not plain employees but associates, eligible for a share of the profits and stock options in the company (Walmart, 2010). Weakness: 1. No formal mission statement 2. Anti-union 3. Weak reputation due to various unethical problems such as unfair benefit retirement, health care, insurance policy, underage labor, illegal immigrants, discrimination, glass ceiling, etc. (Kummer, 2005) 4. Unsatisfied employees due to lower salary (Kummer, 2005). 5. Decline in sales growth, higher turnover rate. (Pearce Robinson, 2010) 6. Reputation for being a â€Å"bully†. For example: putting smaller business out of business and treating supplier with dropping their product if they don’t get what they want.