Answer Happy

68 CASE STUDY: MCDONALD'S ADDRESSING CHANGING FOOD VALUES THROUGH RESEARCH Health and fitness have become increasingly important issues in the 21st century. With concerns about rising obesity levels and a greater understanding of the importance of good nutrition, consumers have been demanding healthier food options. This is perhaps most apparent in the quick service restaurant industry, which has had to undergo something of a revolution in recent years. The choice for the industry was dear respond to changing consumer needs, or suffer the consequences.
McDonald's was in a very good position to undertake the market research required to sot making the appropriate changes and thus lead the revolution. This ability to move with termes is what made the business successful to begin with. The business environment is postolic evolves with time, reflecting changes in the broader social environment. Our lesyles are very different from those of our grandparents and even our parents, partly be cause technological advances have transformed the workplace and the family home. The poce of life is increasing, and many families tum to the convenience of takeaway and fost fods on a regular basis. However, change is pushing the food service world in different dredions. Advances in health care and preventative medicine have stressed the impor ence of a healthy diet. Increased access to mass communications, such as television and te internet, has meant that consumers are becoming sowier about health issues, and are demanding better choices in convenience foods. As the business environment changes, so to do the views of stakeholders. Reconciling the interests of stakeholders is crucial for continued business success Compare it with a three legged stool. If one leg is weak or not properly aligned, the enlite stool is weakened and can topple over. A strong relationship between McDonald's, its customers and its other stakeholders is essential with all elements working together to meet customer needs. Responding to a changing business environment is easier if the bosic structure is strong. Sickeholders are coming to expect more out of businesses in terms of corporate citizenship Businesses need to be mindful of the effect they hove on the broades community, including the health of its youngest members. McDonald's Australia's philosophy is to be continually responsive to market demands and accept that Here is always more to learn. Catriona Noble, the chief operating officer of McDonald's noles that Social responsibility chalenges are always evolving, and we are focused on learning from experts and adapting our operations to maximise the positive impact we can have on our society In responding to consumer needs, McDonald's approach has been to listen and learn Market research is the key to ascertaining the needs of customers. McDonald's undertook o major research projed called Project Discovery. The results showed some pleasing con sumer perceptions, but also revealed areas that needed attention, particularly in the area of health. To supplement this major research project, McDonald's conducts regular tracking studies every quarter the measure the customers' point of view. Customers are asked ques fions regarding food image, brand image, quality, service, cleanliness and value. Creating the changes In order to create the changes, it was first necessary to identify exactly what those changes should be. In 2012, Guy Russo, who was then McDonald's CEO, started attending obest- y summits and participating in obesity forums. He met with key organisations, including the Obesily Taskforce. In the following year, McDonald's formed a relationship with The Food Group, a group of cccredited dieticions, who provide McDonald's with ongoing advice on nutrition. Once expert advice was obtained, it was then a matter of translating these lessons and the research findings into concrete menu changes. McDonald's took a twofold opproach - improving existing products and creating new ones. Existing products were improved by methods that include: • Switching to a canolo and sunflower oil blend, which is low in salurated fat and trans fatty acids OC C .
CHAPTIE 3 IH DEGANISATONAT ENVIRONMENT • Reducing the amount of sugar in buns to 5%, which is similar to the amount of sugo found in bread rolls in the supermarket Reducing the amount of salt Creating smaller serve sizes for muffins. New products include: The Salad Plus range, with items containing less than 10 g of fat The Deli Choices sange. again with items containing less than 10 g of fat The option of multigroin rolls in the Deli Choice range The Pasto Zoo Happy Meal, which contains posto shopes with no artificial colours or flavours, *zoo goo or a tomolo dipping souce, and a serve of forreduced milk with a Favouring straw • New Happy Meal Choices, which include fruit bogs, apple juice and water McDonald's was the first quick service restaurant chain to earn the Heart Foundation sich for some of its meals. This makes it easier for customers to select the healthier meal options Making healthier choices has also been made easier by endensive nutritional lobeling, both in store and on the company website. New packaging includes percentage doty intake information, so customers can see how their food choices relate to their overall doily requirements. Despite the changes, the new menu options are still in keeping with Me Donald's brand. Importantly, the packaging, presentation and service are all recognisably McDonald's, a brand that already enjoys widespread recognition and success. Communicating with the consumer Making the changes is crucial, but it is equally important to communicate these to the com sumer. McDonald's developed an advertising campaign that had the key goal of commu nicating their new healthier food options, countering misconceptions within the community McDonald's has made use of various advertising media: print, billboards, radio, television and the internet. Each media type forgets its audience carefully. The 'make up your own mind' website of http://www.makeupyourownmind.com.au invites the customer into the virtual store, to see what goes on inside McDonald's to make up their own minds. By har ing the capacity to include significant amounts of information, the websites are a key pon of McDonald's commitment to transparency in their advertising and operations. As well as advertising products, the websites Fulfill another purpose: staff recruitment. Both the 'moke up your own mind" sile and the parent sile contain career information - McDonald's recruit ment is not limited and can include parents wanting to re-enter the workforce or students working their way through school, college or university. Conclusion The quick service restaurant industry, led by McDonald's, has come a long way towards addressing changing food values. But the story does not end there. McDonald's is also moking significant changes in other areas of its operations: customer service, quality and speed, and its physical impact on the environment. McDonald's is commited to the use of sustainable business practices, and this will be one of the key areas of focus in the days 70 Veche VA
3 THE ORGANISATIONAL ENVIRONMENT oheod. CEO Peler Bush summarised McDonald's altitude when he said: "While I am proud of the changes that we have made, I believe we still have more to do, which is all port of this exciting journey we are on". Souce. Adapted from htps://www.alibiz.com,cu/caso-studies/mcdonaldsoddressing changinglood vol throughmarket research hel accessed on 30 July 2019 Cose study questions: 1 Identity which macroenvironmental variables triggered the creation of McDonald's new business stralegies. Justify your answer from the case study 2. Classify the stakeholders that have contributed towards McDonald's success. Substan tale your answer by referring to the case study 3. Discuss the sources and approaches used by McDonald's in order to stay abreast of the environmental changes. 4. Conduct a SWOT analysis for McDonold's.