Examine the Importance of Demographics and Physical Infrastructure

Thorr Motorcycles: Perceptual Map Marketing Gary Phillips University of Phoenix Thorr Motorcycles: Perceptual Map Marketing Molded and marketed as Thorr Motorcycles, attributes were modeled after the Norse God of Thunder, Thor—strong, honest, and simply reliable product design, and loyal customers lived a lifestyle of freedom, mobility, and masculinity. Successful marketing, which promoted high- end motorcycles as an integral component of one’s lifestyle had served the purposes for sustaining Thorr with a 40% market share—iconic brand devotion (Apollo Group Inc. , 2008).Over the past months, sales have been waning largely because of changing market demographics —aging customer base, younger generations influx, and competition. The high-end lifestyle image and pricing was not appealing to the younger set; the time was ripe for seizing the opportunity for repositioning Thorr’s image in an expanding market. Assessing how consumers perceive brands, what factors are most important, and comparing attribute preferences by mapping the various aspects or dimensions is a process for creating perceptual maps—a statistical process, which is just one aspect of marketing research.Determining the most appropriate attributes to include in constructing the mapping model begins with Phase I, Phase II developing a marketing plan after assessing the feasibility for repositioning the existing Thorr machine, or introducing a new brand for sparking interest, desirability, and Phase III controls for gauging the effectiveness of the marketing plan and constant monitoring for a readied stance for making seamless, cost effective adjustments. Phase IDiscovering market position begins with an assessment of consumer perception for Thorr Motorcycles, in relation to competitors by choosing pertinent parameters, which clarifies strengths and weaknesses. Information gleaned from Phase I will provide the framework from which positioning strategies, new p roduct development options, and marketing plans can be launched within budget for ensuring success—increased sales, revenues, market share, and enhanced corporate value.Quality engineering, price, lifestyle image, and cool were choices that approximated scenario optimal selections. Brand Thorr is synonymous with quality engineering a core value that must not be abandoned. Maintaining quality engineering sustains customer perceptions of excellent quality products, which is an important aspect of corporate credibility. Occupying the mind space of target markets with a notion of credibility is one-step in assuring that Thorr will be a company that individuals look forward to doing business.Pricing is important to most consumers, especially during contracting economies. Cruiser Thorr pricing schedule was negatively viewed by respondents, and an insight was gleaned that pricing strategies would have to reflect these facts. It became apparent that younger customers had less disposa ble cash, thus part of the solution was revealed that offering more affordable products, which still retained a standard of high quality, seemed to be attributes for developing a new marketing plan and possibly a new product line.Creating a lifestyle within product design will create a situation when customers will primarily make a purchase based on acquiring a lifestyle, an image, fulfilling a psychological need for acceptance—belong to a group. Choosing cool, is an attribute that comprises lifestyle; therefore, opting for services would have provided an additional unique dimension for deciding to reposition Cruiser Thorr.Added dimensions of functionality, which cover four appropriate mapping attributes will provide more solid footing for making a decision to target a new market segment—the younger generation—with an exciting, hip, affordable machine, which reinvented a lifestyle, continued dedication to quality, featured expanded services, including finance op tions, maintenance training, and club ride rallies, that would serve to establish loyalty with customers, dealers, and distributors (Apollo Group, Inc. 2008). Phase IIAnalyzing the information provided by perceptual mapping and other marketing research information must be considered carefully, constructively, and fairly by applying critical thinking skills. How will marketing strategies placed into action effect other aspects of the corporate environment—internally and externally in the marketplace of many eyes and ears tuned in on marketing strategy position and consumer perceptions influenced by segmentation into changing demographics offering new products aimed at younger customers.Will a less expensive new model with enhanced financing opportunities and expanded services erode customer perceptions of Thorr Motorcycles losing touch with a commitment to excellence in quality? The evidence revealed that a different segment— younger individuals influenced by price more so than the aging customer base that has buoyed Thorr’s success over the years is fueling the growing motorcycle market. The younger generation could not care less about the brand image of Cruiser Thorr, let alone purchasing one, which is way out of the preferred price range.For these reasons and the fact that Cruiser Thorr is in stage four of its product life cycledeclining sales—the marketing plan should launch a brand new product, one that sustains the corporate core value of commitment to quality excellence and offers the new market niche affordability, financing options, and enhanced services. This will require a differentiation in the marketing mix. According to Perreault and McCarthy, Jr. , 2004, â€Å"By differentiating the marketing mix to do a better job meeting customers’ needs, the firm builds a competitive advantage† (p. 81).Shifting the market plan with changing differentiation attributes mix now focused on affordability, attractive financi ng options, and expanded services including social fraternities, the new customer base will be more inclined to view the innovative two-wheeler as a commodity, which offers superior value and quality. Realigning internal corporate processes and unifying the change in focus on a new product goal will cause other processes in the marketing mix to function smoothly for promoting and placing the new product in a position to be perceived in a positive light.Attracting this new demographic and creating a buzz about the new now motorcycle will also sustain the lucrative licensing of product accessories that has been an important component of the corporate landscape and market environment. Phase III The perceptual map considerations for Cruiser Thorr were appropriate and by incorporating attractive financing options, some of the younger demographic segments opted for the higher priced Cruiser.This was an effective consideration for continuing the Cruiser brand, even though the product life cycle is in its final stages. Assessing the correct parameters for RRoth fell a bit short of the mark. Not including the cool parameter in the control or monitoring phase of the marketing plan for analyzing partial research findings was a mistake and one that I should have considered separate from lifestyle in this phase of the marketing plan. Cool is the in ord and a defining characteristic of lifestyle association by the younger crowd. Using the more efficient engine—increased miles per gallon coupled with lower maintenance costs—in the R Roth machine was a sound move, which not only provided the vehicle for offering affordability, but the technical knowhow provided by research and development has successfully sustained a core value of Thorr Motorcycles—a commitment to engineering quality excellence. ConclusionFierce competition is commonplace in the evolving global marketplace and oftentimes corporations experience performance changes such as sagging sales, w hich affected the product revenues for Cruiser Thorr, a brand that had sustained corporate values and created wealth for shareholders over the years. The forces that be at Thorr Motorcycles, moved swiftly to determine the parameters, which could be the cause for sales to decline in an expanding market sector.Management effectively transformed a problematic situation into an opportunity for creating new product lines, which provided a differentiation of marketing mix with greater emphasis on affordability, financing options, refined engine technologies, and enhanced services, which combined to create renewed interest in a product brand that was fast becoming known for a reinvented lifestyle—the image of cool. Capitalizing on market research paved the way for some of the younger generation to opt for the high-end Cruiser Thorr, which was offered with attractive financing and insurance plans.The mix combined to infuse increased sales for Cruiser Thorr, a product in the last stag es of its product life cycle and introduce an innovative product that was establishing itself as a popular lifestyle brand, which was just in the beginnings of its product life cycle—a good mix for young and old alike! References Apollo Group, Inc. (2008). Cruiser Thorr Simulation. Retrieved July 11, 2009, from University of Phoenix database Perreault, W. D. , McCarthy Jr. , E. J. (2004). Basic marketing: A global-managerial approach, (15th Edition). McGraw-Hill Companies.Perceptual Maps are visual picture of what the customer thinks about a product. â€Å"Perceptual Maps help to compare the brand’s attributes with those of the competitors and to ascertain market position† (University of Phoenix, 2004). In the simulation, the writer created a perceptual map for the motorcycle company Thorr Motors. The perceptual map will help the owners create a marketing plan to assist in sustaining a high brand image of their motorcycles. This paper will discuss three phases o f the simulation. These phases are the situation, recommended and solution.The results of the simulation will be discussed. Finally, the paper will discuss relationship between differentiation and positioning of products or services and the impact of the  product life cycle on marketing. Background Thorr Motorcycles Inc. manufacturers over 200,000 motorcycles each year. In addition to manufacturing motorcycles, they sell T-shirts, motorcycles shoes, and small leather goods(University of Phoenix, 2004) . The company also provides their customers with a number of  services from dealer training, motorcycle rentals, and motorcycle riding training.I have just  been recruited to the management team as the new market manager. I am going to help the company construct a perpetual map to help Thorr Motorcycle’s Inc. create a new market ingstrategy. Phase I Currently, the sales of the motorcycle Cruiser Thorr are decreasing rapidly. The sales are Sample Final Examination MKT/421 V ersion 10 1 MKT/421 Sample Final Examination This Sample Examination represents the Final Examination that students complete in Week Five. As in the following Sample Examination, the Final Examination includes questions that assess the course objectives.Although the Sample Examination includes one question per objective, the Final Examination includes three questions per course objective. Refer to the questions in the following Sample Examination to represent the type of questions that students will be asked in the Final Examination. Refer students to the weekly readings and content outlines for eachweek as study references for the Final Examination. Week One: Marketing Fundamentals Objective: Define marketing. 1. Marketing a. means selling or advertising b. eans exchanging offerings that have value for customers c. involves actually making goods or performing servicesd. Does not impact consumers' standard of living Objective: Explain the importance of marketing in organizational su ccess. 2. In 2006, Starbucks  ® produced the movie, Ak  eelah and the Bee . This is an example of a. Diversification b. market development c. product penetrationd. differentiation Objective: Describe the elements of the marketing mix. 3. All of the following are product-area decisions EXCEPT a. quality level . market exposure c. brand named. packaging Objective: Explain the importance of the marketing mix in the development of marketing strategyand tactics. 4. Scott Paper uses many intermediaries to reach its target markets; Citibank ® uses none. Which of the marketing mix variables is being considered here? a. Penetrationb. Productc. Promotiond. Place Objective: Create a marketing plan. 5. __________ refers to putting marketing plans into operation. a. Delivery b. Implementation c. Operational planningd. Strategy planning

Mcdonalds Operating Strategy Essay

Introduction McDonald?  ¦s, first started by Ray Krov, is now one of the most popular fast food restaurants across the world. They proudly serve more than 46 million customers in 59 different countries and have more than 30,000 different locations domestically and internationally (Food Service). The fast food industry is booming at a rapid rate, especially the healthy trend, with this in mind, McDonald?  ¦s has strategically plan to stay on top of their competitors by providing consumers with more options of healthy meals, cheaper prices, and better service. McDonald? ¦s is competitive in many categories; examples are price, quality, management and employee training, other categories will be explained throughout the preceding sections. Consumers trust McDonald?  ¦s products because they use many of the same trusted brands that families buy at local grocery stores. The only difference is that their shopping cart is a whole lot bigger. OPERATIONS COMPETITIVE STRATEGY McDonald?  ¦s Corporation competes in a challenging market segment by providing need-satisfying products to customers. In this segment, ineffective competitors often fail without proper strategies . To sustain its viability, the McDonald?  ¦s corporation employs an effective competitive strategy to make it stand out against competitors such as other fast food restaurants. McDonald?  ¦s competes on several bases, including cost, speed, and nutrition, their strongest priority is ?  §making customers happy (?  §McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide 3). The company recently made drastic changes to its process by introducing the ?  §Made for You system (Chase). Competition Bases Speed McDonald?  ¦s competes on several bases mainly to ?  §make their customers happyby providing speedy, affordable, and nutritious foods. Through extensive market research and survey, the organization discovered that its customers desire speed as one of the restaurants?  ¦ top priorities. Therefore, McDonald?  ¦s vision aims to ?  §provide fast, friendly and accurate service (?  §McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide 5). McDonald?  ¦s realizes that specific targets are necessary to measure the performance of speed, and continuously takes relevant measurements to compare actual performance with desired targets (measurements are detailed later in this report in the ?  §Quality Managementsection). To achieve efficient service times, the company utilizes proven, standardized training processes for its employees and new drive-thru layouts to reduce service times. Along with speed, McDonald?  ¦s also competes by offering prices at a low cost. Cost To offer high quality products at low cost, requires efficient processes throughout the entire McDonald?  ¦s organization. Once again, this goal is built into their vision statement when they claim that ?  §We will be the most efficient provider so that we can be the best value to the most people (?  §McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide 5). McDonald? ¦s incorporates several avenues to provide great value to its customers: ? XOne strategy that the company has employed for many years is the value meal. The value meal allows customers to buy a sandwich, french fries, and beverage at a discount when purchased together. McDonald?  ¦s restaurants offer from seven to twelve value meals, both for their lunch menu and breakfast menu. ?XMore recently, McDonald?  ¦s began offering a value menu, consisting of many individual items costing only $1. 00 each. First tested in southern California, the value menu has proved to be very successful and has been since incorporated to the individual stores .? Some individual franchise owners choose to offer daily specials of special menu items, such as ?  §$0. 39 hamburger Wednesdays, or other similar specials. Big Mac Mondays are a popular regional promotion. Nutrition McDonald?  ¦s third main competitive base is nutrition. The organization understands that health trend is an increasingly popular trend therefore; the organization has recently focused extraordinary efforts to promote their new nutritious choices. Although not specifically built into the organization?  ¦s vision, McDonald?  ¦s has already introduced many options to achieve this goal: ? In the United States, ?  §Go-Active meals have been offered within the last few years. These meals include a salad, bottled water, and a ?  §step-o-meter to help customers keep track of how many steps they take a day. ?XOther countries have seen similar healthy options. The United Kingdom saw fresh fruit bags, containing apples and grapes, as an alternative to french fries (?  §McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide 12). ?XNot only does McDonald?  ¦s care about its customers, but it is also considerate of its employees?  ¦ health. In Europe, the organization worked with external nutritionists to develop an ? Employee Guidebookwhich contains tips and nutrition information for healthy lifestyles (?  §McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide 13). ?XMcDonald?  ¦s has assembled their Global Advisory Council on Balanced Lifestyles. This council consists of exercise & obesity specialists, environmentalists, and other professionals to ensure that McDonald?  ¦s takes appropriate steps in helping its customers achieve optimal health. ?XThe company is also utilizing technology to their advantage. The current McDonald?  ¦s website lets a user select any combination of menu items, place the items in the online bag, and conduct a nutritional analysis on their selections. The user can break down the analysis even further than a menu item, down individual condiments, including ketchup, pickles, etc. (?  §Bag a McMeal ). Not only has the company introduced many steps to ensure nutrition, but it will strive to continue the trend toward nutrition. McDonald?  ¦s plans to: add additional healthy menu options (fruits and vegetables); increase nutrition awareness among McDonald?  ¦s employees; conceive new ways to deliver nutrition information to its customers, and other actions (?  §McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide 13). Strongest Priority ? §At McDonald? ¦s, making customers happy is what our business is all about. And we know it takes a lot to make that happen. We work hard to provide every customer with a choice of meals and an experience that exceeds their expectations. The preceding statement is the quote which introduces McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide Corporate Social Responsibility Report (2004). Although the company strives to compete on several bases, their ambient goal is customer satisfactions. They reach this goal through a variety of efforts. McDonald?  ¦s visionary goal is to continually improve their organization. One example is the manager on duty task of completing a ?  §travel path every thirty minutes of his shift. During a travel path, the manager personally checks every aspect of the restaurant, including: the lobby area where customers eat; the restrooms; the grill area behind the counter; the walk-in refrigerators and freezers; the stock area; as well as the entire perimeter outside the restaurant (Phillips, Eddie). Through completing travel paths, management continuously checks every aspect of the restaurant throughout the day. In addition to short term continual improvement, McDonald?  ¦s organization also thinks ahead for long term improvement. To ensure that they serve 100% safe food, McDonald?  ¦s conducts food safety tests multiple times throughout the day. The corporation changes ?  §Food Safety book used by the managers several times a year, in efforts to think toward the future for the most appropriate variables to measure (food safety will be further illustrated in the ?  §Quality Management section). Along with internal improvement to the organization, McDonald?  ¦s also collects external information from its customers to discover which aspects the company performs well, and which aspects could be improved. The manager is supposed to talk to at least one customer during each travel path and the manager can immediately react to this direct face-to-face communication. On a larger scale, McDonald surveys its customers two times per year. To entice customers to submit feedback, the organization offers a free sandwich in return for a completed survey (Phillips, Kenny). In summary, McDonald?  ¦s strives to reach its goal of ?  §making customers happy through their normal competitive bases of speed, price, and nutrition, and they also ensure customer satisfaction through continual improvement of their operations. Strategy Changes Made for You McDonald?  ¦s organization recently underwent drastic strategy changes to better serve their customers. Under their ?  §old system, the company would make several sandwiches at once, and hold the sandwiches in a warming bin until purchased by a customer. Under this system, management had to precisely predict how much food had to be put on hold. Precise prediction had to be used because if there were not enough food placed on hold, this would create the problem of increase waiting times for customers, and too much food would cause waste of expired items. McDonald?  ¦s dramatically changed their strategy in order to stay competitive with other fast food organizations. In 1999, McDonald?  ¦s spent $181 million to introduce their ?  §Made for You system (Chase). Under this new system, standard food items are not held in a bin until they are sold. In the ?  §Made for You system, modern technology greatly assists McDonald?  ¦s operations. When a customer places an order, the sandwich items are immediately displayed on a computer monitor in the kitchen and a tone sounds to alert the kitchen staff. Upon a new order, an employee in the kitchen will toast the bun, and assemble the sandwich accordingly. Standard items simply list the name of the sandwich, while customized orders list the sandwich name and the desired condiments. Once the sandwich is assembled, it is presented to the food loading area, where a different staff person retrieves the sandwich and completes the order by adding french fries, desserts, etc. The system works the same for front counter orders as well as drive-thru orders (Phillips, Kenny). Unfortunately, the introduction of the ? Made for Yousystem did not come easily. McDonald?  ¦s watched its customer satisfaction drop for the three consecutive years beginning in 1999 (Chase). After further research, they realized that although the new system provided fresher food, it was not as quick as the previous system. Instead of reverting back to the old system, McDonald?  ¦s continues to fine tune ?  §Made for You and add new options to help the system work faster. Revitalization Plan In order to cope with the first ever quarterly loss that resulted from inefficient use of the Made for You system (Chase), McDonald? ¦s has devised a new plan to increase profits. Previously, the corporation emphasized adding more restaurants to increase sales, but the new plan places emphasis on increasing sales at existing restaurants. The new plan will reduce spending, to enable more cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases (Cantalupo). Specific goals of the revitalization plan are to: ? XAttract new customers ?XEncourage existing customers to visit more often ?XBuild brand loyalty ?XCreate enduring profitable growth The main goal is to increase sales by creating an exceptional customer experience. McDonald?  ¦s plans to achieve this goal by focusing on its people, products, places, prices, and promotions. Menu Along with changes in their process strategies, McDonald?  ¦s has flirted with menu changes as well. Last year, they offered a ?  §new taste menu, where they offered a new sandwich for one week. The purpose was to offer customers a variety of options to satisfy peoples?  ¦ desire for variety. However, the new taste menu proved to be ineffective. Some customers would fall in love with an item, but it would only last one week, and they would be frustrated that they couldn? ¦t purchase their new beloved favorite sandwich. More recent changes to the menu have proved effective. McDonald?  ¦s realized that many of today?  ¦s customers seek healthy food options, and the corporation has offered items accordingly. As mentioned under ?  §Competition Bases, McDonald?  ¦s now offers a wider variety of nutritious items and provides information to help its customers as well as employees make informed healthy choices. QUALITY MANAGEMENT McDonald?  ¦s Corporation incorporates many quality management factors in its business process. Some of the most important plans undertaken to ensure quality include speed measurements, the five P?  ¦s (People, Product, Price, Place, and Promotion), employee training, and other factors. Speed One of the major quality management control factors includes minimizing the time that processes are done; this ensures an effective and efficient operations. A lot of these processes are done through the use of the latest information technology, whether it was through calculating the time of the processes or even making a database to value and make improvement to their processes. For example, one measurement is called Total Time in Line (TTL) which calculates the total time customers spend in the McDonald?  ¦s line, from the time the customer begins ordering until the time they get their food. TTL measurements are calculated the same way, the target TTL differs because of the service provided through the drive through or inside the restaurant. McDonald?  ¦s considers the fact that drive through customers usually expects their order faster and therefore, the drive through target TTL is 90 seconds. The target is slightly higher for the in-the-store customers because of the extra time they are willing to spend in the store (Phillips, Eddie). Along with measuring TTLs, other programs are utilized to make the speed of the service more efficient. The ?  §Made For You system uses the Kitchen-Video-System (KVS) to support fulfilling speedy orders. The Made for You system allows the order taker to enter or delete the orders on a touch screen that lists sandwiches, as well as individual condiments, in a way that eases the data entry process for the worker. As soon as any food is ordered, from any register, the necessary food items are displayed on a computer monitor in the kitchen. The kitchen staff immediately begins to prepare the food, and then erases the orders from the screen as the food is finished. Similar to TTLs, the time is measured between when an item is first displayed on the monitor, to the time when it is served. McDonalds continuously monitors these kitchen times in order to ensure that the Made for You system is working as efficiently as planned (Phillips, Eddie). Technology not only measures performance values within the organization, but it also assists in the drive through area. When a drive through worker is taking an order, it is displayed automatically on a screen available to the customer outside, called the Customer Order Display (COD). The customer can review the COD and correct any mistakes, thus making the ordering process more precise. More precise orders eliminate time wasted from correcting mistakes (Phillips, Kenny). Maintaining the speed and accuracy of the processes in McDonald?  ¦s is also done through less technological techniques. McDonald?  ¦s uses different colored packages to help the employee recognize the different types of food; colored wrapped sandwiches makes it easier to distinguish what is wrapped beneath. For example, a cheese burger is wrapped in yellow colored paper and a fish fillet is wrapped in blue, while a hamburger is wrapped in white paper. Special ordered sandwiches without standard condiments come in red and white paper, with a paper receipt attached which details the items on the sandwich (Phillips, Eddie). Quality Inspections Food safety is one of McDonald?  ¦s top priorities. Every restaurant is required to check food temperatures, expiration dates, and other food safety hazards several times throughout each day of operation. The corporation sends a standardized Food Safety book to every store which includes a comprehensive list of every item that needs to be measured. Cooked food temperatures are measured to ensure that all food is cooked properly before served. Refrigerated and frozen foods are also checked to make certain that they do not get too warm and are not spoiled. Expiration dates are checked on foods frequently, if the item is expired than it is discarded. Equipment is also measured to ensure that it is functioning properly. Also included in the safety checks is the water temperature in the restroom sinks, workers must be caution because water that is too hot can burn customers. Food safety checks are performed throughout the day, often during one of the manager?  ¦s many travel paths, which were described earlier in this report under ?  §Competitive Strategy (Phillips, Eddie). Periodic corporate inspections are one of the major quality management controls at McDonald?  ¦s. The McDonald?  ¦s Corporation applies two major inspections on each restaurant per year. One is called Field Operations Review (FOR), and the second is called System Observation Review (SOR). Since the inspections are made periodically, restaurants have two opportunities to pass the test. If the store fails to pass the inspection the second time, corporate takes over the store and brings in better employees to ensure that the proper processes and equipment is being used properly. Both inspections are extraordinarily thorough and they are based on a point system, points can be taken off for many different reasons. For example, points can be reduced if the credit card system is too slow, the store? ¦s walls have cracks, or even if the restaurant performs processes that slows the serving time. Points will also be lost if employees are not dressed according to regulations, this includes wearing name tags (Phillips, Kenny). Mcdonald?  ¦s must also provide a food safety log of recorded entries to ensure that proper food testing is completed properly (Phillips, Eddie). The Five P?  ¦s Even though many of the quality management processes in McDonald?  ¦s are done through the use of information technology, other quality management factors such as maintaining the five P? ¦s forces (People, Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) are essential in any business. Consequently, McDonald?  ¦s Corporation uses these related forces in the sense that each P creates a chain affect on each other. The following is a list of methods using the P forces. The first force is the people working in the McDonald?  ¦s chains, which are represented by service, hospitality, and pride. The staff employed in McDonald?  ¦s are continuously trained and kept in the company to reduce the cost of training short-term inexperienced workers. Moreover, the training process has been improved to include online e-learning tools for the restaurant staff. Maintaining the workers in the company is very important to McDonald?  ¦s and the corporation rewards workers who do outstanding services. This form of incentive is motivational to the workers (Cantalupo 4). The second force is the products which include the quality, taste, and price of the goods sold. McDonald?  ¦s is trying to establish flexibility with the changing tastes and preferences in the market, Moreover, they are also seeing growing interest in premium product and wholesome food choices. The quality and safety of the food is a main entity in maintaining the quality of the food at McDonald?  ¦s (Cantalupo 4). The third force is place which is represented by the clean, relevant, and modern store environments. Whether it was in the main restaurant area, the kitchen, or even the restrooms, the company ensures the safety and comfort for the consumers and staff workers. The company intends on having the gold standards for cleanliness (Cantalupo 5). The fourth factor is price, which is presented in the productivity and value. The value of the product is increased when consumers gets high quality products for lower costs. Therefore, McDonald?  ¦s Corporation ensures that its customers receive the highest value of food for the price they pay (Cantalupo 5). The fifth factor is promotion which is presented in marketing, leadership, and trust. The company has already earned its reputation for good quality food so they just focus on customers cares. They do this through community involvement and their social responsible towards the environment. This process will gain the trust of loyal customers and keep them for life (Cantalupo 5). Training McDonald?  ¦s realizes that its employees must understand their duties in order to fulfill the organization? ¦s goals. To ensure that all employees properly perform their assigned duties, McDonald?  ¦s invests greatly in their training program. The company continues to receive prestigious awards for their leading-edge training, including the ?  §Employer of Choice Award from the Restaurant Business Magazine (?  §Restaurant Management ). New crew members go through a thorough orientation process consisting of several videos, followed by several days of direct one-on-one training by a trainer. After employees feel comfortable with the operations, they may be promoted to Crew Trainers. Crew Trainers undergo further training for specialized processes such as the grill area, front counter, drive-thru, and other areas. Shift supervisors are the next step in the organization, followed by Second Assistant Managers, followed by First Assistant Manager, and the top manager at each McDonald?  ¦s restaurant is the Restaurant Manager (Phillips, Eddie). Training never stops at McDonald?  ¦s, no matter which position an employee holds. Some current employees describe McDonald?  ¦s as the ?  §best training company in the world (Phillips, Kenny). To improve the Made for You system, McDonald? ¦s recently introduced a strategy called ?  §Shift into Overdrive,?  ¦ and this strategy focuses on helping shift managers work more efficiently. All McDonald?  ¦s restaurants are required to send at least one manager to participate in the new training program (Phillips, Kenny). This training mainly focuses on the human aspects of Made for You, this ensures that the system is being used as design. Since the new system requires seamless work from several people, the entire team must work together for the system to work quickly to provide food to customers. Finally, to ensure the quality of the operations, McDonald? ¦s does surveys periodically to get feedbacks from customers (Phillips, Eddie). As shown throughout this section, the McDonald?  ¦s Corporation has been doing a very good job at keeping the quality of its products and services, whether it was through using computerized equipment or to train their human resources. RAW MATERIALS The Arrival & Maintenance Through the intense process of choosing and manufacturing raw materials, McDonald?  ¦s customers can be assured of a quality product. Whether arriving via truck or train, raw materials are delivered fresh and ready to use everyday. To ensure that this freshness is passed onto the customer, each arriving package is personally inspected for damage during its travel. In addition, the condition of delivery trucks are also taken into account to make sure that meat was untainted due to a filthy meat cooler. The meat cooler should always be set at 10 degrees below zero and the meat should remain at a constant temperature of 34 to 38 degrees. While some inspections are known, others are random to ensure that quality is consistent from one delivery to the next. The promise of high quality for McDonald?  ¦s raw materials does not cease to end at the delivery trucks. Inside the restaurant, the temperatures of freezers and refrigerators are recorded twice a day to guarantee the highest grade of ingredient usage. These temperatures are recorded in a book which is required to stay on premise for 60 days. After such time span, the book is moved to a local record storage where all previous data information is held. Grade ?  §A Beef and Other Meats All beef cooked at McDonald?  ¦s is of Grade ?  §A quality and 80%-82% lean. McDonald?  ¦s not only supports humane slaughtering of animals and refuses to purchase dairy cows over 5 year old due to the toughness of their meat. Upon the arrival of meat, received from Otto & Sons, Inc. in Chicago, a two hour supply is taken directly to the grill side freezers which stand at a constant temperature of 0 degrees. Once placed on the grill, the meat is cooked at a specific temperature to assure the meat holds the proper internal temperature to meet the requirements of food safety and yet hot enough to hold its natural juices. Cooked hamburger patties and other meat products are stored in a humidity controlled cabinet until usage to ensure that patties remain hot and moist. The preparation time of a hamburger should not take longer than 90 seconds and only 35 seconds after the hamburger bun itself has been toasted. This allows each customer to receive his/her meal in the timeliest fashion. Produce It is a known fact that agronomists can spend up to two years assisting a farmer grow perfect russet potatoes, 6-inches long, that produces a finished fry which is appealing both in looks and taste. In addition many produce items, lettuce for example, have specifications that are two pages long. With this many guidelines in place, McDonald? ¦s can guarantee that they are delivering to their customer the best ingredients possible. The produce delivered from Condie?  ¦s in Salt Lake City to the Evans and Colorado McDonald?  ¦s restaurant arrives via railroad to ensure that freshness is maintained. Upon inspection, should any produce not meet the correct internal temperature, the refrigerator is either immediately altered or the items are discarded. Restaurant Inspection Since McDonald?  ¦s believes so strongly in high quality products, Licensees are expected to obtain their desired product needs directly from suppliers rather than the McDonald? ¦s Corporation. While this ensures that the best raw materials are purchased at a reasonable price, it often leaves the McDonald?  ¦s Corporation ?  §in the dark concerning the safety precautions and procedures of franchised restaurants. As a result, the McDonald?  ¦s Corporation makes both announced and unannounced visits to international McDonald?  ¦s restaurants to ensure that proper procedures are being followed. With each visit, the restaurant being inspected is graded on their proficiency and performance. Based on this grade, the corporation will determine eligibility for growth of new franchise locations. In addition, the failure to meet requirements can result in a default in your franchise agreement for the following term. FORECASTING Aspects of Forecasting McDonald?  ¦s has a continual means of receiving information from customers, employees, and the industry that effects short, medium, and long term decision making and forecasting. Different kinds of information are received from all levels of the corporation and are used to learn more about the market movement and advertisement structure, to basic everyday processes in production and packaging of goods for the targeted markets. Forecasting is done in large by the corporation, as part of their responsibility to the franchisee?  ¦s and McDonald?  ¦s shareholders. Through our interview with the owner, we learned a lot about the basics of McDonald?  ¦s business and hierarchy; we were not able to get more in-depth information that is used for their budgeting, marketing, advertising, forecasting, and innovations of new products to come because it contains confidential contents. This is due to the scrutiny from people looking for flaws, bad business conduct, and other degrading allocations of McDonald? ¦s. Everything that was recorded was cleared at the corporate level. Forecasts are vital to McDonald?  ¦s organization and significant management decisions. Forecasts provide the basis for budgetary planning, cost control, planning new products, process selection, capacity planning, and facility layout. Typically, McDonald?  ¦s uses a qualitative type of forecasting. The main information used in forecasting the stability and future growth of the corporation is by the number of customers going in and out the door and all voiced opinions. There are different medians of communication for customer to relay there ideas, opinions, concerns, and problems they have with McDonald?  ¦s. At the particular location, a customer has employees, managers, and owners to voice what?  ¦s on their mind and how they like what?  ¦s going on in the restaurant. Often, McDonald?  ¦s managers and owners use open ended questions to allow customers to expand on what they want to talk about. McDonald?  ¦s nationally offers an 800 number for customers to use when the corporation has fallen short of their expectations or when a location makes a mistake with their order. Internationally, McDonald?  ¦s has a website that is not only interactive and informative throughout the 59 nations they supply to, but is a place for customers to voice their opinions and complaints. And as an owner of the McDonald?  ¦s on the intersection of Evans Avenue and Colorado Boulevard, Ronald Lessnau exclaimed, ?  §We listen! At the corporate level, qualitative forecasting can be seen, even with limited information that was given. Market research department takes data from talking with customers to find out how they like or feel about a particular ad campaign or a specific commercial. And product development department uses input on developing a new product or changing how the new product is prepared, priced, or packaged. McDonald?  ¦s has been extremely accurate in forecasting trends or needs the customers want and request. Mr. Lessnau states, ?  §McDonald?  ¦s, in the past has helped customers deal with their changing lifestyles. An example of this is when the Egg McMuffin, the first hand held breakfast sandwich by Herb Peterson, was introduced for the first time. ? §It took 10 years for breakfast to be successful at McDonald?  ¦s and now McDonald?  ¦s cracks more farm fresh, grade ?  §A eggs daily than the largest institution in the United States, the US Military. As consumers, it is known that McDonald?  ¦s has gone through a lot and where not always correct in projections influenced by the greatest number of customers. Even with using a qualitative forecast, the future is not always so clear so see. 12 years ago, due to the strong focus group surveys responses to healthier products put into motion the making of McLean Burger. McDonald developed and marketed the McLean Burger. It had 7% fat and was the best low fat burger on the market, costing 53 cents a pound more then the normal beef. It did not sell! Customers later decided that the product was too expensive and did not taste as good as its?  ¦ fatty brother. And maybe decisions that are based on the idea that the history of occurrences over time can be used to predict the future, time series forecasting, can explain why McDonald?  ¦s is slow to react to the Atkins Diet trends. Ronald Lessnau also gave examples of when qualitative forecasting influences how he fixes errors of the passed business decisions at his establishment. Decisions he has made have been based on estimates and opinion from surveys, interviews, history of products, and questionnaires. That particular McDonald?  ¦s has extended their hours as a result of many comments. Also, years ago they reduced some of the seasoning in the chicken products in a test market, and based on interviews and focus groups they went back to the original product and did not take the change national. He also described that in Denver, Colorado locations went back to the 99-cent double cheese burgers years ago because of feedback they received in focus groups that were conducted as part of their normal market research. As Lessnau explained, ?  §Sometimes you can prevent a good idea from going bad by talking to those closest to the customer, your sales people. The data collected for these long terms and every day business decisions were from employees as well as customers. SUPPLY CHAIN Examination of Supply Chain. Food quality is the key at McDonald’s restaurant. That?  ¦s why they take pride in the foods they serve to their customers. They seek out fresh lettuce and tomatoes, quality buns and potatoes, pure ground beef, select poultry and fish and wholesome dairy products. McDonald?  ¦s ensures that their products are guaranteed to be the best quality before serving to their customers. McDonald?  ¦s has many suppliers in which each supplier plays a vital role in providing McDonald?  ¦s with their products. First, McDonald?  ¦s receives its raw.

What will be the hot jobs in the next decade Research Paper

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