SWOT ANALYSIS

S – Strengths or Core Competencies

* Strong global presence, considered a market leader in all markets.

McDonald’s is a global company that “operates more than 23,500 restaurants in 109 countries.”1 The company’s strong global presence is an significant advantage for them, because it gives them the ability to “play” with economic fluctuations of each country.

By being spread out in different regions, the company is able to contest the economic fluctuations which are localized by country. McDonald’s has an advantage as it can operate effectively even in an economic downturn as at such times people seek out comfort food more.

* Relies upon economies of scale for cost reduction.

Any corporation registered and operating in more than one country at a time, usually with its headquarters in a single country. A firm's advantages in establishing itself multinationally include both vertical and horizontal economies of scale (reductions in cost that result from an expanded level of output). Critics usually regard the multinational corporation as destructive of local economies abroad and as prone to monopolistic practices

* Very loyal employees and management

monopolistic practices The company has known to have very loyal employees and management. The twenty of its fifty top employees started as low level restaurant employees at McDonald’s. The caring attitude of the company towards its employees is also shown by the fact that around its 67,000 managers were initially hired as restaurant staff. For this reason, “the McDonald’s was listed in the Fortune Magazine 2005 as the “Best Place to Work for Minorities.” 2 McDonalds invests over $1 billion every year in training its staff, and every year over 250,000 employees graduate from McDonald’s training facility, Hamburger University. All this shows the employee strength of the company.