Wednesday, November 16, 2016
My Opinion
My opinion about what i have learn in introduction to e-commerce is i've learn in chapter 1 is how understanding e-commerce,types of e-commerce it is consist B2B, B2C and C2C. In chapter 2, i've learn about revenue model, value proposition,market opportunity, competitve environment, competitive advantage, market strategy, organizational development and management team. In chapter 3, i've learn about the background of technology internet and world wide web. In chapter 4, i've learn about the building an e-commerce web site.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Introduction to E-Commerce
CHAPTER 1(INTRODUCTION TO E-COMMERCE)
E-Commerce define as involves digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organizations and individuals, aslo transactions involve the exchange of value across organizational or individual boundaries in return for products or services.
E-Commerce Vs E-Business.
* E-business does not include commercial transactions involving an exchange of value across organizational boundaries.
Seven Unique Features of E-Commerce Technology and Their Significance
1. Is ubiquitous(available everywhere, all the time)
2. Offers global(across cultural/national boundaries)
3. Operates according to universal standards(lowers market entry for merchants and search costs for consumers)
4. Provides information richness(more powerful selling environment)
5. Is interactive(can simulate face-to-face experience, but on a global scale)
6. Increases information density(amount and quality of information available to all market partipants)
7. Permits personalization/customazation)
Types of E-commerce
Classified by nature of market relationship
* Business to Consumer(B2C)
* Business to Business(B2B)
* Consumer to Consumer(C2C)
Classified by type of technology used
* Peer to Peer(P2P)
* Mobile commerce(M-commerce)
Potential Limitations on Growth of B2C E-commerce
*Expensive technology
*Complex software interface
*Sophisticated skill set
*Sophisticated Skill Set
*Persistent Cultural attraction of physical
*Persistent global inequality limiting access to telephones and computers
CHAPTER 2(E-COMMERCE BUSINESS MODELS AND CONCEPTS)
E-commerce business models define as set of planned activities designed to result in profit in a marketplace. While, business plan define as document that describes a firm's model. Lastly is e-commerce business model define as aims to use and leverage the unique qualities of Internet and Web.
Revenue Model
Desribes how the firm will earn revenue, generate profits, and produce a superior return on invested capital
*Major Types:
- Advertising revenue model
- Subscription revenue model
- Transaction fee revenue model
- Sales revenue model
- Affilliate revenue model
Market Strategy
- A plan that details how a company intends to enter a new market and attract customers
- Best business concepts will fail if not properly marketed to potential customers
Competitive Environment
* Refers to the other companies selling similar products and operating in the same marketspace
* Influenced by:
- how many competitors are active
- how large their operations are
- what is the market share for each competitor
- how profitable these firms are
- how they price their products
* Includes both direct competitors and indirector competitors
Competitive Advantage
* Achieved when a firm can produce a superior product and/or bring product to market at a lower price than most, or all, of competitors
* Firms achieve competitive advantage when they are able to obtain differential access to the factors of production that are denied to competitors
* Types of competitive advantage include:
- First mover advantage—results from a firm being first into a marketplace
- Unfair competitive advantage—occurs when one firm develops an advantage based on a factor that other firms cannot purchase
Categorizing E-commerce Business Models: Some Difficulties
- No one correct way
- We categorize business models according to e-commerce sector (B2C, B2B, C2C)
- Type of e-commerce technology used can also affect classification of a business model
- Some companies use multiple business models
Business Models in Emerging E-commerce Areas
- Consumer to Consumer (C2C): Provides a way for consumers to sell to each other, with the help of an online marketmaker such as eBay.com
- Peer-to-Peer (P2P): Links users, enabling them to share files and common resources without a common server
- M-commerce: Takes traditional e-commerce business models and leverages emerging new wireless technologies
- To date, a disappointment in the United States; however, technology platform continues to evolve
Industry Structure
* E-commerce changes the nature of players in an industry and their relative bargaining power by changing:
- the basis of competition among rivals
- the barriers to entry
- the threat of new substitute products
- the strength of suppliers
- the bargaining power of buyers
CHAPTER 3(THE INTERNET AND WORLD WIDE WEB)
The Internet: Technology Background
* Internet: An interconnected network of thousands of networks and millions of computers, linking businesses, educational institutions, government agencies, and individuals
* World Wide Web (Web): One of the Internet’s most popular services, providing access to over 8 billion Web pages
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol)
* Protocol: A set of rules for formatting, ordering, compressing, and error-checking messages
* TCP: Establishes the connections among sending and receiving Web computers, handles the assembly of packets at the point of transmission, and their reassembly at the receiving end
* IP: Provides the Internet’s addressing scheme
* TCP/IP is divided into 4 separate layers:
- Network Interface Layer
- Internet Layer
- Transport Layer
- Application Layer
IP Addresses
* Internet address (also called IP address): a 32-bit number expressed as a series of four separate numbers marked off by periods, such as 201.61.186.227
* IPv4 the current version of IP. Can handle up to 4 billion addresses
* IPv6 (next generation of IP) will use 128-bit addresses and be able to handle up to 1 quadrillion addresses
Domain Names, DNS, and URLs
* Domain name: IP address expressed in natural language
* Domain name system (DNS): allows numeric IP addresses to be expressed in natural language
* Uniform resource locator (URL): addresses used by Web browsers to identify location of content on the Web
Client/Server Computing
* Model of computing in which very powerful personal computers (clients) are connected in a network with one or more server computers that perform common functions for the clients, such as storing files, software applications, etc.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
* Retail providers that deal with “last mile of service”
* Major national ISPs include AOL, MSN, and AT&T WorldNet, etc.
* Offer both narrowband (traditional telephone modem connection at 56.6 Kbps) and broadband (service based on DSL, cable modem, T1 or T3 telephone lines, and satellite)
The Internet and Web: Features
* Internet and Web features on which the foundations of e-commerce are built include:
- E-mail
- Instant messaging
- Search engines
- Intelligent agents (bots)
- Online forums and chat
- Streaming media
- Cookies
E-mail
* One of the most used applications of the Internet
* Uses a series of protocols to enable messages containing text, images, sound, video clips, etc., to be transferred from one Internet user to another
* Also allows attachments (files attached to the e-mail message)
* Can be an effective marketing tool
* Spam: unsolicited e-mail. A worsening problem
Instant Messaging
- One of fastest growing forms of online human communication
- Displays words typed on a computer almost instantly, and recipients can then respond immediately in the same way
- Different proprietary systems offered by AOL, MSN, Yahoo, and Google
Search Engines
- Identifies Web pages that appear to match keywords (queries) entered by a user, and provides list of best matches based on one or more of a variety of techniques
- No longer simply search engines, but also shopping tools and advertising vehicles (search engine marketing)
Intelligent Agents (Bots)
- Software programs that gather and/or filter information on a specific topic and then provide a list of results
- Types include search bot, shopping bot, Web monitoring bot, news bot, chatterbot
CHAPTER 4 (BUILDING AN E-COMMERCE WEB SITE)
Pieces of the Site-Building Puzzle
* Main areas where you will need to make decisions in building a site include:
- Human resources and organizational capabilities—creating a team that has the skill set to build and manage a successful site
- Hardware
- Software
- Telecommunications
- Site design
System Analysis/Planning: Identifying Business Objectives, System Functionality, and Information Requirements
- Business objectives: a list of capabilities you want your site to have
- System functionalities: a list of the types of information system capabilities you will need to achieve your business objectives
- Information requirements: the information elements that the system must produce in order to achieve the business objectives
E-commerce Merchant Server Software Functionality
- Provides the basic functionality needed for online sales, including:
- Online catalog
- Shopping cart
- Credit card processing
Merchant Server Software Packages (E- commerce Suites)
* Offer integrated environment that provides functionality and capabilities needed to develop sophisticated, customer-centric site
* Key factors to consider in choosing include:
- Functionality
- Support for different business models
- Business process modeling tools
- Visual site management tools and reporting
- Performance and scalability
- Connectivity to existing business systems
- Compliance with standards
- Global and multicultural capability
- Local sales tax and shipping rules
Personalization Tools
- Personalization: Ability to treat people based on their personal qualities and prior history with your site
- Customization: Ability to change the product to better fit the needs of the customer
- Cookies the primary method for achieving personalization and customization
Monday, November 14, 2016
Qu Puteh
The tagline Qu Puteh Qu Puteh, Barulah Putih may be annoying to some. However, as a marketing slogan, it has worked effectively.
It certainly has helped build the business empire of Datuk Seri Hasmiza Othman, better known as Dr Vida.
Often dressed in glittering clothes and decked in jewellery and a gleaming tiara, the CEO of Vida Beauty Sdn Bhd is a recognisable ambassador of her brand.
The 44-year-old born in Machang, Kelantan often stars in her own product advertisements, promoting her range of beauty and healthcare products.
The wealth she has built has enabled her to sponsor a variety of popular television entertainment programmes and even a football team. This in turn has further boosted her popularity and sales of her products.
TENACITY
Speaking in a thick Kelantanese dialect, Hasmiza said the road to becoming a multimillionaire was filled with hurdles. While doing business, she had been sabotaged, cheated, slandered and while failure upon failure was experienced.
The hardships, however, compared little to the pain she felt when she lost two of her four children in a fire three years ago.
However, Hasmiza refused to be let down by the trials she endured.
With hard work and tenacity, she rose against the odds to become what she is today.
Her material success can be measured by her RM22 million home in Ipoh, her 22 luxury homes, her more than 10 luxury cars and the jewellery that she is constantly adorned with.
“I’ve gone through failures and losses, but it only made me more determined to work harder for this life and the hereafter. I would not be able to achieve all of these without tenacity,” she said.
FROM THE GROUND UP
Hasmiza came from humble beginnings. Her life changed for the worse when her father, who owned a sawmill, died suddenly. From then on, her mother had to tap rubber to bring up Hasmiza and her two siblings.
She discovered from a young age that business was a good way to support herself. She made good pocket money selling kacang putih (legumes) and nasi bungkus (packed rice meals) to school friends.
She eventually made her way to Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang to pursue a degree in education, majoring in Malay Literature and History.
To support herself in university, she sold products from Kelantan such as the batik sarong, prayer garments, meat sambal (hot relish) and keropok (chips) to her friends and lecturers.
At the same time, she tirelessly worked shifts at a factory and took on a part time job at a fast-food restaurant near the campus.
Upon graduation, she was assigned to teaching at SJK (C) Poi Lam in Ipoh.
However, even with a steady monthly income as a teacher, she had a strong desire to run a business.
She eventually decided to start a business in the field of beauty and grooming and enrolled in a grooming course.
THE BIRTH OF VIDA BEAUTY
After learning the trade, she made the bold decision to take on a RM100,000 bank loan to open a beauty salon.
“With a teachers salary of RM3,000 at the time, I had pay back a bank loan of RM2,000. I used the balance to pay for my rent and car instalments and to survive. Those were some difficult times,” she recalled.
As she was still new to a business on that scale, Hasmiza naively spent all her loan money on renovation works.
“The entire RM100,000 sum was spent turning my shop lot into a beauty salon.
“It was funny, I had a beautiful salon but no money for capital or for buying products to sell!
“So I had to go out and make more money by running a pasar malam (night market) business, selling food, prayer garments and other items,” she shared.
After 12 years, Hasmiza decided to quit her teaching job. She then signed up as a staff at the National Vocational Training Council and taught hair and makeup grooming to students at the centre.
To improve their skills, she decided to set them up for a challenge.
“In my classes, they would cut each others hair and do facials for one another. I didn’t find this challenging enough. So I bought RM15 chairs and brought them to a supermarket where I asked them to offer free facial treatments to the public.
“The promotion was well received, so I decided to buy lounge chairs to enable more students to practice what they have learned.
“After that, many started enquiring about facial wash products. It was then that I first came up with my own line of cosmetics, Vida Beauty,” she explained.
RUNNING OUT OF CAPITAL
Hasmiza then received a RM1mil grant from the government to start her cosmetics business. Half of the money was spent on Research and Development, which included travelling to several countries to source for the best ingredients for her cosmetic products.
She then spent RM100,000 advertising her products in a local magazine and the remaining RM400,000 on advertising on private radio and TV stations.
However, none of it produced tangible results.
“The magnitude of the financial loss took a toll on me, to the point that I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. However, there was a silver lining to the episode. “As someone who likes to experiment, I tried coming up with my own remedy to treat my blood pressure, using gamat (sea cucumber), known for its cooling effect and pomegranate, which is high in antioxidants. The remedy managed to reduce my blood pressure.
“That was the birth of my health product, Pamoga. However, the sales of my products refused to budge due to the advertising failure. That year, I managed to sell only 500 bottles of Pamoga,” she said.
DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN
Daunted by her product marketing failure, Hasmiza eventually decided to end her business but not before giving it one last shot. She chose to promote her products through the RTM Kelantan FM radio station.
She spoke about her products, particularly Pamoga, in 15-minute slots for two days.
On the third day, she was convinced that her business was a bust and went to close her shop at a supermarket in Kota Baharu.
To her surprise, she found a crowd gathered outside the premises.
“I thought someone had fainted, but it turned out they were there to buy Pamoga. That was six years ago. From then on, my sales soared. User testimony proved to be the most effective way of marketing my products.
“Today, sales of Pamoga is some 100,000 bottles a month, and I have over 100 other products,” she said.
After ten years in business, her products reached eight figures.
“After my bad experience, I became extra careful when it comes to advertising. At the same, I diversified my investments, putting my money in local dramas and films as well as several other businesses. In addition to sponsoring TV programmes, I am also sponsoring the Kelantan football team to a tune of RM16 million, but on the condition that they paint the stadium pink,” she said, laughing.
Today, she is more discriminating in marketing her products, as she had lost millions of Ringgit because of ineffective advertising over the years.
“That is why I write my own advertisements and star in it myself,” she said.
She said her glittery persona was in contrast to the person she really is - someone who liked to lounge around in caftans without makeup on.
“I am promoting my own products, so I need to make it catchy and memorable.
“This bling-bling persona is necessary to help sell my products, so that they will remember who Vida is and the products from her company, Vida Beauty Sdn Bhd,” she explained.
CHALLENGES
Throughout the course of her business, Hasmiza had had to encounter numerous setbacks including competition from counterfeit products, sabotage and slanderous allegations.
She is also acutely aware of the negative comments about her appearance.
“I know many people like to give me flak especially with regards to my appearance. I am used to it. They don't know who I really am or understand my goals. If I were to listen to all the criticism, I’d be going nowhere,” she said.
As someone who had had to work hard from a young age to survive, Hasmiza was determined to not let her children go through similar difficulties in life.
“My children are my inspiration and source of strength, but I have taught them quite a bit of the trade, and they both seem quite interested in running a business,” she said.
This year, her business calendar is packed with several new business ventures, including the manufacturing of her own range of mineral water and isotonic drinks.
She also plans to expand her business overseas.
Mcdonald's
History
Main article: History of McDonald's

The oldest operating McDonald'srestaurant was the third one built, opening in 1953. It is located at 10207 Lakewood Blvd. at Florence Ave. in Downey, California (at 33.9471°N 118.1182°W).
The business began in 1940, with a restaurant opened by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald at 1398 North E Street at West 14th Street in San Bernardino, California (at 34.1255°N 117.2946°W). Their introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948 furthered the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant that the White Castle hamburger chain had already put into practice more than two decades earlier. The first McDonald's with the arches opened in Phoenix, Arizona in March 1953. The original mascot of McDonald's was a man with a chef's hat on top of a hamburger-shaped head whose name was "Speedee". By 1967, Speedee was eventually replaced with Ronald McDonald when the company first filed a U.S. trademark on a clown-like man having puffed-out costume legs.
On May 4, 1961, McDonald's first filed for a U.S. trademark on the name "McDonald's" with the description "Drive-In Restaurant Services", which continues to be renewed through the end of December 2009. On September 13 that same year, the company filed a logo trademark on an overlapping, double-arched "M" symbol. By September 6, 1962, this M-symbol was temporarily disfavored, when a trademark was filed for a single arch, shaped over many of the early McDonald's restaurants in the early years. Although the "Golden Arches" logo appeared in various forms, the present version as a letter "M" did not appear until November 18, 1968, when the company applied for a U.S. trademark.
The present corporation dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by businessman Ray Kroc in Des Plaines, Illinois on April 15, 1955, the ninth McDonald's restaurant overall; this location was demolished in 1984 after many remodels. Kroc later purchased the McDonald brothers' equity in the company and led its worldwide expansion, and the company became listed on the public stock markets ten years later. Kroc was also noted for aggressive business practices, compelling the McDonald brothers to leave the fast-food industry. Kroc and the McDonald brothers all feuded over control of the business, as documented in both Kroc's autobiography and in the McDonald brothers' autobiography. The San Bernardino restaurant was demolished in 1976 (1971, according to Juan Pollo) and the site was sold to the Juan Pollo restaurant chain. This area now serves as headquarters for the Juan Pollo chain, as well as a McDonald's and Route 66 museum.[7] With the expansion of McDonald's into many international markets, the company has become a symbol of globalization and the spread of the American way of life. Its prominence has also made it a frequent topic of public debates about obesity, corporate ethics and consumer responsibility.
Corporate overview
Facts and figures

By 1993, McDonald's had sold more than 100 billion hamburgers. The once widespread restaurant signs that boasted the number of sales, such as this one in Harlem, were left at "99 billion" because there was space for only two digits.
McDonald's restaurants are found in 118 countries and territories around the world and serve 68 million customers each day.[8][9]McDonald's operates 36,615 restaurants worldwide, employing more than 420,000 people.[6][8] There are currently a total of 6,056 company-owned locations and 30,559 franchised locations, which includes 21,456 locations franchised to conventional franchisees, 5,742 locations licensed to developmental licensees, and 3,361 locations licensed to foreign affiliates.[6] The company also operates other restaurant brands, such as Piles Café.
Focusing on its core brand, McDonald's began divesting itself of other chains it had acquired during the 1990s. The company owned a majority stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill until October 2006, when McDonald's fully divested from Chipotle through a stock exchange.[10][11]Until December 2003, it also owned Donatos Pizza. On August 27, 2007, McDonald's sold Boston Market to Sun Capital Partners.[12]
Notably, McDonald's has increased shareholder dividends for 25 consecutive years,[13] making it one of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats.[14][15] In October 2012, its monthly sales fell for the first time in nine years.[16] In 2014, its quarterly sales fell for the first time in seventeen years, when its sales dropped for the entirety of 1997.[17]
McDonald's plans to close 184 restaurants in the United States in 2015, which is 59 more than it plans to open.[18][19] This is the first time McDonald's will have a net decrease in the number of locations in the United States since 1970.[19]
Business model
McDonald's Corporation earns revenue as an investor in properties, a franchiser of restaurants, and an operator of restaurants. Approximately 15 percent of McDonald's restaurants are owned and operated by McDonald's Corporation directly. The remainder are operated by others through a variety of franchise agreements and joint ventures.[citation needed]
The McDonald's Corporation's business model is slightly different from that of most other fast-food chains. In addition to ordinary franchisefees and marketing fees, which are calculated as a percentage of sales, McDonald's may also collect rent, which may also be calculated on the basis of sales. As a condition of many franchise agreements, which vary by contract, age, country, and location, the Corporation may own or lease the properties on which McDonald's franchises are located. In most, if not all cases, the franchisee does not own the location of its restaurants.[citation needed]
The company currently owns all of its property – valued at an estimated $16 to $18 billion. However, in recent times, there have been calls to spin off the company's US holdings into a potential real estate investment trust. The company earns a significant portion of its revenue from rental payments from franchisees. These rent payments have risen 26 percent over the past five years, and currently account for one fifth of the company's total revenue.[20] The company announced at its investor conference on November 10, 2015 that it would not spin off its property into a real-estate investment trust. The CEO, Steve Easterbrook discussed that pursuing the REIT option would pose too large a risk to the company's business model.[21]
The United Kingdom and Ireland business model is different from the U.S, in that fewer than 30 percent of restaurants are franchised, with the majority under the ownership of the company. McDonald's trains its franchisees and management at Hamburger University in Oak Brook, Illinois.[citation needed]
In other countries, McDonald's restaurants are operated by joint ventures of McDonald's Corporation and other, local entities or governments.[citation needed]
As a matter of policy, McDonald's does not make direct sales of food or materials to franchisees, instead organizing the supply of food and materials to restaurants through approved third party logistics operators.[citation needed]
According to Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (2001), nearly one in eight workers in the U.S. have at some time been employed by McDonald's. Employees are encouraged by McDonald's Corp. to maintain their health by singing along to their favorite songs in order to relieve stress, attending church services in order to have a lower blood pressure, and taking two vacations annually in order to reduce risk for myocardial infarction.[22]
Fast Food Nation also states that McDonald's is the largest private operator of playgrounds in the U.S., as well as the single largest purchaser of beef, pork, potatoes, and apples. The selection of meats McDonald's uses varies to some extent based on the culture of the host country.[23]
Headquarters
The McDonald's headquarters complex, McDonald's Plaza, is located in Oak Brook, Illinois. It sits on the site of the former headquarters and stabling area of Paul Butler, the founder of Oak Brook.[24] McDonald's moved into the Oak Brook facility from an office within the Chicago Loop in 1971.[25]
On June 13, 2016, McDonald's confirmed plans to move its global headquarters to Chicago's West Loop neighborhood in the Near West Side. The 608,000-square-foot structure will be built on the site of Oprah Winfrey's former Harpo Studios and open in early 2018.[4][5]
Board of directors
As of November 2014, the Board of Directors had the following members:[26]
- Andrew J. McKenna, Chairman
- Susan E. Arnold, Operating Executive, Global Consumer & Retail Group of The Carlyle Group
- Robert A. Eckert, Operating Partner of Friedman Fleischer & Lowe
- Enrique Hernandez, Jr., President and CEO of Inter-Con Security
- Jeanne P. Jackson, President, Product and Merchandising for Nike, Inc.
- Richard H. Lenny, Operating Partner of Friedman Fleischer & Lowe
- Walter E. Massey, President of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Cary D. McMillan, CEO of True Partners Consulting LLC
- Sheila A. Penrose, Non-executive Chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle
- John W. Rogers, Jr, Chairman and CEO of Ariel Investments
- Roger W. Stone, Chairman and CEO of KapStone Paper and Packaging
- Don Thompson, President and CEO
- Miles D. White, Chairman and CEO of Abbott Laboratories
On March 1, 2015, after being chief brand officer of McDonald's and its former head in the UK and northern Europe, Steve Easterbrook became CEO, succeeding Don Thompson, who stepped down on January 28, 2015.
Global operations
See also: List of countries with McDonald's restaurants and International availability of McDonald's products
McDonald's has become emblematic of globalization, sometimes referred to as the "McDonaldization" of society. The Economist newspaper uses the "Big Mac Index": the comparison of a Big Mac's cost in various world currencies can be used to informally judge these currencies' purchasing power parity. Switzerland has the most expensive Big Mac in the world as of July 2015, while the country with the least expensive Big Mac is India[27][28] (albeit for a Maharaja Mac—the next cheapest Big Mac is Hong Kong).[29]
Thomas Friedman once said that no country with a McDonald's had gone to war with another.[30][full citation needed] However, the "Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention" is not strictly true. Exceptions are the 1989 United States invasion of Panama, NATO's bombing of Serbia in 1999, the 2006 Lebanon War, and the 2008 South Ossetia war. McDonald's suspended operations in its corporate-owned stores in Crimea after Russia annexed the region in 2014.[31] On August 20, 2014, as tensions between the United States and Russia strained over events in Ukraine, and the resultant U.S. sanctions, the Russian government temporarily shut down four McDonald's outlets in Moscow, citing sanitary concerns. The company has operated in Russia since 1990 and at August 2014 had 438 stores across the country.[32] On August 23, 2014, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich ruled out any government move to ban McDonald's and dismissed the notion that the temporary closures had anything to do with the sanctions.[33]
Some observers have suggested that the company should be given credit for increasing the standard of service in markets that it enters. A group of anthropologists in a study entitled Golden Arches East[34] looked at the impact McDonald's had on East Asia, and Hong Kong in particular. When it opened in Hong Kong in 1975, McDonald's was the first restaurant to consistently offer clean restrooms, driving customers to demand the same of other restaurants and institutions. McDonald's has taken to partnering up with Sinopec, the second largest oil company in the People's Republic of China, as it takes advantage of the country's growing use of personal vehicles by opening numerous drive-thru restaurants.[35] McDonald's has opened a McDonald's restaurant and McCafé on the underground premises of the French fine arts museum, The Louvre.[36]
The company stated it would open vegetarian-only restaurants in India by mid-2013.[37] Foreign restaurants are banned in Bermuda, with the exception of KFC, which was present before the current law was passed. Therefore, there are no McDonald's in Bermuda.[38]
Products
Main article: List of McDonald's products

A typical "eat-in" McDonald's meal as sold in Hong Kong, consisting of French fries, a soft drink, and a "main product" - in this case, a McSpicy Chicken Fillet. Condiments are supplied in small packets; such a packet of tomato ketchup is seen in the foreground.
McDonald's predominantly sells hamburgers, various types of chicken, chicken sandwiches, French fries, soft drinks, breakfast items, and desserts.
In most markets, McDonald's offers salads and vegetarian items, wraps and other localized fare. On a seasonal basis, McDonald's offers the McRib sandwich. Some speculate the seasonality of the McRib adds to its appeal.[39]
Products are offered as either "eat-in" (where the customer opts to eat in the restaurant) or "take-out" (where the customer opts to take the food for consumption off the premises). "Eat-in" meals are provided on a plastic tray with a paper insert on the floor of the tray. "Take-out" meals are usually delivered with the contents enclosed in a distinctive McDonald's-branded brown paper bag. In both cases, the individual items are wrapped or boxed as appropriate.
International menu variations
See also: McDonald's products (international)
Restaurants in several countries, particularly in Asia, serve soup. This local deviation from the standard menu is a characteristic for which the chain is particularly known, and one which is employed either to abide by regional food taboos (such as the religious prohibition of beef consumption in India) or to make available foods with which the regional market is more familiar (such as the sale of McRice in Indonesia, or Ebi (prawn) Burger in Singapore and Japan).
In Germany and other Western European countries, McDonald's sells beer. In New Zealand, McDonald's sells meat pies, after the local affiliate partially relaunched the Georgie Pie fast food chain it bought out in 1996.
In the United States, after limited trials on a regional basis, McDonald's plans to offer an all-day breakfast menu whenever its restaurants are open, although eggs cannot be cooked at the same time on the same equipment as hamburgers due to different temperature requirements.[citation needed]
Restaurants
![]() | The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (November 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
Types of restaurants
Most standalone McDonald's restaurants offer both counter service and drive-through service, with indoor and sometimes outdoor seating.[40] Drive-Thru, Auto-Mac, Pay and Drive, or "McDrive" as it is known in many countries, often has separate stations for placing, paying for, and picking up orders, though the latter two steps are frequently combined;[40] it was first introduced in Arizona in 1975, following the lead of other fast-food chains. The first such restaurant in Britain opened at Fallowfield, Manchester in 1986.[41]
McDrive
In some countries, "McDrive" locations near highways offer no counter service or seating.[42] In contrast, locations in high-density city neighborhoods often omit drive-through service.[43] There are also a few locations, located mostly in downtown districts, that offer a "Walk-Thru" service in place of Drive-Thru.[44]
McCafé
Main article: McCafé
McCafé is a café-style accompaniment to McDonald's restaurants and is a concept created by McDonald's Australia (also known, and marketed, as "Macca's" in Australia), starting with Melbourne in 1993.[45] As of 2016, most McDonald's in Australia have McCafés located within the existing McDonald's restaurant. In Tasmania, there are McCafés in every store, with the rest of the states quickly following suit.[40] After upgrading to the new McCafé look and feel, some Australian stores have noticed up to a 60 percent increase in sales. At the end of 2003 there were over 600 McCafés worldwide.
Create Your Taste restaurants
In 2014, McDonald's began testing a new gourmet burger service/restaurant concept based on other gourmet restaurants such as Shake Shack and Grill'd. It was rolled out for the first time in Australia during the early months of 2015. It has since expanded to China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Arabia, New Zealand and has ongoing trials in the US market. Using the dedicated Create Your Taste (CYT) kiosks a person can choose all ingredients including type of bun and meat along with additional extras. In late 2015 the Australian CYT service introduced CYT Salads to give more options to health conscious customers. After a person has ordered their food, McDonald's advises that wait times are between 10–15 minutes. When the food is ready dedicated crew specially trained to deliver a higher quality service called 'Hosts' bring the food to the customer's table. Instead of the traditional packaging one may expect when visiting a McDonald's restaurant, the CYT food is presented on wooden boards, fries in wire baskets and Salads in china bowls and metal cutlery. These services are a slightly higher price due to the gourmet ingredients and cost of labour. The Create Your Taste concept is being rolled out in various ways throughout the world, including a concept of a 'Burger Bar' in Australia, 'Taste Crafted' in some US stores, 'McDonald's Next' in Hong Kong, and the 'Signature Collection' in the United Kingdom. For the most part however, the standard CYT service is incorporated into traditional restaurants.
Other
Some locations are connected to gas stations/convenience stores,[46] while others called McExpress have limited seating and/or menu or may be located in a shopping mall. Other McDonald's are located in Walmart stores. McStop is a location targeted at truckers and travelers which may have services found at truck stops.[47]
In Sweden, customers who order a happy meal can use the meal's container for a pair of happy googles.[48] The company created a game for the googles known as "Slope Stars.[48] " McDonald's predicts happy googles will continue in other countries.[48]
In the Netherlands, McDonald's has introduced McTrax that doubles as a recording studio; it reacts to touch.[48] They can create their own beats with a synth and tweak sounds with special effects.[48]
Special diet
![]() | This section needs expansionwith: Details of other McDonald's restaurants where special dietry requirements are catered for. You can help by adding to it. (November 2015) |
The first kosher McDonald's was established in 1997 at the Abasto de Buenos Aires mall in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is in addition to many kosher branches in Israel.[49][50]
Playgrounds
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2014) |
McDonald's playgrounds are called McDonald's PlayPlace. Some McDonald's in suburban areas and certain cities feature large indoor or outdoor playgrounds. The first PlayPlace with the familiar crawl-tube design with ball pits and slides was introduced in 1987 in the USA, with many more being constructed soon after.
McDonald's Next
McDonald's Next use open-concept design and offer "Create Your Taste" digital ordering. The concept store also offering free mobile device charging and table service after 6:00 pm. The first store open in Hong Kong in December 2015.[51]
2006 redesign

An American McDonald's in Mount Pleasant, Iowa in June 2008; this is an example of the "new" look of American McDonald's restaurants
In 2006, McDonald's introduced its "Forever Young" brand by redesigning all of its restaurants, the first major redesign since the 1970s.[52][53]
The goal of the redesign is to be more like a coffee shop, similar to Starbucks. The design includes wooden tables, faux-leather chairs, and muted colors; the red was muted to terra cotta, the yellow was shifted to golden for a more "sunny" look, and olive and sage green were also added. To create a warmer look, the restaurants have less plastic and more brick and wood, with modern hanging lights to produce a softer glow. Many restaurants now feature free Wi-Fi and flat screen TVs. Other upgrades include double drive-thrus, flat roofs instead of the angled red roofs, and replacing fiber glass with wood. Also, instead of the familiar golden arches, the restaurants now feature "semi-swooshes" (half of a golden arch), similar to the Nike swoosh.[54]
Smoking ban
McDonald's began banning smoking in 1994, when it banned smoking within its 1,400 wholly owned restaurants.[55]
Treatment of employees
Automation
Since the late 1990s, McDonald's has attempted to replace employees with electronic kiosks which would perform actions such taking orders and accepting money. In 1999, McDonald's first tested "E-Clerks" in suburban Chicago, Illinois and Wyoming, Michigan, with the devices being able to "save money on live staffers" and attracting larger purchase amounts than average employees.[56]
In 2013, the University of Oxford estimated that in the succeeding decades, there was a 92% probability of food preparation and serving to become automated in fast food establishments.[57] By 2016, McDonald's "Create Your Taste" electronic kiosks were seen in some restaurants internationally where customers could custom order meals. As employees pushed for higher wages in the late-2010s, some believed that fast food companies such as McDonald's would use the devices to cut costs for employing individuals.[58]
Wages
On August 5, 2013, The Guardian revealed that 90 percent of McDonalds' UK workforce are on zero hour contracts, making it possibly the largest such private sector employer in the country.[59]
A study released by Fast Food Forward conducted by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research showed that approximately 84 percent of all fast food employees working in New York Cityin April 2013 had been paid less than their legal wages by their employers.[60]
From 2007 to 2011, fast food workers in the US drew an average of $7 billion of public assistance annually resulting from receiving low wages.[61] The McResource website advised employees to break their food into smaller pieces to feel fuller, seek refunds for unopened holiday purchases, sell possessions online for quick cash, and to "quit complaining" as "stress hormone levels rise by 15 percent after ten minutes of complaining."[62] In December 2013, McDonald's shut down the McResource website amidst negative publicity and criticism. McDonald's plans to continue an internal telephone help line through which its employees can obtain advice on work and life problems.[63]
Liberal thinktank the Roosevelt Institute accuses some McDonald's restaurants of actually paying less than the minimum wage to entry positions due to 'rampant' wage theft.[64] In South Korea, McDonald's pays part-time employees $5.5 an hour and is accused of paying less with arbitrary schedules adjustments and pay delays.[65] In late 2015, Anonymousaggregated data collected by Glassdoor suggests that McDonald's in the United States pays entry level employees between $7.25 an hour and $11 an hour, with an average of $8.69 an hour. Shift managers get paid an average of $10.34 an hour. Assistant managers get paid an average of $11.57 an hour.[66] McDonald's CEO, Steve Easterbrook, currently earns an annual salary of $1,100,000.[67]
Strikes
See also: Fast food worker strikes
McDonald's workers have on occasions decided to strike over pay, with most of the employees on strike seeking to be paid $15.00 .[68]When interviewed about the strikes occurring, former McDonald's CEO Ed Rensi stated "It's cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who's inefficient making $15 an hour bagging french fries" with Rensi explaining that increasing employee wages could possibly take away from entry-level jobs.[69] However, according to current McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook, increasing wages and benefits for workers saw a 6% increase in customer satisfaction when comparing 2015's first quarter data to the first quarter of 2016, with greater returns seen as a result.[69]
Working conditions
In March 2015, McDonald's workers in 19 US cities filed 28 health and safety complaints with OSHA which allege that low staffing, lack of protective gear, poor training and pressure to work fast has resulted in injuries. The complaints also allege that, because of a lack of first aid supplies, workers were told by management to treat burn injuries with condiments such as mayonnaise and mustard. The Fight for $15 labor organization aided the workers in filing the complaints.[70]
Animal welfare standards
In 2015, McDonald's pledged to stop using eggs from battery cage facilities by 2025. Since McDonald's purchases over 2 billion eggs per year, or 4 percent of eggs produced in the United States, the switch is expected to have a major impact on the egg industry, and is part of a general trend toward cage-free eggs driven by consumer concern over the harsh living conditions of hens.[71][72] The aviary systems from which the new eggs will be sourced are troubled by much higher mortality rates, as well as introducing environmental and worker safety problems.[73] The high hen mortality rate, which is more than double that of battery cage systems, will require new research to mitigate. The facilities also have higher ammonia levels due to faeces being kicked up into the air. Producers raised concerns about the production cost, which is expected to increase by 36 percent.[74]
McDonald's continues to source pork from facilities that use gestation crates, and in 2012 pledged to phase them out.[75]
Marketing and advertising
Main article: McDonald's advertising
McDonald's has for decades maintained an extensive advertising campaign. In addition to the usual media (television, radio, and newspaper), the company makes significant use of billboards and signage, sponsors sporting events ranging from Little League to the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games.[76] McDonald's makes coolers of orange drink with its logo available for local events of all kinds. Nonetheless, television has always played a central role in the company's advertising strategy.
To date, McDonald's has used 23 different slogans in United States advertising, as well as a few other slogans for select countries and regions.[77] At times, it has run into trouble with its campaigns. McDonald's was criticized for illegally hanging banners on flag poles and blocking the bicycle path in South Korea.[65]
McDonald's began operations in India in 1996. It retained Leo Burnett (India) to provide authentic Indian insights in years of study and planning to meet local conditions with special concern regarding local favorite items, religious-based food taboos and India's strong vegetarian tradition. Its hamburgers are made of lamb or chicken, not beef. It adapted local favorites into items such as McAloo Tikki, a breaded potato pancake on a bun. It divided its kitchens in the vegetarian and nonvegetarian zones making sure that food did not cross the line. Its advertising told Indians that its bright, inviting restaurants did not mean high prices. Its strategy was profits through high volume and low prices. Locally it sponsored sports programs and donations to visible charities.[78]
Space exploration
McDonald's and NASA explored an advertising agreement for a planned mission to the asteroid 449 Hamburga; however, the spacecraft was eventually cancelled.[79]
Children's advertising
Main articles: Ronald McDonald and McDonaldland
Sports awards and honors
McDonald's is the title sponsor of the McDonald's All-American Game, all-star basketball games played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates
Charity
See also: Ronald McDonald House Charities
McHappy Day
McHappy Day is an annual event at McDonald's, where a percentage of the day's sales go to charity. It is the signature fundraising event for Ronald McDonald House Charities.[80]
In 2007, it was celebrated in 17 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, the United States, Finland, France, Guatemala, Hungary, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Uruguay.
According to the Australian McHappy Day website, McHappy Day raised $20.4 million in 2009. The goal for 2010 was $20.8 million.[81]
McDonald's Monopoly donation
In 1995, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital received an anonymous letter postmarked in Dallas, Texas, containing a $1 million winning McDonald's Monopoly game piece. McDonald's officials came to the hospital, accompanied by a representative from the accounting firm Arthur Andersen, who examined the card under a jeweler's eyepiece, handled it with plastic gloves, and verified it as a winner.[82] Although game rules prohibited the transfer of prizes, McDonald's waived the rule and has made the annual $50,000 annuity payments, even after learning that the piece was sent by an individual involved in an embezzlement scheme intended to defraud McDonald's (see McDonald's Monopoly).
McRefugee
See also: McRefugee
McRefugees are poor people in Hong Kong, Japan and China who use in McDonald's 24 hour restaurants as a temporary hostel. One in five of Hong Kong's population lives below the poverty line. The rise of McRefugees was first documented by photographer Suraj Katra in 2013.[83]
Criticism

A PETA activist dressed as a chicken confronts the manager of the Times Square McDonald's over the company's animal welfare standards
In 1990, activists from a small group known as London Greenpeace (no connection to the international group Greenpeace) distributed leaflets entitled What's wrong with McDonald's?, criticizing its environmental, health, and labor record. The corporation wrote to the group demanding they desist and apologize, and, when two of the activists refused to back down, sued them for libel in one of the longest cases in British civil law. A documentary film of the McLibel Trial has been shown in several countries.[84]
In the late 1980s, Phil Sokolof, a millionaire businessman who had suffered a heart attack at the age of 43, took out full page newspaper ads in New York, Chicago, and other large cities accusing McDonald's menu of being a threat to American health, and asking them to stop using beef tallow to cook their french fries.[citation needed]
Despite the objections of McDonald's, the term "McJob" was added to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary in 2003.[85][unreliable source?]The term was defined as "a low-paying job that requires little skill and provides little opportunity for advancement".[86]
In 2001, Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation included criticism of the business practices of McDonald's. Among the critiques were allegations that McDonald's (along with other companies within the fast food industry) uses its political influence to increase its profits at the expense of people's health and the social conditions of its workers. The book also brought into question McDonald's advertisement techniques in which it targets children. While the book did mention other fast-food chains, it focused primarily on McDonald's.
In 2002, vegetarian groups, largely Hindu and Buddhist, successfully sued McDonald's for misrepresenting its French fries as vegetarian, when they contained beef broth.[87]
Morgan Spurlock's 2004 documentary film Super Size Me said that McDonald's food was contributing to the epidemic of obesity in society, and that the company was failing to provide nutritional information about its food for its customers. Six weeks after the film premiered, McDonald's announced that it was eliminating the super size option, and was creating the adult Happy Meal.
In 2006, an unsanctioned McDonald's Videogame was released online. It is parody of the business practices of the corporate giant, taking the guise of a tycoon style business simulation game. In the game, the player plays the role of a McDonald's CEO, choosing whether or not to use controversial practices like genetically altered cow feed, plowing over rainforests, and corrupting public officials. McDonald's issued a statement distancing itself from the game.[88]
In January 2014 it was reported that McDonald's was accused of having used a series of tax maneuvers to avoid reduce taxes in France. The company confirmed that tax authorities had visited McDonald's French headquarters in Paris but insisted that it had not done anything wrong, saying, "McDonald's firmly denies the accusation made by L'Express according to which McDonald's supposedly hid part of its revenue from taxes in France."[89]
Company responses to criticism
In response to public pressure, McDonald's has sought to include more healthy choices in its menu and has introduced a new slogan to its recruitment posters: "Not bad for a McJob".[90] The word McJob, first attested in the mid-1980s[91][unreliable source?] and later popularized by Canadian novelist Douglas Coupland in his book Generation X, has become a buzz word for low-paid, unskilled work with few prospects or benefits and little security. McDonald's disputes this definition of McJob. In 2007, the company launched an advertising campaign with the slogan "Would you like a career with that?" on Irish television, asserting that its jobs have good prospects.
In an effort to respond to growing consumer awareness of food provenance, the fast-food chain changed its supplier of both coffee beans and milk. UK chief executive Steve Easterbrook said: "British consumers are increasingly interested in the quality, sourcing and ethics of the food and drink they buy".[92] In a bid to tap into the ethical consumer market,[93] McDonald's switched to using coffee beans taken from stocks that are certified by the Rainforest Alliance, a conservation group. Additionally, in response to pressure, McDonald's UK started using organic milk supplies for its bottled milk and hot drinks, although it still uses conventional milk in its milkshakes, and in all of its dairy products in the United States.[94] According to a report published by Farmers Weekly in 2007, the quantity of milk used by McDonald's could have accounted for as much as 5 percent of the UK's organic milk output.[95]
McDonald's announced on May 22, 2008 that, in the United States and Canada, it would switch to using cooking oil that contains no trans fats for its french fries, and canola-based oil with corn and soy oils, for its baked items, pies and cookies, by year's end.[96][97]
With regard to acquiring chickens from suppliers who use CAK or CAS methods of slaughter, McDonald's says that it needs to see more research "to help determine whether any CAS system in current use is optimal from an animal welfare perspective."[98]
Environmental record
In April 2008, McDonald's announced that 11 of its Sheffield, England restaurants have been engaged in a biomass trial that had cut its waste and carbon footprint by half in the area. In this trial, wastes from the restaurants were collected by Veolia Environmental Services, and were used to produce energy at a power plant. McDonald's plans to expand this project, although the lack of biomass power plants in the United States will prevent this plan from becoming a national standard anytime soon.[99] In addition, in Europe, McDonald's has been recycling vegetable grease by converting it to fuel for its diesel trucks.[100]
McDonald's has been using a corn-based bioplastic to produce containers for some of its products. The environmental benefits of this technology are controversial, with critics noting that biodegradation is slow, produces greenhouse gases, and that contamination of traditional plastic wastestreams with bioplastics can complicate recycling efforts.[101]
In 1990 McDonald's worked with the Environmental Defense Fund to stop using "clam shell" shaped styrofoam food containers to house its food products.[102] 20 years later McDonald's announced they would try replacing styrofoam coffee cups with an alternative material.[103]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized McDonald's continuous effort to reduce solid waste by designing more efficient packaging and by promoting the use of recycled-content materials.[104] McDonald's reports that it is committed towards environmental leadership by effectively managing electric energy, by conserving natural resources through recycling and reusing materials, and by addressing water management issues within the restaurant.[105]
In an effort to reduce energy usage by 25 percent in its restaurants, McDonald's opened a prototype restaurant in Chicago in 2009, with the intention of using the model in its other restaurants throughout the world. Building on past efforts, specifically a restaurant it opened in Sweden in 2000 that was the first to intentionally incorporate green ideas, McDonald's designed the Chicago site to save energy by incorporating old and new ideas such as managing storm water, using skylights for more natural lighting and installing some partitions and tabletops made from recycled goods.[106]
When McDonald's received criticism for its environmental policies in the 1970s, it began to make substantial progress in reducing its use of materials.[107] For instance, an "average meal" in the 1970s—a Big Mac, fries, and a drink—required 46 grams of packaging; today, it requires only 25 grams, allowing a 46 percent reduction.[108] In addition, McDonald's eliminated the need for intermediate containers for cola by having a delivery system that pumps syrup directly from the delivery truck into storage containers, saving two million pounds (910 tonnes) of packaging annually.[109] Overall, weight reductions in packaging and products, as well as the increased usage of bulk packaging ultimately decreased packaging by twenty-four million pounds (11,000 tonnes) annually.[110]
Legal cases
Main article: McDonald's legal cases
McDonald's has been involved in a number of lawsuits and other legal cases, most of which involved trademark disputes. The company has threatened many food businesses with legal action unless it drops the Mc or Mac from trading names.
Asia
On September 8, 2009, McDonald's Malaysian operations lost a lawsuit to prevent another restaurant calling itself McCurry. McDonald's lost in an appeal to Malaysia's highest court, the Federal Court.[111]
Australia
In April 2007, in Perth, Western Australia, McDonald's pleaded guilty to five charges relating to the employment of children under 15 in one of its outlets and was fined A$8,000.[112]
In 2016 the Australian Taxation Office revealed that McDonald's Asia-Pacific Consortium had generated $478 million in revenue in 2013–14, but had paid no tax on those earnings whatsoever.[113]
United Kingdom
McDonald's has defended itself in several cases involving workers' rights. In 2001, the company was fined £12,400 by British magistrates for illegally employing and over-working child labor in one of its London restaurants[citation needed] (R v 2002 EWCA Crim 1094).
The longest running legal action of all time in the UK was the McLibel case against 2 defendants who criticised a number of aspects of the company. The trial lasted 10 years and called 130 witnesses. The European Court of Human Rights deemed that the unequal resources of the litigants breached the defendants rights to freedom of speech and biased the trial. The result was widely seen as a "PR disaster."[114]
United States
A famous legal case in the US involving McDonald's was the 1994 decision in Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants where Stella Liebeck was awarded several million dollars after she suffered third-degree burns after spilling a scalding cup of McDonald's coffee on herself.[115]
Use of genetically modified food
In April 2014, it was reported that McDonald's will use, in Europe, chicken meat that was produced by using genetically modified animal feed. Greenpeace argues that McDonald's saves less than one Eurocent for each chickenburger and goes down a path not desired by its customers.[116]
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