McDonald’s Australia Holdings

The report aims at evaluating the external and internal environment in which the business concept or the new product is to be realized. The appropriate strategies for the new product realization will be defined; it will briefly analyze the external and internal environments which include the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of McDonalds Australia Holdings. The SWOT analysis will aid in identifying a relevant power, opportunity using the strength to gain the opportunity. Also, identification and description of a target market of the McDonald Australia holdings will be evaluated. The development of a new and suitable product to be introduced for this goal market by the company will also be discussed in this report (Kajanus, Leskinen, Kurttila & Kangas, 2012). The company franchises the McDonald restaurants which serve a local menu of quality food and drinks of which all are sold at affordable prices. Its business relationship with the McDonald franchisees is of great importance to the general performance of their brand. The company offers a uniform menu although it may vary geographically to suit the consumers’ preferences. New product tests to be provided by the corporation are being put to the trial to ensure they satisfy their customers (McDonald, 2016).

The history of McDonalds is long in the world having the largest fast foods chain. Its current headquarters are based in the United States. The company has grown tremendously and has also ventured into many foreign countries. It deals with hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries among other consumable items. The current market being worldwide but for it to meet varying needs of consumers it needs to develop more foods, such as coffee, salads fruits, and smoothies. McDonald has grown at a gradual rate since its first restaurant operations. It has an internal philosophy that states “expand at all costs” which means opening many stores as fast as possible. During its early developmental year, numerous branches were frequently opened owing to the management idea that the more the outlets, the more the customers hence, the higher the returns. The vast expansion has been successful both locally and abroad (Bleich & Pollack, 2011).

The company utilizes four primary principles in its history. These include remaining the market leader, increasing sales and expanding rapidly. McDonalds has emerged the worldwide leader and has changed the way the world eats. It has also become the symbol of globalization as it has brought many countries together regarding meals. The McDonalds have also changed Americans way of life (Ropot, 2013).

Swot Analysis

SWOT analysis comprises of four parts. They include the strengths, weaknesses, opportunity, and threats. They are intensively used to determine the current situation of the company in the market so that there can be a comprehensive understanding the company’s features hence improving on their strengths while using the opportunities or using the weaknesses and building upon the possibilities (Frienser, 2011).

The SWOT Table

Strengths	Company’s characteristics that give it an advantage over the competitors.
Weakness	Characteristic that places the company at a disadvantage to competitors.
Opportunity	Elements in the business that could be exploited for benefit purposes.
Threat	These are environmental elements that could pose dangerous for the business project.

SWOT Analysis of McDonalds Australia Holdings

McDonald Swot Factors

The SWOT factors consist of the various strengths the holdings have above their rivals. They are inclusive of the wide range of income streams where their revenue is acquired. Secondly, the company has a real market leadership, and this has been achieved through brand reputation. There exist food menus that are locally adapted hence easily meets the local tastes.Thirdly, the company has put aside a reasonable amount to be used for advertisements hence a large advertising budget. Lastly is the efficient restaurant management (Weyers, 2012).

Their weaknesses include inconsistent menus in different countries that have resulted because of the difference in geographical areas hence the difference in taste and preferences. The holdings suffer in the hand of critics who are always criticizing it hence creating negative publicity. It also suffers as being seen as an image of a cheap place to eat. Poor food quality and poor quality service are among its weaknesses. There is competition based on price rather than on product differentiation.

One of the opportunities is the chance to improve its public image to maintain and restore its customers. Another opportunity is to expand the McCafe network separately from the traditional McDonald restaurants. Also, the expansion of Mcdelivery services can be extended to homes and in offices. The company should expand the ‘make your own burger’ service and continue its operations in China to grow the middle class there (Weyers, 2012).

The McDonalds threats are inclusive of intensified competition as many other industries have joined in the business venture. Political sanctions are also a threat to the company. The constant increase in the U.S. dollar exchange rate could affect the company’s revenue and profits negatively. The newly introduced food safety and work regulations and the continued negative publicity is a threat to the enterprise too. Reduced demand for fast foods because people are becoming more concerned and observant of their health conditions is a significant risk (Nawaz, 2011).

Findings

The strength of the McDonald holding is that it is the leading and largest fast food provider in the world. Secondly, they deal in locally adapted foods. Therefore, they could quickly change as per the local taste of the people which is the major advantage that attracts many customers. The weakness is dealing with unhealthy foods which include lots of junk foods and with more people checking their health this could be a shortcoming to the company.

The company has opportunities whereby the need for home meal delivery could be increasing so working on this occasion is an added advantage over the competitors. Another opportunity is to deal with the change in customers’ habits and new customer groups that continue comprising its customers. The threat is whereby the fast food market has been saturated hence the company should act accordingly to achieve its initial goals (Samantha, 2010).

The approach of the SWOT dimensions as per the table is to ensure that the Mcdonald’s Holdings deals with the internal elements and after that deal with the external environment. The choice of the ranking is thereby influenced by the positive good nature of the business then other items follow. Identification of the advantageous elements of the company comes first. The advantages give the company holders strength to march on (McDonald & Wilson, 2011).

The weaknesses follow to identify the cause of the problems being faced the company and solutions for the problems are sought. Opportunities come third as this is the element that influences the performance of the business externally. It brings about the new ventures which are not exploited so that the company can adapt them and outdo their rivals. Threats are the last element that is also external; these are the forces that negatively impact the company, and if not dealt with accordingly then they can cause a massive decline in the company’s productivity (McDonald, Payne & Frow, 2011).

Recommendations

The SWOT analysis has resulted in some recommendations for the McDonald Australia Holdings. The company should engage their strengths more, find more opportunities and make ultimate use of them. Target, the new population, which includes students and young children, should form the basis of their attention. Students and young children love to be treated and to be appreciated. Therefore the Holdings should come up with distinctive strategies for use such as coupons for students and offer gifts to young children. This target market could pose a great benefit and advantage of the McDonald Australia Holding over the competitors (Gerhardt, Hanzen & Lewis, 2014).

New product description, there is need to develop new products so that they can remain above and ahead of other companies in the market. The new product could include milk with a unique flavor in it. This could be efficient in Australia since there are quality and well-qualified milk. Milk is almost everybody’s favorite can be used in different forms from fresh milk to yogurts. Therefore, this product can serve and is suitable for all the market targets (Crowe, 2011). Customer value proposition, the client's value of the milk being provided by the company is that of ensuring quality dairy products. Enough and quality milk available in Australia should aid the business in producing up to standard dairy products. Another customer value would be the need for home delivery of the meals by the firm; it should adopt this strategy to ensure advanced services that are more convenient for the customers (Parente & Srausbaugh-Hutchinson, 2014).

The new proposed product fits well with the SWOT analysis whereby there is an opportunity in the market where milk is readily available. This results in reduced cost of production, although the company does not involve itself in providing dairy products. For the business to thrive more than the others, then it should address the weakness-opportunity issue and strategize. The increased health care concerns and the need for new products should be their driving force (Engle, Johns, Lemos & Nelson, 2011).

Justification of the choice of the new product which is milk and dairy products is seen to engage the weakness –opportunity strategy. The urge of new products, the economy change and the new target market act as a chance for the McDonald Holdings. Their weakness set in whereby they do not deal in the line of production of dairy products. To eliminate competitors, the company should start in this line of production among others hence realizing their goals more easily (Dundon & Wilkinson, 2014).

Conclusion

In conclusion, McDonalds Australia Holdings development has been for decades across the world. The company has many branches in various countries and employs quite a large group of people to work in the business. It has expanded its marketing in Australia. There have been a lot of advantages in their restaurants where they could focus more and develop in the future. There are some disadvantages the company needs to deal with and improve on. According to the rapid society development, they need to change themselves to meet the customer’s expectations and requirements. They also need to take up the opportunities and work on them. Threats should be dealt with accordingly too. The company’s corporation keeps a forward movement and self-improvement in food processes, management, and financial progress to gain a large pool of market and industrial growth.

References

Bleich, S. N., & Pollack, K. M. 2011. "The public's ‘understanding of daily caloric recommendations and their perceptions of calorie posting in chain restaurants." BMC Public Health, vol 10. no 1.pp 1.

Crowe, R. 2011. .Avoiding the Caffine Crash: A Strategic Analysis and Recommendations for Starbucks.

Engle, N. L., Johns. O. R., Lemos, M. C., & Nelson, D. R. 2011."Integrated and adaptive management of water resources: tensions, legacies, and the next best thing." Ecology and society, vol 16. no1. pp 19.

Dhurandhar, E. J., Dawson, J., Alcorn, A., Larsen, L. H., Thomas, E. A., Cardel, M. …& Apovian, C.M. 2014. "The effectiveness of breakfast recommendations on weight loss: a randomized controlled trial." The American journal of clinical nutrition, vol,100, no. 2, 507-513.

Dundon, T., & Wilkinson, A .J. 2014.Case Studies in Global Management: Strategy, Innovation and People Management. Tide Publishing and Distribution.

Frienser, T. 2011.History of SWOT analysis. Marketing Teacher, 2000-2010.

Gerhardt, S., Hanzen, S., & Lewis, S. 2014."Small Business Marketing Strategy Based on McDonalds."  ASBBS Proceedings, vol 21,no1. pp 271.

Kajanus, M., Leskinen,P.,Kurttila, M., & Kangas, J.2012."Making use of MCDS methods in SWOT analysis – lessons learnt in strategic natural resources management." Forest policy and Economics, vol 20.pp 1-9.

McDonald, M., Payne, A., & Frow, P. 2011.Marketing plans for services: a complete guide. John Wiley & Sons.

McDonald, M., & Wilson, H. 2011. Marketing plans: How to prepare them, how to use them. John Wiley and Sons.

McDonald, M. A.L.C. O.L. M. 2016.Strategic marketing planning. The marketing book, 86.

Nawaz, A. S. 2011."Employee motivation: A study on some selected McDonalds in the UK.".African journal of Business Management, vol.5, no.14.pp 5541.

Parente, D., & Srausbaugh-Hutchinson, K. 2014. Advertising campaign strategy: A guide to marketing communication plans.Cengage learning.

Ropot, J. 2013.McDonald’s Germany Facing external Difficulties with Ramifications on Overall Decline in Guest Count.

Samantha, N. 2010. Business strategy: Great chance for McDonalds to invest and develop in Vietnam’s fast food market. Publications Oboulo. Com.

Weyers, B. 2012.Global Expansion of US Fast Food Restaurants: A Case Study of McDonald’s in Italy.

MyAssignmenthelp.co.uk is a name in assignment writing services that students trust. We offer our assignment writing services for a wide variety of assignment including essays, dissertations, case studies and more. Students can place their order with us anytime as we function 24x7, and get their copies at unbeatable prices. We guarantee that all of our solutions are plagiarism-free.