Evaluation and selection of differentiation as a strategy for McDonald’s

Evaluation and selection of differentiation as a strategy for McDonald’s PDF Author: Apakshit Sachdeva
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3668276668
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 21

Book Description
Document from the year 2015 in the subject Business economics - Operations Research, , language: English, abstract: This report is based on an evaluation and selection of differentiation as a strategy that McDonald’s should pursue in order to realise growth and competitive advantage in the fast food industry. As the business environment changes, businesses are forced to change their strategies in an attempt to adapt to the changing environment neither as a means of survival, or in order to prosper. In such a case, determining the strategic position of a firm is crucial. Johnson, Scholes and Whittington define strategy as “the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations”. The three key generic strategies that a business can use are: differentiation, focus, and cost leadership. McDonald’s is a leading multinational player in the fast foods industry that is famous for providing basic fast-food items at low cost. The firm has been very successful in implementing this strategy by taking advantage of its high bargaining power to acquire raw materials cheaply thus passing the benefits of costs savings to the end-consumer. While this strategy worked during the introductory phase of the company's business operations, McDonald’s has now been forced to pursue a growth strategy by ensuring quality and product differentiation.

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities

Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities PDF Author: Donald DePamphilis
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128024534
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 783

Book Description
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Other Restructuring Activities is unique in that it is the most current, comprehensive, and cutting-edge text on M&A and corporate restructuring available. It is current in that it includes many of the most up-to-date and notable deals (e.g., Facebook's takeover of WhatsApp, the Dell privatization, and Verizon's mega buyout of Vodafone's share of Verizon Wireless), precedent setting judicial decisions (e.g., efforts to overturn defenses at Airgas and Sotheby's), new regulations (e.g., expediting backend mergers), trends (e.g., increasing role of activist investors in takeovers), and new tactics (e.g., two-tiered poison pill) employed in M&As. Most integrative case studies are new for this edition and involve transactions that have been announced or completed since 2013. It is comprehensive in that nearly all aspects of M&As and corporate restructuring are explored. It is cutting edge in that conclusions and insights are anchored by the most recent academic research, with references to more than 200 empirical studies published in leading peer-reviewed journals just since 2012. And the substantially updated content is illustrated with numerous practical exhibits, case studies involving diverse transactions, easy-to-understand numerical examples, and hundreds of discussion questions and practice exercises. The highlights of the new edition are listed here: · New Chapters: Two new chapters: Chapter 9 and 14. Chapter 9 discusses the basics of applying financial modeling methods to firm valuation and assists the reader in understanding the power (and limitations) of models in analyzing real world situation. Chapter 14 illustrates how complex financial models often are used to support the deal structuring process during M&A negotiations. · New Cases: Ninety percent of the nearly forty case studies are new and involve transactions announced or completed during the last three years. These cases represent friendly, hostile, highly leveraged, and cross-border deals in ten different industries, involving public and private firms as well as firms experiencing financial distress. All end of chapter case studies begin with a "Key Objectives" section indicating what the student should learn from the case study and include discussion questions and solutions available in the online instructors' manual. · Latest Research: This edition focuses on the most recent and relevant academic studies, some of which contain surprising insights changing the way we view this subject matter. Recent research has significant implications for academicians, students, M&A practitioners, and government policy makers shedding new light on current developments and trends in the ever-changing mergers and acquisitions market. The market for corporate control and corporate restructuring strategies are constantly changing, reflecting the ongoing globalization of both product and capital markets, accelerating technological change, escalating industry consolidation, changing regulatory practices, and intensifying cross-border competition. While continuing to be relevant, empirical research covering the dynamics of the M&A markets of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s may be less germane in explaining current undercurrents and future trends.

Contemporary Strategy Analysis and Cases

Contemporary Strategy Analysis and Cases PDF Author: Robert M. Grant
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470747099
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Book Description
NEW! Combined Text & Cases Version Considered by many to be the best textbook on Strategy, Contemporary Strategy Analysis 7th edition builds on the strengths of previous editions by introducing students to the core concepts and principles of strategy. In this most accessible strategy text, Robert M. Grant combines clarity of exposition with concentration on the fundamentals of value creation and an emphasis on practicality. In this seventh edition, a greater focus on strategy implementation reflects the needs of firms to reconcile scale economies with entrepreneurial flexibility, innovation with cost efficiency, and globalization with local responsiveness. Rob Grant eloquently combines theory with current real world examples and practice using a clearly written, logical and comprehensive style. Contemporary Strategy Analysis 7th edition is suitable for both MBA and advanced undergraduate students. Full teachings notes to the cases will be available upon publication at the companion website www.contemporarystrategyanalysis.com Contemporary Strategy Analysis 7th Edition is also available in a text only version – ISBN: 9780470747100

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management PDF Author: David A. DeCenzo
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119032741
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 384

Book Description
This text is an unbound, three hole punched version. The 12th Edition of Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, Binder Ready Version, 12th Edition helps students understand and remember concepts through a straightforward and conversational writing style and a wealth of examples to clarify ideas and build interest. The authors provide a strong foundation of essential elements of Human Resource Management as well as a clear understanding of how Human Resource Management links with business strategy. Through practical applications, the authors illustrate the importance of employees on every level of the organization, helping students understand HRM elements such as recruitment, training, motivation, retention, safety, the legal environment, and how they support successful business strategies.

Playing to Win

Playing to Win PDF Author: Alan G. Lafley
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 142218739X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Book Description
Explains how companies must pinpoint business strategies to a few critically important choices, identifying common blunders while outlining simple exercises and questions that can guide day-to-day and long-term decisions.

The McDonaldization of Society

The McDonaldization of Society PDF Author: George Ritzer
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1506348564
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 271

Book Description
The author is a proud sponsor of the 2020 SAGE Keith Roberts Teaching Innovations Award—enabling graduate students and early career faculty to attend the annual ASA pre-conference teaching and learning workshop. The book that made "McDonaldization" part of the lexicon of contemporary sociological theory, read by hundreds of thousands of students, is now in its Ninth Edition! George Ritzer′s seminal work of critical sociology, The McDonaldization of Society, continues to stand as one of the pillars of modern day sociological thought. Building on the argument that the fast food restaurant has become the model for the rationalization process today, this book links theory to contemporary life in a globalized world and resonates with students in a way that few other books do. Ritzer opens students’ eyes to many current issues and shows how McDonaldization’s principles apply to other settings, especially in the areas of consumption and globalization. This new edition has been significantly reoriented to reflect our experience of McDonaldization in the world of online consumption. New to this Edition Examines how retailers like Amazon represent a new era of "datafication," the transformation of vast amounts of information into quantifiable data. Discusses how the digital world has almost unlimited potential to turn consumers into "prosumers" doing volunteer work formerly done by paid employees. This edition is more streamlined than previous editions to sharpen its argument and message, and make it more useable as a secondary reading in a wide range of courses

Strategic Management (color)

Strategic Management (color) PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781949373943
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 325

Book Description
Strategic Management (2020) is a 325-page open educational resource designed as an introduction to the key topics and themes of strategic management. The open textbook is intended for a senior capstone course in an undergraduate business program and suitable for a wide range of undergraduate business students including those majoring in marketing, management, business administration, accounting, finance, real estate, business information technology, and hospitality and tourism. The text presents examples of familiar companies and personalities to illustrate the different strategies used by today's firms and how they go about implementing those strategies. It includes case studies, end of section key takeaways, exercises, and links to external videos, and an end-of-book glossary. The text is ideal for courses which focus on how organizations operate at the strategic level to be successful. Students will learn how to conduct case analyses, measure organizational performance, and conduct external and internal analyses.

Brand Relevance

Brand Relevance PDF Author: David A. Aaker
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470613580
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 400

Book Description
Branding guru Aaker shows how to eliminate the competition and become the lead brand in your market This ground-breaking book defines the concept of brand relevance using dozens of case studies-Prius, Whole Foods, Westin, iPad and more-and explains how brand relevance drives market dynamics, which generates opportunities for your brand and threats for the competition. Aaker reveals how these companies have made other brands in their categories irrelevant. Key points: When managing a new category of product, treat it as if it were a brand; By failing to produce what customers want or losing momentum and visibility, your brand becomes irrelevant; and create barriers to competitors by supporting innovation at every level of the organization. Using dozens of case studies, shows how to create or dominate new categories or subcategories, making competitors irrelevant Shows how to manage the new category or subcategory as if it were a brand and how to create barriers to competitors Describes the threat of becoming irrelevant by failing to make what customer are buying or losing energy David Aaker, the author of four brand books, has been called the father of branding This book offers insight for creating and/or owning a new business arena. Instead of being the best, the goal is to be the only brand around-making competitors irrelevant.

Fad-Free Strategy

Fad-Free Strategy PDF Author: Daniel Deneffe
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 100030082X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Book Description
Fad-Free Strategy provides a ground-breaking approach to making better business strategy decisions: more efficient, open to out-of-the-box opportunities and evidence-based. Most strategy books focus on Grand Strategy, the process that leads to high-level recommendations or, more accurately, hypotheses about where and how to compete. While this book briefly covers critical Grand Strategy practices, it deep dives into Operational Strategy, the process of validation, adaptation and possible rejection of those hypotheses. Operational Strategy is based on an in-depth understanding of customer preferences and anticipating the choices they make. Those choices rather than managers’ ambitions determine whether a strategy will generate the aspired financial results. The book explains, by means of detailed real-world cases across industries, how to generate validated solutions to any strategic problem such as: how to enter successfully into new markets, either as an innovator or as a latecomer? How to defend one’s position against aggressive new entrants? Or how to sustain margins when price is the only thing customers seem to care about? This remarkable book contains expert advice from accomplished strategic advisors and thought leaders Daniel Deneffe and Herman Vantrappen. Fad Free Strategy will be a useful tool for smart business executives at mainstream companies who are disappointed with strategy fads and simplistic solutions based on cherry-picked, anecdotal evidence from today’s hero companies. It will also appeal to economics faculty members teaching graduate courses in business strategy who are looking for an economics-based strategy textbook that is both rigorous and comprehensive. The book’s core ideas have been taught successfully in continuing and executive education programs at Harvard University and Hult International Business School.

Competition Demystified

Competition Demystified PDF Author: Bruce C. Greenwald
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101218436
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 651

Book Description
Bruce Greenwald, one of the nation's leading business professors, presents a new and simplified approach to strategy that cuts through much of the fog that has surrounded the subject. Based on his hugely popular course at Columbia Business School, Greenwald and his coauthor, Judd Kahn, offer an easy-to-follow method for understanding the competitive structure of your industry and developing an appropriate strategy for your specific position. Over the last two decades, the conventional approach to strategy has become frustratingly complex. It's easy to get lost in a sophisticated model of your competitors, suppliers, buyers, substitutes, and other players, while losing sight of the big question: Are there barriers to entry that allow you to do things that other firms cannot?