Comment Assin.

Instruction: The Founder

1. Read these three discussions below.

1. Write one reply for each discussion. （means write three replies）

1. Each reply should be 80-100 words. (“Agree with you” or some points are good)

1. Due on Saturday, July 18. (Los Angeles Time)

Discussion 1

1. The Mcdonalds brothers shook up the industry with their efficiency and their family friendly atmosphere. They food to get to the customer as quickly as possible and make it a streamlined process for the customer. I think the most important strategy that they did was their kitchen placement and the choreography that went into it. It almost became a dance that the employees were performing. They also focused intently on the quality of the product and the preparation. Nothing the McDonalds brother did was halfway. They tried to be as efficient and quality down to even the crispiness of the fries. They used paper to get rid of the dishes and only paid for the main essentials of what sells, burgers, fries, soft drinks and milkshakes.

Ray Kroc went into business with the McDonalds brothers with a passion for the company, the process and the food. This is why Kroc was a good fit initally for the company. Kroc started with the idea to franchise the store, but was struggling in his contract to make ends meet. This is when he meets Harry Sonneborn and Sonneborn explains to Kroc that he thinks that he is in the food industry but is actually in the realestate industry. This realization changes everything for Kroc. He starts a new company, leasing to the owners of the McDonalds giving him full control of the property and the operations. Now that Kroc owned to property of the McDonalds, he could make decisions that he felt were in the best interest of profits. He changes their milkshake from actual ice cream to instamix. Kroc practically seizes control of McDonalds and pushes the McDonalds brothers out. The only thing left to do was become the founder himself. He bought out the McDonalds brothers completely and took control of the company.

From an ethical standpoint I do not believe that Kroc did what was right, but he did do what was necessary to grow the McDonalds brand to its fullest. Kroc took what he was given in a subpar contract and made the most of what he was given, making the right moves to gain control of the company. He executed so well that the McDonalds brothers were completely out of the equation and Kroc was in control. I don't think there is any way McDonalds would be what it is today without Ray Kroc. They may have expanded through the west, such as In n Out did, but they would not be the global conglomerate that they are today.

Discussion 2

2. The McDonalds brothers had a couple strategies that were going great for their one business are were getting successful. When they started their business, they saw that the competitors had a drive in where a worker goes to your car, takes your order, and comes back with your food. When they started their business it didn't go well because it wasn't bringing the right customers which were teenagers who didn't care what they did which drove away the right customers which were families and an older group of customers. Their strategies were getting rid of the drive in and making the people get down and eat with their family around the restaurant. Another was getting rid of all the dishes because they were breaking and it was losing money, so they went with paper so once they finsih they can throw it away. Also, instead of having a juke box like another restaurants they got a trashcan for the wrappers. They also were getting orders out in 30 seconds instead of 30 minutes which the customers liked a lot. It was nice, cheap, quick, and easy disposal which benefited the restaurant. They also were very on top of quality with the food, cleaning, and motion in the making of the food. 

Ray Kroc was very interested in the business and wanted to expand it to create a franchise with McDonalds. The brothers agreed to having him on board and he wanted to make the best out of the business. He wanted everybody to taste the amazing food they had. As time went by he had to innovate and had to change his strategy because it wasn't cutting it with profits. Also, he asked his friends if they wanted to invest in their business but was a mistake because they were changing everything within the business like serving fried chicken, burritos and other foods which didn't represent McDonalds and had to fire them and cut his profits. The brothers were shooting every strategy and money saving ideas he had which was really irritating him because he was losing money and couldn't change anything because the brothers didn't see it as McDonalds and their vision. Instead of going to them now, he partnered with Harry Sonneborn which he tells him to purchase the property and the business will be yours to change. Now that he owned the land, he strarted changing things like the milkshakes to powder milkshakes which will save them money because they weren't refrigerating icecream. Then he strarted to sponser and promote McDonalds. At the end, he pushed the Brothers out and Kroc buys Mcdonalds from them and it strarts to boom and profit through out the year. 

From an ethical point of view, I don't believe it was right with what Kroc did and the way he did it. He wen't behind their back and forced them to sell their business because they were losing. From a strategic point of view, it was brillant and wouldn't be what it is today. He drove the business to their best and profited a lot to have it across the country and to foreign countries also.

Discussion 3

3. The ideas that the McDonald’s brothers came up with was revolutionary for the time. The strategies that made them different from the rest of the competition were all responsible for their success. One of the strategies was to use the staff and available space of the building to create a fluid food assembly area. The brothers even used a strategy in order to perfect this strategy—using a tennis ball court to simulate the work area. After many hours of simulation and adjustment, they finally reached the fluidity they were hoping for. Another strategy that was unique to their operation was to have food ready in 30 seconds or less. Coupled with this strategy was handing the food out with disposable utensils such as a paper bags and wraps. This strategy didn’t perform well at launch, but it became successful over time. For Krok’s strategy, it changed from wanting to establish more stores to wanting to buy the land that the stores operated on. This was a good move on his part as he was able to accumulate enough money to buy the corporation. He was able to do this by making side deals and negotiations behind the brother’s back in order to slowly take over the brand. Based on what the movie provided, McDonald’s would not be what it is today without Ray Kroc. This is because the brothers did not want to expand the franchise beyond a small limit. They were also unwilling to try new ideas such as the powdered milkshakes. Not to say that the milkshakes were the sole reason for the prolonged success (especially since it was reverted back), but being unwilling to make profitable changes hinders growth.