Role of Police with Reference to Community Issues Essay

Role of Police with Reference to Community Issues - Essay Example Microsoft, Oracle, Satyam Computers, Tata Computer Services, and other educational institutions which have established their branches in the different countries do need man power, for which they need to provide necessary facilities. In this context, certain housing associations are pretty much indulged in the process of providing housing facilities. In such condition, where world meets world, different nationalities, race, colour, caste, community, it is inevitable that there would be certain issues arising every now and then. Therefore, it is necessary there should be certain policies developed by the housing association to combat such issues. In United Kingdom, Pennine Housing 2000 is one such association which provides shelter facilities on rent by complying with the regulations set up by the regulatory authority. Pennine Housing 2000 established in 2001 is Calderdale's largest and registered social landlord, managing the rented housing stock just over 11,000 properties.2 It states that the rents are kept low so that it is within the reach of everybody and standard of homes are constantly improving due to improvement programmes.3 The company has gained support and funding from Housing Corporation to continue to regenerate number of areas, replacing unpopular and rundown properties to newly built housing estates. During the Annual Tenants Conference, a tenant expressed that 99% of tenants view Peninne Housing 2000 with great respect as it is doing stupendous work while remaining 1% want more and much greater services.4 The company has always focused on meeting high standards for which over 112 million between 2001 to 2006 were spent on internal improvements, new central heating systems, and external works such as new doors, re-roofing etc. The company also promises tenancy rights of the tenan t through tenancy agreement. Pennine was recognized nationally within the social housing sector. At the National Housing Federation iNBiz Awards, it won the Best Leadership and the Employer of Choice categories - achievements which clearly place the company as a quality organisation. It also received Gold RoSPA award for Health & Safety and West Yorkshire NHS Modernisation Award for Healthy Living campaign amongst its staff. Pennine Housing being a well known housing company has its duties and responsibilities cut out. It has to provide all the facilities to its tenants as well as the society. It has the responsibility to see that their tenants are not the victims of social exclusion as there may be people of different communities and nationalities. It has to protect the rights and interest of every individual, so that he/she may not get deprived of the facilities to which he/she may be entitled. The company has also tackle issues like labeling where such acts turn an innocent, known to be good guy to some criminal. Such acts/ issues should be addressed and tackled with effective measures for the welfare of the society. And it is the responsibility of Pennine Housing 2000 to look after the buildings and have a vigilante look at all corners of the edifice and see that the repairs are done wherever necessary so that the locality does not turn into a prostitute's hub or crime yard. The company should take effective policing measures to tackle all such issues in the wake of providing decent and good

System Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

System Security - Essay Example The virus attack can only be possible to a system via removable storage devices (zip drive, jazz drive, and floppy drive) which mean a system can be protected from such attacks if the external removable devices are pre-scanned before its usage. During the current era of globalization, every LAN is connected to the biggest LAN i.e., internet one way or the other. Nearly all the financial institutions and government bodies have connected their systems over the internet to give their authorized users an ease of access from any part of the world. On one hand this has alleviated the boundaries between different countries and made communication possible in real-time between two ends of the world but on the other hand it has given an edge to the cyber criminals to breach through the complex systems by finding its loopholes. Due to the threat of hacking, none of the national security and financial data is safe from these cyber criminals unless well protected by using different pro-active techniques such as: 1) Data encryption 2) Firewalls 3) Identifying the loopholes in the current system and creating a patch for it. The encryption technique has been successfully used for data transfer between two ends over the internet because even if the data is tapped by a hacker, he cannot decrypt it since he is inaccessible to the public key for decryption. The firewall softwares are used to guard against the brute force attacks and access from an invalid domain but due to the loopholes which exist in the current operating systems these firewall softwares occasionally fail. Up till now the hackers are usually focusing on financial institutions for the monetary benefits, but in the future these hackers could also be used to manipulate the national security data and the personal ids to wage any degree of chaos as desired. This situation is expected only because we have created the space for this threat by ourselves by storing every personal data and

Exhibition review interview Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Exhibition review interview - Assignment Example â€Å"High Noon† is also about betrayal and loyalty. For Kane’s part, it is loyalty even when everyone leaves him; he maintains his grounds, although it seems predictable that his action might lead to his death (High Noon). On the town’s part, it is betrayal. Most people in town agreed that they owe their success to Kane, but not help him because they believe that he is hopeless. In the film, the villain is Frank Miller and his gang who strive to revenge on Will and anyone person who is against him. In this film, the villain is the one who revenges. Miller’s gangs are Jack Colby, Ben (younger brother) and Jim Pierce who wait for Miller at the station. Will and Army have to fight Millers gang at all cost and secure the townspeople (High Noon). Towards the end of the story, Miller (villain) and his gang face Will and Amy. Amy and Will manage to kill Miler and his gang while the townspeople stare in amazement. â€Å"Un-forgiven† film is an entertaining western that pays homage to traditional western while expressing skepticism. The film was set in the 1880’s and the standard setting is BIG whiskey, somewhere between San Francisco and St. Louis. The film also demonstrates the existence of villains, who are a couple of cowboys. The cowboys slashes Delilah’s face (the prostitute). Instead of the sheriff, Little Bill Dagett, arresting the cowboys, he lets them go. The victim’s best friend, Strawberry Alice, becomes outraged. Delilah, Alice and the other girls offer a $1000 bounty for anyone who kills the cowboys. This film turns out to be a revenge of whores against the villains (Unforgiven). A group of men set out to collect the bounty, prompted by various economic necessities to kill the cowboys (villains). Among the hunters set to kill the villains is Bill Munny who is a widower. Munny is still striving to live down his

Gay Rights Towards Gay Marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Gay Rights Towards Gay Marriage - Research Paper Example However, whether same sex individuals be allowed to marry is still controversial. This paper argues that gay marriage should be legalized because same-sex parents can prove to be better parents; it reinforces their rights as humans; and, it stabilizes the society through child adoption. Gay marriages should be legalized since same sex couples can prove to be better parents than opposite sex couples. Biblarz and Stacey (3) argue that the gender of parents â€Å"has minor significance for childrens psychological adjustment and social success.† Family instability may take its toll on normal psychological development of children of both straight and same-sex couples, and so, it is not true that only gay parents prove to be bad parents by any means. They may prove to be better parents, states Kurdek (880) in his research. He argues that two men or women can raise kids better in terms of sexual growth, than a man or a woman in a traditional home setting. Kids of gay couples do not have to see one of their parents involved in extra-marital affairs. They do not have to see their moms and dads fighting with each other every day. Kids pay little attention to what the relationship between their parents is, or whether or not their relationship relates to societal norms or not. All they want is love, of parents towards them and also towards each other. So, the relationship between parents has nothing to do with children becoming homo or hetero-sexual. Thus, gay marriages should be legalized without getting concerned about the parenting capabilities of the couples involved. â€Å"Same-sex marriages will offer voluntary support to the institution by allowing freedom in selecting one’s partner†, states Bolte (1). She has focused upon the reinforcement of human rights regarding selection partner through utilitarian arguments.

Exhibition review interview Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Exhibition review interview - Assignment Example â€Å"High Noon† is also about betrayal and loyalty. For Kane’s part, it is loyalty even when everyone leaves him; he maintains his grounds, although it seems predictable that his action might lead to his death (High Noon). On the town’s part, it is betrayal. Most people in town agreed that they owe their success to Kane, but not help him because they believe that he is hopeless. In the film, the villain is Frank Miller and his gang who strive to revenge on Will and anyone person who is against him. In this film, the villain is the one who revenges. Miller’s gangs are Jack Colby, Ben (younger brother) and Jim Pierce who wait for Miller at the station. Will and Army have to fight Millers gang at all cost and secure the townspeople (High Noon). Towards the end of the story, Miller (villain) and his gang face Will and Amy. Amy and Will manage to kill Miler and his gang while the townspeople stare in amazement. â€Å"Un-forgiven† film is an entertaining western that pays homage to traditional western while expressing skepticism. The film was set in the 1880’s and the standard setting is BIG whiskey, somewhere between San Francisco and St. Louis. The film also demonstrates the existence of villains, who are a couple of cowboys. The cowboys slashes Delilah’s face (the prostitute). Instead of the sheriff, Little Bill Dagett, arresting the cowboys, he lets them go. The victim’s best friend, Strawberry Alice, becomes outraged. Delilah, Alice and the other girls offer a $1000 bounty for anyone who kills the cowboys. This film turns out to be a revenge of whores against the villains (Unforgiven). A group of men set out to collect the bounty, prompted by various economic necessities to kill the cowboys (villains). Among the hunters set to kill the villains is Bill Munny who is a widower. Munny is still striving to live down his

Natural And Human Sciences. Biological and Social Theories of Essay

Natural And Human Sciences. Biological and Social Theories of Evolution - Essay Example â€Å"A theory is an explanation or model based on observation, experimentation, and reasoning, especially one that has been tested and confirmed as a general principle helping to explain and predict natural phenomena.† (Quoted in fsteiger.com) Theories are articulated and modified for the exploration of facts and realities on the foundation of deep observation, adequate evidence and critical examination of the available information. â€Å"The vehicle of all understanding†, Turner submits, â€Å"in science is theory. Theory is a way of answering the questions.† (2006, p. 2) Hence, theories establish principles and laws and add to the knowledge of scholars, intellectuals, philosophers and the masses as well regarding multiple disciplines and issues at large. Thus, theories are equally important in natural and social sciences for the establishment of various concepts and parameters in the light of which further developments are made in some specific field of knowle dge. Though both natural and human sciences consist of theories, yet difference in both these sciences can also be witnessed in their theoretical frameworks. Pure or natural sciences concentrate upon examination of natural, organic, inorganic, physical and nonhuman laws, rules and aspects related to the earth and universe. On the other hand, social or human sciences study the existing social, cultural, religious and psychological phenomena on scientific grounds. Physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, engineering, aeronautical science and pharmacy etc come under the definition of natural sciences, while sociology, theology, economics, history, psychology, philosophy and others are called human sciences. Though natural and human sciences appear to be entirely different from one another, yet they maintain many similarities and commonalities between them; almost same is the case with the theoretical frameworks related to both these forms of science. The similarities between the nature and scope of pure and human sciences can be analyzed as under: Biological and Social Theories of Evolution: Evolution theory enjoys a very important status in pure and social sciences. Though experiments had been made several times in past in respect of discovering the origin of humans and other living creatures, yet it was Charles Darwin who first time presented a comprehensive evolution theory on the basis of his in-depth research on fossil remains and living things including humans, fauna and flora in order to make a decisive conclusion regarding human evolution. Darwin has articulated his concept of natural selection in his world famous work On the Origin of Species, where he submits to state that it is the rule of nature that only the fittest and most suitable living creatures survive and multiply; the rest of the creatures start weakening, and eventually perish away with the passage of time. Hence, Darwin is of the opinion that those creatures and living things that have the a bility to adapt themselves according to the always changing natural and physical condition, survive and reproduce. On the other hand, the living things that either lack adaptability or sufficient strength necessary to defeat the external threats and impediments, are sure to expire, and thus lose the signs of their existence even. Darwin has submitted that the process of natural selection is the foundation of evolution of human generations. â€Å"As natural selection acts solely by the preservation of profitable modifications, each new form will tend in a fully stocked country to take the place of, and finally to exterminate its own less improved parent-form and other less favored forms, with which it comes into competition.† (1872, p.159) Darwin vehemently argues in favor of the notion natural

Analysis Of McDonalds Corporations

Analysis Of McDonalds Corporations In this report, thorough analysis of McDonalds Corporations position strategies has been design on the basis of the given contexts. Two different topics have been given to discuss in this case. The first topic focuses on the environmental factors that may affect McDonalds business. This topic has been addressed by six different factors which may broadly affect the business of McDonalds. Specific focus has been given to each factor and minute issued have been addressed in our discussion. It has been tried to give a comprehensive analysis of all the relevant ideas regarding this topic to make a reasonable discussion. The second topic given has been focused on the recent strategic stands taken by McDonalds. It has been asked to identify the pros and cons related to these strategies. The discussion has been done to create a comprehensive commentary about the pros and cons of each strategy. Every strategy has been evaluated on the basis of their individual merits. The subjects are quite sensitive and have specific implications to the business of McDonalds. in order to identify advantages and disadvantages each strategy has been clearly scrutinized. It has been tried to provide valid and reasonable remarks about these strategies. At the end, some relevant ideas have been presented to provide a more understandings of these issues. The entire report has been done with a reasonable understanding about the issues in question and all other factors relevant to the study. Introduction This study has been done to provide a reasonable understanding about business policy and strategic management development. McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is known as the worlds largest chain of fast-food restaurants, serving approximately 47 million customers daily. Once it was the largest global restaurant chain, but it has since been exceeded by multi-brand operator Yum! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell and others) and sandwich chain Subway. Every McDonalds restaurant is run by a franchisee, an affiliate, or the corporation itself. Its revenues come from the rent, royalties and fees paid by the franchisees. It also earns form sales in company-operated restaurants. From the accounting records we can see that McDonalds revenues grew 27% over the three years ending in 2007 to $22.8 billion, and 9% growth in operating income to $3.9 billion. Generally McDonalds sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken products, French Fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts. Now-a-days, in order to respond to the obesity trends in western nations and in the face of criticism over the healthiness of its products, the company has modified its menu to include such healthier alternatives as salads, wraps and fruit. McDonalds began its business in 1940, with a restaurant opened by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California. They have introduced the Speedee Service System in 1948, which established the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. A man with a chefs hat on top of a hamburger shaped head was the original mascot of McDonalds. The name mascot was Speedee. Ronald McDonald replaced Speedee in 1967 when the company first filed a U.S. trademark on a clown shaped man having a puffed out costume legs. McDonalds opened its first restaurant in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, France, El Salvador and Sweden in order of openings. Objective of the report: This report is prepared to gain a broad idea about business strategy formulation and evaluation of these strategies. It is also done to understand the different influences the environmental factors have on the operations of a Multination Corporation. Major objectives of the report are to: Provide a conclusive idea about business environment of McDonalds Understand the impacts and implications of changing environmental factors Gain reasonable perception about strategy formulation Achieve realistic insights about strategy evaluation Attain a thorough knowledge about pointing out the pros and cons of different strategies Methodology of the Report The research methodology is the complete techniques that we will follow to conduct the research. So, we can describe the methodology in the following steps: Data Collection Present information was collected from two sources: Primary Source: Primary data of this report was collected by means of questioning of McDonalds employees and operational managers. Secondary Source As secondary source I adopt some text book on Marketing, Management and also some websites. Data Collection Method Observation: Since the report was descriptive in nature data being analyzed conceptually. Limitations: The field level survey was missing in some areas of our study due to some practical constrains. Question 1: Environmental factors impacting upon McDonalds: As a leading fast food restaurant in the world, environmental factors in different countries are crucial considerations for McDonalds. Following discussion focuses on the environmental issues of relevant to the business of the firm. General environmental factors impacting on a corporations business: If generalization is used, for a multinational corporation, following factors can be identified as major issues: Demographic Geographic Economic Socio-cultural Technological Political-legal These factors have serious implications for any Multinational company. Detailed discussions of these factors are given below: 1. Demographic environment: Demographic environment, which can be defined as the environment consisting of factors related to age, sex, gender, education level, marital status, occupation, religion, birth and death rate, average size of the family, average age of marriage etc. of a specific populace of a specific region, is the most important feature that may impact the business of the firm. As it is a Multinational corporation, the impact of demographic environment on McDonalds can be examined on regional basis. United States of America: United States is the birth place of McDonalds. Basically it is the birth pace of Fast Food culture. The people of United States of America love to enjoy their meal and the idea of fast food have been a turning point of their life style. From the demographic aspect of the region, we can point out the following issues: United States has one of the highest population growth rates among the industrialized nations. So it generally indicates the development of a large market for the corporations. 45% of the children under 5 years old belong to the minority groups of the populace. Hispanic population increased by 14%. McDonalds has been developing its menu to target this population. According to U.S. census Bureau News 2006 studies, the average income of Americans is around $46000. One of the main reasons of increase in McDonalds sales in US is the introduction of Asian Chicken Salad, which indicates importance of Minority groups in US market. Different minority groups are emerging as the economically significant groups. For example, Asians as a minority group has an average income of around $57500 which is well above the average income of Americans. So focusing business on the basis of these kinds of developments may prove fruitful in the future. Around 81% of the populace lives in urban areas where drive-through system is one of the most popular systems of getting easy meals. Europe Europeans are getting more and more interested in having quick meals from fast food shops, as their hectic lifestyles suit this mechanism. Though the sales of McDonalds dropped 14 percent, the expansionary plans of McDonalds reflects the significance of this Market. Following ideas emerged from our analysis: Demographic behavior has changed drastically in Europe. General fertility rate is below the replacement rate in many countries of the region. But a new pattern, described as a `second demographic transition have emerged, as age of first marriage and first child has changed. These changes in behaviors culminated to an increase in population growth. On average, population growth increased somewhat in the region. In European Market, McDonalds stores enjoy more customer visits and highest company-operated margin since 2001. This may be attributed to increased population and changing trends of food habits towards fast foods. Gender differences have been reduced dramatically. Economically solvent mothers are spending much to provide best quality products for their children. For this reason, McDonalds introduced R Gym to enhance children customer base. Asia pacific and Middle East: This is the region where McDonalds has the highest possibility of exponential growth due to demographic as well as socio-cultural and economic changes. Demographic factors can be specified in following manner: Countries like China and India, with high population growth rates, are considered as emerging markets for fast food industries. In order to capture the expanding markets in China and India, McDonalds has increased its outlets in both of these markets. Income of the people of this region has been increasing gradually over time, which indicates people having more spending power. Middle Eastern regions are considered as one of the wealthiest regions of the planet. Population growth is also relatively high in this region compared to the industrialized countries. Migration trend towards urban areas is a major factor to consider for Corporations like McDonalds. Latin America Although regarded as one of the poorest regions of the world, this market has been changing its economic and socio-cultural patterns to become one of the lucrative markets. According to 2005 statistics the population of South and Central America is 588 million. The population growth is about 0.6%. This is quite significant information as it indicates a big market for fast food industry. Due to the low income and economic inequality, Latin American market is still not a big revenue source for McDonalds. Different ethnic groups with diverse cultures are prominent features of this region. Economic inequality is dominant in this region. According to World Bank reports, approximately 25% people live less than $2 a day. Huge amount of people live in rural areas, or under developed areas in the cities. Migration rate to the cities is increasing day by day. The following diagram depicts the importance of each regional segment for McDonalds based on sales revenues. Source: http://internationaltrade.suite101.com/article.cfm/mcdonalds_global_sales [Visited on 23/12/2009] Figure 1: McDonalds regional sales revenue. 2. Geographic Environment: Geographic factors that may affect the business of McDonalds can be pointed out in the following discussion: The distribution points of McDonalds are vital considerations as it is involved in a business which requires easy accessibility for the customers. So locations of the distribution centers should be close to populated areas. Some of the McDonalds stores are connected to gas station or convenient stores to target the shoppers. McExpress are shops having limited seating arrangements, located in shopping malls. In its mission statement, McDonalds vowed to provide services in the best possible means. This requires quick and correct service. So, warehouses for the raw materials should be located in the strategic places for easy transfer. Geographic segmentation is very important for McDonalds. As fast food culture is mainly the trend in cities and urban areas, the strategic establishment of distribution points are needed. McDonalds have locations in Disney Theme parks and Ocean Park. This strategy helps to increase sales promotion and expand customer base among the visitors of the theme parks. Competition is anther driving issue for McDonalds to choose the locations of its business carefully. McDonalds may choose a location where it will get a strategic advantage. To have a competitive advantage it introduced locations in Wal-Mart stores. To target trackers and travelers, McDonalds has developed McShop, which may have services found at truck stops. 3. Economic Factors: Many economic factors may affect the operations of McDonalds. These economic factors are identified in the following discussion: The economic cycle of different countries may affect the revenue generation of McDonalds. But as the business seems well diversified, the effects may be nullified to a negligible extent. In 2006, McDonalds global sales rose 5.8% from the previous year. Sales margin improved in all geographic locations. McDonalds has a large amount of long term debt of about $8 billion. So, changes in interest rates or tax policies of the government may affect favorably or adversely. The exchange value of dollar against other currencies may affect the profitability of McDonalds. As it is operating in different regions, so it may consider the exchange rates differentiations of different currencies. There may be some possibilities that inflation rate may adversely affect the business of McDonalds. Increase in inflation rate may cause the price of raw materials to rise. This may also drive the customers away from the restaurants. Income level of the general people varies with the economic condition of the nation. So, in the times of recession, economic conditions may adversely affect the purchasing power of people, thus affecting the business of McDonalds. McDonalds operating earnings, earnings per share and overall revenue increased 15%, 17% and 10% respectively. It also announced dividend at the rate of $1 in year 2002 per share. This indicates 276% increase of dividend payout from the period of 2002. These numbers reflect economically a strong position for McDonalds. 4. Socio-cultural Factors: Every corporation should analyze the important socio-cultural factors relevant to their business. Such relevant factor regarding socio-cultural environment of McDonalds are discussed below. The healthy lifestyle trend has become a global phenomenon in recent days. McDonalds must consider this to maintain a competitive position in the market. McDonalds Healthy Lifestyle programs attracted health conscious people. It has become worlds first fast food service restaurant to provide nutritional information on majority of its food packaging. As women are becoming more independent and families are becoming smaller and smaller, fast foods are growing in their popularity. Eating home cooked meals are becoming a luxury in the fast paced unban lifestyles. So, restaurants are gaining momentum in their businesses. McDonalds operated in different regions of the world. In order to maintain its profitability it must keep track of regional cultural and sociological changes. For example, increased migratory trends towards cities in developing nations can be an advantageous sign for McDonalds. McDonalds needs to be aware of local trends in different regions. For instance, by presenting French Fries as vegetarian food, McDonalds had to pay a hefty price as fines in 2002. McDonalds has introduced R Gyms, a form of interactive game zones, designed for children aged 4 to 11. To emphasize on physical activity, they are equipped with stationary bicycles attached to video games, dance pads, basketball hoops, monkey bars, an obstacle course, and other games. It has introduced a new slogan to its recruitment posters: Not bad for a McJob, to encourage employees to be related with McDonalds. McDonalds jobs have been regarded as of low pay, just above the legal provision, required little skill and little job security. It has been trying to improve the conditions 5. Technological Factors: To maintain a competitive edge against the rival companies, McDonalds must be aware of the recent technologies and innovations. New and improved technologies can reduce the man power needed in processing the food thus reducing the labor related costs. New innovations can help McDonalds to create more environment friendly operating systems which will help them to reduce their carbon footprint in the world. To tackle environmental issues, McDonalds has incorporated technology into its business. McDonalds has started using corn-based bio-plastic to produce containers for some of their products. Innovative technologies can also help to reduce the levels of processing and contamination due to human interactions with the food processing functions. It may also help to reduce energy consumption thus reducing the actual cost of serving the customers. In Europe, it has started recycling vegetable grease to use it as fuel for its trucks. In 2000, it has opened a restaurant in Sweden which was the first to intentionally incorporate green ideas. 6. Political- Legal Factors: Political structure of a nation and the ideology of political parties need to be carefully assessed to run business on that states. Confiscation, domestication, tax control, exchange control, interfere of government on business operations are common in global business. Following factors may be taken into considerations about the political and legal factors: Stable political situations are always important incase of operating businesses in different regions of the world. Government policies, tax policies, regional cooperation policies etc. may affect the operations of McDonalds. Law regarding the business operations, legal suits and other legal obligations may influence the business of McDonalds. McDonalds has been involved with number of legal cases, mostly concerning with trademark. Some social cases like, The McDonalds Coffee Case in 1994, hampered the public image of McDonalds. Question2: Evaluation of current strategies in use: McDonalds has been taken some specific steps to enhance the profitability of the corporation. From the perspective of its performance and future potentiality evaluation, these strategies can be critically examined. The strategies chosen by McDonalds are assessed in the following discussion: SWOT strategies: McDonalds has chosen these strategies based on their SWOT analysis. These strategies may have some advantages and disadvantages. SO strategies: These strategies are taken in line with the strength of McDonalds and on the basis of the opportunities the firm has within its arena of operations. The firm has chosen the following strategies: 1. Expanding into Chinese market: McDonalds is thinking of expanding its Chinese market via increased advertising and numbers of outlets. This strategy can have some merits for McDonalds operations. Advantages: Chinese market is a growing market for McDonalds. The population of China is increasing rapidly and the demand for fast food is also growing at a good pace. By developing a good market in China may prove valuable for McDonalds as it has a potential for good return in future. Drive-through system is gaining popularity in china as number of car owners are increasing. This is a very good indication for McDonalds to provide this kind of services in increased number of locations. McDonalds has a brand name which is globally recognized. McDonalds can use this position of its brand name for its advantage. In China, it would be much easier for McDonalds to advertise as it has an easily recognizable brand name. In order to increase the market share, McDonalds must increase its advertising in China. It has to compete against already established quick service providers like Yum Brands. Increased advertising will enable it to capture new markets in China as well as enhance brand exposure. Increased numbers of the restaurant locations in China will provide easy accessibility to the customers. As the number of consumers is increasing the number of locations must be increased in order to meet the current demand. This strategy may pose some disadvantages for McDonalds. Disadvantages: Increased number of advertisements means increased costs. This means less revenue will be off settled by increased operating cost. As McDonalds operates its business on the basis of franchising, increased number of locations may mean lesser amount of control over its operations. In its mission statement it states to be the best quick service provider. Increased number of locations may cause McDonalds to hire employees who are not competent enough to provide good services. It may also force McDonalds to increase training costs. Quality control may not easily be done if numbers of restaurant locations are increased. Although this strategy may have some potential demerits, this strategy is a very good step for McDonalds. Chinese market is becoming the fastest growing market and McDonalds need to enhance its market share in China in order to ensure its sustainability as one of the leading quick service provider in the world. 2. Acquiring Krispy Kreme Corporation McDonalds has taken a strategic choice to integrate horizontally by taking over Krispy Kreme Corporation, which is at the verge of going bankrupt. This strategic decision may have some good implications for McDonalds. Advantages: By expanding horizontally it will be able to outreach more customers with more ease. As Krispy Kreme Corporation is at the verge of bankruptcy, it will be easier of McDonalds to acquire this company without substantial financial implications. Krispy Kreme Corporation may willing be merged with McDonalds without showing any hostility towards the acquiring company. McDonalds should be able to use the existing infrastructure of the Krispy Kreme Corporation in order to conduct its business. Loyal customers of the Krispy Kreme Corporation may still be with this company after the acquisition. This way McDonalds may be able to acquire a new customer base. Acquiring Krispy Kreme Corporation will put McDonalds in a competitively advantageous position. This will mean less competition for McDonalds and infrastructure and customer base development. This strategy may have some potential disadvantages as follows: Disadvantages: There is a chance that Krispy Kreme Corporation may not be willing to merge with McDonalds. This may force it to take strategies against the acquisition. If acquisition happens in this situation, then McDonalds will be in a disadvantageous position. The customer base of the Krispy Kreme Corporation may not support this acquisition. This may drive them away and reduce the benefits of this acquisition. There is a potential of dilution of control and profit of the shareholder in case of this acquisition. For this reason McDonalds may change the top management of Krispy Kreme Corporation. This may affect the whole operations of Krispy Kreme as new management may have a different style of running the business. By comparing the disadvantage with the advantages, we can easily say that the disadvantageous situations may occur in highly probabilistic circumstances, which make those less potent. So this strategy may prove profitable for McDonalds. WO Strategies: These strategies are taken on the basis of the analysis of the weaknesses and existing opportunities of McDonalds. The firm has chosen the following strategy: 1. Menu development: McDonalds has chosen to develop its menu based on healthy lifestyle trends. It is also thinking of introducing Hispanic food lines. This strategy may have following advantages: Advantages: Providing healthy foods may increase the customer base of McDonalds as there is a global trend of shifting to this kinds of foods now-a-days. Increased Hispanic population forced McDonalds to focus on this group. By creating Hispanic food line, McDonalds may be able to capture a more diverse and wide customer base. There is a bad name of fast food of being unhealthy. By providing more healthy food, McDonalds may be able to change this perception which may be a competitive advantage for McDonalds. There may have some disadvantages of this strategy. Disadvantages: This strategy may cost McDonalds more as it requires more investment from McDonalds part. The new product lines for Hispanic population may not be successful or needs more time to be successful. Focusing on Hispanic population may be frowned upon as being a racially motivated strategy. In order to capture the market and be in line with the global trend, McDonalds need this strategy to be implemented. ST Strategies: McDonalds Corporation also has some strategies based on its strength and potential threat analysis. These strategies are discussed below. 1. Increase number of restaurants located in theme parks: McDonalds is thinking of forward integrating by increasing the number of locations in the theme parks of Disney and Ocean Park. This strategy may have some pros and cons which have been identified in the following discussion: Advantages: By increasing the number of locations in the theme parks McDonalds can capture more of the customer base by providing more services. Mutual understanding between theme parks managements and MacDonalds may increase the brand exposure of McDonalds. By expanding the operations to the theme parks it can appeal to the children which may eventually lead to brand loyalty. Disadvantages: This strategy may increase the operational cost of McDonalds. Quality control may not be an easy proposition. More advertising may be needed in order to make all the locations popular. This strategy may be profitable for McDonalds in the long run and it may be recommended to be pursued by McDonalds. 2. Increase advertising of coffee line: McDonalds is trying to increase advertising of the coffee line in key markets like China and North America. This strategy may have some advantages for McDonalds. Advantages: By developing a market penetration strategy, McDonalds can increase coffee sales, which is one of the weak links of its operations. By increasing the advertising, it can acquire more customers in the morning time when the demand of coffee is highest. McDonalds can create an image of best quick service coffee provider by increasing the frequency of advertisements and providing customers with quality services. Disadvantages: It will increase the sales cost of McDonalds and reduce the profit. Increased advertising may prove fruitful if it can provide good services. But id it fails to live up to the mark then rival companies can take advantage of the situation. Increased advertisement for coffee line may prove fruitful for McDonalds as it has beaten its traditional rivals in coffee taste test according to consumer report. So this strategy is quite a good stand for McDonalds. WT Strategies: McDonalds has been thinking of taking some strategies based on its weaknesses and threats analysis in order to enhance its operational efficiency. Following discussion has been done to point out those strategies and some relevant issues about those strategies. 1. Develop the menu to keep up with the competition: McDonalds one of the main concern is lack of menu development. In order to appeal to the Asian and Latin American markets, it is thinking about menu development. Advantages: Creative menu development will appeal to growing markets like Asian and Latin American markets, which will increase its customer base. It may reduce the operational inefficiency and create more customer satisfaction Customer retention may increase as more options of food items are included in the menu. It will increase its profitability in the long run and create stronger customer base. It will help to capture the potentially profitable markets of Asia and Latina America. The underserved niche of the industry may be capture if creative menu developments occur. Disadvantages: Cost of product development and market survey may increase, which will reduce the profit of the company. New products may fail to appeal to the targeted customer segment, which will result in operational loss. New product development may need new kinds of technologies or raw materials, which will increase capital expenditures of McDonalds. This strategy may increase the profitability of McDonalds as new customers are induced to buy its products. It will also increase the customer base and customer retention rate. 2. Redesign the website to make it more users friendly: Making the website more users friendly is another ploy of McDonalds to increase its efficiency. The advantages and disadvantages of this strategy is discussed below. Advantages: Redesigning the website will increase the knowledge of the customers about McDonalds and its products. Internet is one of the best possible ways to advertise the products of any corporation. Revamping the website may increase its potential customer base by providing them with best possible information. Creating a user friendly website may increase the customer satisfaction. Disadvantages: This strategy may reduce the profit of the organization for the time being, but this may increase capital expenditure of the company. Creating a user friendly website requires expert handling of information. If it is not done efficiently, then it will prove worthless for the Company. The strategy of improving its website can be a fruitful ploy for McDonalds if it is done efficiently. 3. Increasing sales promotion and advertising: Increasing the amount of sales promotion and advertising in key markets to increase consumer awareness of the products is an important strategy for McDonalds. The pros and cons of this strategy are discussed below. Advantages: This will increase the consumer awareness of the products and services of McDonalds. This may also increase the number of customers of the company. This may help McDonalds to capture customers from its rivals if it is done efficiently and effectively. This will also help to gain a competitive advantage in key markets. Disadvantages: Increased cost for McDonalds will offset the profits. Increasing advertising and sales promotion is the best possible way for McDonalds to increase its customer base. Recommendation Following recommendations can be