McDonald's Germany Facing External Difficulties with Ramifications on Overall Decline in Guest Count

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2013 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,3, International Business School Nürnberg, language: English, abstract: The goal of this report is to provide a theoretical framework to analyse the current strategy of McDonald's in the hypercompetitive fast-food industry of the German market and the decline of guest count. In order to analyse the external and internal influences, this report will commence with Porter's Five Forces and the SWOT analysis. It will provide an in- depth description of the positioning strategy as well as an analysis of the marketing and operations departments. In the second part of the report the reader will also achieve understanding on how business procedures can be changed in order to keep McDonald's of interest. This is followed by recommendations on how to improve the current situation and give an overview of McDonald's alternative strategic approach to increase their market share as well as their profitability. The main idea of this report suggests McDonald's to dip into the blue ocean strategy with an extended range of products. Healthier and individualized products and the extension of the beverage portfolio along with a more emotional marketing campaign is thought to enhance consumers' loyalty. The research for the analysis comprises a qualitative approach based on industry experts, internal documentation such as McDonald's financial statements, market reports and public announcements relevant to the strategy.