Part 1
The strategy adopted by MacDonald’s is effective in a competitive market. The organization has added variety of foods into its menu and removed some foods that were regarded as unhealthy. The company has decided to go for healthier foods. The organization has improved on the use of technology to cater for its tech-savvy clients (Dean Robinson, 201). The improved food quality, ambience and the use technology has given Macdonald a competitive edge. Similarly, increased marketing through advertisement has also improved the uptake of its food products.
The organization has removed some foods from its menu and replaced them with healthier products. The phasing out of the ‘super size me’ food is instrumental in making the organization address the needs of its consumers. Customer satisfaction and cleanliness has been the strategies adopted by the organization to meet its clients’ needs. The organization has improved on its ambience and customer convenience to boost its sales. It has invested on advertisement thus improving on its sales.
The organization has decided to improve their food production to attract more customers and increase purchases. It has also come up with additional varieties of food to widen its customer base. The addition of other foods into the menu has led to increased uptake of products. The introduction of greener foods within the supply chain increases purchase because the consumers find the foods healthier. The organization has also developed their restaurants by introducing Wi-Fi, and colourful furnishings. The organization sold more pounded chicken than beef through this method of marketing in 2011.
The use technology is very eefective in communication. Technology is important as a marketing tool. Since MacDonald is one of the largest fast foods worldwide, supplying fast foods to more than 52 million people daily in over 100 countries and 30,000 restaurants, the use of technology as its marketing strategy is timely (Vrontis D & Pavlou, 294). In a society that is have become techno-savvy, it is appropriate to adopt technology in the operations of the fast food chain. The introduction of technology will improve the uptake of products and attract tech-savvy customers. Technology will make the establishment of self-order kiosks a reality. Investment in technology is a necessity in today’s business world.
Part 2
Freddie Mac had issues of governance. The poor governance in the company provided an opportunity for manipulation of data. Executives were compensated through manipulation of data at the expense of the shareholders of the company. In 2007 the CEO of Freddie Mac received $19.8million while the company’s share price dropped to $25 in 2007 from $70 million. The fall in share prices discourages the shareholders from selling their shares. The trading in shares is affected by fall in share prices. The executive of the company disregarded internal reports that predicted a financial crisis in the company. The executive failed to take mitigating measures to protect the company from losses.
The Fannie Mae’s board of directors developed a compensation plan for its executives. This works towards boosting performance. Increased performance leads to growth of the company and hence benefit to shareholders.
The board of directors mismanaged the executive’s compensation plan. The board failed to properly exercise its oversight role thus allowing for manipulation of data by the executive. The company executives used the loopholes to award themselves huge compensation packages. The board did not monitor the decisions of the executive. The failure to monitor was either negligence on the part of the board of directors or incompetence.
Works cited
Vrontis D & Pavlou P (2008) “The external environment and its effect on strategic marketing planning: a case study for McDonald’s”pg.293-294 <https://www.academia.edu/386983/The_External_Environment_and_Its_Effect_on_Strategic_Marketing_Planning_a_Case_Study_for_McDonalds> accessed on 6th August 2014.
Dean Robinson (2012) “How McDonald’s Came Back Bigger Than Ever” <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/magazine/how-mcdonalds-came-back-bigger-than-ever.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0> accessed on 6th October 2014
