- what makes Ray Kroc & the brothers different from each other?
The difference between Ray Kroc and the brothers is that when Ray Kroc is determined and truly believes that something can result into something great, he won’t give up. He strives to accomplish the goal regardless of the ups and downs he faces. Additionally, the McDonald brothers faced an issue where they tried franchising but all of them didn’t do so well in business. The management was poor, and the menus weren’t what they originally sell. They decided to just focus on their business in Los Angeles. Overall, the McDonald brothers did take a risk before and it didn’t end with good results therefore, they put an end to it.
They have a strict and hesitant mindset where if one thing goes wrong, they plan on not doing it again to prevent any trouble whereby Ray Kroc has a mindset that he’d continue to try because he believes that learning from your mistakes can evoke into a better outcome for business. Also, Ray Kroc likes to get things done quick. For instance, in the movie Ray Kroc states he’s adding a basement and furnace to a McDonald’s restaurant and he’s doing it all in a fast-paced manner, meanwhile in San Bernardino, the brothers like to get their work done thoroughly and rigorously which can take some time.
- Do you think the McDonalds brothers did the right thing by selling out to Ray Kroc? Did Ray Kroc give the brothers a good deal?
From my perspective, the McDonalds brothers did not do the right thing by selling out to Ray Kroc. Ray Kroc was insinuating to many that he made McDonalds when that’s in fact a lie. Also, he was changing a lot about McDonalds that the brothers did not agree on. For example, having powdered milk for ice cream instead of actual milk but he continued doing so to all franchisees except the brothers. Also, he wanted to rise his 1.4 percent cut of a 15 cent hamburger but the deal was done and the brothers didn’t want anything to change about the contract. Moreover, Ray Kroc would evoke stress and frustration to the McDonalds brothers due to Kroc wanting complete control over everything and he’d make adjustments to the company without the agreement of the brothers in writing because the adjustments weren’t “changes” in his own words “It’s not a change. It’s a company. It’s it’s own separate company. Which puts it outside your purview.” However, the brothers would strongly persist that anything related to McDonalds is within their purview. Ray Kroc also implemented the name “McDonalds” in his real estate corporation like he owned and created McDonalds himself. All in all, there were a lot of complications on the way Ray Kroc and the McDonald brothers would work together.
- How did the local store franchisees make money?
The local franchisees made money by creating creative ideas that gained interests and made customers continue to come back to McDonald’s. To add on, the managers also would bring customers that are fond of them increasing the amount of customers that come in.
- How did Kroc make money? How was that different than the franchisees, running the local stores?
Kroc made money off his franchise corporation and his McDonalds real estate company. In addition, he bought the brothers company. This was different than the franchisees and running the local stores because he exceeded from just managing business inside of McDonalds but obtained land and leased them out to franchise partners resulting in the company to continue to grow. Thus, making him earn great profit.
- Does this view change your view of McDonalds?
I view McDonalds as a restaurant that serves unhealthy food to adults and kids. When talking about health, McDonalds is not precisely up to standards towards a good health. However, the movie made me realize the entrepreneurial side of McDonalds and the ideas and actions that resulted in McDonalds to go national. McDonalds originated from Dick and Mac McDonald who had a vision for themselves but someone like Ray Kroc was hungrier. Therefore, he took it into his hands to make their company into something national. Later on, Ray Kroc bought their company leaving the brothers with one million dollars each after taxes and no royalties. Overall, Ray Kroc’s actions towards the brothers can be very saddening but his way of expanding the McDonald brother’s idea was genius.
