- Ray Kroc saw the potential for McDonald’s to become a nationwide and eventually a global franchise, unlike the McDonald brothers, who prioritized the quality, efficiency, and values of their original location. The main difference between Kroc and the McDonald’s brothers is that Kroc was interested in quantity and standardization, while the brothers cared more about originality and quality.
- The decision of the McDonald brothers to sell their franchise rights to Ray Kroc is complicated. Emotionally, the brothers felt robbed since Kroc eventually ensured they no longer belonged to the McDonald’s brand. Financially, I don’t feel the brothers had the resources or drive to make McDonald’s what it is now, and I believe that the success of their branch would have faded in the end. This leads me to conclude that the sale was probably more beneficial for them. As evidence, we can agree that if they were businesspeople, they would not have given Kroc room for such a deal. As we look at McDonald’s today, the long-term implications show that the brothers did not fully enjoy the actual value of their work and initial idea.
- Even though most of a franchisee’s income comes from the sales in their brunch, working with a big name like McDonald’s is appealing and profitable. Franchisees are drawn to names like McDonald’s because people know and trust the brand right away, which makes it easy to find customers. By collaborating with McDonald’s, they use a business plan that has been tried and tested. They also access a strong supply chain and large-scale marketing campaigns. In the end, collaborating with McDonald’s lowers the risks of starting a business because franchisees can use the brand’s well-known reputation and extensive support system to make it easier to make money.
- Kroc made money at first by taking a 1.4% cut of the revenues from every restaurant he was responsible for launching. Later on, he shifted his strategy and began buying the land on which his restaurants were located. Then he started earning money from sales and rent payments.
- After watching “The Founder,” I now observe McDonald’s from more than one point of view. I’ve always known McDonald’s for its global reach and consistent service, but the movie showed me the complicated background of how ambition can sometimes come before ethics. Even though Ray Kroc’s drive for success was admirable in some ways, it seemed to come with the cost and overriding of the McDonald brothers, who came up with the idea in the first place. I was reminded that personal stories, ethical dilemmas, and complicated choices are behind every business’s success. Even though I still think McDonald’s growth was smart from a business perspective, I can’t help but think about the ethical issues and the real cost of success.
Powered by:
top
Hi Rotem,
Great post! In my opinion I think that if the McDonald brothers did not give up so easily when trying to make McDonald’s a franchise and if they would have kept on trying like they did when first creating the business they could have made it globally just like Ray if they wanted to but then again money isn’t everything to some people. But have they kept on trying they could have actually kept the quality and everything the way they liked it and made good quality fast food restaurants around the world.