Economic constraints Essay

As part of my applied business GCSE, I have been asked to compare two different companies. The two companies I am going to compare are Nike and McDonald’s. Nike is an LTD, while McDonald’s is a franchise. At the end of this course I aim to get a better understanding of how businesses run.  The business location (McDonalds)  Most of McDonald’s earliest restaurants were opened in the UK during the 1970s, many customers were willing to travel miles to visit them. This specific McDoands is located in archway (N19) McDonald’s believe that their customer convience & research are the things that drive force behind McDonald’s restaurants and locations. Such development has led to new McDonald’s in sites as varied as cross-channel ferries, a bowling alley and London’s former County Hall. The Company is committed to responsible growth, and works closely with local planning officers and community groups when developing a new restaurant. When McDonalds decide to open a new restaurant, it is considered as a long-term proposition. For McDonalds, local knowledge is a key factor to choosing new locations. McDonald’s relies on discussions with local managers who are involved at the grass roots level with their local communities.  Key customers & competitors. (McDonalds)  McDonald’s are one of the leading providers of quick service food globally. In the UK, the company has 1,250 restaurants – around 500 of which are franchised operations. Seen as how McDonalds are a very big and successful franchise, they are bound to have competitors such as:McDonald’s are one of the only franchises to have a goal of no more than two complaints per restaurant per month. Using Business Objects to spot problems early, such as staffing levels, some 500 stores have achieved zero complaints for more than two months. In McDonalds, customer service is improved by information from the three â€Å"Mystery Shopper† visits to each restaurant monthly. This information includes, amongst other criteria, whether or not there was a friendly greeting, whether the server was wearing a name badge, as well as the overall cleanliness of the restaurant.  Some of McDonald’s external influences may affect the way that the business is managed and run. For example, if there were complaints being made about the level of pay for its workers then McDonald’s might have to respond to this. Even though it could be argued that the workers demands are not an external influence the company would still face pressure to make judgments about the nature of its decision-making.  The business location (Nike) Nike are known worldwide and have many stores throughout different countries, these include of:  Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russian federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK and Ireland.  In Nike’s case, it is very important that all of their locations suit to their liking because Nike aims to get out of their store locations including, profit and popularity. Before building a new store, Nike may need to take into account the following factor.