Today’s trend boasts of globalization, wherein you introduce a common idea or thought, thus creating a large following all over the world. This is thought to provide unity among nations thus, creating a better place for people to live in and interact with other people. Globalization is being manifested in what could be the largest instrument to promote a globally competitive society – the fast food business. Over the years, the fast food business has grown quite a large following all over the world. Many of these fast food chains originated from the U.S. and have spread globally, “catering” to the needs of the people all over the world. One of these fast food tycoons or maybe, tyrants is McDonalds. A household name, McDonalds has spread all over the land, establishing branches in six out of the seven continents there is. Sporting a clown as a mascot, it aims for the young people’s attention, thus pulling a great number of following, even attracting adults to the “McCraze.” With this in hand, we could say that McDonald’s poses a great influence not only in the food business market, but also poses an impact to the society of every place they tend to settle into.
Food and Culture. Food is undeniably an important aspect of culture. It is a concept wherein it determines a person’s preference, which is connected to his cultural background. It is also something that connects people within a society together. By far, eating represents a person’s background, as well as his preferences and cultural upbringing. This is the reason why some countries condemn the idea of food globalization, why some people hate how McDonald’s wish to create global fastfood supremacy. This is merely a manifestation of a worldwide movement against capitalist corporations wishing to make money with the use of globalization. They are not considering how they would create confusion with these cultures.
According to Keith, “[Globalization] is more of a barrier preventing them from continuing in teaching their children their own cultural values and beliefs. Though globalization can be a good thing and bring new ideas to various areas of the world, there needs to be a stopping point. Continuation of this concept could lead to problems if people begin feeling it is forced on them instead of it presenting new choices. This is something that should always be kept in mind when marketing and globalizing any product or business. Personal preference should be the top most consideration before globalization becomes totally viewed as an intruder rather than an asset (Keith).” But for McDonald’s, they see this move as merely providing people another option, another choice for the people of what to eat. Their motives maybe about profit, but as the company sees it; it depends on how people would take this topic. Some may see it as an intrusion, but McDonald’s move to spread worldwide is merely a manifestation of their popularity. If the people don’t like McDonald’s interference on their cultures, then they wouldn’t patronize the food company. Associating food with culture is actually not a problem of McDonald’s but a problem of choice.
But looking closely, we can’t say that it is easy to introduce the same food to every culture. This is the part where the globally-tailored food concept is not acceptable, wherein you introduce similar food choices to all the people. With these, you are destroying the diversity of these cultures. McDonald’s offers a commercialized menu composed of beef, potatoes and soda. They can’t expect everyone to eat these things, especially those who are in the eastern part of the world. The region that the people are staying has a great say on how people would react to these foods, thus creating a different social identity. McDonald’s creates a gap in the natural stability of the different cultures individuality.
Considering the current situation, the world’s cultures are moving towards globalization, slowly merging the different social values. The then-distinguishable differences are slowly turning out to be a streamlined identity for these different cultures. This could be good at some perspective, but not necessarily for all.
McDonald’s and the World
McDonald’s has opened it branches all over the world, increasing their reach and influence, not only with the Americans but with the rest of the world. It has established in more than a hundred countries all over the world and has erected thousands of McDonald’s establishments worldwide and literally dominated in the fast food business which no other food chain business has ever surpassed. But along with this, McDonald’s has received a lot of negative reactions not only from Americans but also from the locals of the places they invade. This is because of various factors concerning competition and dominance in the business, something that McDonald’s has aced all throughout the years.
When McDonald’s expands to another country, it elicits various reactions from the people. Their move on globalization may be taken positively or negatively. For most of the consumers, having a McDonald’s in their neighborhood adds another choice of where to eat. Fastfood is really fast food, and McDonald’s is known for its service. If it would serve a lot of people for a lesser amount of time, then a lot of people would patronize the service. We are living in a fast-paced world, wherein every minute counts. We can’t afford a 30-minute wait for a 10-minute meal, so it’s better to order in a McDonald’s than in a restaurant. That is where the issue of competition comes in the picture.
When McDonald’s erects an establishment in a country, it directly competes with the locals when it comes to food service. And most of the time, McDonalds wins the competition, thus forcing the losing food store to close or move to another area. McDonald’s popularity could easily take down the local businesses. In an article by Mallaby, “Hyperpower invites backlash, and McDonald’s has not escaped such consequences. In 1999 a French farmer named Jose Bove ransacked a McDonald’s and became a hero of the anti-globalization left; last year a plastic Ronald McDonald was discovered dangling from a French bridge, a ball and chain fastened to an ankle (Mallaby).” This is a manifestation of people’s disgust. This has been the negative aspect of having a McDonald’s around you, especially if you’re in the food business. It reduces competition to nothingness, since it receives a lot of publicity and is known to a greater number of people. If this continues, it will become a McDonald’s manipulated food market, a monopoly of multinational companies destroying the local business.
Conclusion
Looking closely, we could see that McDonald’s globalization campaign has really paid off, with profits flowing in their pockets. But along with this, it has caused uproar from various people from different walks of life. Globalization has brought them closer to the people, but the closer they are to each other, the more they see their mistakes.
References:
“Mcdonalds”. 2000. February 3 2007. <http://www.harpers.org/McDonalds.html>.
“Mcdonald’s”. 2006. February 3 2007. <http://www.infoshop.org/octo/matrix/index.php/McDonald’s>.
“Mcdonald’s Corporation “. 2006. February 23 2007. <http://www.answers.com/topic/mcdonald-s>.
“No Peace until Mcdonalds Is Deceased”. 2002. February 3 2007. <http://www.mwr.org.uk/rabid.htm>.
“What Is Wrong with Mcdonalds?” 2005. February 3 2007. <http://www.mypage.tsn.cc/c_richardson/maccas.htm>.
“Why Does Mcdonalds Lie in Their Ads?” 1997. February 3 2007. <http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=0001Iu>.
“Why Mcdonalds Is an Evil Corporation”. 2005. February 3 2007. <http://www.rajuabju.com/literature/anti-mcdonalds.htm>.
Karon, Tony. “Adieu, Ronald Mcdonald”. 2002. February 3 2007. <http://www.time.com/time/columnist/karon/article/0,9565,196925,00.html>.
Keith, Misty. “Over Globalization”. 2006. February 3 2007. <http://www.en.articlesgratuits.com/over-globalization-id396.php>.
Mallaby, Sebastian. “Winning Hearts and Stomachs”. 2007. February 3 2007. <http://culturecollapse.vox.com/>.
