Burger King Beefs up Global Operations, Essay Example

Burger king is one of the global fast food restaurants. It has more than 10,000 restaurants worldwide, and with more than 400,000 staff members. Its alarming grown rate and fame is a subject that this paper seeks to investigate.

Burger king stands tall amongst its competitors. The main strategy Burger king uses is the way of cooking its hamburgers. They use the flame- broiled method instead of the usual frying grill method. Burger King employs this value chain, as it is partly inclusive of activities involved in the conversion and processing of raw materials into a finished product, with the aim of creating a competitive advantage. With this, the popularity of Burger king raises everyday. This value chain of cooking hamburger differently creates the most value to the company. They focus on having customers having food in a manner of their choice (Abram, 2012). They have a wide choice of meals inclusive of breakfast, and a vast appetizing menu inclusive of choices of chicken and fish, all coming with a salad offer.  Secondly, the other strategy employed by the Burger king is the innovative advertisement campaigns. In fact, there was an interesting campaign by the Burger king recently, where the company gathered people who had never tasted burger, more especially from the remote areas. These people were to take part in a comparative taste test that occurred between Whopper sandwiches and Big Macs. Through this, Burger king gained fame and gained new customers.

Expansions into larger markets and more especially international ones have advantages and disadvantages associated. The main advantage is the expected rise in sales, thus more revenue. However, the initial costs associated with the opening are too high (Morrison, & Maureen 2012). The management could also be an issue, and the company could end up running at a loss. Decisions made to leave international companies could arise due to non-performance of a franchise. Other cases arise also because the customers may turn out to be less as anticipated in supporting necessary infrastructure as slaughterhouse and beef grinding facilities. In addition to the small market, cases could also arise where the suppliers are few or unreliable, the culture and the way of eating differs, etc. It is during these vicissitudes that competitive companies take advantage to domineer in the market.

The desire to enter into a new country arises due to a recognized business loophole. The entry into the market, however, is associated with difficulties. The government regularities in the new country could be too harsh. The culture of the people would be different, and customers would prefer their local restaurants (Data Monitor, 2011). On top of that, the local companies could decide to copy, or rather alter their menus to appear as that of Burger King. The number of customers would decrease, as some customers would prefer promoting their local company, while only a few would like to try foods from the foreign company.

Burger king has domineered the US and Canada, where, most of the Burger King’s restaurants incomes are in its Americas region. The argument holds for the fact that these nations comprise of the largest number of consumers. The relationship should however change, as there are yet so many other countries for investment. The US and Canada are not the only countries with young people; the youth are all over. There is a need for further expansion to reduce the two-third fraction that construes of Burger king revenues. The US and Canada should at least contribute to a half, while the rest of the world formulates the other half.

The younger generation is the major target customer of the Burger Kings, and any other fast food restaurant. This marks the reason behind why Burger King chooses to enter countries with many youth and shopping centers. The shopping centers are the meeting joints for youth, and in the process of their meeting, they are likely to consume fast foods (Burger King Worldwide Holdings, Inc. 2012). A large population of youths and a safe pro business environment means a greater number of sales, which is the anticipation for every business.

Burger Kings has its headquarters in Miami, the capital for Latin America. Miami is strategically located and many people from Latin America and those from Caribbean come to, or pass through Miami. This has played a major role in contributing to Burger King’s reputation. The brand recognition and acceptance within the region is highly accepted (Market Watch, 2011). This has positively affected the Burger King. The fact that Latin American and Caribbean countries are near Miami enables Burger King’s management to visit these countries, and for the  franchisees to visit Burger King’s headquarters. However, this has lead to too much concentration to the place. It has limited the growth into the global competitive position.

The future of a business is of paramount importance. As the CEO, I would venture into exploring areas needing investment. The strategy of offering products and services would be as per request, where the whole procedure at the Burger king would be on service based on “your wish is our command.” Taking into consideration that everyone is looking for a loophole into a business, the Burger King, as a company should be at the watch out.  We would carry out a market research aimed at identifying the evolving consumer needs and intruding into the new generation market. Any weakness worked upon, and with the knowledge that the future of Burger Kings lies in the management, I would work tirelessly towards its success.

References

Abram, J. (2012). All Hail The King: Burger King: Quarterly Profit Jumps 60%. Forbes.com. p5-5. 1p.

Burger King Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (2012). Burger King Worldwide Holdings, Inc. Continues Aggressive Global Expansion Plans with Accelerated Growth in China. Business Wire (English).

Datamonitor: Burger King Corporation ( 2011). Burger King Corporation SWOT Analysis.  p1-10. 10p.

Market Watch, (2011). Company Spotlight: Burger King Corporation: Food, Vol. 10 (11), p20-25, 6p.

Morrison, K. & Maureen J. (2012). Is Burger King poised to retake second place from Wendy’s Advertising. Vol. 83(22), p2-18. 2p