McDonald’s in France and Morocco, Essay Example

Although many individuals believe that McDonald’s in an American restaurant, it has many locations around the world. Major factor that contributes to the availability of McDonald’s in foreign nations is directly related to the culture of the people that live there. Two of the main factors that impact the number of franchises overseas includes the extent to which Western culture has been immersed into society and whether the society is resistant to cultural change. To further evaluate this relationship, the presence of McDonald’s will be examined in France and Morocco. According to the McDonald’s Annual Report, there were 1,258 franchises operating in France as of 2012 and 32 franchises operating in Mexico as of 2013.

One of the major factors that contributes to the availability of McDonald’s compared to Morocco is the degree to which these countries have become westernized. Although we typically define westernization as acceptance and integration of the American culture, it is essential to emphasize that this phenomenon is unique for each country that participates. France became “westernized” primarily due to its ability to communicate with the United States. This connection between France and America began in 1789 when the American Revolution encouraged French rebels to fight for democracy in the French Revolution. Although the two nations have many cultural differences, they share common political values, which leads to a more frequent exchange of ideas. Furthermore, this idea exchange is bolstered by the fact that the United States and France are not at a disabling geographic distance; trade between the two nations occurs frequently by air and ship. The advent of the internet strengthened this relationship even further, as communication between the two nations is at an all-time high. As a consequence of this increased communication potential, the French and Americans have formed bonds that allow one another to be more accepting of their unique cultures. This led to an American appreciation of French food and a reciprocal appreciation in which the French enjoy American food; this phenomenon extends to McDonald’s. Although the French don’t have nearly as many locations as the United States, 1,258 restaurants is still considered a large quantity for a foreign nation.

Interestingly, Morocco did not have its first McDonald’s location until 1992, 20 years after France’s first restaurant had been established. A major contributing factor towards this phenomenon is due to Morocco’s geographic location. It is important to note that the geographic contribution to the lack of McDonald’s is more reasonably due to the fact that the United States has less business on the continent of Africa compared to Europe. In fact, the United States is 4,760 miles away from France and 4,867 miles away from Morocco. Although Morocco is slightly further from the United States than France, the 107 mile difference is negligible in an international voyage. As a consequence, we can conclude that Morocco has less McDonald’s franchises because it does less business with the United States overall. Furthermore, communication between the United States and Morocco is difficult. For example, 83% of the French population has access to and uses the internet. In Morocco, only 55% of the population uses the internet.

In conclusion, there are more McDonald’s franchises in France than Morocco due to its increased likelihood to communicate with the United States. Interestingly, this difference is not due to the physical distance between these two nations and the United States because they are approximately equal. Rather, this phenomenon is due to the ability that each nation has to physically or virtually access the United States, its business, and ideas.