International Expansion of Burger King into France Case Study

International Expansion of Burger King into France - Case Study Example Among the different factors identified by this model, we have singled out three that have a particular impact on the success of Burger King. Further PESTLE information is available in Appendix 1. 1. The most critical is the socio-cultural factor. France is a country with a long culinary tradition. French people who consume fast food show preferences guided by considerations of health and nutritional variety (Steele). French ex-employees of foreign fast-food chains have identified such preferences and successfully set up their own fast-food restaurants better aligned to French tastes (Rosenberg). Burger King will therefore need to adapt its cultural approach by extending the menu range beyond the basic burger-soda combination to produce meals to appeal both to the customer who is interested in novelty and fashion and to the one who seeks reassurance from tried and trusted classics. In general, culture occupies an important place in French life and extends beyond eating habits. Literature, art, lifestyle, values and traditions are all watched over and influenced by various French institutions as well as the government. As a nation, France seeks to develop and export its culture: "promoting cultural influence has been national policy for centuries" (Morrison). As such, a certain cultural protectionism exists in the French domestic market. For this reason, standardisation of Burger King operations extended to France must also be tempered by intelligent adaptation to the cultural norms that are deeply rooted in the market (Briscoe). 2. The legal environment and a number of governmental components are also specific to France. While to some degree harmonised with European policy, laws are still largely based on the Napoleonic Code, which has certain significant differences to anglo-saxon law. The french government has also recently begun a national awareness campaign for fitness and healthy eating, typified by its promotional web site (www.mangerbouger.fr). While this has no legal weight, it is an indication of the french government's wish to influence eating habits and therefore food market offerings. This represents both a challenge and an opportunity to Burger King. For example, if the company can adapt its promotional material correctly, Burger King meals can be positioned as the "healthy fast-food alternative" (Rosenberg). 3. Economic factors including exchange rates and inflation will also be important considerations. Exchange rates are based on the euro, which is currently strong against the US dollar. Revenue flowing back to the parent company from Burger King in France will therefore be enhanced, but operating expenses will be higher as well. France has one of the highest numbers of public holidays in Europe and almost double the amount of paid vacation for a salaried employee compared to the US. The french working week was redefined some years ago by the government as 37 hours per week. Where possible, the response of companies in France was to become more efficient in their working practices. However for restaurants such as those of Burger King, the repercussion is on higher staffing expenses. Adaptation of restaurant operating procedures may be required. Competitors of Burger King such as McDonald's (Briscoe) and

Article Summary for MacroEconomics 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Article Summary for MacroEconomics 4 - Essay Example The money provided by the package was almost over and the state’s police, firefighters and teachers were going to lose their jobs. President Obama is once again going to appear before the Congress for another $300 million to create jobs and help the economy. Three rounds of stimulus aid have already been provided by president Obama. The round one was openly and fully criticized by the republicans, in round one $200 billion were used to support tax cuts, $300 billion were used or the support of those who did not have jobs and $300 billion were used for direct investment in different projects. The spending on various projects contributed the most in creating jobs. The round two mainly contributed to the bailout of the auto industry of United States and helped a great deal in creating jobs. The money spend on bailout of auto industry was recovered and returned by the auto manufacturers. The step of helping the auto industry was the most successful one as this helped the auto manu facturers in solving their financial issues, this step alone helped in saving more than 1.5 million jobs. Before the bailout program, the auto manufacturers were in very bad shape and were on the verge of being forced out of the market. The bailout of auto manufacturers has a long term positive impact, these firms are currently doing very well and even employing more employees and posting higher profits. The use of stimulus money in other arenas had very little impact and an overall view suggests that stimulus money invested in other sectors was wasted. The round three of stimulus help was quite effective as huge amount of jobs were created because people had money to spend and due to increase in demand for goods and services there was increase in demand for more workers. More than $858 billion was spent as a part of the stimulus package; money was spent on unemployment assistance provided to those who were out of jobs. During summer, the economic growth and employment growth once a gain stopped and jobs created in the private sector decreased. It is even estimated that president Obama will continue providing unemployment assistance to employees. In my opinion, the president could have dealt with the stimulus package in different ways. The stimulus money was used in certain areas that did not turned out to be quite productive. For example: the tax subsidy, the unemployment benefit was of no great help in creating jobs. Whereas certain developments made with the stimulus money were quite helpful in decreasing unemployment in US. For example: investment in projects and bailout of the auto industry. Instead of giving money directly to the unemployed individuals and providing them unemployment benefits, stimulus money could have used to finance and bailout other sectors of the economy. This would have helped businesses with their liquidity issues and they would have saved themselves from being bankrupt. If businesses would not have closed and money would have been used to help these businesses, employment would have increased. Thus the unemployment assistance would not have been important and neither the tax cuts. The businesses that would have been saved with the help of stimulus money would have made money and they would have paid taxes. Taxes are revenue for the government and are necessary for the development of the economy. The taxes