Stock Price Update

MCD closed today at $78.26 up $0.33 (or 0.42%). 

http://www.google.com/finance?q=mcd

Stay tuned for the final two Blog posts later this week!!!

Ronald McDonald House

McDonald's is known for their Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC).  If you watch much TV at all, then you have probably seen the McDonald's ads for "Hope" and "Happy Meals."  McDonald's will make a one cent donation to RMHC for each Happy Meal or Mighty Kids Meal that is purchased throughout the year. 

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/promotions/mchappyday.html

While one cent may not sound like a lot, I can only imagine the number of Happy Meals that McDonald's sells in a year.  I have a feeling the one-cent donation will be considerable.

My family has personal experience with RMHC and only sings its' praises.  I have triplet nieces that were premature and had a long stay in the hospital.  Their parents were able to stay at a Ronald McDonald House next to the hospital in order to be close by their children without enduring large expenses.  I am happy to say the girls are now 10 years old and as happy and healthy as can be.  RMHC has definitely provided for a lot of families needs.

STOCK PRICE UPDATE: 

MCD closed today at $79.01 down $0.51 (or 0.64%).

http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AMCD

Stock Price Update

MCD closed Friday at $79.64 up $0.62 (or 0.78%).  MCD continues to perfrom well.  Its' low for this 52-week period was $60.04, which occurred in December 2009.  What a difference a year can make.

http://www.google.com/finance?q=mcd

McDonald's Culture and Culture in general

The McDonald's culture could probably be best summed up in the words of McDonald's founder, Ray Kroc.

“If I had a brick for every time I’ve repeated the phrase Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value, I think I’d probably be able to bridge the Atlantic Ocean with them.” —Ray Kroc

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/our_story/our_history/the_ray_kroc_story.html

Quality, Service, Cleanliness, and Value continue to be the mantra used by McDonald's and its' employees even today.  All decisions and policies are made with this in mind.  This corporate culture is maintained by its' different restaurants regardless of the country in which it is located.

While McDonald's is known for its' standardized food and service, it also must cater to the different cultures in the many different nations it has stores.  So, it has to adapt menus accordingly, but it still continues to follow the "Quality, Service, Cleanliness, and Value" plan.  For instance, in India Mickey D's does not serve pork or beef, so it greatly expanded its' vegetarian menu.  Additionally, McDonald's has made adjustments for other cultures as well to ensure it pleases the local consumer and maintains a loyal customer base all the while maintaining its' service and value.

 http://www.meattradenewsdaily.co.uk/news/130910/india___vegetables_for_mcdonalds_.aspx

While MCD took a hit on the stock price today closing at $77.42 (down $1.65), it is still performing very well overall proving that its' corporate culture is working. 

http://www.google.com/finance?q=mcd

October Sales Figures

McDonald's posted another good sales month.  The month of October showed global comparable sales growth of 6.5%.  Performance by segment was as follows:

U.S. up 5.6%

Europe up 5.8%

Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa up 5.3%

http://phoenix.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97876&p=irol-newsarticle&ID=1493057

These strong sales numbers only improved the stock price as MCD closed today at $79.70 which is up $0.20 (or 0.25%).

http://www.google.com/finance?q=mcd

Scandals, Viral Videos... Mickey D's has both

Who could forget the 2004 documentary, "SuperSize Me", where filmmaker, Morgan Spurlock ate only McDonald's food for 30 days.  The film starts by showing a physical exam of Spurlock with the results stating that he is in great shape.  However, by the end of the 30 days Spurlock had gained 24.5 pounds.  Additionally, Spurlock stated, "My cholesterol shot up 65 points. My liver basically turned to fat. It was so filled with fat the doctors said it was like pate; it was reaching a toxic level, putting me in risk of having non-alcoholics type of hepatitis, hardening of the liver, cirrhosis of the liver. It got really frightening for a while. And the impact it had on my sex life was also another aspect my girlfriend didn’t anticipate.” 

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/06/earlyshow/leisure/main615975.shtml

This movie has appeared to have an impact on McDonald's as they have made a number of changes since then.  The "Super sized" menu items are gone. There new "healthier" options being offered in the form of grilled chicken sandwiches, grilled chicken wraps, and various salads.

In addition, McDonald's endured a recent scandal (in Kentucky no less) when an 18 year old employee was strip searched.  A jury in Bullitt County, Ky., awarded Louise Ogborn $5 million in punitive damages and $1.1 million in compensatory damages and expenses.  Read the complete, horrific story through the following link:

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=3688563&page=1

Stock Price Update

MCD closed today at $79.30 up $0.12 (or 0.15%)

http://www.google.com/finance?q=mcd

Recruitment

McDonald's has a good "Career" section on their website.  It breaks down job opportunities between restaurant opportunities and corporate opportunities.  After choosing one of these, it then takes you into a job search page and allows you search by job category, state, etc. for open job opportunities.  Also under the "Career" page, you can look at business functions, benefits, contact info, Hamburger University, etc.  They also list interview tips, and other info, so feel free to look around.

http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/careers.html

McDonald's further enhanced their recruiting efforts by partnering with Monster.com to list available positions.  

http://jobsearch.mcdonalds.careers.monster.com/

STOCK UPDATE:  closed today at $78.40 up $0.52 (or 0.67%)

http://www.google.com/finance?q=mcd