McDonald’s has come to epitomize the ‘fast food’ industry. When the company started in the 1950s it was the first to establish itself in the market. Now there are hundreds of ‘fast food’ brands in the market competing in different ways. Some of the differences between these fast food chains are obvious. For example, some specialize in chicken products, others in pizza and so on. However, some differences are less obvious. Originally, McDonald’s competed on low price, fast service and a totally standardized service offering. They also offered a very narrow range of items on their menu. Visit a McDonald’s restaurant and deduce what you believe to be its most important performance objectives. Then try and identify two other chains which appear to compete in a slightly different way.

Then try to identify how these differences in the relative importance of competitive objectives must influence the structural and infrastructural decisions of each chain’s operations strategy.