There is a blog entry on Businessweek’s website entitled “McDonald’s Enters the Age of Transparency.” It explains that starting this week McDonald’s will begin to post the calorie content of their food on the menu boards in each establishment. This is two years prior to a federal regulation, stemming from President Obama’s health care reform, requiring all restaurants to do so on their menus. The article goes on to explain that McDonald’s has done this prior to the regulation because it is something their customers want and it shows that they are not trying to hide anything, which the entry calls transparency, making them a responsible, trustworthy and respectable company. Many people are becoming more health conscious and are starting to count calories or eliminate certain foods and/or ingredients from their diet as they become more aware of what constitutes a healthy diet.
Awareness is not only becoming important in foods but in products as well. The driving force behind this article is the fact that people want to know exactly what is included in the items they purchase as we are not only becoming a health aware society, but an ecological one too. Whether you consider it a trend or rising worry over global warming and oil prices, one thing is certain–people are being more attentive and frugal. The frugality may, and probably is, a result of our current economy both countrywide and worldwide; on the other hand the idea of worth or quality in a product may also play a key role. As we have learned in class, quality is one of the main factors in determining whether or not someone purchases something. The only problem is how do you define quality? The definition is different to everyone. For some it may be reputable brand, others may judge on materials, appearance and price. This is why companies must do extensive research in designing and developing their products to ensure they meet the customer’s wants and needs as closely as possible as demonstrated in our paper plane project.
While this transparency provides the customer with a clear picture of what is included in their purchases and the company with the possibility of greater profits, if they truly took customer opinion to heart. Looking deeper another benefit of transparency to a company is helping to reduce any liability issues if eventually sued. Cigarette and alcohol companies serve as the best examples since they are required to disclose the risks of using their merchandise in the form of Surgeon General Warnings. Toy companies also serve as a good example; they are required to state choking hazards on their products. The reducing liability aspect may be seen by some as a way of the company protecting itself, suggesting unsafe products or poor craftsmanship and possibly low quality. It all depends on the customer’s way of thinking showing that the customer truly leads the market.
What do you think?
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-18/mcdonald-s-enters-the-age-of-transparency
I agree with the fact that our generation is becoming more health conscious especially with this outrageous upward spike in obesity. With this awareness, consumers are prone to look at labels and avoid certain “do’s” and “dont’s”, such as avoiding products that have MSG in them. As far as tangible products, (uneatable), quality is the most factor as you pointed out.
Yet, our time of recession has made it too difficult for consumers to blindly grab a certain product whose label states the best quality. As we all know quality comes at a high price and if the GDP has a negative turnout in our economy then we cannot really look forward to buying the highest quality products at roof level pricing. Overall, this was a great article and a great find, thanks for sharing.
Quality is valued through the people using the product or service. As we learned, you cannot built a product or sell a service without asking what the customer values and wants.
In this case, McDonald’s has learned that people are becoming more aware of what they are eating. McDonald’s is hoping that by stating their calories amount upfront, they will win over customer loyalty and convince people that their fast food can be quality food.
I wonder if this is a tactic that will actually work for them. In an article published in the New York times last year, it revealed that a current happy meal has “520 calories and 26 grams of fat” (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/business/mcdonalds-happy-meal-to-get-healthier.html). Will this new tactic actually improve their sales, when calorie numbers are so high? Also, how truthful will their calorie count actually be?
Again, I think that the answer to these questions will relate back to the fact that quality is perceived on an individual basis. There will be those that will support the movement and there will be of course a lot of backlash. Regardless, it will be interesting to see what happens and if other competitors will follow suit to promote quality in fast food this way.
After reading this article, I believe that McDonald’s decision to post all their food’s caloric count on their menus both in store and in drive thru is a courageous one. As we become a more conscious and responsible society we have begun to demand the truth about the products, services, and even food that we eat. Choosing to be honest with customers before many other restaurants are forced to shows that McDonald’s has nothing to hide and realizes that they have faults (unhealthy food). I believe that while many may think that posting caloric count of their food will have a negative impact on fast food restaurants, this will actually have an adverse effect and will improve sales and potentially encourage production of even healthier foods at fast food restaurants all over the world. After all, honesty is the best policy.
For McDonalds to ensure quality to their consumers is just another wise decision that shows how McDonalds is still rank number one in the fast food industry. They want to move away from the past when they were known for cheap, fast, and unhealthy food, and towards cheap, fast, and healthy food. Companies, in order to thrive, they have to predict social and economic change. As for now, people wants to be healthy but the economy is bad.
I think it is commendable that McDonalds is putting calorie labels on their menu even before it is required. It shows that they aren’t trying to hide the fact that McDonalds is not a healthy food option. No matter what the calorie count is, people are still going to eat McDonalds. What else can you buy with a dollar? It costs so much more to be food conscious than to order off the dollar menu at fast food joints.
While I agree that this is a courageous move, I ultimately feel that it’s unnecessary. McDonald’s has posted complete nutritional information on their website for sometime. They have also made healthy additions to their menu in recent years. In other words, I feel that McDonald’s has done more than enough to let people know that their product is unhealthy. The bulk of the blame for the obesity epidemic in America is often placed on the fast food industry. I believe this blame is misplaced. There are many factors that contribute to people making unhealthy nutritional choices. At the end of the day, McDonald’s has the right to produce and serve their product, and patrons have the right to choose whether they purchase that product. In addition, if a patron chooses to purchase an unhealthy product, I believe they have the right to consume that product without being inundated with the health implications of their purchase.
To answer the initial question “Do content and warning labels influence quality?” i feel they do. I found this article very interesting, and personally i enjoy seeing calorie counts right on the label to think twice about the junk i put in my boby. With corporations seeing this influx of healither people they need to adjust these high numbers on the labels or menus(in mcdonalds case)to satisfy customers. I mean would you rather eat an 800 calorie burger or a 250 calorie one. Well we never knew before but know we know, and i feel the quality will be improved for all because of a more aware customer base. If customers want healither quality, mcdonalds has no choice but to produce such.
I read a really interesting article sort of pertaining to this from the Huffington Post. It stated how 42% of Americans will be obese by 2030. So I think that it is great that McDonald’s and other restaurants are required to show the calories on their menus. It is kind of like a warning label, which I agree, influences quality and ensures the customer to know exactly what they are getting. This is a first step forward so customers will have complete knowledge on the quality of their food.
I believe that while McDonald’s thinks it is a smart idea to provide customers with a listing of calorie amounts for their food items on the menu, the choice could ultimately backfire. The transparency may provide customers with a clear representation of what is included in their purchase, but it could negatively effect McDonald’s overall food sales. Personally, I have visited many food establishments that list the calorie amounts with foods they are selling on their menu such as Corner Bakery, Potbelly, etc. If I see an item on the menu that is too high it will always drive me away from purchasing that item. I believe that if people were to compare the calorie amounts provided at other food establishments compared to McDonald’s it would drive away a large amount of revenue from McDonald’s because the public will realize that there are many other places they could eat that would be a healthier choice.
I completely agree with you on how the people are becoming healthier towards the food they purchase and eat. McDonald’s is doing the right things because almost all restaurants when you go to their website then have a nutrition chart where you could see how many calories is the food you want to eat before you even go. So many people are counting the calories they eat day by day to stay healthy. My family and friends when we decide to go to a restaurant we go in and check the nutrition chart and then we decide we want to go there or not so McDonald’s is following the right path.
Another thing that I found interesting is how everyone defines quality differently and how some people judge the product by price. I sometimes feel like I’m one of those people because most of the time when I’m shopping I feel like the higher price product is better just because it’s more expensive especially when it comes to medications. My friends tell me that I’m wrong because its not true sometimes the lower price is better then the high priced by but for some reason I feel the opposite. So overall I agree with you on how people are changing more and more everyday towards health and quality.
I think that McDonald’s decision to disclosue the nutritional information of their products is smart and is a good business decision. It is obvious to most Americans’ that food from McDonald’s is unhealthy. By providing more detailed and readily available nutritional information I doubt that many customers will be prompted to stop eating there are consume less. In doing this however I think that McDonalds is building trust with the consumer and this corporate responsibility goes a ling way. I think that customers will value the fact that McDonalds cares about the consumer and in turn think of the company in general in a better light. In my opinion I think that this is a smart pr move on McDonalds’ part.
I understand why McDonald’s is doing this and has been doing this even before it was a requirement. The company really listens to its shareholders and considers their suggestions. If they didn’t listen to theri customers then it wouldn’t have the products it does including the healthier initiative of the Happy Meal. What I do question is the title of the article itself-Do content and warning labels influence quality. In reality I don’t think that it does because McDonald’s is merely adding factual health contents to its products, its not redefining the product. Moving forward if the company were to change the ingredients and calories of its products then we could say that the content label could have had something to do with it because they didn’t like advertising that they were unhealthy. The same goes with cigarettes. Just because cigarettes are required to put warning labels doesn’t mean that they are going to make the product any less dangerous in order to raise the quality of it and target a different market. In the end the warning labels and content labels are all factual.