McDonald’s Globalization: Golden Arches, Big Mac Index, MaDonal (2024)

The ‘Big Mac Index’ tries to use the prices of Big Macs in different countries to compare the accuracy of the exchange rates for different currencies. This is possible because McDonald’s operates in over 100 countries and the Big Mac is uniform in size and content in all countries

The ‘Golden Arches Theory’ is that no two countries that have Mcdonald’s will ever go to war, because after developing a large and strong enough middle class, they feel they will have too much to lose. Personally, in a way, I feel this theory makes sense. However, many issues cause a larger commotion and stronger opinions than people wanting to work or have a burger and fries instead of fighting for what they believe.

‘MaDonal’ is a copy of the real McDonalds. It illustrates the symbolic role Mcdonald’s has; representing prosperity in the globalized world. The case of MaDonal reflects the relationship between globalization and post-war Iraq because the owner of a restaurant, Suleiman Quassab, had tried to bring the franchise he experienced in Europe back home to Iraq. He was turned down because of the instability of the country, but he opened up a ‘MaDonal’ restaurant resembling McDonald’s to reproduce part of the stable world he had experienced in Europe.

In the case of Mcdonald’s expanding internationally, Economic Globalization is reflected. In the case of ‘MaDonal’ cultural globalization (a harmonization of the world’s cultures) is reflected. Social Globalization can also be argued because all humans across the world are now experiencing McDonald’s restaurants. McDonald’s plays such a large role in globalization because it represents all communities and cultures across the Earth enjoying the same experience. It represents a common interest in one area (North America) spreading throughout the world.

Two other corporations that play similar iconic roles are Wal-Mart stores and Ford. Positively, these corporations increase job opportunities worldwide and potentially bring income and wealth wherever they locate. Negatively, these corporations can bring forth poor labor conditions in third, fourth, and fifth world countries because of the high demand for goods. Four individuals that are iconic global figures include Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Craig Kielburger (founder of Free the Children), and Sir Peter Scott (founder of World Wildlife Foundation). I believe all these individuals portray a positive influence on globalization because they all want to bring positive change to the world.