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John F. Love

McDonald's: Behind The Arches Paperback – July 1, 1995

by John F. Love (Author)

210 ratings

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Perfect for fans of The Founder, this is the real-life story of the world’s premier entrepreneurial success.

The growth of McDonald’s worldwide continues to astonish. In tough financial times, McDonald’s proved that ingenuity, trial and error, and gut instinct were the keys to building a service business the entire world has come to admire.

McDonald’s has been a trendsetter in advertising, focusing on different demographics as well as the physically disabled. McDonald’s created McJobs, a program that employs both mentally challenged adults and senior citizens. And because its franchisees have their fingers on the pulse of the marketplace, McDonald’s has evolved successfully with the health food revolution, launching dozens of new products and moving toward environmentally safe packaging and recyclable goods.

Inspiring, informative, and filled with behind-the-scenes stories, this remarkable saga offers an irresistible look inside a great American business success.

Print length

496 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Bantam
Publication date

July 1, 1995
Dimensions

6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0553347594
ISBN-13

978-0553347593
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Love presents a completely revised and updated version of the history behind the voracious hamburger empire.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

McDonald's: it is the world's premier entrepreneurial success story, a company whose growth worldwide continues to be astonishing. In tough financial times, McDonald's proved that ingenuity, trial and error, and gut instinct were the keys to building a service business the entire world has come to admire. In the years since McDonald's: Behind The Arches was first published, McDonald's has been a trendsetter in advertising, focusing on different ethnic groups as well as the physically disabled. McDonald's created McJobs, a program that employs both mentally challenged adults and senior citizens. And because its franchisees have their fingers on the pulse of the marketplace, McDonald's has evolved successfully with the health food revolution, launching dozens of new products and moving toward environmentally-safe packaging and recyclable goods. Inspiring, informative, and filled with behind the scenes stories, this remarkable saga offers an irresistible look inside a great American business success.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bantam; Revised edition (July 1, 1995)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0553347594
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0553347593
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.08 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #113,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #269 in Culinary Biographies & Memoirs
- #319 in Company Business Profiles (Books)
- #468 in Business Professional's Biographies

Customer Reviews:
210 ratings

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2 star		3%
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Erick Manteuffel

Yes, entrepreneurship was exciting before the microchip!

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2017

Verified Purchase

Whooda thunk? Food franchises were sexy before the Information Age! Kroc (building on the restaurant formula of the McDonald brothers) reinvented the franchise, the cooking equipment, training, food quality, finance technique (through Sonneborn) and on and on. I read this because I liked the movie, The Founder, but this is so much better. More impressive and more positive, (e.g., Kroc didn't actually screw the brothers out of any percentage points). Everyone Kroc touched ended up wealthy.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Whetstone Guy

A Fast Read--A drive down Memory Lane for someone who was a teenager in the 1960s

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2011

Verified Purchase

1. I concur completely with another reviewer, Paul Dsouza, whose review is below.

2. I do have a few other comments to add.

a. The book answered my question how Ray Kroc got started (he needed to support himself since he was 52 when he franchised McDonalds and was not living with his parents) with very little money in a business that now requires hundreds of thousands of dollars to start.

b. Ray Kroc made a number of mistakes. For one, his master agreement with the McDonald Brothers was so much in their favor that he constantly violated the agreement. Another mistake the book points out is that at the beginning he franchised some stores in California and could not effectively monitor these restaurants from his Chicago, Illinois area small business office.

c. Ray Kroc should never have have been the franchising agent for the McDonalds. He should have started a chain with a different name and used the McDonald Brothers as paid consultants. The McDonald brother's operations in California was just a local affair and the good will from their business to the Chicago area was zero. Why pay royalties when all he needed was their expertise! After a short while, Ray Kroc had more expertise in the fast food business than the McDonald brothers, but he was locked into their franchise agreement, which cost him $2.7 million in cash to buy out.

d. The book points out Ray Kroc's idiosyncrasies, some of which were politically incorrect, and many of which would be illegal today. One is not hiring women at the restaurants because he did not want the restaurants to be hang outs for teenagers.

e. Ray Kroc, as others in his time and now, changed the way food is prepared for restaurant chains. Now food is prepared by the suppliers; it is factory prepared food. That keeps costs down and makes for uniformity. There is a technology or science to preparing food. Ray Kroc was a big part of that movement.

f. Ray Kroc's personality is interesting. He was fair and honest with his franchisees and suppliers. He was well intentioned. He was not driven primarily by money as he was in building a business. He took the long view and basically gave away the franchises at the beginning. But like many managers who own their own businesses, he had a temper and acted inappropriately. By that I mean he fired people right and left for small or excusable reasons. His secretary, knowing better, failed to execute his firing orders to give Ray Kroc time to cool off.

g. The book is a fast read and very educational. I enjoyed reading it and recommend it highly. It was a drive down memory lane for me. Of course, it also shows how entrepreneurs succeed through drive, skill, and some luck.

3. Paul Dsouza's review:

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The most interesting part is the actual history of the evolution of McDonald's- the company, the brand, the system. While many people can find fault with the fast food culture of the world and point a finger at McDonald's, one cannot ignore the incredible story that describes the creation of an entire culture. In fact, this book is a must-read for anyone who believes that great companies are created, not by great ideas, but disciplined execution, processes/systems and attention to detail. It taught me a lot about the workings of this giant even though I am not sure I would want to eat there anymore, particularly after reading "Fast Food Nation"!

13 people found this helpful

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pikamath

Great read for business oriented and non business people

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2019

Verified Purchase

I bought this book for my small business class eco 254 and it's a really good book to not only know the origins of Ray Kroc but also about the company as a whole even after he passed away. The movie only covers half the book and there is a lot more to the story than what's shown to the people through the movies

2 people found this helpful

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Jeff Eskow

Great insight into McDonald's fearless leadership

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2018

Verified Purchase

Well written. A great look into how Ray Kroc worked and what his expectations and avenues for growth were.. and how the people around his responded. Not written in perfect chronological order, but the storytelling otherwise makes sense and it's clear what each party on the management team is trying to accomplish.

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2005

Verified Purchase

You know how there have been some searing indictments of McDonald's in the last few years, ranging from "Fast Food Nation" to that movie "Supersize Me"?

Well, this book ain't in that category.

Not that this is an OFFICIAL biography of McDonald's or anything, no. It's just that the author is a little too professional to get into the kind of vicious nitpicking that you might expect, given recent lurid developments (obesity lawsuits, bombings of McDonald's, etc.).

No, this book is more of a mature, considered chronicle of the overall health and strategy of the corporation as a whole than a series of cheap take-downs.

True, Love does criticize McDonald's from time to time, but it's not in particularly vicious terms. For example, in the later chapters, he analyzes in some depth the company's ill-fated diversification strategy in the early 90s. He also happily delves into several of Kroc's kooky, doomed ideas.

Unfortunately, many of the "minor hiccoughs" in the company's recent history (e.g., that French farmer that raised a ruckus, that British couple who have devoted their lives to taking them down) are so well-known and fascinating that their absence is keenly felt. And what interesting reading they would have made, given Love's scholarship and even-handedness.

So, while Love is willing, from time to time, to cast a negative light on McDonald's, for the most part the book is a straight macroeconomic history by a man who obviously admires but is not overly-reverential of one of the world's greatest corporations.

If you find that to your liking, you will certainly declare the book an entertaining and useful read -- especially if you're stuck having to write a serious, no-nonsense paper about the chain's corporate strategy, say for a business class.

26 people found this helpful

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Eli Wallace

Great book!

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

Great book on Ray Kroc and how he really made McDonald’s into what it is today!

Helpful

Matthew

Fantastic insight into a company few know anything about

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2018

Verified Purchase

Fantastic insight into a company few know anything about. (I don’t eat at McDonald’s but I still really like the book).

One person found this helpful

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Michael P. Marshall

good to learn from

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2017

Verified Purchase

very interesting information that can be utilized to learn sales, marketing, culture differences within the country, franchising & mna other business related subjects.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

ACP

Good Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2016

Verified Purchase

I purchased this book used and have had no regrets.

Having eaten a few burgers under the golden arches over the years, from the first time in the 'new style' restaurant in the late seventies. Due to the fact McDonald's has grown to become the most successful restaurant chain on the planet, I decided to find out how in such a short time they had revolutionised an entire industry and peoples eating habits.

You hear so many rumours / myths about the company, the quality of food, exploitation of staff etc I hoped this book would expose the truths. To my disappointment, the company started off and continues to be totally ethical and their success was down to their ruthless pursuit of quality, investment in people and systems. The fact they gained such growth and wealth by ensuring everyone within the supply chain achieved great success by adhering to their new and high standards is something you do not hear about. They looked after their franchisees, employees and suppliers rather than forcing restrictive measures and high fees.

This book was easy to read, the style was good and the story interesting.

2 people found this helpful

The Reader

Incredible book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2019

Verified Purchase

Very well written and structured. Gives incredible detail about the McDonalds history as well as great insight into the business model and what made McDonalds succeed when all the other fast food franchises did not. Highly recommended for people with a real interest in business

One person found this helpful

Esiotrot

Hmm...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2017

Verified Purchase

I sadly couldn’t finish his book. I found it way too boring and flat. I was hoping for some more business insights or analysis and explanations of the strategies but instead it just became a description of what happened without making it interesting. At times it goes of on tangents and I was left thinking “what was the point in this section”. If the author set out to write a bland timeline of McDonald’s then this has been achieved, it’s just a shame it spreads out over hundreds of pages!

2 people found this helpful

Giuseppe Roberto

Superb

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 6, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is a superb business book, very well researched and written. I work in the hospitality industry, I can say that this book is a gold mine for whoever would like to learn about business in general not only food. It is an incredible story. I have read many business books, this one is certainly at the top.
It is highly recommended to people interested in entrepreneurship and whoever would like to get into the food business.

W. Robinson

If you are interested in franchising this is a must read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 8, 2014

Verified Purchase

Fascinating insight into a franchise model, which in turn provides a great benchmark when exploring other franchise models...you will realise that the majority are just after your money as their #1 priority...which is just the opposite of McDonalds

3 people found this helpful

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