Page 81 - Beyond Methods

Maximizing learning opportunities 69 McDonald’s has nearly 30 restaurants in India, selling chicken,
lamb and vegetarian products. Apology
McDonald’s has now conceded ground. The corporation’s web site on nutrition says it regrets if customers felt information was in- complete.
A spokesman for McDonald’s said: “We’re not too big to apolo- gize.”
The company has also clarified its policy, saying that in pre- dominantly Muslim countries it conforms strictly to Halal stan- dards with no beef or pork flavouring.
But the apology is unlikely to head off the lawsuit in the United States being brought by the Hindus, for whom the cow is a sacred animal.
In America, non-Hindu vegetarians are divided on the issue.
Some say they are outraged, but others say that the name of Mc- Donald’s is synonymous with beef—so what did customers really expect?
3.3.7 Use one or two texts that students brought, or use the text given above. Ask them to read and analyze the texts critically, arguing for and against the practice McDonald’s followed in a particular case. In the case of the above story, ask them whether it is fair for McDonald’s not to have given “complete” information to its customers. Touch upon any compromise McDonald’s may have to make to balance economic com- pulsions, cultural expectations, and public relations.
3.3.8 Next, focus on the economic aspect of globalization, again with particular reference to McDonald’s. Use text selected by students them- selves as part of assignment 3.3.6 above. If necessary, use the following text.
Background information: When McDonald’s opened its restaurants in India, labor unions and political activists opposed the company using catchy slogans such as Micro chips, yes; potato chips, no. What they meant was that the government of India should invite computer companies to make microchips in India, which would benefit the In- dian economy, rather than allowing foreign companies to make potato chips, which would harm the economic interests of small farmers and restaurant owners. More strikingly, in France, Jose Bové, a leader of a farmers’ union, was recently jailed for organizing the destruction of a McDonald’s under construction in his town. He has since become a celebrity in France and elsewhere.