Foreword, The Unknown McDonald's Summary and Analysis

The foreword to the book explains its purpose. Many people know the outer face of McDonald's, the restaurant, but few understand its inner-workings. Within McDonald's Plaza in Oak Brook, IL, west of Chicago, the main office looks like a war room. It is not pretentious. McDonald's promotes its brand but not its inner workings. The press focuses on the outside, as McDonald's prefers it. At other times, the corporation prefers to focus on its legendary founder, Ray A. Kroc, his genius and hard work ethic.

McDonald's has been wildly successful, with over 96% of Americans having eaten at one in the past year (1995). It has 14,000 restaurants, has served over 100 billion hamburgers and employs over 500,000 Americans. It is the country's largest purchaser of beef and consumes 5% of the United States' potato crop. When McDonald's introduces a new...