Case Study

Mcdonald's Argentina

9 pages
June 2002
Reference: IMD-5-0600

The management of McDonald’s Argentina faces a communications crisis: A controversial TV program urges consumers to stop visiting McDonald’s stores and refrain from eating McPollo (McChicken) burgers following an official announcement that potentially harmful bacteria had been found in these chicken products. Although the McDonald’s management believes that the information is probably unfounded, it is 100% committed to doing the right thing. This case looks at how companies may find themselves victims of unexpected events. In the name of a political cause or for “convenient personal” reasons, smart but unscrupulous customers may challenge leading corporations and the trust that other consumers had put in their hands. Corporate damage can be significant. Consequently, communicating effectively in times of crisis is absolutely key. The objective is to learn best practices for crisis management, how companies can prepare themselves to limit the potential damage, how to act and react and what are the “dos and don’ts” when facing this kind of situation.

Keywords
Crisis Management, Media, Fast Food
Settings
Latin America, Argentina
McDonald's
2002
Type
Field Research
Copyright
© 2002
Available Languages
English
Related material
Teaching note, Video
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