Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!aplcen!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!psuvax1!psuvm!auvm!VTVM1!CCCS From: CCCS@VTVM1.BITNET (todd pukanecz) Newsgroups: bit.listserv.politics Subject: (no subject given) Message-ID: <90044.1904.CCCS@VTVM1> Date: 13 Feb 90 19:04:41 GMT Sender: Forum for the Discussion of Politics Reply-To: Forum for the Discussion of Politics Lines: 52 Approved: NETNEWS@AUVM Gateway Well... this is now sort of old news, but I finally had some time where I could get this together... The first McDonnald's in Russia opened in Moscow two weeks ago. People lined up for hours to sample the American delicacies in the largest McDonnald's restaurant yet constructed. There is much more to this than one may catch from a casual glance. McDs is using Russian goods at the Moscow store. This presented a problem, since the quality of Russian produce is below the standards McDs requires. McDonnald's Corporation sent western experts to work and live with the Russian farmers. The farmers experienced an increase of up to 100% in their potato crops. McDs sent a heartier strain of cucumber for the farmers to grow, as well as other agricultural aids. McDonnalds had a plant built to process the produce. One of the goods processed is milk (for shakes and cheese). Russian dairy farmers produce plenty of milk, but there are few facilities for pasteurizing, packaging, etc. McDs struck a deal whereby it will process as much milk as the plant can handle, use what it needs, sell the rest to grocery stores, and return a profit to the farmers. The McDonnalds uses Russian managers, who were trained in the states at the famous Hamburger U. The managers were trained not only in food preparation and restaurant management, but also in employee relations. Moscow McDs employees who had previous food service experience were surprised and delighted that they could come to the manager when there was a question and get a prompt, courteous, and knowledgeable answer. Apparently it is common for an employee with a question to be met with a scowl, some chastisement, and little if any help with the problem. The Moscow McDs crew is mostly teenagers (like McDs in the states). These folks are also trained in greeting customers in a prompt, courteous manner. This is also out of the ordinary in Russia, where, if you can find a restaurant that is open, the service is usually slow and surly. Since the rubble is not exchanged on the open market, and Moscow McDs accounts in rubbles, none of the profit made at the Moscow restaurant can leave the country (for now, at least). This means that about the only thing McDs can do with profit from the Moscow store is to build more McDonnalds. This implies that construction crews, more farmers, more managers, and more besmocked teenagers can work in the McDonnalds system. Taken as a whole, this is a wonderful, from-the-ground-up model of a capitalist company in a country that is trying to move toward a more free-enterprise structure. The things that helped the McDs farmers can be shared to help all Russian farmers. The processing plant operations can be copied on smaller or larger scales by other Russian businesses. The interpersonal skills given to the managers and employees of the Moscow McDs can be with them throughout their lives, carried into what- ever other job they may do. This isn't just some big bucks for Big Macs; McDonnalds corporation won't see a dollar of profit from Moscow for a long time. This is a great show of good will on the part of an American cooperation. Not only does this process help a small subset of Russians in the short-run, but gives them skills which can be shared, and a working model of a successful capitalist company to follow, to help all in the long run.