Burger King Beefs Up Global Operations

Business and Marketing
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Introduction
The core competency of a business is the primary reason for existence. Often, businesses have a number of activities that they engage in. There is, however, the core business activity which is considered to be its competency. The core competency of Burger King is a fast food business and in particular, the hamburger business hence Burger King. It is among the biggest fast foods chains that specialized division of hamburgers. In line with its core competency, the business has developed a strategy that is in tandem. It is this strategy that has helped the business create a niche for itself in the fast food industry. One of these strategies is the method of cooking burgers adopted by Burger King. This method of frame broil instead of using a grill to fry as is done by other fast foods has given Burger King an edge. The other strategy is giving customers a choice through their “Have it as you want’ strategy. This means that they can customize the orders of customers to fit their needs.
Value Chain Activities
When Burger King was established, the main business activity was making burgers. Over the years, the company has diversified her activities to include other food times in the menu. They offer breakfast and salads, soft drinks and other food items normally sold by fast food chains. However, the burger remains the main business activity that adds value to the business.
Expansion
Although Burger King has managed to expand her activities into various parts of the globe, it did so way later after her competitor McDonald’s. The late entry had both benefits and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that for markets that are relatively small, creating a niche becomes difficult. This is due to low number of suppliers. On the other hand however, late expansion has rewarded Burger King by giving her an opportunity to give something different to the market. Majority of her competitors have continually offered similar products to the markets. An entry of Burger King is hence an opportunity for the market to experience something different altogether.
When an international business such as Burger King is seeking to enter a new market, it is faced with a number of challenges and benefits as well. One of the biggest challenges is the modifications of menus by local organizations to keep up with competition of the new entrant (Peng, 2013). This makes it difficult for the new entrant su...