Burger Buddy and Ma Maison
Assume that it is a few moments before your college graduation. You and some classmates have
decided to become entrepreneurs. The group has agreed on the restaurant industry, but your
discussions thus far have gone back and forth between two different dining concepts: Burger
Buddy and Ma Maison.
Burger Buddy would operate near campus in order to serve the student market. Burger Buddy
would be a 1950s-themed hamburger joint, emphasizing large portions and affordable prices.
Ma Maison is the alternate concept. One of your partners has attended cooking school and has
proposed the idea of a small, upscale French restaurant. The menu would have no set items, but
would vary on a daily basis instead. Ma Maison would position itself as a boutique restaurant
providing superb customer service and unique offerings.
Working in two groups, answer the following questions and the following issues:
1. Describe your firm´s business-level strategy.Why do you consider it to be a cost leader
or a differentiator?
2. What is the mission statement and vision statement of your firm? Is your firm targeting
specific strategic goals?
3. How would the nature of work vary between the two restaurants?
4. What is the underlying strategy for each restaturant concept?
5. If the business concept is successful, how might you expect the organizational structure
and nature of work at each restaurant to change in the next five to seven years?
Does the world need more buritos?
Chipotle Mexican Grill is a public company listed on the NYSE, founded in 1993. The highly
recognizable bran dis prolific in the United States with 837 company-operated units as of the
end of 2008. There i sone operating store in Toronto as of this time, which represents the only
non-U.S. concern. There are plans to open about 120 new stores in 2009. Even though there are
quite a few U.S. states in which the firm has no locations, the management team has been
seriously considering an international expansion program.
Assume you have been retained by the top management team of Chipotle to evaluate its
international expansion options. Management has concluded that the following options are the
most promising:
1. Continue expansion throughout the United States
2. Expand into Mexico
3. Increase expansion throughout Canada
4. Expand to the United Kingdom
Working in teams, select one of the four options. Identify the factors that work either in favor
of or against your strategy. Each team must prepare a strategy for expansion. Each team is to
prepare a presentation highlighting the strategic advantages and disadvantages of their assigned
country´s opportunities and threats as regards expansion potential. Each team must also decide
which corporate level strategy should be utilized if their country expansion were chosen and
why.