The Story

Three people died this week during a shooting incident while on line at McDonald's drive-through in southern Finland.  Although McDonald's may not have liability for the situation -- the shooting resulted from an argument between drivers -- this would be considered a crisis situation for the company.

Read the full story.

Discussion Starters

• What is the local McDonald's responsibility during an incident like this?  How should management respond?
• Who are McDonald's internal and external consistuencies?  How should McDonald's communicate with each after this incident?
• What, if any, action should McDonald's Corporate (in the U.S.) take?  How do you see the Finnish store interacting with McDonald's headquarters during this situation?

Assignment Ideas

• Imagine you're the store manager of this McDonald's.  Write an email to your manager (probably a regional director for all McDonald's stores in Finland) describing what happened and your response.  Consider that your manager may forward this on to the Corporate office.
• As the store manager, write an email to your employees.  You'll want to explain what happened, reinforce emergency procedures, and assure employees of store safety.
• As the store manager, imagine that you and Fagerholm, the detective inspector, are planning a news conference about the incident.  What will you say to explain what happened and reassure the public that your McDonald's is safe?  Write a script and deliver the news conference.