Research Paper on:
External or Operating Companies and Franchises

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
than not, however, the franchisees are more than individuals - they are full-blown corporations and companies within their own rights, and because of their size, are able to assist the  main company in terms of marketing and distribution of products and services. These operating companies have the advantage of knowing the local markets that they serve, while being able to  take advantage of the systems and promotions that the major corporations develop. As a result, the operating companies are multi-million dollar companies in their own rights, and have become viable  partners to the major franchisors. This has become particularly prevalent among multinational companies - instead of spending the time and money to move equipment and staff to a new region,  a franchisee, as an operating company, can provide the logical market entrant - and the major corporation wont need to spend as much time, money or personnel to break into  a new market. This paper will examine two major U.S. companies (ServiceMaster and Burger King) and demonstrate how external companies have provided  a great deal of revenue and name recognition for these corporations. ServiceMaster Consumer Services provides a wide range of home care,  commercial cleaning and restoration services (Kate, 1997). Because of the wide range of services this company offers, however, franchising hasnt been enough - the company itself has a variety of  separate companies, or operating divisions to help it out (Kate, 1997). ServiceMaster Residential/Commercial Services is responsible for heavy cleaning services and damage restoration; Merry Maids Residential Cleaning Services offers a  "light clean;" Furniture Medic has on-site furniture and restoration and AmeriSpec has home inspection services (Kate, 1997). These four divisions have franchisees (Kate, 1997). In the meantime, ServiceMaster owns, operates