The McDonaldization of Society INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY Sociology 1010 Robert Keel, Instructor George Ritzer has taken central elements of the work of Max Weber, expanded and updated them, and produced a critical analysis of the impact of social structural change on human interaction and identity. The central theme in Weber's analysis of modern society was the process of Rationalization; a far reaching process whereby traditional modes of thinking were being replaced by an ends/means analysis concerned with efficiency and formalized social control. For Weber, the archetypical manifestation of this process was the Bureaucracy ; a large, formal organization characterized by a hierarchical authority structure, well-established division of labor, written rules and regulations, impersonality and a concern for technical competence. Bureaucratic organizations not only represent the process of rationalization, the structure they impose on human interaction and thinking furthers the process, leading to an increasingly rationalized world. The process affects all aspects of our everyday life. Ritzer suggests that in the later part of the Twentieth Century the socially structured form of the fast-food restaurant has become the organizational force representing and extending the process of rationalization further into the realm of everyday interaction and individual identity. McDonald's serves as the case model of this process in the 1990's. ...McDonaldization,...is the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world. (Ritzer, 1993:1)
Ritzer in McDonaldization (or McDonaldisation ) is a term used by sociologist George Ritzer in his book The book The McDonaldization of Society (1993). He describes it as the process by which a society takes on the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant. McDonaldization is a reconceptualization of rationalization of rationalization,, or moving from traditional to rational modes of thought, and scientific management. management. Where Max Weber used Weber used the model of the bureaucracy to represent the direction of this changing society, Ritzer sees the fast-food restaurant as having become a more representative contemporary paradigm contemporary paradigm (Ritzer, 2004:553). Ritzer highlighted four primary components of McDonaldization:
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Efficiency – the optimal method for accomplishing a task. In this context, Ritzer Efficiency – has a very specific meaning of "efficiency". Here, the optimal method equates to the fastest method to get from point A to point B. In the example of McDonald's customers, it is the fastest way to get from being hungr y to being full. Efficiency in McDonaldization means that every aspect of the organization is geared toward the minimization of time.[1] Calculability – Calculability – objective should be quantifiable qua ntifiable (i.e., sales) rather than subjective (i.e., taste). McDonaldization developed the notion that quantity equals quality, quality, and that a large amount of product produc t delivered to the customer in a short amount of time is the same as a high quality product. This allows people to quantify how much they're getting versus how much they’re the y’re paying. Organizations want consumers to believe that they are getting a large amount of product for not a lot of money. Workers Workers in these organizations o rganizations are judged by how fast they are instead of the quality of work they do.[1] Predictability – Predictability – standardized standardized and uniform services. "Predictability" means that no matter where a person goes, they the y will receive the same service and receive the same product every time when interacting with the McDonaldized organization. This also applies to the workers in those organizations. Their task are highly repetitive, highly routine, and predictable. predictable.[1] Control – Control – standardized and uniform employees, replacement of human by nonhuman technologies
With these four processes, a strategy which is rational within a narrow scope can lead to outcomes that are harmful or irrational. The process of McDonaldization can be summarized as the way in which "the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world.” (Ritzer, 1993:1). In subsequent publications, Ritzer conceptualized a cultural process he labeled "deMcDonaldization" as a reaction to McDonaldization, and cited modern baseball stadiums with simulated nostalgic features as one example for this phenomenon. The response from McDonald's McDonald's,, expressed by its representatives in the United Kingdom, Kingdom, is that Ritzer, like other commentators, uses the company's size and brand recognition to promote ideas that do not necessarily relate to the company's business practices.[2]
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