MCQ on McDonalidization

Since we Learnt about McDonaldization of Society lets have a small MCQ session.

McDonaldization of Society

The McDonaldization of Society

The McDonaldization of Society is a 1993 book by sociologist George Ritzer. Ritzer suggests that in the later part of the 20th century the socially-structured form of the fast-food restaurant has become the organizational force representing and extending the process of rationalization into the realm of everyday interaction and individual identity. McDonald's of the 1990s serves as the case model.The book introduced the term McDonaldization to learned discourse as a way to describe a social process which produces "mind-numbing sameness".

In McDonaldization was based on Max Weber concept of rationality and he says that H e also believed that rationalization would continue until our society would become an iron cage, dehumanizing everyone and creating an extreme level of uniformity. Likewise, Ritzer uses McDonald's as a metaphor for the over-rationalization of society.

. 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 replaced by an ends/means analysis concerned with efficiency and formalized social control. Weber argued that the archetypal 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 everyday life.

Ritzer identifies four main  principles of McDonaldization:

Ø Predictability,

Ø Calculability,

Ø Efficiency,

Ø Control.

Predictability:

Customers of McDonald's can predict the food menu. The building, the decorations, and the uniforms are also usually the same.

Likewise, other industries are becoming increasingly predictable.

Most of the shopping malls across the country have the same stores.

Calculability:

First, there's an emphasis on quantity over quality.

If a firm is in the business of mass production, it is likely making a choice that quantity is more important than quality, and will find ways to justify this choice.

The size and weight of a burger that you buy are the same as the size and weight of a burger someone else buys - and the bigger, the better. Second, the cost of that burger is a big selling point. Speed is extremely important.

Efficiency:

Streamlining processes–getting customers in and out more quickly, making sandwiches more quickly, dealing with rush hour traffic through the store/restaurant.

Getting customers to perform unpaid work.

 Do they fill their own drink orders?

Clean off their own tables?

Check out their own groceries?

Fill out their own health history and insurance forms?

Re-use their hotel towels and sheets?

 Some of this may be a good idea, but it all saves companies labor and other costs.

Reducing choices. Think of the McDonald’s menu–limited choices makes it easier for employees, who then don’t require extensive training and can be paid low wages, (making them of little value to the company and likely increasing turnover rate).

Control:

Control over employees might mean they have to follow scripts, have to wear uniforms, have to perform their tasks in a very specific way, have little to do besides watch machines, etc. Control helps to standardize products or services.

Control over customers can be seen when you examine the ubiquitous theme parks–the way visitors to the parks are herded around, to avoid crowds, to keep flow constant, handle parking, to take them to the gift shops, create the illusion they’re almost at the front of the line for a ride, etc.