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.
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