McDonaldization

McDonaldization is a term used by sociologist George Ritzer in his book The McDonaldization of Society (1993). He explains that it becomes manifested when a culture adopts the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant. McDonaldization is a reconceptualization of rationalization, or moving from traditional to rational modes of thought, and scientific management. Where Max 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 (Ritzer, 2004:553). In contemporary society, the concept of McDonaldization is gaining attention in different aspects such as culture. McDonaldization thesis in cultural version is a comparatively recent idea of the world wide homogenization of cultures.[1] 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."[2] In the current period, most countries have adapted to this concept because of globalization. In fact, it has been predicted that the Ritzer model will come to dominate in most cultures.

Aspects

Ritzer highlighted four primary components of McDonaldization:

With these four principles of the fast food industry, a strategy which is rational within a narrow scope can lead to outcomes that are harmful or irrational. As these processes spread to other parts of society, modern society’s new social and cultural characteristics are created. For example, as McDonald’s enters a country and consumer patterns are unified, cultural hybridization occurs.

Irrationality of Rationality

Ritzer also outlines Irrationality of Rationality as a fifth aspect of McDonaldization. "Most specifically, irrationality means that rational systems are unreasonable systems. By that I mean that they deny the basic humanity, the human reason, of the people who work within or are served by them." (Ritzer 1994:154)

Ritzer introduces this during Chapter Two (The Past, Present, and Future of McDonaldization: From the Iron Cage to the Fast-Food Factory and Beyond) of his book "The McDonaldization of Society" in the sub-section Irrationality and the "Iron Cage." He states that "Despite the advantages it offers, bureaucracy suffers from the irrationality of rationality. Like a fast-food restaurant, a bureaucracy can be a dehumanizing place in which to work and by which to be served." In short; "settings in which people cannot always behave as human beings"

A further problem with the irrationality of rationality is that this can lead to inconsistencies; fast food is no longer fast, there are long lines and it is at the expense of taste.

He further states that beyond dehumanization further irrationalities emerge; including the inefficient masses of red tape, over quantification leading to low quality work, unpredictability as employees grow unclear about what they are supposed to do, or the loss of control due to other inadequacies.

De-McDonaldization

Many corporations have been making an effort to deny the rationalization of McDonaldization. Efforts are related to focusing on quality instead of quantity, enjoying the unpredictability of service and product and employing more skilled workers without any outside control. Protests have also been rising in nation-states in order to slow down the process of Mcdonaldization and to protect their localization and traditional value. [4]

In the book "The McDonaldization of Society" by George Ritzer, he discusses and provides his perspective of the modern world in the view of fast-food restaurant. Another interesting political theorist who provides a negative view on the atmosphere that Mcdonaldization has created is Hannah Arendt. She is a political theorist who highlights the corruption of human world from rationalistic feature (as discussed in Ritzer's book) in her reporting of the Eichmann trial for The New Yorker Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. She indirectly argues the need for humane insight in order for de-McDonaldization to slowly take its place. Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart question the extent to which McDonaldization has really been occurring in their book Cosmopolitan Communications: Cultural Diversity in a Globalized World, finding national cultures resilient in the face of globalization.

Also some local case studies show how the rational model of McDonald's adjust to local cultural preferences and the result is a diminution of the original McDonald's product. In fact, the more the company adjusts to local conditions the more appeal of the specifically American product may be lost. At the end of the day, McDonald's is a contributing factor to globalization.[5]

Examples of Mcdonaldization

Junk-journalism, defined here as inoffensive and trivial news served up in palatable portions, is an example of Mcdonaldization. Another example could be McUniversities, which features modularized curricula, delivering degrees in a fast-track pick-and-mix fashion to satisfy all tastes. The diminished quality of these products can only be disguised by extensive advertising which constantly repackages them to look new.[6]

Response of McDonald's

The response from McDonald's, expressed by its representatives in the United 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.[7]

McDonaldization and education

It has been argued that an example of the phenomenon of McDonaldization can be seen in education, where there is seen to be increasing similarity between that of Western classrooms and the rest of the world. Slater[8] argues that the class size, layout and pedagogy in Peru closely resemble that of America, with a clear examples of Western culture focussed on efficiency of transfer of knowledge in other parts of the world. Furthermore, Slater[8] goes on to demonstrate that the McDonaldization of education could have many negative side effects; particularly that it does not promote inquiry or creativity. Therefore, schools will become less effective at educating children as they will fail to develop creative thinkers.

In addition, Wong[9] argues McDonaldization has fundamentally changed the higher education system. Whereas examinations were once marked individually by lecturers, tests are now largely marked by computer, increasing the efficiency for lecturers. Moreover, students education is now valued on the basis of a standardised grade rather than an overview of their progress and achievements throughout Higher Education. Ritzer,[10] further argues that McDonaldisation had had a profound effect on the development of MOOCs (massive online open courses). Firstly, it is not possible to create a new MOOC every single time; hence a basic structure is created and subsequently altered, thus creating an element of predictability for students. Moreover, the role of the teacher has been simplified and replaced with non-human instruction which in turn prevents the opportunity for ‘creative mutual engagement between teacher and student’,[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Pieterse, Jan Nederveen. Globalization and Culture: Global Melange. Rowman & Littlefield, 2009.3.28
  2. ↑ (Ritzer, 1993:1)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ritzer, George (2009). The McDonaldization of Society. Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press. ISBN 0-7619-8812-2.
  4. ↑ Ritzer, George (2008). The McDonaldization of Society. Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press. pp. 351–384. ISBN 07619-8812-2.
  5. ↑ Turner, Bryan S. McDonaldization Linearity and Liquidity in Consumer Cultures. Sage Journals University at Cambridge, 2003, June 4, 2012 <http://abs.sagepub.com/content/47/2/137.full.pdf+html>
  6. ↑ GORDON MARSHALL. "McDonaldization." A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 8 Apr. 2013 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
  7. ↑ McDonald's UK. "Questions Answered". Make up your own mind. Retrieved 2007-09-15. Due to the global scale of the McDonald’s business, many commentators seek to use its brand and international presence to support various positions and theories that they wish to put forward.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Slater (1999)
  9. ↑ Wong (2010)
  10. ↑ Ritzer, (2013)
  11. ↑ Ritzer 2013, pp. 667.

Ritzer, G. (2013) ‘MOOCs and the McDonaldisation of Education’ Introduction to Sociology.. http://georgeritzer.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/moocs-and-the-mcdonaldization-of-education/ (Date accessed 30 October 2013)

Slater, R.O. (1999),(trans.)‘La MacDonalizacion de la Educaion’, Educacion, Vol. 8, No. 15. http://firgoa.usc.es/drupal/node/5029 (Date accessed 30 October 2013)

Wong D. (2010),http://www.stanford.edu/group/ccr/ccrblog/2010/02/mcdonaldization_and_higher_edu.html. (Date accessed 30 October 2013)

Further reading

McDonaldization: The Reader by George Ritzer (ISBN 0-7619-8767-3)
The McDonaldization Thesis: Explorations and Extensions by George Ritzer (ISBN 0-7619-5540-2)