George Ritzer's Explaination of How to Avoid Mcdonaldization

"McDonaldlization" as referred to by George Ritzer, author of The McDonaldlization of Society, is the establishment of rationalized systems and is an unconsciously embraced part of society. The four dimmensions that are McDonaldliztion is efficiency, predictability, calculability, and control. All of these elements established in most if not all jobs. Efficiency is the chooosing the most conductive outcome for a means to a given end. The Merriam-Webster 's meaning of efficiency is the ability to do something or produce something without wasting materials, time, or energy: the quality or degree of being efficient. We have become well adjusted to getting everything we want in a quick efficient manner. From something as simple and mundane as wanting a red light to quickly change at an intersection to something serious like impatiently waiting for a pregnancy test. Efficiency is a vital trait in the business world. It is foundation on which either an business will thrive and become a business empire or if it will tank and end up becoming bankrupt. Conserving time, money, and materials is crucial while mainting an acceptable level of output. Becoming efficient in a business simpled means reducing the costs of wasted inputs.Traffic is a great example of efficiency. Everyone who drives the road have one thing in common; they 're all trying to get somewhere, and more than likely, in a quick manner. It is that sense of "wanting everything in a quick way" we have become accustomed to

Ethos is when an author uses credibility and authority to persuade you in to believe what he is stating. Feine does this by referring to reliable resources such as the book, Golden Arches East by James Watson and by Reason Magazine, Nick Gillespie. He also uses an anti McDonald's website called, McSpotlight. By using these references, he establishes authority in the writing. These references help to advance his credibility in his article. Because of his credibility, the readers know that this author can be acknowledged. Not only does Feine use references, but also statistics and facts, as well. In this article, Feine mentions how 43 percent of the world's fast food market is controlled by McDonalds, thus advancing his credibility even more by stating a statistic.

The way that Burger King and other fast food restaurant chains do business and markets their products to consumers is due to the change in our society to where the consumer wants the biggest, fastest, and best product they can get for their money. This change in society can be attributed to a process known as McDonaldization. Although McDonaldization can be applied to many other parts of our society, this paper will focus on its impact on Burger King and Taco Bell restaurants. My belief is that the process of McDonaldization has lead our generations toward a more a much more efficient lifestyle, with much less quality. From my observations and studies of these fast food resturants, several themes have become

McDonaldization of society- the process by which ordinary aspects of life are rationalized and efficiency comes to rule them, including such things as food preparation p. 173

The central argument of McDonald’s work is that Ryerson didn’t promote public education as a social reform, but rather as a form of social control. According to Burke and Milewski, “McDonald views Ryerson not as a humanitarian reformer but rather as a member of the elite determined to use public schooling to ensure a docile and loyal citizenry”(pg 37). This idea of McDonald's work is confirmed by McDonald himself by his views towards what is key to a stable and loyal political system. According to McDonald, “the minds of youth have always been viewed as the key to political loyalty and social stability” (pg 39). This idea that if the young minds of the next generation can be controlled by a centralized government run system, the system will mold the children to socially conform to what the government, i.e. the elites who run the government, wants.

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."[2]

McDonald’s has been negatively publicized to be an unhealthy option. The food is perceived to be loaded with fat, sugar, salt and carb at a high rate. It has been disapproved by numerous people as being a promoter of unhealthy diet pattern especially for the young generation who are extremely obsessed with the ease of availability and cheaper rates. It has been blamed to cause weight gain among consumers. Due to these facts, the group of health conscious people avoid McDonald’s even after the healthier pickups introduction. (Kane, 2013)

McDonaldization is viewed to be one of the reasons behind obesity. This is due to people

After reading the article called “The McDonaldization of Society” by George Ritzer I wholeheartedly agree that in today's society people simply want pretty much everything in a fast, efficient way. Everyone is guilty of falling into the McDonaldization of society, whether is from shopping online to the way they obtain food. For example, when I wake up late for work or when I’m seriously not in the mood to cook I would either call Domino's or go to the nearest fast food place. However, when I’m able to prepare food for myself I make meals like tofu with brown rice, green bell peppers and orange sauce. Or make a vegan pizza out of cauliflower topped with sundried tomatoes and vegan cheese. I also agree with the article when it says, “Another dehumanizing aspect of fast-food restaurants is that they minimize contact among human beings (Ritzer 5).” I believe this is somewhat true when it concerns with customers since I actually know some people who are currently working as a cashier at McDonald’s. Though whenever I’m there it’s hard to really speak to them since there are usually people nearby who want to order as well. So, usually I only talk to them briefly.

I agree with the general stance of the author, and that is that I am extremely suspicious of McDonaldization and whether it is really a harm to society rather than a blessing. I disagree with three of the five key elements of McDonaldization, those being predictability, calculability, and control by non-human technologies. Firstly, by making the daily interactions of life more and more predictable, life loses some of its meaning. People are meant to confront all different types of situations and interactions to get a feel for the possibilities of life. For example, in the case of home-cooked meals, if people were not to occasionally receive a meal which was bad tasting, how would they be able to appreciate a really delicious meal. The whole idea of predictability goes against our ‘human-ness’, because we were all created to perform differently. Secondly, calculability leads to a belief that quantity is more important than quality. According to Ritzer, “In terms of processes, the emphasis is on speed(usually high), whereas for end results the focus is on the number of products served(usually large).”(pg. 59) In my opinion, the reason the majority of Americans are overweight is because of this “bigger is better” theory. The quality of other things is also affected in this way, such as of education, healthcare, and general productivity in a business. Thirdly, I think the increasing use

Health care is something that affects every person in this country, and the rising cost is making it nearly impossible for people to afford. In The McDonaldization of Society, George Ritzer shows how the health care industry is changing and how the phenomenon of McDonaldization is effecting how we receive health care. Healthcare has become more efficient, calculable, predictable, and controlling. In the following sections, I will explore further these aspects of McDonaldization and how they relate to the health care industry.

George Ritzer 's book The McDonaldization of Society opened and exposed one of what can be considered societies major flaws: McDonaldization. Ritzer suggests that in the late 20th century the socially structured form of the fast-food restaurant has become the organizational force representing and pushing rationalization further into everyday lives and individual identity. Henry Ford was the first McDonaldization pioneer with his vision of an assembly line for improving the production of automobiles. His revolutionary idea dramatically changed how many automobiles could be produced and was very efficient.

McDonaldization involves a process of rationalization described by George Ritzer that is utilized by sociologists (Ritzer 292). Ritzer elaborates the aspect of McDonaldization of society is manifested in situations, for example, where a society adopts the features of a fast-food joints. Worth a note, fast-foods are growing very popular because they highly fits with most individual contemporary lifestyle.

Today’s society and culture is becoming more and more McDonaldized. This paper will illustrate what the process of McDonaldization is. In addition, this paper will show how today’s society has adapted to this process along with using the theories from Max Weber.

Nowadays in every country we see McDonalds. The domination of fast food restaurants has introduced the ideology of "McDonaldization". Companies are using the concept of "McDonaldization" to achieve success in the business world. By implementing the concept of "McDonaldization," it has changed the world we see today. The society has become a consumer society, where people are spending more and more money. According to Professor George Ritzer, companies applying this concept are a "new means of consumption" to consumers (Ritzer, 1998). George Ritzer discovered that "McDonaldization" was a phenomenon when he saw the response of the citizens towards the companies that applies this