The Influence Of George Ritzer's Theory On The Mcdonaldization Of Society

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

George Ritzer is an American sociologist who invented the term “McDonaldization” which is following the process of rationalization. He divided the term "McDonaldization" into four dimensions and they are efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. The first one is efficiency means thrust upon people. The second one is calculability refers something is good even tough it has less quality. The third one is predictability in which everything goes with the routine and system. The last one is control which means maintain a better control of the employees. McDonald is the fast-food restaurant which follows these rules just like Weber’s theories of bureaucracy and Ritzer’s

McDonald’s is not some ordinary fast food restaurant with its trademark logo advertised almost everywhere in the U.S., many people all over the world know about these famous golden arches. The McDonald’s franchising started in 1955 and in less than fifty years, McDonald’s was introduced all over the world in countries such as, China, Japan, Great Britain, Sweden, France etc. McDonald’s global expansion has intermingled with cultural traditions because these countries are becoming more westernized. Since East Asia is becoming more westernized it also means that there is a cultural difference because of the influences from outside the country. The cultures are being changed because of how ideas are expressed by people and not by their

Scientific management or "Taylorism" is an approach to job design, developed by Frederick Taylor (1856-1915) during the Second World War. With the industrial revolution came a fast growing pool of people, seeking jobs, that required a new approach of management. Scientific management was the first management theory, applied internationally. It believes in the rational use of resources for utmost output, hence motivating workers to earn more money. Taylor believed that the incompetence of managers was the major obstacle on the way of productivity increase of human labour. Consequently, this idea led to the need of change of management principles. On the base of research, involving analysing controlled experiments under various working

Max Weber used the bureaucracy to represent how the society changes over time whereas Ritzer sees fast food restaurants as a better way to describe how societies change and become more of a contemporary thought pattern. Ritzer understands McDonaldization as a process in which it is slowly taking over the world, he says it can be summarised by just one small quote “the principle of fast food restaurants are coming to dominate more and more sectors of the American society as well as the rest of the world” (Ritzer 2008). He states that the past, present and future of McDonalization has appeared from the iron cage to fast food restaurants which shows that rationalisation is still developing, the iron cage is a way to describe it in the past and McDonaldization helps to describe it in today’s society, rationalisation will continue to progress until other contemporary sociologist find different ways to define it. Although McDonaldization offers many advantages as it gives customers quick food at low prices it also has disadvantages just like the bureaucracy they both suffer from irrationality, like fast food restaurants a bureaucracy can be a ‘dehumanising’ place to work and be served by. Many things are developed by technical devises rather than the human hand (Wynyard 1998)

Imagine yourself behind the counter or in the drive- through window at McDonalds. You are programmed how to act and what to say. You have been working there for three years and earn a salary of $5.50 an hour. You have never exceeded 29 hours while working there. These circumstances are true for over 40 percent of six million people employed in restaurants today. The reason for these circumstances are due to the change in our society by which 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 impacts on the inequalities

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.

McDonaldization is becoming the new wave of job types where workers are being deskilled, dehumanized and exploited. Machines are taking over tasks which the employees used to do such as bank machines (interact). The McDonaldized jobs now instead of making the employee do all the work they have the customer working too, for example when the customer cleans up after eating. These jobs are becoming less interactive and personal because workers are becoming dehumanized and only allowed to follow a script, there is also the fact that fast food Company’s use drive through, where limited interaction occurs and are many restrictions. These types of jobs which the author George Ritzer labeled

There are ways in which McDonaldization is evident in a number of specific settings, including shopping malls, grocery stores and university campuses. The idea of efficiency is specific to the interests of the industry or business, but is typically advertised as a benefit to the customer. Some examples include: the drive-through window, salad bars, fill your own cup, self-serve gasoline and ATM’s. The whole idea of meal hall on campus adheres to the aspect of efficiency; it is easy for people to just show up, even if they are dressed in their pyjamas. The food is organized in a “serve yourself” buffet style which is efficient, but requires the customer to do more work. McDonaldization has ideas of efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control which have affected the university system. University examinations have changed from the professors or their student assistants grading multiple choice tests by hand, to the point where most exams are machine graded. This would be an example of efficiency in the university system. Predictability is another result of McDonaldization in the post-secondary education system. One can expect to find the same courses being taught, teacher methods would be similar from one another, the same textbooks would be

George Ritzer discussed the McDonaldization of society in four principles; predictability, calculability, efficiency and control. Ritzer defined the McDonaldization as the process of which fast food principles of McDonald 's influence and dominate other fast food chains. Restaurants have come to imbed themselves into society in every way. The first principle, predictability, is that you will find everything within your predicting capability. For example, the customer in the McDonald 's can predict the food in McDonalds.

You can see Weber’s influence on Ritzer in his work The McDonaldization of Society. According to Ritzer McDonaldization is “the process by which the principles of the fast food restaurants are coming to dominate more and more sectors of society in the American society as well as the rest of the world”. If you think about it everywhere you go you see either a McDonalds, Popeyes, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, or any other fast food restaurant chain. It is as if they just appear out if thin air and just prosper. Throughout the last couple of years the fundamental characteristics of McDonaldization have just grown and prospered. Ritzer takes Weber's theory and makes connection to a more modern concept. Ritzer showed Weber’s main characteristics such as efficiency, calculability, predictability, control through the substitution of non human for human technology. Efficiency is the most advantageous method for getting from one point to another. In regards to Mcdonalds this is speaking about from being at the point of being hungry to arriving at the point of being full. Calculability refers to the quantity or portion size and the time it takes to receive the product. People are tending to believe that bigger must mean better. Next comes predictability which can be defined that the product you are receiving will be the same over time and all the different locations. In regards to the food served a Big Mac is expected to be the same it is in New Jersey as it is in Florida. Lastly, there is the aspect of control through the substitution of non human for human technology. This is evident in the case of workers who must follow the rules and be on tip top shape for their duties or they may face the sad reality of losing their position and being replace by an automated machine that can do the same work they do more

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.

. Through his research which states that by simply neglecting the variety and diversity of consumer practices in different regions and parts of the world and the various uses to which consumers can put McDonaldization, using its products and procedures to serve their own needs. There are many ways Mcdonaldization can be resisted in: social institution, education, the economy, family, as well as religion and military that our society can reverse the effects on the way we live.

George Ritzer in his book “The McDonaldization of Society” notes a similar philosophy in a McDonalds staff manual.

In a process termed "McDonaldization," the proliferation of fast food restaurants has been alternatively credited with and blamed for spreading Western values and business practices to other countries. Irrespective of these implications, though, the harsh reality of this proliferation of fast food alternatives has been epidemic-levels of