"The McDonald's System" (from The McDonaldization of Society

Advantages

Conclusion/ Future

• Aspects of contemporary society that have escaped McDonaldized
• "Premodern" phenomena
• Mom and Pop grocery stores
• Creations made as a reaction against this
• Bed and Breakfasts
• Rational aspects in society
• Destruction of "modern" high-rise housing projects; replacement with smaller, more livable communities
• Not the equivalent of contemporary society and is not an all-or-nothing process
• Fast food restaurants- heavily McDonaldized
• Universities- moderately McDonaldized
• Mom and Pop groceries- slightly McDonaldized
• McDonaldization is engulfing more and more sectors of society and areas of the world and will most likely continue it its success, growing exponentially

• McDonaldized societies are more egalitarian as the alternatives available to consumers continue to expand
• Salad Bar: ppl able to make salads the way they want them
• Microwave: we can have a meal in minutes or even seconds
• Supermarkets, shopping malls, and home shopping networks: efficient sites to satisfy wide-range shopping needs
• Quick medical attention at local clinics
• Computerized phone systems and voice mail facilitate obtaining bank balance (bank teller machines), class reports
• Package tours: large number of ppl visiting countries they otherwise wouldn't be able to without this deal
• Diet centers: losing weight in regulated & controlled manner
• 24-second clock: athletes fully demonstrate talents
• RV's: campers avoid heat, rain, insects, etc.
• Suburban tract houses: affordable single-family homes

The McDonald's Model

In his article, Ritzer focuses on the four components of the Mcdonald's model that attribute to the worldwide success of this food chain.

Efficiency: Provides with an optium way from "getting from a state of being hungry to a state of being full." This trait is very attractive to busy parents with children as it saves them time.

Questions

Quantity/Calculation: Makes the consumer believe that Mcdonalds offers more "bang for the buck." People believe that they are getting a lot of food for a cheap prices with the " values meals" but in reality the owners are the real winners in the situation. Another miscalculation is the time taken to drive to Mcdonalds, get the food, and get back home. Most people believe the process is faster than it usually is.

Predictability: Menu items at different Mcdonalds locations will taste the same at other locations. A Big Mac in California will be the same as a Big Mac in Oregon. People do not like surprises; they prefer predictability.

• Ritzer wrote this book in 1993, do you think McDonald's and its influence have become even greater since? How do think McDonaldization may/may not change within the next 10-20 years?
• Are there any positives and/or negatives to McDonaldization that the author did not mention?
• Do you think the "McDonaldization" of a society is inevitable to the extent the author argues? What are some ways individuals can now deviate from the McDonalds model?
• As society continues to develop and become more advanced, do you think the Mcdonald's model will adapt to these changes or become outdated?

Control through substitution of nonhuman for human technology: This control is over both the employees and customers. Workers are trained to complete limited tasks in a precise way, while customers are limited in the menu options and have uncomfortable dine-in seating, which persuades the guest to eat quickly and leave. A human employee who messes up an order can cause unpredictability and other complications thus jeopardizing the Mcdonald's Model. This explains the transition to technology replacing human work in the Mcdonald's industry .

Critiques

"Irrationality of Rationality"

• Dehuminization
• Consumers "often feel as if they are dining on an assembly line...and those who prepare the burgers often appear to be working on a burger assembly line" (page 318)
• Adverse Health Effects
• The author comments on the uncommercialized "dangers associated with fast-food restaurants" (page 318)
• Romanticization of the Past
• Some critics wish to return to a world that was "slower, less efficient, had more surprises, when people were freer, and when one was more likely to deal with a human being than a robot or a computer" (page 318)
• Future Potential
• "Constraints of rationalized world" encroach on human creativity and achievement (page 319)

"The McDonald's System" (from The McDonaldization of Society) By George Ritzer