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    McDonaldization of Society

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    George Ritzer coined the term "McDonaldization" to describe the process by which the principles of fast-food restaurants have come to dominate more and more sectors of society. McDonaldization has four primary aspects: efficiency, aiming to optimize tasks; calculability, emphasizing quantifiable outcomes over subjective measures; predictability, through standardized services; and control, typically using technology to standardize employees. As McDonaldization spreads through society, it can influence cultural homogenization and shape modern social and cultural characteristics.

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    McDonaldization of Society

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    paraggadhia
    67 views1 page
    George Ritzer coined the term "McDonaldization" to describe the process by which the principles of fast-food restaurants have come to dominate more and more sectors of society. McDonaldization has four primary aspects: efficiency, aiming to optimize tasks; calculability, emphasizing quantifiable outcomes over subjective measures; predictability, through standardized services; and control, typically using technology to standardize employees. As McDonaldization spreads through society, it can influence cultural homogenization and shape modern social and cultural characteristics.

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    George Ritzer coined the term "McDonaldization" to describe the process by which the principles of fast-food restaurants have come to dominate more and more sectors of society. McDonaldization has four primary aspects: efficiency, aiming to optimize tasks; calculability, emphasizing quantifiable outcomes over subjective measures; predictability, through standardized services; and control, typically using technology to standardize employees. As McDonaldization spreads through society, it can influence cultural homogenization and shape modern social and cultural characteristics.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    67 views1 page

    McDonaldization of Society

    Uploaded by

    paraggadhia
    George Ritzer coined the term "McDonaldization" to describe the process by which the principles of fast-food restaurants have come to dominate more and more sectors of society. McDonaldization has four primary aspects: efficiency, aiming to optimize tasks; calculability, emphasizing quantifiable outcomes over subjective measures; predictability, through standardized services; and control, typically using technology to standardize employees. As McDonaldization spreads through society, it can influence cultural homogenization and shape modern social and cultural characteristics.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 1

    McDonaldization Of Society

    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 worldwide
    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[edit]
    Ritzer highlighted four primary components of McDonaldization:

    Efficiency the optimal method for accomplishing a task. In this context, Ritzer has a very specific
    meaning of "efficiency". In the example of McDonald's customers, it is the fastest way to get from
    being hungry to being full. Efficiency in McDonaldization means that every aspect of the
    organization is geared toward the minimization of time.[3]

    Calculability objective should be quantifiable (e.g., sales) rather than subjective (e.g., taste).
    McDonaldization developed the notion that quantity equals quality, and that a large amount of
    product delivered to the customer in a short amount of time is the same as a high quality product.
    This allows people to quantify how much they're getting versus how much theyre paying.
    Organizations want consumers to believe that they are getting a large amount of product for not a lot
    of money. Workers in these organizations are judged by how fast they are instead of the quality of
    work they do.[3]

    Predictability standardized and uniform services. "Predictability" means that no matter where a
    person goes, they will receive the same service and receive the same product every time when
    interacting with the McDonaldized organization. This also applies to the workers in those
    organizations. Their tasks are highly repetitive, highly routine, and predictable.[3]

    Control standardized and uniform employees, replacement of human by non-human technologies

    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
    societys new social and cultural characteristics are created. For example, as McDonalds enters a country
    and consumer patterns are unified, cultural hybridization occurs.

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