Lesson 15

• McDonaldization of society


  A phenomenon that occurs when society, its institutions, and its organizations are adapted to have the same characteristics that are found in fast-food chains
• George Ritzer's theory of McDonaldization


  An update on classical sociologist Max Weber's theory of how scientific rationality produced bureaucracy, which became the central organizing force of modern societies through much of the twentieth century
• Max Weber's rationalization of society and bureaucracy


  Changes within science, economy, and culture have shifted societies away from Weber's bureaucracy to a new social structure and order that Ritzer calls McDonaldization
• 5 key aspects of McDonaldization

  • Efficiency
  • Calculability
  • Predictability and standardization
  • Control
  • Irrationality of rationality
• Efficiency


  Entails a managerial focus on minimizing the time required to complete individual tasks, as well as that required to complete the whole operation or process of production and distribution
• Calculability


  A focus on quantity (such as the number of objects or items produced) rather than on quality
• Predictability and standardization


  Found in repetitive and routinized production or service delivery processes and in the consistent output of products or experiences that are identical or close to it (predictability of the consumer experience)
• Control


  Control within McDonaldization is wielded by the management to ensure that workers appear and act the same on a moment-to-moment and daily basis
• Irrationality of rationality


  The growth of rationalized systems has a pronounced impact on our everyday lives, both as producers and consumers
• McDonaldization affects our values, preferences, goals and worldviews, our identities, and our social relationships
• McDonaldization is a global phenomenon, driven by Western corporations, the economic power and cultural dominance of the West, and as such it leads to a global homogenization of economic and social life
• Effects of McDonaldization

  • Does not require a skilled workforce
  • Has crept into the consumer experience too, with free consumer labor folded into the production process
  • Characteristics of McDonaldization is seen in other areas of life, like education and media, with a clear shift from quality to quantifiable measures over time, standardization and efficiency playing significant roles in both, and control too
• Golden Arches Theory of Peace


  "No two countries that both had McDonald's had fought a war against each other since each got its McDonald's"
• Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention

  Economic globalization is acting as a powerful deterrent to war in those countries that are part of the global supply chain
• Americanization of Society


  The effect of having American Culture and Businesses influence the media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology, political techniques, among others, of countries outside of US
• Cultural Imperialism


  The cultural aspects of imperialism, referring to the creation and maintenance of unequal relationships between civilizations, favoring the more powerful civilization
• Cultural Hegemony


  The domination or rule maintained through ideological or cultural means, usually achieved though social institutions, which allow those in power to strongly influence the values, norms, ideas, expectations, worldview, and behavior of the rest of society