WR 222-005
17 May 2015
What is McDonaldization Do you like fast food such as hamburgers and french fries? I like cheese burger pretty much, it not just as a banner of fast food and also is a part of the culture. With the developing of the fast food industry, the culture of fast food affects more and more people even causes some social phenomenons. For example, if people think about the symbolic culture of America, I will choose hamburgers. Because, the fast food industry has been rooted in international culture through global economic integration. Thanks to George Ritzer who is an American sociologist, professor, and author who studies globalization, metatheory, patterns of consumption, and modern and postmodern social theory. He creates a new definition, McDonaldization which draws upon Max Weber's idea of rationalization through the lens of the fast food industry. This definition helps people gain a better understanding of how fast food industry affects the whole society. McDonaldization is an academic term that coined by George Ritzer to describe a unique sociological phenomenon in his book The McDonaldization of Society (1993). McDonaldization means a process that makes cooking group or catering enterprise focus on efficiency, calculability, predictability and control shape organization. This improving trend will make fast food services transform mass production. It solves the most important problem that how to realize industrial globalization. In my mind, McDonaldization is a definition of a way that can bring success to a chain operation. Mcdonalds is worth as a great and successful brand that famous for the whole world. In fact, fast food industry develops so success that may have a larger influence than most business brands. It also can be as a part of American culture, even international culture. Now, there are thousands of Mcdonald's multiple shops in many different countries. As a business brand, Mcdonald's is undoubtedly the pride of America. It also causes various effects of economic, culture and society. McDonaldization seems as a kind of the trend of globalization. There are four main dimensions of McDonaldization, efficiency, calculability, predictability and control. First, efficiency is extremely important to every business organization that can guarantee high efficiency and low cost. As a rule of the fast food industry that mean customers can enjoy their meal during a few minutes. It fits the characteristic of the modern society that " Efficiency is life." Second, calculability as a way can show all business plans and economic data clearly. It can help managers and operators decide a best plan to make more benefits. For example, fast food restaurants always attract clients through cheaper price. That is why they prefer to emphasize quantity rather than quality. Third, predictability requires all productions fit unify standard. It makes multiple global shops be possible. So that, people can eat hamburgers with a similar taste in any cities no matter when and where. Finally, the element of control makes automation step instead some steps of labor work. It increases the entire productivity and unify all steps of work that can offer enough productions for the whole world. McDonaldization with those four dimensions as a classic case that makes a billion hamburgers and oversees millions of workers everyday successfully, it as a perfect business model has inspired many organizations to develop better and faster. For instance, McDonalds had changed local fabric in Hong Kong In the late 1960s. Because McDonalds requires customers waiting in line to order, it is different from the traditional restaurant that customers can order when they sit down. It inspires other restaurants help customers order a meal in a new way with high efficiency. Now, Hong Kong is arguably the food capital of the world through decorum reformation. Because of those four reasons, Mcdonald's occupy the international marketing. It appears to be a good model that creates many business miracles. There are many other industries also imitate this model and get success. However, McDonaldization also may cause numerous negative effects. For example, the element of control will make automation to help labor work faster. In another word, it also can be interpreted as that people become a part of assembly line work. It aims to superior efficiency and fast. So that, people should not include any personal activities during their shift. It is not good for workers' mental health. Then, the efficiency as an important element of McDonaldization may lead to low quality even if people not require too much for quality of fast food. As a food industry, the quality of food is the first perspective. But, it is difficult to render a specified quantity and quality at the same time. It is similar to Mcdonald's that only can offer fast food with less nutrition. It cannot surmount existing dilemma that it is virtually impossible further on, because the fast food always means unhealthy. So that, I am sure McDonaldization is a good way to develop organizations in the early stage. However, if people just operate organizations in imitating this model without innovating, it will encumber their development. So that, George Ritzer expresses the fifth element that irrationality of rationality. "Most specifically, irrationality means that rational systems are unreasonable systems. By that I mean that they deny the basic humanity, the human reason, of the people who work within or are served by them." (Ritzer 1994:154) It causes people to rethink McDonaldization. Now, some countries start to deny the rationalization of McDonaldization. Because it only focus on quality instead of quantity, it will lead to crisis of credibility and low services quality. McDonaldization as a business model is not almighty and perfect. It may be more suitable for a production industry. It is interesting that the McDonaldization not focus on quality of service even if stem from a food service industry. It causes many problems when other industry simulation McDonaldization. For example, the McDonaldization of higher education. Some universities seek to profits through this way to obtain great success. The main feature of this kind of education is student focus on earn more credit hours. But, some traditional universities disagree that they prefer to ask instructs to affirm every student's personal ability rather than use letter grades to identify if a student can move forward to a new class or not. Through these examples, people can understand that McDonaldization is more specifically suited in an industrial society. Now, people live in a modern society that people pay more attention on the quality of services. All in all, McDonaldization is a process during the development of industries. It is not a complete process. People can make it as a bone of contention. But, none can repudiate its achievement and positive effects.

Works Cited
Paiva, Marianne. "The McDonaldization of Higher Education." Ethnographycom. 13 Jan. 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
Ritzer, George. The McDonaldization of Society. Rev. New Century ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Pine Forge, 2004. 154. Print.
Durnford, Laura. "Global Policy Forum." The McDonaldization of Hong Kong. Radio Netherlands, 18 Mar. 2002. Web. 18 May 2015.

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