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Mcdonald Ization
Mcdonald Ization
coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest
of the world (Ritzer, G., 2000)
ELEMENTS OF MCDONALIZATION:
1. EFFICIENCY
The fast-food model offers, or at least appears to offer, an efficient method for
satisfying many other needs as well. Woody Allen’s orgas-matron offered an efficient
method for getting people from quiescence to sexual gratification. Other institutions
fashioned on the McDonald’s model offer similar efficiency in losing weight,
lubricating cars, getting new glasses or contacts, or completing income tax forms.
2. CALCULABILITY
People can quantify these things and feel that they are getting a lot of food for what
appears to be a nominal sum of money. This calculation does not take into account an
important point, however: The high profits of fast-food chains indicate that the
owners, not the consumers, get the best deal. People also tend to calculate how much
time it will take to drive to McDonald’s, be served the food, eat it, and return home;
then, they compare that interval to the time required to prepare food at home. They
often conclude, rightly or wrongly, that a trip to the fast-food restaurant will take less
time than eating at home. This sort of calculation particularly supports home delivery
franchises such as Domino’s, as well as other chains that emphasize time saving. A
notable example of time saving in another sort of chain is Lens Crafters, which
promises people “Glasses fast, glasses in one hour.”
Workers in McDonaldized systems also tend to emphasize the quantitative rather than
the qualitative aspects of their work. Since the quality of the work is allowed to vary
little, workers focus on things such as how quickly tasks can be accomplished. In a
situation analogous to that of the customer, workers are expected to do a lot of work,
very quickly, for low pay.
3. PREDICTABILITY
McDonald’s also offers predictability, the assurance that products and services will be
the same over time and in all locales. The Egg McMuffin in New York will be, for all
intents and purposes, identical to those in Chicago and Los Angeles. Also, those eaten
next week or next year will be identical to those eaten today. Customers take great
comfort in knowing that McDonald’s offers no surprises. People know that the next
Egg McMuffin they eat will not be awful, although it will not be exceptionally
delicious, either. The success of the McDonald’s model suggests that many people
have come to prefer a world in which there are few surprises. “This is strange,” notes
a British observer, “considering [McDonald’s is] the product of a culture which
honors individualism above all.”
The workers in McDonaldized systems also behave in predictable ways. They follow
corporate rules as well as the dictates of their managers. In many cases, what they do,
and even what they say, is highly predictable. McDonaldized organizations often have
scripts that employees are supposed to memorize and follow whenever the occasion
arises. This scripted behavior helps create highly predictable interactions between
workers and customers. While customers do not follow scripts, they tend to develop
simple recipes for dealing with the employees of McDonaldized systems.
The people who work in McDonaldized organizations are also controlled to a high
degree, usually more blatantly and directly than customers. They are trained to do a
limited number of things in precisely the way they are told to do them. The
technologies used and the way the organization is set up reinforce this control.
Managers and inspectors make sure that workers toe the line.