A white collar worker at the managerial level may find it difficult to market him or herself as unique outside of the corporate hierarchy after being downsized. Even physicians, plumbers, and other individuals that practice certain 'trades' may find their professions standardized and their skill's inherent worth downgraded, as franchised service industries become more popular. Jiffy Lube has replaced the independent mechanic just like Starbucks has replaced the corner coffee shop.
Another interesting point is the actual inefficiency of these supposedly efficient structures. Cars supposedly make it easier for us to travel long distances, yet we get caught in traffic jams. Fast food is cheap, yet much more expensive and less nutritious than if we made these foods at home. Fast food also makes us unhealthy, raising our healthcare costs. The demand for predictability saps our creative skills, what makes us uniquely human -- even our schools and colleges are becoming more standardized: from lecture notes that can be downloaded, to an increased emphasis on standardized testing. Supposedly, efficiency eliminates waste, but we as a society have become more wasteful than ever, in the wake of the need for such constant and conspicuous consumerism. Things are cheaper, so we spend more and are actually deeper in debt as we are more reliant upon impersonal corporate structures to provide us with necessities. Without computers, cell phones, processed foods, and maid services we cannot function. The reasons we do not see these inefficiencies as a society is that we have been taught not to see them by our own anesthetized familiarity with them, because of their predictability -- an Extra Value meal promises value, so we take McDonald's at its word, rather than try to experiment with home cooking.
Some of Ritzer's demonized aspects of corporate culture admittedly fall less comfortably into the McDonald's model. He also hates gyms, although taking responsibility for one's health and 'doing something' rather than simply passively sitting in front of a television screen on a couch does not seem so bad, even if gyms are fairly sterile and are full of televisions. For people without safe places to run and play, gyms may be the only alternative. Likewise, he hates 'safe' mountain climbing, although it does allow individuals to have an experience that before only a few professionals or top athletes could enjoy -- surely having the experience even in a limited form is better than watching a television program?
And in some aspects of life, standardization...
In sum, rationalization has institutionalized McDonald's and made it and its principles of standardization a part of every American's life. However, it is also important to note that Ritzer attempts to provide a critical analysis of the whole McDonaldization process: that, while McDonald's have become an icon of the American society for the contemporary period, it has also become the symbol for the furthering of irrationality of the society as
...Mechanical (rather than human) means are to be used to move the car (and parts) from one step in the assembly process to the next....Complex sets of movements are eliminated and the worker does 'as nearly as possible only one thing with one movement' "(Ibid, 59). Calculability "involves an emphasis on things that can be calculated, counted, quantified. It means a tendency to use quantity as a measure of quality. This
McDonaldization Ritzer ends Chapter 2 with the example of the limited success of McDonaldizing the climbing of Mt. Everest. Explain why McDonaldization has been limited in the case of Everest. Using information from this section, develop your own example of a phenomenon where you think McDonaldization has been limited. Include an explanation of why you think this is so. The McDonalization of Everest is an example of a situation that is too
On the part of the customer, s/he saves effort and time by just browsing through web pages to buy the merchandise or products that s/he needs. The second principle, calculability, pertains to the quantified nature of products or services offered to consumers. This practice is not only popular to enterprises that sell consumer goods, but it is also a popular practice in the services sector. Productivity of an employee in
Max Weber's sociological theory, discuss impact Mcdonaldization society relates today's culture. Do agree disagree sociologist George Ritzer McDonaldization seen from a sociological point-of-view Max Weber's sociological theory provides people with the opportunity to have a better understanding of how the process of McDonaldization affected cultural values today. Weber emphasized that society was the product of people getting actively involved in building a set of rules and a community that promotes certain
McDonalidization is creating automated, highly efficient, quantifiable, and homogenized processes and systems. The term refers to the fast food chain but can be witnessed in almost every area of life, from education to entertainment. McDonaldization arguably began with assembly-line production, long before fast food existed. The trend has permeated much more than the industrial domain, and has impacted the ways people live their lives. Although McDonaldization has some benefits, such
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