McDonald's in Hong Kong, by James Watson
opinion Essay
1552 words
James Watson’s McDonald’s in Hong Kong is a textbook example of globalization. According to Webster’s dictionary, globalization is defined as “worldwide integration and development”. In McDonald’s in Hong Kong, Watson discusses a well-known and successful American fast food chain migrating over seas and embedding itself in the Hong Kong culture. Although Hong Kong was already recognized as an extremely transnational civilization, there were worries that the country would lose cultural identity. The fears were that Hong Kong would become more Americanized and lessen their ties to the Cantonese ways.
Watson proves that the uncertainties of if Hong Kong would be able to stand true to their heritage is nothing to worry about. He states that the people of Hong Kong “have most assuredly not been stripped of their cultural heritage”. In fact, Watson explains that Hong Kong is not being taken over by the American way, but is simply embracing their already heterogeneous culture. Through his discussions on the changing views of the food, dining customs, and traditions we learn that McDonald’s was forced to adapt to the culture of Hong Kong just as much as the people of Hong Kong needed to expand their familiarities to accept McDonalds.
One of the most influential concepts that Watson brings up is that “transnational is the local”. Through this argument Watson proposes that the local environment is a culturally diverse concoction of multiple nations. In the case of Hong Kong, McDonalds is not the only American fad that they are familiar with. People, especially the younger generations are culturally versed on cuisine from all over the world. They have knowledge of multiple nation’s music, fashion, entertainment, and customs. There is no ...
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...onald McDonald. The translation of his name in Cantonese means “Uncle McDonald” which associates him to a member of the family. He was the most well known cartoon in the country. Ronald McDonald was definitely a well known figure of McDonald’s, but I never experienced the admiration for him that the children of Hong Kong seem to exhibit.
The final paragraph of Watson’s chapter, he asks “where does the transnational end and the local being?” This opened my eyes to further examine my own environment to see what is specifically from my culture and what I have adopted from other nations. The majority of nations can be viewed as a melting pot. We are all a mixture of different aspects of cultures to create a growing and changing culture.
Works Cited
The Globalization Reader. 2011. Fourth Edition. Frank J. Lechner and John Boli, eds. Malden MA: Blackwell Publishing.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how james watson's mcdonald’s in hong kong is a textbook example of globalization.
- Analyzes how watson proves that the uncertainties of if hong kong would be able to stand true to their heritage are nothing to worry about.
- Analyzes how watson proposes that the local environment is a culturally diverse concoction of multiple nations. mcdonald's is not the only american fad that they are familiar with.
- Explains that hong kong is a hub for transnational culture, spreading its trendy culture into china, southeast asia, vietnam, japan, los angeles, and more.
- Explains that hong kong still holds true to their unique customs and traditions. mcdonald's has become a local institution that has blended itself into the everyday lives of the people.
- Opines that james watson's article on mcdonalds in hong kong was relatable. the traditional american experience is vastly different.
- Opines that they were shocked at the majority of material that watson presented through out the excerpt. they were unaware of how diverse something as common as a mcdonald's could be in another country.
- Explains that in hong kong, the burger and fries that americans would consume as lunch or dinner was considered a snack, while in america, dinner hours are the busiest.
- Explains that the introduction of the breakfast menu originally did not include what we would consider breakfast food. in hong kong, people were eating hamburgers instead of pancakes, eggs, sausage, and hash browns.
- Explains that mcdonald's is considered the catalyst of this progression into good working, clean public restrooms.
- Opines that hong kong's people are suspicious of smiling public service workers. they are more concerned with the quality of food and the speediness of its availability than how nice the person behind the counter was.
- Opines that mcdonald's was the first place to introduce the idea of a queue, but it is certainly given the credit.
- Explains that hovering was a familiar practice in hong kong. parents would go to the register and their children would stand inches away from other customers to push them into finishing their meal quicker.
- Analyzes how watson's interview with one child shows that eating in a mcdonald’s was social and shows how people had to learn about the new culture.
- Opines that children view mcdonald's as a treat. parents would reward their children with meals from the fast food chain in return for good behavior or school grades.
- Opines that the section about birthday parties was probably the most entertaining and unusual to them. the location was ranked over all of its competitors for parties and would be packed with back to back festivities saturday and sunday.
- Opines that children in hong kong were particularly attached to the cartoon associated with mcdonalds; ronald mcdonald was the most well-known cartoon in the country.
- Analyzes how watson's chapter, "where does the transnational end and the local being?" opened their eyes to examine their own environment to see what is specifically from their culture and what they have adopted from other nations.
Related
- explanatory
- opinion
- analytical
- The McDonald's Franchise Internationallyexplanatory essayThere are many different cultures making up the world that we live in. Some can be experienced right where you live, while others are in another state or even country. Even though there are so many unique cultures in our world, it is hard for us to think of something as simple as McDonald’s being any different than our own. McDonald’s is something that many people in America have been to and experienced for themselves, but not many people can say they have experienced it some place else such as France or China. While we have our own thoughts and views of McDonald’s in America, McDonald’s tends to vary based on each ones location and surrounding culture.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that mcdonald's is something that many people in america have been to and experienced for themselves, but not many can say they have experienced it someplace else.
- Explains how mcdonald's became a self-service drive-in restaurant with nine menu items. they introduced indoor seating in 1962 and introduced the big mac in 1968.
- Analyzes how mcdonald's has become the most visited restaurant with large portions and cheap prices regardless of its image of being unhealthy and low quality.
- Explains that the first mcdonald's to open in france was in creteil in 1972, but it didn't have very much success. the french still wanted to hold on to their culture even if they were eating at an american restaurant.
- Explains that mcdonald's is a fast-growing business in france. its menu changes are done to give the american fast food restaurant more french feel.
- Explains that mcdonald's quickly became one of the most popular restaurants in china and today is the largest growth market for mcdonald’s besides the us.
- Explains that mcdonald's in china offers many unique things like "mcexpress" windows, which sell drinks and desserts and are usually attached to restaurants.
- Explains that even the simplest of things can depend on the culture they are exposed to. mcdonalds may be viewed as a cheap, low quality fast food chain here in america, but for others it is more expensive, tasteful restaurant like in france.
- Explains that mcdonald's in france doesn't feel like fast food. the huffington post, 10 oct. 2012, and lindsey carlsen, fall 2010.
- Explains dickerson, caitlin, and jie, liu, "mcdonald's growing in china."
866 wordsRead More - In the assigned readings, few concepts and ideas have been discussed: Cultural Imperialism, Globalism and Local Cultures, Transnationalism and the Multi-local Corporation and McDonaldization versus Localization. The reading also provided a brief history (the timing) of McDonald’s expands in East Asia and also explained the Rationalization of McDonald’s (i.e. McDonaldization) and it’s Local Sensitivities.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that in the assigned readings, few concepts and ideas have been discussed: cultural imperialism, globalization and local cultures. the reading also provided a brief history of mcdonald’s expands in east asia.
- Argues that mcdonald's and other famous corporations in the fast food industry are agents of cultural imperialism. related corporations manipulate "personal taste" and undermine others.
- Explains that globalism is a social condition when people over the world share an homogenous, culture and form "global villages" by the means of electronic communications and mass media.
- Explains that transnationalism focuses on the "de-territorialization" of popular culture. mcdonald's aims to become as much a part of local culture as possible.
- Argues that mcdonaldization is the process by which the principles of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of society.
- Explains that there are a hundred sheraton hotels in asia-pacific and nearly thirty of them are new in the year of 2013. the design of the hotel reflect some local cultures by putting impressionist paintings of traditional teochew opera
- Explains that starwood hotels and resorts worldwide (or just sheraton) is a multinational corporation that focuses on localization, and adopts mcdonaldization in their main operation processes.
- Opines that localizing products/services shows the mcdonaldized operation processes of multinational corporations.
- Opines that cultural imperialism still exists under the welcoming of localization and some local cultures are still being undermining.
- Opines that multinational corporations adopt localization and multi-local corporations are different. sheraton, for example, incorporates local culture in its products and provides orientation programs to foreign managers.
1159 wordsRead More - Chinese-American Globalizationanalytical essayPaul Feine. McBastards: McDonald’s and Globalization. 2011. Envision in Depth: Reading, Writing, and Researching Arguments. By Christine L. Alfaro and Alyssa J. O’Brien. 2nd ed. Boston: Pearson/Longman, 2011. 372-76. Print.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how the business world of the united states of america has gone to many lengths to become as profitable as they are presently.
- Argues that while globalization benefits the united states, it’s killing those found in china due to a lack of safety and healthy work environments.
- Explains how the chinese people allowed more and more ideas of a market economy, creating cheaper homes in rural areas and creating cheap labor. they were outcasts without access to any state benefits or protection.
- Opines that american corporations taking advantage of the chinese laws and their misrepresentation aren't going to improve the issue, but only make it worse.
- Explains that in china, children are employed from as little as five years home without any government regulation on the matter.
- Explains that the united states has become aware of sweatshops and what exactly they entitle, but little to no action is being taken to prevent such harmful abuse on other countries and their people.
- Opines that american citizens are aware of globalization and its affects, but some choose to look past it and don't want to get involved. this should be alarming to anyone buying or selling clothing.
- Describes the issues & controversies on file. facts on file news services, 7 mar. 1997. miller, daniel. "appalling conditions of factory workers who make dell computers."
1738 wordsRead More - Canada Globalization Case Studyanalytical essayGlobalization is the process where societies emerge and grow increasingly interdependent, surpassing geographic, political, cultural and economic barriers. It refers to the concept where our lives are shaped by events that occur and decisions that are made at a great distance from us. Therefore, it highlights the intensification as well as the broadening of political processes in the sense that local, national and international events constantly correlate with each other.1 Today, globalization continues to affect and evolve the human landscape. From the streets of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to the heart of Canada, Toronto, globalization left its mark and carved the present world. Factors such as technological
In this essay, the author
- Explains that globalization is the process where societies emerge and grow increasingly interdependent, surpassing geographic, political, cultural, and economic barriers. globalization continues to affect and evolve the human landscape.
- Explains that globalization has made access to other cultures extremely easy. the silk road, for example, acted as a trade route between asia and the mediterranean sea.
- Analyzes how multiculturalism discourages racism and discriminatory actions towards other ethnic groups and races in canada. globalization has adverse effects on both country's culture and way of life.
- Explains that globalization plays an important role for events and consequences regarding the decisions made in political arena.
1087 wordsRead More - According to cultural anthropologist Joana Breidenbach (1999), globalization takes precedence over the importance of locality, which causes “a number of traditional practices, whole ways of life and worldviews disappear.” To illustrate this, she explains “special fishing techniques of the Inuit are forgotten and it is estimated that just 10% of over 6,500 languages spoken today will survive.” This indication presents a direct correlation between globalization and cultural homogeneity, due to the fact that without segregation of cultural norms and mores, diversity—while it seems to be increasing with globalization—is at risk of becoming nonexistent. Political scientist Philip Legrain provides an unbiased research analysis illuminating this position, explaining the pros and cons of globalization. In his scholarly article, “Cultural Globalization is not Global Americanization” (2003), he contrasts the proponent belief: globalization is “globalizing American culture and American cultural icons” with the anti-globalizer argument that the “buzzword in global marketing isn’t selling America to the world, but bringing a kind of market masala to everyone in the world. …globalization doesn’t want diversity; quite the opposite”—though, both arguments illuminate essentially the same idea of cultural homogeneity. Whether globalization is selling American culture to the world or allowing interconnection between different cultures, the line that distinguishes one culture from the next is becoming increasingly
In this essay, the author
- Explains that globalization arose from the industrial revolution in the 19th century, and has been progressively expanding since.
- Explains that the united states is historically viewed as the "ethnic melting pot" due to its wide variety of citizens, and its attempts to create a unified nation.
- Analyzes how the salad bowl theory redefined american culture as a composition of various subcultures that function more or less independently from each other.
- Argues that globalization increases cultural diversity by allowing foreign cultures to coexist, but the dominant culture in a particular area of intertwined cultures tends to engulf all others.
- Argues that the composition of subcultures is persistent enough to prevent a predominant culture to prevail over the rest.
- Analyzes how the globalization of culture in africa has resulted in an economic crisis for traditional african peoples and an imperialistic hierarchy.
- Concludes that globalization has many latent dysfunctions manifesting in society with both cultural diversity and cultural universality. it is the anthropologist's job to study and preserve the ways of cultures which may eventually become extinct.
1665 wordsRead More - Example Of Cultural Relativismanalytical essayIt is not uncommon for an individual to describe a culture that is not their own as exotic, unique, or dated. However, they would be overlooking the idea and importance of cultural relativism on a global scale. It is understandable that a cultural aspect, different from what an individual is used to interacting in, seems hard to understand or too complex to recognize, but it is important to look at one’s own culture and others from multiple angles. The lack of familiarity of another culture that often produces words like “exotic” can be put away with a proper amount of time researching, understanding, and appreciating the normal behavior of another culture. In the paper, I will discuss the concepts that go along with cultural relativism and relate these to the stories found in “Nest in the Wind” and examples from our current society.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that it is important to look at one's own culture and others from multiple angles. they will discuss the concepts that go along with cultural relativism and relate them to the stories found in "nest in the wind."
- Analyzes how the pohnpeian lifestyle is unrecognizable and new to the visiting anthropologists in "nest in the wind".
- Analyzes how children's knowledge of the land, oral history, and the past is constantly worked into their minds. this knowledge is used in the field of pacific navigation, where anthropologists comment on the unrecognizable agriculture situations.
- Opines that it is important to understand how a society's culture and knowledge can be so interconnected with the land that they have occupied for centuries.
- Analyzes how the topic of recognizable cultural differences between two groups can be related to the current political events of the united states of america.
- Analyzes how brown explains a set of principles to go along with what he considers an updated understanding of cultural relativism.
- Opines that the technology boom and social media scene has made us more informed and connected, but there are some issues with this.
- Opines that a simple cultural model cannot be placed on every society and each possesses its own, beautiful intricacies.
1222 wordsRead More - Nations Should Promote Globalization, Not Localizationanalytical essayIn today’s continuously changing world, many experts say that globalization is what every business, organization, and nation should seek and welcome as a positive change. However, many people are unaware of the main focus and meaning of Globalization, especially in comparison to Localization. A large number of people believe that globalization is just another common word used to refer to changes and differences that cannot be explained or accounted for. Therefore, many different activities or changes are improperly labeled to be a part of or caused by globalization.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that many people are unaware of the main focus and meaning of globalization, especially in comparison to localization. many activities or changes are improperly labeled to be a part of or caused by globalization
- Explains globalization is often misused interchangeably with other terms such as world society, globalism, universalism, and interdependence. localization focuses on individuals and groups that narrow their horizons due to pressure and participate in different forms of behavior.
- Defines globalization as something that affects and changes the traditional arrangements of the state system. globalization focuses on the collective interest and effort to solve common problems and occurs when most people have similar hopes and aspirations.
- Explains that globalization and localization have many costs and benefits, although not always considered when making decisions, that significantly affect a group or country's outcome.
- Compares the costs of globalization with those of localization. globalization is not weighed heavily because time will override many unavoidable problems and setbacks.
- Explains that globalization can be described as boundary-broadening, while localization is designed to prevent the movement of people, goods, information, norms, practices and institutions.
- Explains that globalization encourages people, goods, and information to continue movement and change despite any boundaries they encounter. the israeli prime minister crossed over to the palestinian side of the erez checkpoint for a meeting.
- Explains that globalization focuses on the expansion of production and trade whereas localization concentrates on narrower and specific activities of consumers and producers. globalization attempts to extend its ideas and practices beyond its original and present setting.
- Analyzes how fragmegration integrates the fragmenting forces of localization and the integrating force of globalization.
- Analyzes how the tension between globalization and localization affects today's world affairs and processes.
- Explains that localization is derived from the need for comfort and reliable support from one's family or neighborhood and for a sense of togetherness and ‘us’ as in comparison to ‘them’.
- Concludes that the benefits of globalization are the most important to people's lives because it aides in the learning process of people expanding their horizons.
1779 wordsRead More - Jack's Burgers And Brew Case Studyanalytical essayAdapting to Japan’s culture can be quite challenging, but Jack’s Burgers and Brew specializes on fitting in. Understanding conformity is crucial, because it allows Jack’s Burgers and Brew to establish a restaurant that is able to be unique due to its origin, but they also recognize the culture and food preferences within Japan. Motivation to fit in starts off by creating a welcoming ambiance that is pursued by all consumers in order to achieve a successful business. People enjoy trying out new eateries, especially if it 's something they only seen through social media or television. In order for Jack’s Burgers and Brew to fit in, research on what’s popular, food-wise in Japan must be understood and one must establish a humorous, familiar atmosphere that draws in customers who haven’t experienced American dining before (Martin & Woodside, 2007). Avoiding social errors is critical, because Jack’s Burgers and Brew doesn’t want to be seen as a stereotypical American restaurant where people eat large portions of greasy foods, consume beers and are distractingly loud. Motivation to fit in Japan’s culture means, there people must consider Jack’s Burgers and Brew to be “one of us” and not “one of them” which according to Boss, illustrates how people classify things
In this essay, the author
- Explains that jack's burgers and brew wants to expand their business overseas to osaka, japan. cross cultural psychology issues were thought about how to successfully maintain the business as it gets ready to open.
- Argues that jack's burgers and brew needs to understand the anxiety of risk within employees in a collectivist culture.
- Argues that jack's burgers and brews needs to change its employee motivation system when it moves from the individualistic united states to the collectivistic japan.
- Explains that jack's burgers and brews will have to adjust its menu and the way people order when it opens up in japan.
- Explains that japan's collectivistic culture strives for achievement through motivation. jack’s burgers and brew will be loved in japan for its delicious foods and willingness of adapting to japanese culture.
- Explains that jack's burgers and brew is an authentic food staple that coincides with its surrounding cultures and recognizes the culture and food preferences within japan.
1305 wordsRead More - Mcdonalds And Globalization Case Studyexplanatory essay1,The McDonald’s impact in Globalization Globalization has influenced almost each aspect of life in almost every nation. From economic to social to culture, this widespread exchange of goods, services and ideas have affected changes around the world. Even though the cultural influence in globalization is of slight significance to policy makers, its power has tremendous consequences to the nations involved and its people. Food is the oldest global carrier of culture.” Any changes in the foods that we eat, in its preparation, the way it is served and consumed diminishes the traditional beliefs of the people.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how mcdonald's' influence in globalization has influenced almost every aspect of life in nearly every nation, from economic to social to culture, and its power has tremendous consequences for the nations involved and their people.
- Explains that mcdonald's was the first company to try to export america’s fast food and changes in eating habits to other nations. mcdonald is still accounted for a large part of the ratio in the overseas.
- Explains that indian mcdonald has to follow the local culture to make some improvements to the menu, including adding curry dishes and other local specialties.
- Explains that mcdonald's development in saudi arabia is particularly careful and they try to avoid religious trouble, like never using pork on the menu. mcdonald adapts to local tastes, but there is a more interesting phenomenon in thailand.
- Explains mcdonald's changes in japan, italy, portugal, and italy.
- Explains that mcdonald must do as the romans do and get real recognition and understanding from consumers to make closer in the psychology and culture. the mcdonald's logo was the most recognized with 17 out of 20 preschoolers able to identify the golden arches as
- Explains that mcdonald's logo is a golden m shape to symbolize happy and delicious. it represents the soul of american fast food culture and brings it to the all of world.
- Explains mcdonald's slogan of 'i'm lovin' it' has been used to achieve great success since 2003. it has also been translated into many local languages for effective promotion.
- Explains that mcdonald's advertisements are family-oriented, expressing the importance of the family. mcdonald spends more than 700 million dollars on advertising expenses to strengthen imagery of social relations.
- Explains that mcdonald launched the mcdonald's family dinner box, which is a good strategy to perfectly link up with the family.
1099 wordsRead More - Culture Diffusion Mcdonalds And Starbucksexplanatory essayWhen a traveller crosses over into different divisions of the world, and see the same sites as in there home town it can lessen cultural differences. Around the world many different cultures are beginning to share their material and nonmaterial culture with each other. This is called culture diffusion. One example of culture diffusion is people in the united states play hockey which is also played in Canada. This is an example of culture diffusion which has a positive outcome. Another example of culture diffusion is the spread of AIDs or Smallpoxs which has a negative outcome. With the spread of McDonalds and Starbucks all over the world I believe it has a negative outcome. In the book it talks about how the rates of obesity doubled when the
In this essay, the author
- Explains that cultures are beginning to share their material and nonmaterial culture with each other. the spread of aids or smallpox has a positive outcome.
- Opines that mcdonalds and starbucks impacted the physical aspects of different cultures. different cultures have different styles of homes, schools, neighborhoods, and buildings.
- Explains that mcdonalds advertising, pushes families a part, and promotes individualism, which can cause people to think less of their country.
- Explains that eating together as a family is popular in many cultures and different families, but mcdonalds and starbucks can drive traditions away. this is called symbolic culture.
- Explains cultural imperialism is the way movies make some cites look dirt poor and some cities look rich, expensive and more dominate than others.
408 wordsRead More