The McDonaldization of:
If you have ever had a meal in a restaurant (fast-food/formal dining), used an ATM in a bank, spent your vacation at an amusement park or simply browsed through a mall, you have been exposed to McDonaldization. McDonaldization is “the process by which the principles of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of America society as well as the rest of the world” (Ritzer, 1996, 1). Nearly ever aspect of today’s society has been affected by McDonaldization including the restaurant business, education, work, healthcare, travel, leisure, dieting, politics and the family (Ritzer, 1996, 1). I observed three East Side Mario’s Restaurant’s establishments while the dinner menu was being served on Saturday evenings between 6pm and 8pm to evaluate the ways in which McDonaldization has affected their company. On January 29th I visited East Side Mario’s in London, Ontario, on February 19th I visited East Side Mario’s in Plano, Texas (I used to hold a job as a server at this location) and on February 26th I visited East Side Mario’s in Orange, California. With the diversity of locations I was able to observe, I compared and contrasted many angles of the East Side Mario’s concept. East Side Mario’s Restaurants Inc. is one of the millions of business’ that has implemented the four principles of McDonaldization, which are: efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control.
With the assistance of Bernard Platt, Vice President of Marie Callender’s Pie Shops, Inc., former Vice President of East Side Mario’s Restaurant, Inc., I will offer a condensed presentation of East Side Mario’s history to get you familiar with the business. East Side Mario’s Restaurants, Inc., is a wholly owned division of Marie Callender’s Pie Shops, Inc. In 1987 a partnership of restauranteurs developed the ESM (for the remainder of this case study I will us the initial ESM to refer to East Side Mario’s Restaurants, Inc.) concept in North Miami, Florida featuring the excitement and energy of a New York City street festival, a blend of outstanding American and Italian food, a place where families felt welcome and comfortable offering exceptional value. Today operating as a separate division of Marie Callender’s Pie Shops, Inc., there are a total of 38 American restaurants – 11 corporate and 27 franchise – and there are over 80 ESM ...
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I believe McDonaldization has invaded every sector of society and as someone who grew up with McDonaldization at every corner of my life I would have to say it’s been productive. It has allowed society to evolve. Every aspect of life has consequences and downfalls; it’s just a matter of dealing with them. I like moving at a fast pace. Why do people have to make friends with every person they encounter? It’s nice to have companionship but not from your server in a restaurant. McDonaldization has served as a directing force, another stage in our history. We adapt to every turn the world makes and change is good. When all of the aspects of McDonaldization are intertwined society runs smoothly. East Side Mario’s was an example of a company that followed all the rules, aimed for a goal and made it. I believe that’s all that it should take in anything you do in life to make it, just follow the rules and reach for your goals. McDonaldization is a positive contribution to society.
Bibliography
Ritzer, George. 1996. The McDonaldization of Society: An investigation into the
changing character of contemporary social life. Thousand Oaks, California: Pine
Forge Press.
East Park Restaurant operates using a hybrid (mixture of vertical and horizontal) organizational structure where Boos reports to the company’s owners. Assistant managers and front...
The theory of “McDonaldization” describes the way different aspects of the modern world are taking on more and more of the “principles of the fast food restaurant” (Ritzer 1). Obviously, the term stems from the restaurant “McDonald’s” itself; however, McDonaldization is present in many restaurants, industries, politics, religion, and many aspects of social life as well. For example, the music industry has become increasingly McDonaldized. Artists are expected to produce many albums in a certain amount of time, they are expected to look the same and sound the same at any concerts they give, and most popular music is created through Auto Tune and producers cutting and pasting snippets of a song together. The modern idea of going on vacation is similarly McDonaldized. For example, you can go to another country, hire a tour guide to show you as many of the most popular spots as possible, as fast as possible. Your picture is taken in front of certain attractions, you are taken to certain places to eat, and you stay in certain places. It’s very efficient, the cost is easily calculated, and it’s incredibly predictable. For this paper, I will
In today’s world, technology and current norms drive a large portion of everyday life that the vocabulary becomes a common universal language. For example, if you don’t know or understand something, just “google” or ask “siri” about it, write a “blog” about a recent experience, or witnessed the latest “post” that has received over 1.6K “likes”. George Ritzer describes the same thing with the fast food restaurant McDonald’s in his video “The McDonaldization of Society”. He defines McDonaldization as the process by which principles of the fast food restaurant have begun to overflow and dominate all aspects of our world.
sociologist George Ritzer argues that the relationship between McDonald’s and our society runs even deeper. Beyond its commercial propaganda and symbolism, Ritzer says, McDonald’s is a potent manifestation of the rational processes that define modern society.
In the book Fast Food Nation: The Darks Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser claims that fast food impacts more than our eating habits, it impacts “…our economy, our culture, and our values”(3) . At the heart of Schlosser’s argument is that the entrepreneurial spirit —defined by hard work, innovation, and taking extraordinary risks— has nothing to do with the rise of the fast food empire and all its subsidiaries. In reality, the success of a fast food restaurant is contingent upon obtaining taxpayer money, avoiding government restraints, and indoctrinating its target audience from as young as possible. The resulting affordable, good-tasting, nostalgic, and addictive foods make it difficult to be reasonable about food choices, specifically in a fast food industry chiefly built by greedy executives.
Schlosser, E. (2004). Fast Food Nation: the Dark Side of the All-American Meal (first ed., Rev.). New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.
Education remains a cornerstone for society as it has for decades. Technology advances, the economy fluctuates, and politics change, but education remains, not only important but imperative for personal and social growth. Yet, as important as it is touted to be, the quality and purpose of learning is often lost in the assembly-line, manufactured process of education that exists today.
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.
Kincheloe, Joe. The sign of the burger: McDonald's and the culture of power. Philadelphia: Temple Univ Press, 2002. 9-185. Print.
The McDonaldization of Society The McDonaldization of society may sound somewhat misleading but the term actually refers to the rationalization of society. The use of the word "McDonaldization" just simply indicates that the fast food restaurant is one of many great examples of rationality. Ritzer discusses five dimensions that characterize rationality or a rationalized society: efficiency, predictability, calculability, the use and preference of non-human technology, and the control over uncertainty. The five characteristics can be noticed in various aspects of society which exemplifies the extent that rationality affects our society and societies worldwide. In this paper I will summarize Ritzer's discussion of these five characteristics and give possible examples of each dimension.
McDonalds. What had started as a humble family owned drive-through has become a multi-million dollar industry. Everywhere one goes, there are reminders of how amazingly widespread this company has become, whether it be seeing McDonald’s famous golden arches on a billboard or hearing the catchy “I’m Lovin’ It” tune in a commercial. But more than this, McDonalds has become part of our global identity– our McWorld.
Ritzer, George. The McDonaldization of Society: An Investigation into the Changing Character of Contemporary Social Life, Rev.Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press, 1996.
“McDonaldization” was a term first used by George Ritzer in 1983, and was used to refer to the movement of society toward a social structure, which is largely influenced by the ideologies of the fast food industry, namely McDonalds. Ritzer divided this process into five dimensions: efficiency, predictability, calculability, substitution of nonhuman technology, and control. (Ritzer 1983) Efficiency when used in the context of “McDonaldization” (Ritzer 1983) refers to a rationalized society that works to find the best, or most efficient, way to do everything. Take for example building a car, it could be built by one person who assembles the entire car but, the fastest and most efficient way to build it would be on an assembly line where many
Editorial. Nations Restaurant News 11 Nov. 2005: n. pag. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 5 Mar. 2013.
An evaluation of the restaurant’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats served as the foundation for this marketing plan. The plan focuses on the restaurants marketing strategy, suggesting ways in which it can build on new customer relationships, and development of new food products and targeted to specific customer groups.