McDonaldization: rationalization and standardization in modern society

Sociology

"McDonaldization"

What are the principles that "McDonaldization" (George Ritzer's term) impose on our lives?

The principles of McDonaldization are efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. Efficiency with respect to this term means the best way to perform a task or complete an activity. The priority is to create the best mode of production for a product or service. The ability to be unique or show individuality is discouraged and affects the industrial conception of efficiency in a bad way. The priority is the product, not the people. Calculability is the ability to quantify factors and situations. The priority is the quantity of the product rather than the quality of the product. Predictability is the trait of the production process that ensures uniformity among the products. Predictability takes out the element of surprise and of innovation. All products look precisely the same. It is predictable, yet boring. Control refers to substituting robots or other forms of technology for human, manual labor. Control usually refers to the automation of labor or to the deskilling of the laborers. Overall, these principles make consumers and workers bored with products and with the production process. These principles impose ominous and systemic uniformity of products and of people. These principles impose upon people to value things more so than people.

2) Are there ways you can see the effects of McDonaldization in your life, beyond fast-food chains and grocery stores?

I can see McDonaldization of the retail and fashion industries. Retail these days seems to be very uniform and there is a clear emphasis on quantity rather than quality. Fashion seems to be more and more of a direct way to show how people are similar to each other. For example, Weber's practical rationality theory applies to the fashion industry today. A young woman would like a classy coat for winter but can't afford the best available, so she goes to Target which allows her to "reach [her] ultimate end," a cheaper coat that looks like it may have come from Macy's. Basically what she has done according to Weber's theory is calculate (quantify) and rationalize that her purchase meets her expectations. I can also see McDonaldization in consumer technology, including devices such as smartphones. I think this term can also be applied to the food industry. The food industry has been in the news much more in recent years, with reports of genetic modification of produce and of animals that are used for food.

3) Are there times or places in life when you feel that McDonaldization is more or less acceptable? In other words, are there examples where McDonaldization is especially good or bad?