Who knew the creation of McDonalds would enhance such a large concept of Mcdonaldization in the world? The term Mcdonaldization is such a large umbrella term for consumerism not only in the United States but also in the rest of the world. It has became a term that is widely recognizable in not only the fast food industry, but in various other types of consumerism as well. Mcdonaldization is "the process by which the principles of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world." (Ritzer, pg.5)
Before reading this article I wasn't aware of the implications and factors that play into the concept of Mcdonaldization. Who knew that so many food industries looked up to Mcdonalds and certain business ethics that they use to help keep their business successful. After reading this prevalent article on Mcdonaldization motivated me to look up the first McDonalds commercial to compare and analyze the difference between the focus and media portrayals that McDonalds started with, and how their focus and outlook is portrayed in the media today.
The first McDonalds commercial was dated back to June 27th 1962. The video was merely based on Ronald McDonald. In the article the author stated that "a poll showed that 96% of them could identify Ronald McDonald, second only to Santa Clause in recognition."(Ritzer, pg.10) This quote shows how Ronald Mcdonald was such a significant symbol of McDonalds business. The food in the video appeared very unappetizing and of poor quality in my opinion. Seems like the targeted audience was more on children and less on adults. Ronald McDonald has always been a very important symbol of McDonalds. However the focus has seemed to shift since the Mcdonalds commercials first began, more on the quality of the food rather than the child friendly clown. Take a look at the video:
http://youtu.be/O5D6_6sSM-8
I chose to look at a more recent McDonalds commercial which contained the new sandwich the Hot n Spicy McChicken. In this commercial the main focus seems to be on the sandwich, while also enhancing the subjects that are around the sandwich. Ronald Mcdonald is not present, and the actor that consumes the McChicken was an attractive, typical guy. The commercial starts off with a woman and a man driving the motorcycle while the woman is holding two McDonalds bags on that have the dollar menu label on them. Which would enable the viewer to think that one of the main purposes of the commercial was to promote the dollar menu while also enhancing this particular sandwich. There are many distinct differences between the first commercial and a more recent commercial which brings me back to the concept of Mcdonaldization. Take a look at the other video:
http://youtu.be/h2HmAoaQgV4
Referring back to the article the author talks about the dimensions of Mcdonaldization which encompasses these four concepts efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. These four concepts are what make the concept of Mcdonaldization successful. Out of the four concepts I want to focus on the concept of calculability. "Workers in Mcdonalized systems also tend to emphasize the quantitative rather than the qualitative aspects of their work." (Ritzer, pg.16) Since the speed that the product is detrimental to the fast food service workers tend to lose focus of the quality of the food just to assure that the meal is presented in a timely manner. I found this very thought provoking because I have encountered various experiences where my food has been prepared poorly just to get it to me quickly. I guess you can say fast food restaurants aren't the best places to find quality products.
I agree with the author's depiction of the “Mcdonaldized” system and the advantages of efficiency, predictability, calculability, and control. While in high school, I worked for McDonald's and I can understand firsthand the idea of predictability and focus on speed which you noted. It is true that every customer-employee interaction was incredibly scripted. Everything from greeting customers, to how you said goodbye was regulated. (For example, at my store, you had to watch training videos about the “psychology of the customer,” prompting you to say the word “enjoy” after delivering a meal and every time you failed to do so, you would receive a write-up.) In addition, all of the equipment used and the set-up behind the counter is similar. This allows for McDonald’s to produce mass training videos and ensure products are all made (and turn out) the same way, regardless of location. I can understand this appeal for a fast meal. I know, for instance, at my McDonald's, optimal time from order to delivery was 45 seconds. This is the sort of haste that customers came to expect and often became frustrated with waiting even a few seconds longer.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that the author mentioned about the benefits of the process of McDonaldization was that it somehow produced equality. "People are more likely to be treated similarly, no matter what their race, gender, or social class." I don’t necessarily agree with this. I suppose the idea behind this is that with a sort of assembly line system, you leave out personal biases, but from my own personal experience, I cannot see this to be true. I think more than customers being judged based on race, gender, and social class, the employees were more often subjected to it. Moreover, I certainly agree with the idea that "fast food restaurants are often dehumanizing settings in which to eat or work. Customers lining up for a burger or waiting in the drive through line and workers preparing the food often feels as though they are part of an assembly line." (18) It is interesting that McDonald’s is so ingrained in our culture, yet there exists so much stigma about the company’s employees.
Although McDonaldization had taken over the world with numerous stores in different locations and in different parts of the world, in my opinion the food is not that healthy. Consumers have supported this franchise and its effort to expand not knowing exactly what goes into a meal purchased at any of their locations. I personally do not eat McDonald's any more because I got food poison two years ago after consuming a meal from this place. Like the author said, people are more interested in McDonald's than America it self. It seems as though we as individuals keep complaining about how unhealthy fast foods are but yet again we find ourselves in the same places eating these unhealthy foods.
ReplyDeleteThe phenomenon of both McDonaldization and Bureaucratization indicates Max Weber’s theory of Rationality. We live in a rational and calculated society in which every individual seeks for his optimal point of life. Companies seek for maximum profit, consumers seek for maximum utility and the government sets laws to make sure the society runs well. McDonald succeeds in that it fulfills consumers’ expectation of efficiency, calculability, predictability and control.(14)However, “the irrationality of rationality” in McDonaldization is its lack of innovation and dehumanization.
ReplyDeleteFrom the clip of “Food Inc.: Alienation and Rationalization”, we clearly see the irrationalities in the rationalities. Rationality makes giant companies take control of whole food production. They also require farmers to make farms windowless in order to make chicken less resistant, which is inhuman but rational. This clip reminds me of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire happened in New York in 1911. 146 workers died simply because the manager locked the exit to escape when a fire started. The reason manager did that is being afraid of workers stealing things from the factory. He did it out of rational behavior of a businessman. But it turned out into a tragedy. It’s also an alarm to us if we keep rationalizing our behavior we are more easily getting into an “Iron Cage”(29) if we let something “rational” dominant our lives.
Millicent mentioned the fact that fast food restaurants are typically unhealthy but we continue eating these foods. I think this can be related back to the whole concept of McDonaldization. We know that it may not be the best way to create a successful business, but somehow other organizations keep coming back to it, just like many people who consume this food on a daily basis. We are aware of the side effects it may cause, but continue to engage in this behavior. This can also be seen in other parts of our lives, such as smoking.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, the movie "Super Size Me," came out. It discussed how unhealthy the food was from McDonalds. The main character ate at McDonald's for every meal and it showed the changes he experienced physically but also the effects it would have on his health. He would order a "super sized" meal and continue with his daily life. After watching this, I couldn't eat McDonalds anymore. The only thing I dare to order now is ice cream. I am not sure how people keep putting bad things into their bodies, or how the restaurant continues to thrive.
Not only can this be seen with McDonalds, but it can be seen in other aspects of our lives. As I mentioned earlier, people know the health effects that smoking will create, but this doesn't stop them. They keep going back to it because they are used to it and think that it won't effect them. Sooner or later all of the smoking will catch up with them, and they will feel the side effects. I believe this to be true of McDonalds as well. Things can only stay good for so long, and then you begin to understand why people don't associate with certain behaviors, or in this case, eating habits.