Introduction In the year 1993 a sociologist named George Ritzer wrote a book called The McDonaldization of Society, which wasn’t about how the deliciousness of McNuggets has revolutionized the world, but instead focused on how the methodology and rational structuring used at the McDonalds franchise functions. The concept is that traditional ways of thinking are replaced by ends/means focused goals, sense of social control and prioritization of efficiency. In the words of Ritzer 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 the rest of the world”. The following essay discusses the origins of Ritzers’ theory of McDonaldization, elaborates on the four components proposed by him and talks about the critique ‘irrationality of rationality’. The four components are then explained in context to education i.e.
As people have issues about Mcdonalds’ low food quality toward people’s health. However, there is another important area that we have to consider seriously about is how its system, so-called “Mcdonaldization”has influenced and continuously effecting our society. From the article “McJobs: Mcdonaldization and the Workplace” by George Ritzer, he distributes the idea of how Mcdonaldized system has changed our society into scripted and “programmized” places (Ritzer 1998:140). He has specifically analyzed the McJobs’( job that has been Mcdonaldized) into four elements,which is its efficiency, calculation, prediction and control. As the nature of the world is made of a full of colors, diverse opinions of people naturally exist toward the term
The setting in which I found McDonalidzation most prevalent is the Public Education School System. Public school systems have been heavily influenced by assembly line production and the characteristics of McDonaldization. I will briefly summarize the characteristics and how they tie into the public-school education system. Efficiency is one of the most important defining characteristics of McDonaldization because of the United States’ focus on capitalism, making a profit and cutting costs while limiting the number of workers. Industrialization and the invention of the assembly line were very successful and heavily influenced businesses, governments, and especially the classroom.
Success has several meanings in life. Although not everyone’s the same, we all want the same thing. So, for my definition of success, I will use the definition from Dictionary.com, which is “the accomplishment of ones goal.” As a society, we hold individualism important and see goals as being personal. As said previously, success is individualized. What one person dreams of succeeding can be much different than another person.
McDonaldization of society For my essay I have chosen George Ritzer and his theory on the McDonaldization of society. The theory stems from the well-known rationalization theory by Max Weber. This essay will discuss Ritzers application of Webers ideas. I will introduce and explain his theory. I will give examples of how it affects us and applies to modern day society, through fast food restaurants, banks and supermarkets.
McDonaldization is an example of Rationalization. Rationalization refers to the process of replacing the values or traditions of a society with actions or thoughts that appear more rational and or logical. McDonaldization is said to have four main components: Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability, and Control.
For each individual, success is something that makes them feel proud. For example, someone can be successful if his/her passion was to travel and they make an impact on the world, and they end up achieving their goals that means that they had success. It doesn’t have to revolve around how good ones job is or what their salary is. The people who are responsible for this definition of success are everyone, including out parents. Everyone is so used to correlating success with money and good jobs that we incorporate it in our daily lives without even knowing.
Thus, the ideological spectacles of the historical investigator shape the presentation of ‘facts’. Weber’s idea of the progressive mechanization and demystification of society is in fact directly opposed to Marx’s view in which there is a progressive obfuscation and mystification of social relations which makes the continuance of the system possible in
Darwin was known for trying his best to present his scientific ideas in a way that it did not offend any believer or even in some perspectives were compatible with God. But his theory has been manipulated by both supporters and opposes of his work. Many people from a religious perspective believe that Darwin's theory undermines the fundamental beliefs that they hold, almost as an attack to their values (Dennett, 1995). Darwin's theory is that humans have evolved over time from other organisms, this is almost a slap-in-the-face for one of Christianity's core beliefs. Which is that God made us in His image when He made Adam and Eve; this means that above any other creature on the planet humanity has a special relationship with God.
This theory evaluates exploitation and development without a Manichean concept. The ‘modernization theory’ depicts exploitation and development as two sides of a same coin. This means that they are not mutually exclusive however coexist in a specific