Fordism

Efficiency means the choosing of means to reach a specific end rapidly, with the least amount of cost or effort The streamlined process of McDonaldization has spread to other restaurants within the fast-food industry. Other restaurants such as Taco Bell, Burger King, and Domino’s have all created processes to get customers in and out as quickly as possible. The frozen food industry sprang up as a result of the demand to speed up and simplify home cooking. Dieting and exercise has been affected by McDonaldization as well. In a society where both parents are likely to work, or where there may be only a single parent, efficiently satisfying the hunger and many other needs of people is very attractive. In a society where people rush, usually by car, from one spot to another, the efficiency of a fast-food meal, perhaps even without leaving their cars by wending their way along the drive-through lane, often proves impossible to resist. The fast-food model offers people, or at least appears to offer them, an efficient method for satisfying many needs. Like their customers, workers in McDonaldized systems function efficiently. They are trained to work this way by managers, who watch over them closely to make sure they do. Organizational rules and regulations also help ensure highly efficient work. Predictablity When customers walk into a McDonalds anywhere in the world they will get the same experience regardless of location. The employees will be wearing the same uniforms and addressing the customer with the same basic responses. The same repetitive tasks not only increase efficiency, but also enable companies to consistently produce the same products each time, thus making the employees duties predictable. Predictability and McDonaldization have hugely affected the movie industry in the United States. Control Ritzer's focus involves control through the substitution of non-human for human technology. By making tasks repetitive and forcing employees not to think, employers can maintain a tighter control over them. McDonald's also controls employees by threatening to use, and ultimately using, nonhuman technology to replace human workers. For example a distracted worker can put too few fries in the box, making an order of large fries seem skimpy. For these and other reasons, McDonald's has felt compelled to steadily replace human beings with non-human technologies, such as the soft-drink dispenser that shuts itself off when the glass is full, the french-fry machine that rings and lifts itself out of the oil when the fries are crisp, the preprogrammed cash register that eliminates the need for the cashier to calculate prices and amounts, and, perhaps at some future time, the robot capable of making hamburgers. This technology increases the corporation's control over workers. Thus, McDonald's can assure customers that their employees and service will be consistent. a nonhuman technology (the assembly line, for instance) controls people. The people who eat in fast-food restaurants are controlled. Lines, limited menus, few options, and uncomfortable seats all lead diners to do what management wishes them to do -- eat quickly and leave. The Irrationality of Rationality Although there have been many benefits and conveniences that are related to this process of McDonaldization: variety, round-the-clock banking and shopping, and often speedier service; there is a certain sense that these rational systems tend to turn in on themselves, to lead to irrational outcomes. "Most specifically, irrationality means that rational systems are unreasonable systems. By that I mean that they deny the basic humanity, the human reason, of the people who work within or are served by them." (Ritzer 1994:154) The lines at the fast-food restaurants can be very long, and waiting to get through the drive-thru can even take longer than going inside. These rational system don't save us money; we might spend less, but we do more work. The food we eat is often less nourishing, loaded with stabilizers and flavor enhancers, fats, salt and sugar. This contributes to the health problems of our society, a definitely "antihuman" component. As our children grow up within these systems, they develop habits which insure our increasing dependency upon the systems. The packaging used in fast food industry pollutes the environment. And the family: part of its solidarity and integrity was centered around the family meal: The communal meal is our primary ritual for encouraging the family to gather together every day. If it is lost to us, we shall have to invent new ways to be a family. It is worth considering whether the shared joy that food can provide is worth giving up. (Visser, 1989:42; in Ritzer, 1994:156) Microwavable foods and fast-food restaurants allow us to eat what we want, when we want it. The ritual of cooking, eating together, and sharing is fading from the American family. Two final problems are worth noting. How long will it be before these rational systems evolve beyond the control of people. How much of our lives are already subject to their influence and control. What happens when the people who control the systems succumb to being controlled' http://prezi.com/_cahiupkh7hl/the-mcdonaldization-thesis-george-ritzer/ see this link it is very nice imptttttttttttttttt Efficiency In a society where both parents are likely to work, or where there may be only a single parent, efficiently satisfying the hunger and many other needs of people is very attractive. In a society where people rush, usually by car, from one spot to another, the efficiency of a fast-food meal, perhaps even without leaving their cars by wending their way along the drive-through lane, often proves impossible to resist. The fast-food model offers people, or at least appears to offer them, an efficient method for satisfying many needs. Like their customers, workers in McDonaldized systems function efficiently. They are trained to work this way by managers, who watch over them closely to make sure they do. Organizational rules and regulations also help ensure highly efficient work. Calculability Quantity has become equivalent to quality; a lot of something, or the quick delivery of it, means it must be good. As a culture, we tend to believe deeply that in general 'bigger is better. People also tend to calculate how much time it will take to drive to McDonald's, be served the food, eat it, and return home; then, they compare that interval to the time required to prepare food at home. They often conclude, rightly or wrongly, that a trip to the fast-food restaurant will take less time than eating at home. This sort of calculation particularly supports home-delivery franchises such as Domino's, as well as other chains that emphasize time saving. Some McDonaldized institutions combine the emphases on time and money. Domino's promises pizza delivery in half an hour, or the pizza is free. Pizza Hut will serve a personal pan pizza in five minutes, or it, too, will be free. Workers at McDonaldized systems also tend to emphasize the quantitative rather than the qualitative aspects of their work. [Because] the quality of the work is allowed to vary little, workers focus on such things as how quickly tasks can be accomplished. In a situation equivalent to that of the customer, workers are expected to do a lot of work, very quickly, for low pay. Predictability This has a two-fold effect. It makes the experience of the consumer the same at every location of a McDonaldized company. It is essential that the products must be the same everywhere, so that being in Moscow or Peking (or Johannesburg, for that matter) wouldn't be that big a problem if you get homesick: at least McDonald's would be the same as it is back home. As workers in McDonaldized systems also behave in predictable ways. They follow corporate rules as well as the dictates of their managers. In many cases, not only what they do, but also what they say, is highly predictable. McDonaldized organizations often have scripts that employees are supposed to memorize and follow whenever the occasion arises." Control Ritzer's focus involves control through the substitution of non-human for human technology. By making tasks repetitive and forcing employees not to think, employers can maintain a tighter control over them. McDonald's also controls employees by threatening to use, and ultimately using, nonhuman technology to replace human workers. For example a distracted worker can put too few fries in the box, making an order of large fries seem skimpy. For these and other reasons, McDonald's has felt compelled to steadily replace human beings with non-human technologies, such as the soft-drink dispenser that shuts itself off when the glass is full, the french-fry machine that rings and lifts itself out of the oil when the fries are crisp, the preprogrammed cash register that eliminates the need for the cashier to calculate prices and amounts, and, perhaps at some future time, the robot capable of making hamburgers. This technology increases the corporation's control over workers. Thus, McDonald's can assure customers that their employees and service will be consistent. a nonhuman technology (the assembly line, for instance) controls people. The people who eat in fast-food restaurants are controlled. Lines, limited menus, few options, and uncomfortable seats all lead diners to do what management wishes them to do -- eat quickly and leave.