1. Introduction

In his book, The McDonalization of Society, George Ritzer (1998) explains McDonalization as a process whereby the society integrates the traits of a fast-food restaurant. Perhaps the significance and relevance of this argument is evidenced through the increasing sales of the book as well as volume of scholarly articles dedicated to the theory. The theory is an extension of the theory of rationalization as advanced by Marx Weber. The theory also draws upon the application of the theory of rationalization in clarifying important and current developments in society. McDonalization theory calls attention to the positive and negative sides of the costs and benefits of current developments. The controversy that the theory has evoked presents an important suggestion to the fact that the theory invokes a lot of sense in understanding the running of modern organizations. According to Larney, (1996), the theory of McDonalization has huge applications in today’s modern organizations.

The theory adopts the McDonald restaurants in depicting the different aspects that define modern and contemporary society. McDonalization theory elicits an analytical perspective of both production and consumption realms of modern organizations. The theory can be applied to a wide array of disciplines including the social, economic, cultural and political scopes of modern life. Ritzer attains success in drawing conclusions from the setting of fast-foods to a wide range of issues such as media, food, education and leisure (Quinn, 2000). The fact that the theory can be used to encompass such a wide field of elements serves to accentuate the level of importance and relevance played by the theory. The principles of fast food restaurants such as McDonald have come to dominate almost every aspect of modern life. Such restaurants offer a viable alternative to labor intensive meals that had for a long time attracted busy families. In this regard, fast foods employ two important qualities including affordability and convenience. In extension, these principles are highly important in shaping the values of modern life.

2. Review of Literature

In the theory, Ritzer observes fast foods as having dominated contemporary life through their representation of values and qualities of success. Most organizations employ the qualities discussed in the theory in their pursuit of success in the modern day business environment (Kemmesies, 2002). The components identified in the theory are well evidenced in today’s contemporary society including control, efficiency, predictability as well as calculability. Perhaps efficiency forms the bulk of the theory with the focus on the goal of accomplishing particular tasks. Fast foods are driven by a permanent desire of attaining specific goals that are aligned towards the completion of different tasks. Efficiency has to do with the alignment of all organizational activities towards the ultimate minimization of time. The component of efficiency manifests through the attainment of the best way of transforming from hunger to being full (Wilkinson, 2006).

Besides the component of efficiency, Ritzer puts a lot of focus on the component of calculability which entails the quantification of the organization’s objectives. The theory assumes that the quantification of products results in quality such that consumers have access to large quantities of goods within a very short time. By approaching production from such an angle, fast foods assume that quantity is of equal importance to quality in terms of customer satisfaction. The component of calculability helps the people to quantify the value they are getting against the money they are paying as opposed to traditional methods of management. Time used by any worker to accomplish different tasks is used to measure their performance as opposed to a focus on the quality of their output (Budd, 1997). The concept of calculability means that one can get a lot of goods but not what they desire thus increasing the volume of products at the expense of customer choice. The component is highly prevalent in today’s modern organizations where workers are given tasks to complete within a stipulated time.

Predictability is the third component of the theory of McDonalization whereby fast foods have a focus on the standardization of products. It is no wonder that customers associate certain products with certain brands of fast foods regardless of their location. Customers are guaranteed of similar services at different points of the same fast food brand in this essence. They are also sure of receiving the same products every time they visit the fast food joints of their choice (Smart, 1999). With regards to the workers of the organizations, the component of predictability is very critical to their productivity. The tasks assigned to the workers are highly repetitive and involve the same chain of tasks every single day. For instance, a store manager has a similar daily routine that may remain unchanged for quite a long time. Control is also viewed as a critical component of the theory. The theory dictates that humans are eventually replaced by technology as their work becomes standardized. With the involvement of standardization, fast foods are sure to result to the evolution of cultural hybridization. The entry of McDonald to any country results in the unification of consumer patterns and the eventual westernization of cultures.

Ritzer is adamant that the theory of McDonalization has a fifth aspect characterized by the irrationality of rationality (Alfino et al, 1998). Perhaps this aspect is the main reason why the theory has accrued so much controversy since its first publication. In this component, Ritzer asserts that irrationality is equivalent to the essence of having rational systems that are considered unreasonable. These systems are meant to deprive the people that work within them the basic humanity of reason, by extension. This deprivation extends to the people that are served by these humans thus including the customers of the system. The theory also suggests the evolution of other irrationalities beyond the dehumanization of workers and consumers within these systems (Bohm, 2006). For instance, the concept of over quantification may result to production of low quality output that qualifies as irrationality. Unpredictability resulting from uncertainties among workers as well as inefficient masses of red tape also forms perfect examples of major irrationalities. The irrationalities depicted in the theory are well observed in modern organizations including the loss of control owing to a variety of inadequacies (Weaver, 2005). Evidently, the theory has applications in modern systems of organizational dispensation including journalism and university education.

The McDonalization theory is perfectly articulated in modern society through the advent of different industries and organizations. Perhaps the journalism sector is most affected by the theory as its evolution brings forth junk journalism. In this form of journalism, the material is characterized through trivial and inoffensive news reporting that is perpetuated through palatable portions. Junk journalism serves to portray the different components of McDonalization through the standardization of operations to achieve efficiency and affordability (Kellner, 1999). The evolution of social media has brought in quack journalists that thrive not on the quality of their reporting but on the quantity of news they report. This is an ugly side of the profession that has been manifesting itself lately.  It is not surprising to find numerous journalists of modern times reporting news that they later recant for lack of evidence or credibility. In this regard, journalists are driven by a desire to break news faster or as they happen as opposed to focusing on the values of having credible news reporting. The education industry has also been riddled with the evolution of McUniversities that are characterized by the different components of the McDonalization theory (West & Health, 2011). These universities are popular for delivering degree programs within a short duration to meet the needs of busy clients through the use of modularized curricula. The question that lingers is whether the quality of education is of the desired quality.

The McDonalization of modern organizations has resulted in the loss of quality as different organizations prioritize quantity. This theory could not have been absorbed at a better time especially when most managers are judged by the volume of sales and revenue they generate for their companies. According to Turner (2003), the best managers are not those that focus on the quality of their output but on the efficiency with which products are produced. The reduced value of modern products is often covered up through regular advertising to repackage the products thus making them seem new. Perhaps a better way of ensuring the popularity of these products would be to increase the focus on quality and better production to meet the needs of the customers. Looking it from another perspective, the cost of advertising is much more expensive and requires intensive capital to sustain. The similarity between classes within the world continues to increase as a result of increased westernization in recent times. Ideally the spread of western culture across the world is attributable to its focus on the efficient transfer of knowledge.

The McDonalization theory certainly provides an accurate account of the general realms of modern organizations (Kivisto, 2011). Relevance of the theory can be attributed to the growing popularity and influence of the McDonalds brand with its various outlets across the world. The style of management that revolves around the components of efficiency and affordability is unmatched in this world. Rationalization of the two processes of consumption and production as advanced in the theory is quite similar to the modern trend. It is this rationalization that forms the basis of the McDonalization of the contemporary society. The traits of this new society include a focus on control, calculability, efficiency and predictability built around the main components of the theory. Today’s society is characterized by a reliance on technology and its place in the substitution of human labor. Every component that is evidenced in the contemporary society revolves around the quantification of processes and the incremental growth of instrumental rationalization. The applicability of McDonalization theory in today’s society is not surprising having been formulated through a study of one of the fastest growing organizations (Monaghan, 2007). This organization could not have been operating in isolation with no regard for the basic framework of the society.

In formulating the theory, Ritzer used a combination of Weber’s theory of sociology in generalizing McDonalds as well as empirical data in illustrating the points of modern organizations (Ahuvia & Izberk, 2011). The research method employed in articulating these facts is based on newspaper sociology that is characterized by the collection of data from newspaper articles. The arguments laid in the theory are all based on information collected from news as opposed to other types of study that rely on empirical data. The employment of this type of research is partially effective in presenting an optic view for the reader to understand the dynamics of modern societies. Some scholars have alluded to the fact that the McDonalization theory draws a lot of its inferences from the conclusions of Weber’s work. This relationship forms part of the criticism accorded to the theory.

The theory as advanced by Ritzer is largely depictive of the conception of rationalization as formulated by Weber (Margolis, 2004). There are a lot of similarities between the works of the two scholars in relation to the theories of rationalization and McDonalization. The latter scholar argues that McDonalization will dominate more sectors of the American economy and the larger part of the world. This prophesy has come to pass with the diversification of new industries in the modern society. By using the concepts of Weber, Ritzer extends the former analysis to a range of phenomena that depicts the evolutionary nature of the McDonalization as a concept. For instance, the components of McDonalization encompass modern life processes and affects different industries including food, healthcare and media. Therefore, Ritzer’s theory of McDonalization presents an alternative “eye” for viewing the different aspects of contemporary life.

3. Conclusion

In today’s modern life, the role of technology and trends in shaping everyday life is growing in both importance and relevance (Hensby & O’Byrne, 2011). The McDonalization of the society is nothing other than the conceptualization of modern society within the qualities and aspects of fast food restaurants. The concept of McDonalization is drawn from the concept of rationalization as advanced by Weber. It is the process of replacing emotional thought that depicted traditional society with efficiency and reason that characterizes modern societies. The continuation of rationalization has seen the evolution of new sectors and their inclination towards the qualities of the fast food industry. Most of the organizations in the modern world have a huge depiction of the aspects of affordability, quantification and efficiency in both production and consumption.

The theory of McDonalization has particular applications in today’s modern society through the evolution of different organizations in line with the values of fast food restaurants (Shicor, 1997). The most recent is the emergence of McUniversities that pride themselves with the provision of tailor made courses that fit the growing demand. These programs are usually standardized to increase efficiency and are sold to a large clientele that is focused on quantity over quality. The concept has further application in journalism where most journalists have shifted their focus from quality to quantity. Indeed the age of social media has resulted in a myriad of journalists that offer trivial information as news. In this way, the society is fed with news that do not reflect the true reality on the ground as journalists compete over who reports the news fast. The theory of McDonalization has far reaching implications in society as it explains the functioning of different organizations.

References

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