1. SOCI 2070 McWorld

2. Today’s Class 1. Defining McDonaldization 2. Origins of McDonaldization 3. Principles of McDonaldization 4. McDonaldization Beyond McDonald’s 5. The Irrationality of Rationality?

3. Today’s Readings Required 1. George Ritzer, “An Introduction to McDonaldization”, The McDonaldization of Society. Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press, 2008, 1-21. 2. Deborah Barndt, “Arch Deluxe with a Smile”, Tangled Routes: Women, Work and Globalization on the Tomato Trail. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008, 94-128. Supplementary Reading: 3. Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation. New York: Harper Collins, 2001, 225-252. 4. George Ritzer ‘Dealing with McDonaldization: A Practical Guide’. The McDonaldization of Society Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press, 2008, 187-210.

4. Defining McDonaldization “McDonald’s is the basis of one of the most influential developments in contemporary society. Its reverberations extend far beyond its point of origin in the United States and in the fast-food business. It has influenced a wide range of undertakings, indeed a way of life, of a significant portion of the world. And that impact is likely to expand at an accelerating rate.” McDonaldization: “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.” Ritzer

5. Not Just Fast Food Casual dining Retail businesses Education Health care Travel and leisure Emulated on a global scale

6. Origins of McDonaldization Linked to earlier social processes and social theories Bureaucratization (Weber) Scientific Management ( T aylor) Assembly Line ( F ord)

7. Max Weber: Bureaucracy Institutions based on rational-legal authority 1. A fixed division of labour 2. A hierarchy of offices 3. General rules that are recorded in permanent files 4. Separation of personal from official property 5. Selection of personnel on the basis of technical qualifications 6. Employment considered a full-time career

8. Bureaucracies Expert, technical knowledge Technical superiority Stability Predictability

9. Bureaucracies concentrate power at the top erode the capacity for spontaneous action dehumanize imprison humanity in an ‘iron cage’

10. F. W.Taylor: One Best Way Scientific Management:  Find the most efficient way of doing a job  Train workers to execute the job efficiently  Design the job so it can be done without thinking (deskilling)  Closely monitor and control the workers’ performance  Place all decision-making responsibility in hands of management

11. Henry Ford: Assembly Line All movements are simplified Unnecessary steps or movements are eliminated Parts are received efficiently (travel the least possible distance) Mechanical (not human) means used to transport car and parts

12. Ford and Taylor in the 1920s http://youtube.com/watch?v=PvbG9Sjp97o http://youtube.com/watch?v=kFsBC0_Uglg&feature=r elated http://youtube.com/watch?v=kFsBC0_Uglg&feature=r elated

13. McDonaldization Efficiency the optimum method for getting from one point to another Calculability an emphasis on the quantitative aspects of products sold Predictability the assurance that products and services will be the same over time and in other locations Control through nonhuman technology

14. McDonaldization http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fdy1AgO6Fp4

15. Beyond McD’s & Beyond America McDonald’s as a Global Icon McD’s in Moscow; McD’s in Beijing McDonaldized transnationals Body Shop, IKEA

16. McDonaldization as Governance Working at McDonalds http://youtube.com/watch?v=gZjdouRo_qA http://youtube.com/watch?v=gZjdouRo_qA

17. McDonaldization as governance The Customer is McDonalidized Performs tasks formerly performed by workers Bag your own groceries Supervises workers The ‘goldfish bowl’

18. Do we get what we want… Advantages Wide range of goods and services Not tied to time and place Get what you want when you want it Increased uniformity Stability, familiarity, and comfort Rapid diffusion of innovation

19. Irrationality of Rationality 1. Efficiency Environmental problems Factory farming 2. Calculability Health problems Supersize me 3. Predictability  Limits creativity  No choices, no thinking 4. Control  Dehumanizes

20. Irrationality of Rationality ”Unfettered by the constraints of McDonaldized systems, but using the technological advances made possible by them, people would have the potential to be far more thoughtful, skillful, creative, and well- rounded than they are now. In short, if they world were less McDonaldized, people would be better able to live up to their human potential.” Ritzer