Irrationality Of Mcdonaldization In The Fast Food Industry
840 Words4 Pages
The term McDonaldization is the process through which the principle of fast-food restaurants is dominating more areas of American society as well as the rest of the world (Ritzer, 2013). The fundamental concepts used in the fast-food industry have spread not only to other types of restaurants, but also to other players in the economy like bookstores, newspapers, toy stores, childcare, education and more.
Irrationality of rationality implies that rational systems are unreasonable because they hinder the basic humanity and the human reason of the people working within the industry or being served. It is an aspect of McDonaldization. The irrationalities include inefficient masses, dehumanization and unpredictability since employees are unclear…show more content… Organizations can become ineffective when there are too many procedures and regulations. They can also become unpredictable as employees become unsure of what they should do and clients do not receive the service that is expected. For example, in a McDonaldized society, customer service is being standardized without any real openness. Thus it is becoming inefficient. Moreover, people know fast-food is not good for their fitness but yet they still eat it, because it is fast, efficient and cheap. People have taken McDonaldization to an extent that if they cannot have their dinner made within a few minutes, then they find something else that is available easily and quickly. Very few household mothers cook a lot of food for dinners anymore and have a sit down dinner. People’s lives are becoming faster and faster due to McDonaldization. Many parents lack time to sit down with their kids anymore. This is because in a McDonaldized society even the books can be found on audiotapes. Ritzer argues that almost all aspects of human life are becoming McDonaldized. Ritzer goes further and faults the McDonaldization for its undesirable effects on the economy and the environment. The increase of agricultural animals and the waste from fast-food restaurants are a few examples of negative effects. Similarly, McDonaldized online courses of education and bigger class sizes have prohibited students and…show more content… Efficiency means that every feature of the organization is aimed toward the reduction of time and attaining the fastest way to get what one needs.
Employees become replaced by non-human technologies as part of standardization. Consumer patterns are unified as McDonald's enters a country, and starting with the food chains, education and social lives of local cultures are westernized. Workers in McDonaldized organizations are judged by how fast they complete tasks instead of the quality of work they do. This results in the availability of one thing in mass but not essentially the thing needed. Increase in volume does not compare to increase in choice.
McDonaldization developed the concept that quantity equals quality and that a large amount of product provided to the client in a short duration of time is equal to a high quality product. This gives people the opportunity to measure how much they get against how much they pay. Moreover, predictability is the clue that a person will receive the same product and service every time whenever they get into a McDonaldized organization. This also relates to the employees in those organizations; their duties are highly routine, repetitive and