Fordism and McDonaldization are important movements to the workplace environment, as it has shown the control of society. To understand the importance of Fordism and McDonaldization it is of vital importance that I analyse the history and origins of these movements, beginning with Max Weber’s theory of rationalization. Followed by Fordism and a look into the impact it has had on the worker’s conditions, I will then explore Mcdonaldisation and how the four dimensions of McDonaldization influence the workers.
In order to gain a deeper understanding of McDonaldization one must first explore sociologist Max Weber’s theory on rationalization, which is one of his most useful concepts in this context (Kendall, 2007). According to Ritzer, (Ritzer 1995: 21, cited in Kendall, 2007, pg. 19) rationalization is “the process in which the modern world has come to be increasingly dominated by structures devoted to efficiency, calculability, predictability, and technological control”. He (1996) also goes on to say that Weber described how a certain time period became increasingly rational by the domination of these four structures.
Ritzer (1996) continues to say that Weber also looked at why society was failing to rationalize generally in everyday life. Alongside rationalization Fordism can be linked to Weber’s theory in relation to the control from nonhuman technologies. Industrialist Henry Ford is a well-known pioneer from over a century ago, becoming one of the wealthiest people in the world. Ford earned his riches by establishing the Ford Motor Company and designing his first auto plant for the sole purpose of manufacturing just one product; the Model T Ford car (Ritzer, 1996).
Ford is mainly known for altering the concept of the assembly line because he wanted to save time, energy, and money by changing how his factories were run. This way he could sell more cars and increase his workers wages so they could afford to purchase the product; this ultimately brought a whole new meaning to mass production (Ritzer, 1996). Mass production tends to take the worker who could once use his initiative, to the worker who has to be reliant on a machine (Mumford, 1973, cited in Matthewman, West-Newman and Curtis, 2007, p. 74).
The process of deskilling is also central to the transformation of Ford’s factories. Ritzer (1996) describes deskilling as a decrease in the amount of skills required for a job. Ford took the idea of deskilling and integrated it into his newly developed idea of the assembly line, breaking down each job into the smallest method it could go, hiring the cheapest labour required to fulfil the range of jobs (Matthewman et al. , 2007). According to Ritzer (1996) Fordism refers to the ideas, principals, and systems produced by Ford and have numerous characteristics.
Littler, (Littler, 1985, cited in Matthewman et al. , 2007, p. 74) suggests there are four main characteristics of Fordism. Firstly, the assembly line as it allows for pace and order by management. Secondly, the use of highly equipped machine tools which replaced general purpose tools. Thirdly, standardised work routines. Therefore, the worker who places the wheels on cars does the same task repetitively. Finally, Fordism involves the use of technological management as a replacement of human work. Fordism has impacted the worker in several ways.
Firstly, when Ford adapted the assembly line into his factories all the large jobs that once required skilled workers and advanced tools were broken down into a range of tasks, deskilling the worker to the extreme. Heavy machinery did the majority of the work instead of humans operating the equipment. The Fordist worker had a limited amount of responsibility and could not use all their skills, therefore making the worker incompatible and unlikely to succeed in any other field of work (Matthewman et al. , 2007).
Giddens (2009) suggests that Ford bribed his employees by paying them a generous wage and making his product affordable to purchase, therefore enticing the worker to comply with the factory discipline, rules and restrictions. The idea of Fordism and the impact it has had on its workers share a lot of similar attributes in comparison to the concept of McDonaldization and its four dimensions in contrast with the worker. Whether a person has eaten in a McDonald’s, drank coffee in a Starbucks or purchased a pizza from Pizza Hut they has been subjected to Mcdonaldization in some kind of way.
The idea of McDonaldization could be seen as a modern day version of Fordism, using the comparison with the term; assembly line. Entrepreneur Ray Croc implemented Ford’s assembly line idea into his McDonald’s restaurants, the term assembly line is known as, to fasten production as well as the incorporation of Fordist principles and deskilling used in the restaurant (Ritzer, 1996). The term ‘McDonaldization’ was developed by sociologist, George Ritzer (1996), he believed that most aspects of society portray the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant, therefore inventing the term McDonaldization (1996).
McDonald’s has become a multi-billion dollar franchise over the years; it is the most successful fast-food restaurant to date, but Ritzer argues that the success of the corporation is because McDonald’s offers “consumers, workers, and managers efficiency, calculability, predictability and control” (Ritzer, 1996, p. 9). Efficiency is the first dimension of McDonaldization, or the optimum method for getting from one point to another. For a McDonald’s customer this is best shown by going from hungry to full.
The McDonald’s drive-through window is a good example of efficiency as it works as a practical solution for people who want to get a fast meal in a short amount of time without needing to leave their vehicles (Ritzer, 1996). As McDonald’s are continually looking for greater efficient ways to improve, workers are trained to work this way in order to ensure efficient work at all times. Efficiency restricts the workers behaviour as everything they do and say is ran by rules and regulations (Ritzer, 1996).
Calculability is the focus on the quantitative part of the product sold rather than quality, along with the time it takes to get the product in hand, also known as the service offered. The Big Mac is a prime example of this; one would assume The Big Mac is going to be better based on its size and taste. The Big Mac is put together by an unqualified cook who follows directions to assemble the burger then puts it down an assembly line, in comparison to the human attributes of a chef who doesn’t rely on nonhuman technologies (Ritzer, 1996).
The workers tend to call attention to quantitative rather than the qualitative aspects of their job, since very little quality of work can be produced. The worker then focuses on accomplishing tasks in the quickest amount of time as they are expected to do a lot of work (Ritzer, 1996). Predictability means you know what product and service you’re going to receive; the Quarter Pounder in New Zealand is going to taste exactly the same as the one purchased in America (Ritzer, 1996).
The workers of McDonald’s behave in predictable ways such in what they say during their interactions with customers, often scripts are expected to be memorised and practised whenever an opportunity may occur. The fourth and final dimension of McDonaldization is control; the workers are controlled by being trained to do a restricted amount of tasks in a certain way by management. The workers are virtually controlled by machines; this is set up purposely to reinforce the control.
McDonald’s holds a great amount of control by using and threatening to use machines to replace human workers. Certain systems are put in place to ensure humans are replaced by machines to prevent mistakes. Technology such as soft-drink dispenses that automatically shuts off when full, or a french-fry machine that rings and lifts itself out when the fries are ready are examples of the increasing control the employers have over their staff ( Ritzer, 1996).
In conclusion, McDonaldization and Fordism are important moments of the past and present as they both show the struggle for control over work. While there are many factors that contribute to the expansion of these movements, Weber’s theory of rationalization sets a basis of understanding McDonaldization and where it was inspired from. Although Fordism began earlier than McDonalization both concepts have had a similar impact on the workers conditions and have ultimately dominated American society and slowly the rest of the world.
