The McDonalization of Society

Table of Content

            MacDonalization is a sociological term used to describe the process through which the society moves form traditional to more rational models of thought and advances to more scientific methods of management. Sociologists have highlighted four basic components of democratization.

            The first one is efficiency which refers to the optimal methods of accomplishing a duty. It has a very specific meaning where the optimal method can be applied to equate the fastest method of getting to a point. It states that every aspect of the organization is geared towards achieving the minimization of time (George, 2004, 34).

            The second basic aspect is calculability which means that any goal set should be quantifiable rather than subjective. MacDonalization creates a notion that the quality of a substance equals its quantity. This is a notion that enables people to gauge what they are getting to what they are paying. Therefore workers can be judged based   on how fast they are instead of the quality of task done (George, 2004, 35).

            The third aspect is predictability which describes the standardization and uniformity of services of an organization. Thus predictability explains that no matter where a customer is he or she will be, he or she will receive the same service through the process of interacting with macdonalized organizations (George, 2004, 36).

            The forth aspect of MacDonalization  is control which explains the negative repercussions of replacing human with non -human technologies  which can be said to be rational when viewed from a narrow perspective but can bring outcomes that are harmful and irrational when viewed from a broader perspective. The central theme in the macdonalization process is the analysis of modern society through the process of rationalization. This is a far reaching process where traditional methods of thinking can be replaced with ends or means concerned with efficiency and formalized social control. The manifestation of this idea is based on the process of bureaucracy which is a large form of organization arranged in a hierarchical authority structure. It is well established with written rules and regulations and concerns for technical competences (Henslin, 1996, p.57).

            Therefore bureaucratic organizations do not present the issue of rationalization but they offer structures which they impose on human interactions and thinking leading to an advance rationalized world.

Reference

George Ritzer (2004) The MacDonaldization of the Society. Pine & Forge Press, pp.34-36

Henslin, M (1996) Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-earth Approach. New York, Allyn & Bacon, pp.57

 

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