Fast Food Restaurants
The emphasis on efficiency, predictability, and calculability in the fast-food industry is based on the creation of a structured division of labor that requires employees to accomplish a set goal by the company. In essence, fast food restaurants have compartmentalized positions resulting in a well-established division of labor which is alongside a strict hierarchical structure of authority. This creates a bureaucratic organization where people are supposed to accomplish tasks in a particular way, follow the established rules and regulations and focus on developing their technical competence based on the needs of the position they are assigned to (Croteau and Hoynes 178).
This level of bureaucratization is further emphasized through the use of performance-based metrics wherein the efficiency and effectiveness of employees at their jobs are “scored” based on a preconceived notion by the company of the level of performance that an employee should show. This creates a level of predictability and calculability in operations since businesses can set levels of required efficiency and if an employee continually fails to meet these goals, then they are terminated to make way for a more efficient worker.
One of the best examples of this at work is the food “assembly line” that you can see in every McDonald’s outlet. Each burger they have on their menu is not created by a single person. There is a particular individual who handles the toasting of the buns, another who cooks the patty, someone who assembles the food and even an employee that does the wrapping and delivers it to the counter. The reason behind this method of operation is that it allows each employee to concentrate on a particular task which maximizes their efficiency.
The result is a more efficient means of food preparation that is predictable and calculable based on the individual performance levels of each employee in their respective position within the company. However, one interesting aspect of this method of operation is that it induces people not to think beyond the confines of their job. This results in an extreme form of rational action wherein thoughts, perspectives, and their resulting actions are based on the limits of their position. As such, it maximizes their capability to do a particular task but minimizes their overall capacity to be more adaptable.
Theory of McDonaldization
Based on the given perspective on the fast-food industry shown above, George Ritzer’s theory on the McDonaldization of American society does have a certain level of relevancy. People within the U.S. have begun to be compartmentalized into their respective roles, have started to be attached to the concept of predictable actions when it comes to purchases and experiences, and there is a certain level of control in a society based on its current dependence on being subordinated to a process or a machine.
However, there are some contending arguments to this position since it can simply be stated that efficiency, calculability, and predictability, factors that have become important aspects of American society, are simply manifestations of societal evolution due to the greater inclusion of technological processes and items into everyone’s daily lives.
As society continues to evolve alongside technology, there would inevitably be some “spillover” from one process to the other. When observing social evolution over several hundred years, man and his inventions have always been intertwined. It is only recently that technology has developed to a point that it has become so integrated into society that a blurring of the lines between technological innovation and social development has started to occur.
It is based on this perspective that when examining the work of Ritzer, it is more accurate to state that his observations merely represent the growing hybridization of man and machine. This has created distinct overlaps in how society has begun to operate and has impacted people on an individual level in how they accomplish their jobs or do their tasks while working.
For example, the use of metrics to measure performance among employees is not a new concept, but it does have a considerable similarity in how people gauge the efficiency of mechanical processes. The same can see in the greater desire for efficiency and predictability in society since these are also desired outcomes when it comes to mechanical processes and outputs. The problem with the work of Ritzer is that he laments people being defined by their apparent subordination to set roles and mechanical processes. While it is true that there is a level of subordination, what Ritzer neglects to take into consideration is that man has always been, in some way, subordinated to his tools.
Humanity has depended on them for survival and through them, the building blocks of present-day society were created. As such, the “McDonaldization” that Ritzer mentions is more of a reflection of how our tool usage has become that much more integrated into our daily lives and how, in the end, it is not that surprising given the history that humanity has had with its tools and creations. All in all, George Ritzer’s theory on the McDonaldization of American society does have a certain level of relevancy, but I do not agree with it at all.
Works Cited
Croteau, David, and William Hoynes. Experience Sociology: 2nd Edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education Create, 2015. Print.