Introduction
According to J. Ritzer, McDonaldization refers to the process by which the basic principles of the fast-food restaurant are achieving increasing dominance in various spheres of life in American society. McDonaldization is not just the expansion and popularization of the McDonald’s chain of restaurants worldwide; it is, above all, a process of transforming the fast-food business into a set of principles that reflect modern society (Madsen & Madsen, 2022). The main feature of McDonaldization is the ultimate rationalization of purpose, means, modes of operation, and satisfaction of human needs. McDonaldization, therefore, represents a new kind of rationality characteristic of the modern and postmodern eras.
McDonaldization in an Organization: A Case of the Church
McChurch is a term applied to religious organizations that attempt to apply principles of corporate consumerism to “sell” themselves or gain more followers. In doing so, churches may attempt to blend elements and spectacle with classic elements of efficiency, predictability, and uniformity. An example of a McChurch is a multi-site church. Multi-site churches have multiple branches in the same city, state, country, or even world (Madsen & Madsen, 2022). Sermons are preached to the congregation in the main center, but to ensure uniformity, the same sermon is digitally broadcast to other centers as well.
Franchising McChurch: Feeding Our Obsession with Easy Christianity by Thomas White and John Yeats argues that McChurch functions as a physical meeting place. They argue that this contradicts the very purpose of the church. Moreover, such multi-site churches violate what many Christian theologians consider a fundamental principle of church planting – that new churches should be autonomous and serve local congregations.
Conclusion
In his book The McDonaldization of Society, George Ritzer discusses and presents his view of the modern world through the lens of fast-food restaurants. Hannah Arendt also takes a negative view of the atmosphere created by McDonald’s. She emphasizes the corruption of the human world in terms of rationality (as discussed in Ritzer’s book).
In her account of the trial of the fascist Eichmann, she explicitly defends the need to recognize the need for gradual de-democratization. Several studies demonstrate how the rational model of the McDonald’s restaurant adapts to cultural sensitivities, resulting in a reduction in the originality of McDonald’s products. The more companies adapt to local conditions, the more likely American products will lose the market.
Reference
Madsen, D. Ø., & Madsen, M. A. (2022). McDonaldization. In Encyclopedia of Tourism Management and Marketing (pp. 158-160). Edward Elgar Publishing.