Introduction
McDonaldization of society as described by George Ritzer (2014) shows how modern society often adopts the fast food model of efficiency, calculability, control and predictability for other businesses and aspects of life. Planned and perceived obsolescence is used to create more profits with no concern for the environment; employees are dehumanized until they are replaced by robots in the near future.
McDonaldization
Efficiency
Efficiency is one of the four core aspects of a business that adopts the McDonald’s model of operation. It means that a business has to find the most optimal way to get to the desired goal. If a customer wants to be full, their food should come to them as fast as possible. If a client doesn’t have the time to park and walk into the restaurant, they should have an option to use a drive-through. Limited leisure time in modern society makes such efficiency attractive to people (Ritzer, 2014).
Calculability
This model heavily relies on the ability to calculate each part of the business process. In McDonald’s each order has a calculated portion size, costs of production as well as services to deliver it to the restaurant and subsequently, the consumer. This aspect prioritizes quantity over quality. Products are expected to be big for low prices. Workers are supposed to do as much work as possible in the allotted time. The amount of work in this system is prioritized because the bar of quality is low. The same type of calculative approach is expected from the consumer. The appeal of the product is the idea that when you get more for less money, you get something good. If you add the previously mentioned efficiency, the product can become highly desirable (Ritzer, 2014).
Predictability
A customer at McDonald’s knows that when they order a Big Mac, it will be the same Big Mac they have ordered before. The quality will be approximately the same, the ingredients will be the same as in any other McDonald’s in the world, and the service they receive will be the same. This aspect creates a sense of comfort in the customer. They will not have to worry about buying a product of poor quality or one that does not suit their tastes. A customer also expects only a moderate level of quality which helps keep the costs of production and service low. Predictability of service is assured with corporate guidelines and training (Ritzer, 2014).
Control
Control is crucial to the operation of McDonald’s. Customers are controlled through the presence of lines, limited menus, and poorly furnished restaurants. The company does not want the customers to spend a lot of time in the restaurant and if possible not eat at the restaurant at all.
As mentioned earlier, service is controlled by strict corporate guidelines. They decide the uniform of a worker, the way a worker talks to the customer and all the instructions for the completion of their tasks. Training is emphasized to make the strict directions clear to the employee. Technology in the workplace also facilitates the way the work should be done. Workers have to be under the supervision of managers and inspectors who make sure the work is being done exactly the way it is specified (Ritzer, 2014).
Issues of McDonaldization
Expansion of McDonaldization
Expansion of McDonaldization outside of the fast food industry is relatively easy to see. Fashion and electronics industries have been adopting similar tactics, with aggressive outsourcing strategies and strict control over the workers (Leonard, Fox & Sachs, 2010). Modern education employs some of the McDonaldization aspects like calculability of student’s grades and control over the way material is taught. Companies like CarMax changed the used car lot industry using the same four elements with standardized evaluation guidelines, uniform lots and consistent quality of service.
This expansion creates a similar kind of problem as it does in the fast food industry but with possibly worse consequences. In search of efficiency, companies like Apple and Nike employ aggressive outsourcing to save costs on production. Neither provides enough supervision over the factories which results in a lot of worker’s rights violations as well unethical business practices like child labor, inhumane punishments, and increased pollution. Both companies tried to increase such monitoring after the public outcry against them but the situation only marginally improved (Nilsen, 2013).
CarMax might be one of the more successful implementations of McDonaldization. This success could be attributed to the preexisting poor reputation of used car lots. Unsavory tactics of used car salesclerks created an infamous image of a failing salesperson trying their best to sell you a car in bad condition for an overinflated price. Utilizing the four elements of McDonaldization CarMax created a clean, family friendly used car lot chain that does legitimate business.
The Future of McDonaldization
Market Research Company Forrester reported that by 2021 robots will eliminate 6% of all jobs in the United States. This report describes the transportation and service industries as the most affected by this disruption. Self-driving cars are said to replace taxi drivers as well as remove drivers from transportation services like Lyft and Uber. Such robotic systems directly play into McDonaldization. Eliminating the human element would cut costs on training and insurance for workers. This efficiency would come at the expense of jobs for the drivers, who would not be able to apply as servers for those systems without additional education (Solomon, 2016).
The Irrationality of Rationality
This term can be described as a label for many of the problems that overt rationality can bring to the workplace. McDonaldization requires people to behave and work in a very controlled manner, almost like pre-programmed robots. This type of work can have a dehumanizing effect. This aspect might be seen as responsible for the future implementation of robotic systems and problems that will come with it. Rationality also brings disenchantment which takes away the mystery and wonder of life. Mass produced products hold little significance as opposed to unique, hand-crafted things (Ritzer, 2014).
Planned and Perceived Obsolescence
These terms describe a common business strategy in fashion and electronics where a product becomes obsolete after a few months, either by design or public perception (Leonard, Fox & Sachs, 2007). I have experienced this myself with a recent attempt to upgrade my computer. I wanted to upgrade my RAM to the new DDR4 standard, but unfortunately, I couldn’t do so because the new type of RAM uses completely different types of ports than the ones supported by my motherboard. If I wanted to upgrade, I would have to buy a new motherboard and a new processor because it would not be compatible with the new motherboard. Similar situation when I updated my phone. New model used a different connector. Therefore, all my accessories and cables were incompatible with the new model.
Conclusion
McDonaldization may seem like an efficient way to run a business, but it comes with severe caveats to workers, environment, and customers. Dehumanization of the employees, careless use of planned obsolescence, and future implementations of systems that threaten a large group of people with unemployment are some of the largest problems caused by McDonaldization. Perhaps, when these problems become more visible people will try to be more responsible with such business strategies.
References
Leonard, A., & Fox, L., & Sachs, J. (2007). The Story of stuff. Web.
Leonard, A., & Fox, L., & Sachs, J. (2010). The Story of Electronics. Web.
Nilsen, M. (2013). How Nike solved its sweatshop problem. Business Insider. Web.
Ritzer, G. (2014). The McDonaldization of society (8th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Solomon, O. (2016). Robots will eliminate 6% of all US jobs by 2021, report says.The Guardian. Web.