The McDonaldization of Society - Coursework Example

? A critical analysis of Ritzer’s “‘Efficiency’ from The McDonaldization of Society” Introduction The ‘McDonaldization of Society’ created a great deal of stir within the academic circles of sociological studies owing to its informal writing style and its support of the Weberian hypothesis on the auxiliary nature of postmodern society. Ritzer’s core theory revolved round the idea that Weber’s ‘iron cage’ depersonalised for sake of procedural standardisation is amalgamated with Frederick’s Taylor’s maximisation in production efficiency, which is then spread from precincts of workplaces to saturate one’s leisure, home and consumption mode. The content matter that explained this core theory was developed by Ritzer in the essay without adopting any special stylistic approach and opposed the almost playful and positive visions as presented by many postmodern social theorists. In contrast to the other social theories, Ritzer’s writing presented a perception that carried a rather dark and foreboding perspective of an increasingly hostile and disillusioned world. This article examines Ritzer’s notions on efficiency within the theory of ‘McDonaldization of Society,’ and uses Klein’s and Castells’ (and other theorists’) ideas to reflect critically upon Ritzer’s assumptions. Discussion A ‘McDonaldized’ world portrays a lifestyle that is highly straitjacketed with formalised regulations and norms, machine like efficiency, and governance by a technocratic and an impersonal organisation that would dominate all daily human interactions. Thus, the term can also be used to highlight the role of a dominant body or institution (the state or any other ruling body) which formally controls and organises all production resources and shapes the amalgamation of technology with society, under the current economic scenario of technology, consumerism and capitalism based globalisation (Castells, 2000). Castells delineates technology, primarily as the use of science-based knowledge to do things in a manner that is reproducible (Castells, 2000); a notion that has been adopted by McDonalds, where in order to produce maximum efficiency, human labour has been substituted largely by technology that reproduces the same products almost anywhere in the world, thus producing standardised global-based products. Ritzer’s choice of the McDonald’s restaurants as an archetypal example that defines all current issues in the postmodern contemporary world is largely appropriate, since ‘McDonaldization’ as analysed by Ritzer, encompasses the two important aspects of manufacture and consumption, and is applicable to wider realms of cultural, socio-economic, and political processes of a country. Ritzer, in his article, applies his notions to various phenomena that vary from leisure, work, food, education, media to politics. Taking into consideration such a wide range of topics elucidates the sociological moment of highlighting abstraction, developing a notion so broad that it is allows for a conceptual comprehension and translation of a great deal of information in a manner that helps in the delineation and framing of basic characteristics of the present time. This form of theorising, often criticised by postmodern theorists, helps one to view and give a critical analysis on the basic social institutions, dynamics and issues, which depicts the major strong areas within the realms of classical social theory. The fast food restaurants of McDonald's provide an example of a phenomenon that are familiar within a sociological setting and hence can be analysed to develop an understanding at a more macro and general level. There are very few institutions and artefacts in the current scenario that are as famous and omnipresent as McDonald's, with its brand logo (brand identities) like Ronald McDonald's, its Golden Arches, Big Macs, promotional tie-ups with popular cartoons, toys and movies, charities, other forms of advertising and their famous tagline “I am loving it.” This phenomena of creating a brand identity started during 1980s and 1990s and is explained by Linda Klein in her article “Patriarchy gets funky,” where it was suggested that “every forward-thinking corporation adopt[ed] variations on the theme of diversity as their brand identities…In an effort to understand how Starbucks became an overnight household name in 1996 without a single national ad campaign, Advertising Age speculated that it had something to do with its tie-dyed, Third World aura. “For devotees, Starbucks’ experience” is about more than a daily espresso infusion; it is about immersion in a politically correct, cultured refuge” (Klein, 2001). A similar scenario is applicable for McDonalds where its brand identity has been infused with the social, political and cultural order of the places of operations. Both rationalization of the concepts of manufacture and consumption, in the context of McDonald's, remains unparalleled in the modern era, and creates an occurrence that Ritzer labelled as ‘McDonaldization of society,’ which is characterised by high levels of efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control, where human labour is substituted with machinery/technology, (signifying a quantitative and rise in technical rationalization). In the context of increased efficiency, Ritzer contended, “For many modern families, the TV dinner is no longer efficient enough. To many people, eating out, particularly in a fast food restaurant, is a far more efficient way of obtaining their meals. Fast-food restaurants capitalize on this by being organized so that diners are fed as efficiently as possible. They offer a limited, simple menu that can be cooked and served food restaurant, is a far more efficient way of obtaining their meals. Fast-food restaurants capitalize on this by being organized so that diners are fed as efficiently as possible. They offer a limited, simple menu that can be cooked and served in an assembly-line fashion. The latest development in fast-food restaurants, the addition of drive-through windows, constitutes an effort to increase still further the efficiency of the dining experience. The family now can simply drive through, pick up its order, and eat it while driving to the next, undoubtedly efficiently organized, activity. The success of the fast-food restaurant has come full circle with frozen-food manufacturers now touting products for the home modeled after those served in fast-food restaurants” (Ritzer, 2008 :13-14). Ritzer further suggested that a significant aspect of efficiency was that in the current context, the term has stopped being a means but has turned into an end in itself, and this change in goals has turned into a major issue within a reconciling society (Ritzer, 2008:14). Here Ritzer gave examples of bureaucrats who “slavishly follow the rules even though their inflexibility negatively affects the organization’s ability to achieve its goals. Then there are the bureaucrats who are so concerned with efficiency that they lose sight of the ultimate goals the means are designed to achieve” (Ritzer, 2008:14). Here the author gives example of the Nazi officers who during the WWII were so busy optimising the concentration camps’ efficiency that they failed to notice that their actual objective was killing millions of innocent human beings. There are no doubts that ‘McDonaldization’ is a global phenomenon, and while Ritzer is cognizant of McDonald’s globalization and notes differences in its architecture, and products made to suit local conditions of operations; he however fails to analyse variations in experiences, meanings and social operations that McDonald's often produces in the context of its efficiency and operations in different countries. As a result, there are both postmodern and modern dimensions to ‘McDonaldization,’ and while analysing this complex process, it is necessary to take into consideration both the aspects of production and consumption, from modernist views of rationalized modes of production and consumption, and cultural aspects of postmodernism that deals with hyper-real and hybridised form of consumption. Often Ritzer’s critics focusing on the aspect of consumption, support ‘McDonaldization’ and claim that Ritzer fails to see the diversity and variety within consumer practices. While undoubtedly ‘McDonaldization’ produces varying effects on different consumers the critics here tend to overlook fact that ‘McDonaldization’ does produce a rigorous form of efficiency that gives consumers less choice, creates homogenization and standardization of products and consumption, which is considered degrading and dehumanising to its employees and consumers, alike (Miles, in, Alfino, Caputo and Wynyard, 1998). In this context, Levitt claimed, “multinational corporation operates in a number of countries, and adjusts its products and practices to each — at high relative costs. The global corporation operates with resolute constancy — at low relative cost — as if the entire world (or major regions of it) were a single entity; it sells the same things in the same way everywhere. ... Ancient differences in national tastes or modes of doing business disappear” (cited in, Klein, 2001). Efficiency in ‘McDonaldization’ is thus primarily linked to issues of globalisation and capitalism, associated with markets, substitution of human labour with technology within a networked global society, and consumption that aim at increasing profits and power of the capitalist industry (Castells, 2000). McDonaldization, thus, encompasses rationality and efficiency (in terms of modernism) and aspects of simulation, hyper-reality and hybridisation. With his stress on the application of the Weberian theories, that brings in limitations within Ritzer's analysis and interpretation of ‘McDonaldization.’ Conclusion From the above discourse, it can be suggested that in order to correctly grasp ‘efficiency’ in ‘McDonaldization’ (and the other three aspects as defined by Ritzer) one must view it using different social theories, which would provide a better framework and a multidimensional model for analysing all complex socio-economic, cultural and political aspects that represent ‘McDonaldization’ (Best and Kellner 1997). This makes it essential to take into consideration both modern and postmodern theories (theories of Baudillard, Weber and Marx), while considering multiculturalism and cultural discourses to get an overall understanding about global hybridization behind the process of ‘McDonaldization.’ Ritzer tends to emphasise only on Weber's theories to depict ‘McDonaldization,’ which leads to certain limitations within his analysis. While his notions does shed a light on general social kinetics and helps in the mapping of modern social macro-structures, they tend to develop a one-sided and restricted perspective that requires support from other contemporary social perspectives for a complete overview. References Alfino, M., Caputo, J., and Wynyard, R., (eds.), 1998. McDonaldization Revisited: Critical Essay in Consumer Culture. Wesport Conn.: Praeger. Best, S., and Kellner, D., 1997. The Postmodern Turn. New York: Guilford Press. Castells, M., 2000. The Rise of the Network Society. Oxford: Blackwell. Ritzer, G., 2008. “The McDonaldization of Society.” In, Getting Started in: Sociology, Lisa Whitaker (ed.). Boston: Mcgraw Hill. Retrieved from, http://sydneysingles.tomgao.com/007-7379039.pdf#page=17 [accessed 5th November 2012] Klein, N., 2001. “Patriarchy gets funky,” from chapter 5 of Naomi Klein’s No Logo, Retrieved from http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/us/klein.htm [accessed 5th November 2012] Read More