The McDonaldization thesis—

(The building block of McDonaldization is Max Weber's concept of rationalization, which is the process of replacing
traditional and emotional thought with reason and efficiency.

Weber believed that most societies throughout history were governed by tradition and that the most significant
trend in modern sociology is an increasing rationalization of every part of our daily lives.

He also believed that rationalization would continue until our society would become an iron cage, dehumanizing
everyone and creating homogeneity.

Likewise, Ritzer uses McDonald's as a metaphor for the over-rationalization of society. The popularity of the
restaurant itself is a perfect example of rationalization because traditional, home-cooked family meals have been
replaced with meals of practicality and convenience.

Continued rationalization has led to sectors beyond the fast food industry becoming increasingly uniform and
automated.)

McDonaldization—

(McDonaldization describes the way in which the principles that make McDonald's a hugely successful business
model are being applied to the rest of American life and the world at large.

Some common examples of McDonaldization are drive-through windows, self-service, self-checkout, ATMs,
assembly lines, and standardized testing. Another form of McDonaldization is the technology that monitors the
movements of employees.

It is advantageous because it makes products more accessible to a wider range of people and allows them to make
purchases at any time of day, from almost anywhere, but the disadvantage of a McDonaldized society is that it
stunts creative capacity and encourages controlled uniformity.)

The nature of the McDonaldization process may be delineated by outlining its five basic dimensions:

1. Efficiency

(Efficiency – the optimal method for accomplishing a task. In the example of McDonald's customers, it is the fastest
way to get from being hungry to being full. Customers see it as the quickest way to satisfy a need. Employees are
also said to gain. By clearly defining what is to be done and how it is to be done, tasks are performed more rapidly
and easily.)

2. Calculability

(In this principle, objective should be quantifiable (e.g., sales) rather than subjective (e.g. taste). McDonaldization
developed the notion that quantity equals quality, and that a large amount of product delivered to the customer in
a short amount of time is the same as a high quality product. This allows people to quantify how much they are
getting versus how much they are paying.

This means that, organizations want consumers to believe that they are getting a large amount of product for not a
lot of money. Workers in these organizations are judged by how fast they are instead of the quality of work they
do)
3. Predictability

(Predictability – standardized and uniform services. It means that no matter where a person goes, he will receive
the same service and product every time when interacting with the McDonaldized organization. This also applies to
the workers in those organizations. Their tasks are highly repetitive, highly routine, and predictable)

(It suggests, for a service, that it can be pre-programmed, so that surprises are unlikely. Both customers and
service provider know what is going to happen, where, when and how. Therefore, predictability and calculability,
facilitates efficiency.)

4. Control through the substitution of technology for people

(Control – is exerted through the substitution of non-humans for human technology. A human technology (e.g. a
screwdriver) is controlled by people; a non-human technology (e.g. assembly line) controls people.

The ultimate stage in control is, of course, where people are replaced by machines. It is also important to
remember that control is exerted in many other ways in services, e.g. the design of interior facilities.)

(Ritzer acknowledges the benefits of efficiency, predictability, calculability and control. However, with the addition
of a fifth dimension, the irrationality or rationality, he highlights the negative aspects of McDonaldization.)

5. Paradoxically, the irrationality of rationality

(Through relentless standardization and numbing routines, both employees and customers can feel dehumanized
and depersonalized. As employees are made to become more robotic-like in their behavior, stress and a sense of
loss of identity may follow. Customers feel as though they are part of an assembly line. Frustration, for both
parties, is a likely outcome, which in turn may have an adverse affect on service quality. So, the McDonaldization of
Services, in fact, brings about benefits and disadvantages and should be critically assessed before implementation.)

(With these four principles of the fast food industry, a strategy which is rational within a narrow scope can lead to
outcomes that are harmful or irrational. As these processes spread to other parts of society, modern society's new
social and cultural characteristics are created. For example, as McDonald's enters a country and consumer patterns
are unified, cultural hybridization occurs.)