Consumer Culture and Globalization - Case Study Example

Application of McDonaldization Theory (Student Name) (Course No.) (Lecturer) (University) (Date) Application of McDonaldization Theory Introduction McDonaldization is a process through which the principles used by the fast food industry have come to dominate the market and increasing number of institutions in the modern society. According to George Ritzer, McDonaldization concept is the central thesis according to The McDonaldization of Society. The author is a revered sociologist and intended to explore the effect of McDonaldization on the society. While the effects of the concepts are visible throughout the industries, most people tend to disagree on whether they are good or bad (Ritzer, 1998, 97). Even though the concept has several merits and demerits, business societies often believe that the positive effects that it presents outweigh the negative ones. McDonaldization theory identifies the four major principles governing the actions of the McDonaldization institutions: calculability, predictability, efficiency, and control. Efficiency is the ability of an organization to perform different responsibilities quickly and at the lowest cost possible. Some of the organizational activities that aim to increase efficiency include ATMs, fast food drive-through window, and self-checkout stands at the grocery stores. Although efficiency might be view as the benefit to the consumers, to some extent, efficiency could lead to several drawbacks. The essay will focus on the application McDonaldization theory within the healthcare sector, importance, and general drawback theta the sector faces. McDonaldization Concept Ritzer described McDonaldization concept as reconceptualization of rationalization or shifting from traditional to rational modes of though and ensuring integration of scientific management. Within sociological context, rationalization is replacing the traditions, values, and emotions as motivators to improve societal behaviors. Areas that Max Weber used the bureaucracy model in representing the direction of the ever-changing society, Ritzer views the fast food restaurants becoming more representative within the contemporary paradigms within the societies. In the modern society, the trends and technology are becoming large part of everyday life. According Ritzer, McDonaldization is process through which principles of the fast food restaurants are dominating virtually each aspect of the society (Drane, 2008, 174). The McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants offer an alternative to the labour intensive, home cooked meals which have been attractive to the busy families since the 1950s. However, two of their qualities are still appealing to potential customers: convenience and affordability. The qualities and similar principles are becoming increasingly critical in every aspect of the modern society. The concept of McDonaldization is rationalizing the society. Moreover, the foundation of the theory depends on Max Weber’s rationalization concept, which involves replacement of the traditional and emotional thought through reasoning and efficiency. According to Weber, most societies throughout the history were governed by tradition and the most important trend within the modern sociology is increment in rationalization in every aspect of lives (Kellner, 2010, 201). Weber also believed that rationalization would continue influencing the society until it becomes part of the iron age that dehumanizes each person and creating an extreme level of uniformity. Similarly, Ritzer utilizes McDonald as the reference point for the society’s rationalization. The popularity of the McDonald restaurant is the perfect example of rationalization due to its traditional home cooked family meals replaced with convenience and practicality meals. As a result, there have been continued rationalizations beyond the fast food industry, which are increasingly becoming uniform and automated. Principles of McDonaldization According to Ritzer, the concept of McDonaldization comprises of four major components: efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. Efficiency Efficiency involves ensuring putting in place the optimal techniques of getting activities done. In McDonaldization, efficiency means looking into every organizational aspect and gearing them towards time minimization. The market is becoming highly competitive that businesses have to integrate effective management strategies that would guarantee a better competitive advantage. Efficiency plays a significant role in ensuring the achievement of the desired results through integration of the needs of the customers (Mottram, 2007, 115). From the customers’ point of view, efficiency is achieving the required products and services within the shortest period. Efficiency means acquisition of specific end rapidly while utilizing the least amount of cost and efforts. Such idea is specific to the interest of any specific industry or business; nonetheless, it is typically viewed as a benefit to the customers. Calculability Calculability if the second principle of the McDonaldization that refers to the quantifiable aims and objectives of the fast food chains. According to the theory, quantity equals to quality and that the product amount delivered to the customers within a short time is similar as the high quality product. As a result, people are able to quantify how much they are receiving and how much they are paying. Within every organization, the employees are always judged based on how much they are able to accomplish a given task rather than the quality of the work they undertake (Dustin, 2007, 155). Such concept relates with the availability against variety idea, which means greeting a lot of one thing but not necessarily the thing one needs. Therefore, increment in volume does not equate increment in the choice. Whenever calculability occurs within an organization, there is replacement of quality with quantity. The fast food commercials often focus on the large size and small cost in producing products rather than the taste. The principles ties with efficiency since calculability make it easier to identify either efficient or inefficient process when they are quantifiable. Predictability Predictability, on the other hand, is a process through which institutions eliminate any unexpected or undesired outcomes as well as surprise or variability within the products and services. Most organizations experience failures due to poor measures in place to predict the desired results. For example, any mall within any given geographical location generally has similar shops and layouts compared with other malls within the region. Moreover, predictability is the idea that irrespective of the place a person goes, they would receive similar services and products each moment they interact with the McDonaldized institutions (Boundles, 2016). The principle is applicable to the workers with the institutions whose tasks are highly repetitive, routine, and predictable. Control Control is the fourth principle. Under the principle, the workers become standardized and replaced with the non-human technologies. Finally, as an integral part of standardization, the cultural hybridization often occurs. According to Ritzer, as the McDonald's enter the country, the patterns of the consumers are unified, and beginning with the food chains, the local cultures are westernized. The principle largely refers to control of the humans through application of the nonhuman technologies such as the barcodes scanners, regulations, and computers, which remove variability of the human processes. Obviously, the principles closely relates to predictability. Application of Mcdonaldization Theory within the Healthcare Sector Initially, the nature of the healthcare sector was simple with house calls being no unheard of and the practitioners knew their patients with names and families at personal level. Moreover, the practices was if the practitioners inherited care provisions within particular families since the healthcare practitioner that delivers the parents would deliver the child as well. The follow-ups within the healthcare sector were quite normal and practitioners were much concerned with the progress of the patient for their peace of mind. With time, the modern healthcare system emerged to be bureaucratic institutions when analyzed using Ritzer’s concept of McDonaldization (Ritzer, 1998, 101). From the trips made by the practitioners for routine checkups to rush trips during emergencies, predictability, control, efficiency, and quantification or control are much obvious. Signs of Mcdonaldization with the Healthcare Quantification is clearly visible when one-steps inside the healthcare facility with sign all over before asking or speaking to anyone. These signs communicate with those seeking guidance. Moreover, the modern hospitals also issue numbers that control the queues. After waiting for the calling of the numbers, the patients have to give their health cards numbers to the receptionists before moving to the next level. Consequently, a file is offered which is the patient’s identity within the period in which they are in the hospital. Upon seeing the healthcare practitioner, the doctor issues prescriptions that further the nameless ordeal within the facility’s environment. After dropping into a pharmacy, the prescriptions are filled and issued with the prescription number. In cases where patients cannot remember the numbers, the second name is a secondary possibility as identification means. Before the payment, the patients might have to show their Blue Cross card number or any other insurance cards. All these processes in the modern societies are quite dehumanizing and impersonal processes. Efficiency is an important feature that is popular within the healthcare situations. To ensure that things run smoothly within the facilities, the modern practices require patients to call ahead and make appointment with the receptionists to have their efforts to meet the practitioners processed. Such appointments aim at avoiding the long queues. When making the rounds, the doctors often go from one-examination rooms to another to meet the patients. After the assessment, the practitioner visits another one while nurses ensure that they bring another patient within the waiting rooms. The healthcare facilities are also very time efficient (Smart, 2011, 15). Through ensuring that the nurses undertake the preliminary examinations, it might be easy diagnose and treat some cases without seeing the busy practitioners. As a result, the patients do not have to wait for long duration as well as giving the doctors to look at the priority cases. Pharmacy is another area that requires efficiency. Through calling ahead to have the prescriptions filled, long waiting hours are avoided. Predictability is another important characteristic. Every person at least knows everything happen when one sees a doctor. The initial step is to go to the receptionist, fill the necessary papers, and make alert upon arrival. The patient has to wait for the nurse to be in the room and announce the person to see the doctor. Just like the robots, the nurses often measure important signs and note the findings with little conversations as possible, which the patient goes with to see the doctor and the doctor ask various to establish the actual cause of the problem based on the symptoms and results from diagnosis. Control is an important principle within healthcare industry. Healthcare practitioners need to have control over the health and physical wellbeing of their patients. Even though the doctors in the modern society do not have similar powers and responsibilities that they have had in the past, their important and influences remain tremendous. Moreover, their power is evident through forcing the patients to sit and wait for another person. Therefore, the practitioners still have control in such places as emergency rooms; they determine the patient that is most critical than the others, and decide on the patient to receive the treatment first. Another area that requires control is the organ transplant since the doctors have to evaluate the case carefully (Ritzer, 2004, 144). Upon finding a potential donor, the practitioners might need to influence the family of the patient that the transplant might save life of lead to death from the tragic losses. There is need to make viable matches from the list of candidates waiting for organ transplant through looking at their blood types. Such activities give practitioners the ultimate control as they determine who lives and who continues to hope. Other healthcare professionals have subtle control over their patients that they seldom recognize. While calling for an appointment, the receptionists often suggest time that suit them which the patient has to fit within their schedule. The healthcare sectors often utilize all the components of bureaucracy; however, the sector needs to have irrationality as well to meet Ritzer’s standards of formal rationality. The healthcare institutions portray irrationality like making specific appointments while trying to see the doctor on time in many ways. Only the doctor is usually not ready; therefore, the patients have to wait. Another form of irrationality is how the patients have to keep up with the practitioners’ time to get referrals for a specialist. The process would be easier if the practitioners make referrals to the phones. The “iron cage” within the healthcare sector involves the manner in which the patients feel trapped by an overburdened institution of too much stressed workers. Whenever the doctors get tired, the patients might not be in a position to receive specific attention that they need to diagnose effectively their problems. Patients might have a feeling that the practitioners are not listening or see them as faceless files with the list of complaints (Ritzer, 2015, 56). One of the biggest irrationalities existing within the healthcare sector is the relationship between the practitioners and the patients, which in nature is intimate, has become so impersonal. These changes from human to robot-like healthcare professionals have come in the face of increasing demands for efficiency and quantification. However, it is always hard to say the person victimized most through such dehumanization; the healthcare practitioners who have to deny them their humanity of the patients that must forgo them for their treatment. Importance of McDonaldization cannot be underestimated. The concept of McDonaldization often presents two major advantages: convenience and affordability. The modern businesses societies are fast paced “on-the-go” environment that values convenience. Whenever the patients seek provision of products and services, they often plan to receive the desired products and services and leave without looking to create personal relationship with the people serving the products or offering the services (Ritzer, 2008, 88). Affordability is another important aspect of McDonaldization. McDonaldization often allow the regular and middle class consumers to afford luxuries that even the richest men dreamt for quite a long time to achieve. Conclusion McDonaldization is a termed coined by Ritzer. Ritzer derived the name from the McDonalds which one of the global fast food chain in describing the state of the current society. According to Ritzer, social institutions are becoming completely dehumanized through bureaucracy. The healthcare sector is one of the sectors characterized by the four principles of bureaucracy: quantification, control, efficiency, and predictability. When the sectors apply the four components of McDonaldization, especially the healthcares, they improve the process of service delivery. Quantification is seen whenever the patients think about how their medical identity comprises of a series of different numbers. Efficiency should occur whenever the patients receive prescriptions and make appointments through the phone calls control is assured by the doctors through making decisions on life or death. Predictability relates to the common knowledge of the routines that people have to make to receive the treatment. With respect to the healthcare sector, irrationality refers to how impersonal and inefficient the entire system can become by overworking the practitioners. The iron cage refers to the manner in which the patients of the stressed practitioners feel whenever the practitioners ignore or neglect them. From the analysis of the McDonaldization theory and its application within the health sector, it is clear that the sector is a social institution that meets all the Ritzer’s requirements for the McDonaldized industries. References Boundles. 2016. The "McDonaldization" of Society. Retrieved April 22, 2016, from https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/social- groups-and-organization-6/bureaucracy-56/the-mcdonaldization-of-society-353-10203/ Drane, J. W. 2008. After McDonaldization: Mission, ministry, and Christian discipleship in an age of uncertainty. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. Dustin, D. 2007. The McDonaldization of social work. Aldershot: Ashgate. Kellner, D. 2010. Theorizing/Resisting McDonaldization: A Multiperspectivist Approach. Resisting McDonaldization, 7(4), 186-206. Mottram, A. 2007. The McDonaldisation of medicine: Time and the day surgery patient. Liverpool: British Sociological Association Medical Sociology. Ritzer, G. 1998. 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