MacDonaldisation Thesis - Essay Example

MacDonaldisation Thesis Introduction The social scientist George Ritzer has written a book d "The McDonaldization of Society" where he has used the term 'McDonaldization' (Ritzer 1993). Ritzer is a man who surveyed and synthesised the major controversies and tendencies in sociological theory and gave a gist of the necessary characteristics in our day-to-day culture and fashion (Bauman 1998). He has used the term for the first time to describe the process that has transformed the society (human) that has taken on the characteristics of the fast-food restaurant 'McDonald' (hereinafter called 'Mac'). Ritzer proposed that there is an all pervading change in our daily lives that has been influenced by 'McDonaldization'. The 'Mac' chain of restaurants is famous for standardising everything related to the production or selling of their goods. Dale (1994) also argues how Ritzer has started a crusade against the 'fast-food' giant 'Mac' and how they have ensured the disintegration of the family. He quotes Ritzer in saying that the habitual use of 'McDonaldized' systems is destructive to our physical and physiological well-being as well as to the society as a whole. 'McDonaldization' We have to agree to the fact that we are in a world where brand names become common names. If we were to ask what is common between 'Zipper', 'Xerox', 'Kerosene', then the answer is they are all 'Trade names' that has become common names. In the same vein, the processes adopted by 'McDonaldization' have come to stay with us as 'McDonaldization'. In fact, 'McDonaldization' is much older than we thought (see McDonaldization 2008). In fact it is much older than the principles adopted by Ray Croc, founder of McDonalds (for more information see McDonaldization 2008). If that was the case, then why talk of only 'McDonaldization' It is possible that everybody could afford a 'Big Mac', but not a Ford automobile! The logic of operating 'Mac' although looks very simple and organised and certain things have to be borne in mind. First, 'Mac' makes a limited set of dishes that are similar in taste, packaging and quality; secondly people like it and hence its popularity and finally the volume of 'Mac' food eaten by people is a very small compared to their normal food. In this age of globalisation and free trade it is inevitable that all products cannot be handmade and delivered specially. Mass production is inevitable; also because the consumption, sometimes, far exceeds the production. The only way to ensure that any product lives up to the manufactures reputation is that they are trouble free. To make it trouble free, certain manufacturing norms have to be introduced that are uniform and streamlined. The flipside to this argument is that 'Mac' generates trash because of 'McDonaldization' procuring food that has ethical issues. So it is under these 'parameters' we are forced to live and act, whether we like it or not. Ritzer opines that there are four reasons behind 'McDonaldization' namely efficiency, calculability, predictability and control. For details on this please refer to 'McDonaldization, (2008). Here again the flipside of the argument is that we have to take into consideration the following: 1) irrationality; 2) deskilling and 3) consumer workers (for more information see McDonaldization 2008) Dale, 'McDonaldization' and education 'Commoditization' of education is the byword in today's academic circles (Dale 1998; Daniel 2002). Dale (1998) argues about 'McDonaldization' of higher education in today's scenario. In today's education system, other than the traditional way of teaching, a lot of institutions are offering franchising options. This is akin to 'McDonaldization', but in the educational system. Daniel (2002) calls it the 'commoditization' of education. The advantages in this method are large. It brings education to all by implementing a uniform curriculum for everybody and it is gaining popularity in most of the Open Universities of the world and is also gaining acceptance in most of the developing countries. In this system courseware is developed for a large number of students thereby cutting down costs and thereby ensuring high quality learning materials at low unit cost (Daniel 2002). Dale (1994) argues the value of 'commoditization' in the educational systems. He says that the educational system is insulated from politics, culture and other external influences and it is an independent system that has evolved over the years into a force worth reckoning. 'Commoditization' of this institution has its own 'pros' and 'cons' as can be seen in this age of globalizing pedagogical institutions (also see Furedi 2007; Jain & Others 2003; Rikowski 2008). He says that in the teaching system there is a continuing shift from licence to regulation in dealing with the professional autonomy of the teacher. Over the years the educational system has evolved to be run by the State and its control, whether we like it or not, have a bearing on all departments of the State. 'McDonaldization' in way removes this control and places it on par with any corporate run institution. Secondly, there is a very clear and specific way in which 'managers' in a educational institution 'manage' resources that encourage the growth and success of 'McDonaldization' by using superior techniques and provide incentives that is similar to the private sector. He futher argues that these efforts in 'corporatizing' education will lead to doom in the near future because of the introduction of 'private management' techniques that may not be appropriate for this institution. Finally, he argues that 'subcontracting' of the work done by teachers to the level that is seen in the private sector can have disastrous effects. We might recall that 'McDonaldization' was very much in existence since Henry Ford's days and hence Dale aptly calls this (citing Ritzer himself) 'post-modernism and post-Fordism'. In this scenario 'McDonaldization' is driving even this institution for one simple reason - cost-cutting. The erosion of values that might be associated with 'McDonaldization' is adequately compensated by what Dale (1994) calls it the 'control strategy'. This may or may not have deleterious effects because curriculum itself is broken down into smaller components that will be easier for a student to learn and the teacher to teach. Also, this gives the student more time to assimilate smaller portions at any given time. In this way 'subcontracting' in the teaching field has become a boon; but the only problem the pedagogical community will be losing is the bargaining power and increases their susceptibility to control. Appay (1980) sees a parallel among the building industry workers of Britain and France. This new scenario, Dale (1994) emphasises, have less State level control thereby enhancing the quality of education in real time. This can only be a boon for the academic circles because of less bureaucratic interventions and employing state-of-the-art techniques in a very short time. Conclusion Where does Dale's mention of a 'Street-level Bureaucrat' fit in Lipsky (1980) gives a nice description of the 'street-level bureaucrats'. They are teachers, lawyers and social workers. They are the people who actually implement policies made by the 'policy managers', namely the government and its bureaucrats. When making policies that govern us, the 'street-level bureaucrats' should also be consulted. Dale (1994) admits that while acknowledging Ritzer's view of 'post-Fordist' character of the 'McDonaldization', there is more management emphasis in education. This leads to a better coordination of various 'management techniques' that can only be said to bolster the education system. This view has also been echoed by Daniel (2002). So what has Dale to say in this age of 'McDonaldization' of the education system One this is certain, automation, subcontracting, franchising are all words that are becoming familiar to us and we have begun to accept this. Under this scenario, the education system (will and) has succumbed to 'McDonaldization'. The 'human resource management' way of handling the education system and doling out free educational materials will herald a new way of learning and with the advent of Internet and other 'unconventional' ways of teaching, 'McDonaldization' of our educational systems have come a full circle. References Appay, B. 1980, Social control and Training. Post 16 Centre Working Paper: European perspectives, no. 3, London: Institute of Education. Bauman, Z. 1998, 'The McDonaldization Thesis: Explorations and Extensions by George Ritzer', Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 234-242. Dale, R. 1994, 'The McDonaldization of Schooling and the Street-level Bureaucrat', Curriculum Studies, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 249-262. Daniel, J. 2002, 'Higher Education for Sale, Education', Today: The Newsletter of UNESCO's Education Sector, no.3 (October-December), p. 1, Available at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001299/129980e.pdf Furedi, F. 2007, 'Do Academics Still Think', In: H, De Burgh, A. Fazackerley & J. Black (Eds.), Can the Prizes Still Glitter: The Future of British Universities in a Changing World, Buckingham: The University of Buckingham Press. Jain, S. and Others (2003) McEducation for All Opening a Dialogue around UNESCO's Vision for commoditizing learning, August, online at: http://www.swaraj.org/shikshantar/mceducationforall.htm Lipsky, M. 1980, Street-level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individuals in Public Services, New York: Russell Sage Foundation. McDonaldization, 2008. 'What Is McDonaldization Overview' Available at: http://www.mcdonaldization.com/whatisit.shtml Rikowski, G. 2008. Are we loving it McDonaldization and Education. Available at: http://journals.aol.co.uk/rikowskigr/Volumizer/ Ritzer, G. 1993, The McDonaldization of Society, Newbury Park: Pine Forge Press. Read More