The Mcdonaldization of Society - Essay Example

The term “McDonaldization” denotes a rationalization process whose purpose is to replace traditions and values with high levels of rational reasoning. Unlike in the traditional setting, when emotions, traditional belief systems, and value systems served as effective motivators influencing human behavior, rationalization promotes the existence of rational motivators, which can be easily calculated.

Therefore, the example of McDonalds is used to represent a paradigm observable in many societies, as a rationalization becomes a common concept. The American culture exhibits the outstanding characteristics of a fast food restaurant such as McDonalds. This paper will present a critique of McDonaldization (Ritzer, 2011). According to Ritzer, McDonaldization has certain components that have made it a preferable concept in the American society. The rationalization process exhibits a high level of efficiency.

Therefore, many organizations can save time because they promote efficiency through rationalization. Predictability is an additional principle of McDonaldization a factor that many people have come to enjoy. Due to the increasing predictability, people already know what to expect, even when they are in new settings (p. 56). Therefore, with increasing predictability, there are lower rates of uncertainty. Organizations seem to be more comfortable with the increasing predictability since they can avoid uncertainty and be sure of the potential outcomes in many situations.

Ritzer also highlighted that rationalization promotes calculability, an aspect that promotes quantity instead of quality. In many organizations, calculability has become a reality as workers are rewarded based on their increased productivity. Only a few organizations give attention to the quality of work done. Rationalization has also introduced standardization and cultural hybridization. These aspects present certain positive attributes as production follows a standardized procedure. Cultural hybridization has resulted in the formation of a global culture defined by unified consumer patterns.

However, rationalization introduces irrationality since it denies people the opportunity of expressing their autonomy. McDonaldization has served to dehumanize the society (p. 118). Workplaces have been transformed into routines that deny employees an opportunity to express their creativity. With the increasing quantification of work, many organizations re-registering increased productivity, but low-quality products. Although McDonaldization has had positive effects in reducing the level of uncertainty and increasing efficiency, it has led to the formation of low-quality systems and organizations in the society.

For example, rationalization, has been implemented in universities a factor that has transformed all curriculums into modularized sections (p. 107). Therefore, many degrees are of low quality, but are highly promoted as prestigious degrees in the media. The media offers the public a package of trivia, news that represent junk-journalism, which is becoming a common aspect in the twenty-first century. Therefore, it is evident that rationalization has caused more negative effects than its potential to improve efficiency and predictability.

The increased dehumanization in the modern society needs to be replaced with high levels of creativity as can be achieved in de-McDonaldization.