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the optimum means to an end. For
example, food preparation: burgers
are assembled, cooked, and
distributed in an assembly-line
fashion because this is the most
efficient way. Not only is this true
in terms of the time taken to
prepare food, but also the space
necessary for doing so. Moreover,
the physical layout of a McDonald’s
restaurant is designed in such a
way that employees and customers
alike behave in an efficient manner.
A culture of efficiency is cultivated
and maintained by staff adhering
to a strict series of standardized
norms, regulations, rules, and
operational procedures.
Calculability refers to things
that are counted and quantified;
in particular, there is a tendency to
emphasize quantity (the “Big Mac”)
over quality. Ritzer notes that many
aspects of the work of employees at
McDonald’s are timed, because the
fast-paced nature of the restaurant
environment is intended to ensure
maximum productivity.
Predictability affects the
food products, restaurant design,
and employee and customer
interactions. Irrespective of the
geographic setting, or the time of
day or night, when customers enter
a restaurant they want to know
what to expect—and knowing
what it is they want, where to find
the menu, and how to order, they
will be able to pay, eat, and leave.
Control is closely linked to
technology. The machinery used to
cook the food served in McDonald’s
restaurants dominates both
employees and customers. The
machines dictate cooking times,
and so the pace of work for the
employees; and the machines
produce a uniform product so
customers cannot specify how they
would like their food to be cooked.
Ritzer argues that—in time—GEORGE RITZER
A McDonald’s next to Xi’an’s historic
Drum Tower. McDonald’s opened its
first outlet in China in 1990. By 2014,
with 2,000 premises, it was China’s
second-biggest restaurant chain.technologies that are more
predictable and easier to control
than people may come to replace
employees entirely.
Finally, Ritzer assesses the
costs of this otherwise beneficial
rationalization. He acknowledges
his debt to Weber in observing
that, paradoxically, rational systems
seem to spawn irrationalities
and unintended consequences.
The ultimate irrationality, Ritzer
emphasizes, is the dehumanizing
effects that the McDonald’s
model has on both employees
and customers.
He notes that McDonald’s
employees work in mindless,
production-line style jobs, often in
cramped circumstances for little
pay. There is virtually no scope for
innovation and initiative on behalf
of employees, either individually or
collectively, resulting in worker
dissatisfaction and alienation, and
high staff-turnover rates.
The customers line up to buy
and eat unhealthy food in what
Ritzer describes as “dehumanizing
settings and circumstances.”
Moreover, the speed of production
and consumption in McDonald’s
restaurants means that, by
definition, customers cannot be
served high-quality food, which
requires more time to prepare.Principles of modernity
Ritzer argues that the sociological
significance of these five principles
of McDonaldization is their
extension to an ever-greater
number of spheres of social activity.
In essence, the dominant cultural
template for organizing all mannerMcDonald’s has become
more important than the
United States itself.
George Ritzer