Question

Then, look at the elements of the changing society that Ritzer describes in Chapter 2 when he examines the relationship between McDonaldization and social change in American society (there is a section in the chapter that covers this topic. We are NOT referring to the dimensions of McDonaldization).

Answer 1

Answer and Explanation:

George Ritzer determines the dimensions on which the McDonald has concentrated and gain success in the dynamic environment. He said that their four dimensions that are the main reasons why the company societies are head towards McDonaldization:

• Efficiency:

The subdivision of tasks into numerous tasks and assigning that task to a particular employee increases his productivity regardless of his behavioral changes.

• Calculability:

The results of operations are assessed on quantitative analysis. This lead to need of adoption of objective measures to assess whether the operation is going well or not. This also the reason of success of Ford plc.

• Predictability:

The work assigned to each worker in McDonalds was so standardized that it was very easy for the top management to manage the company in the far much better way. This also helped the top management in assessing the probability of an outcome and its relevance to business decisions. This helped in improved decision making.

• Control:

The numerous tasks and standardization of tasks lead to increase productivity which helped in controlling the cost of the organization. This also lowered the labor costs as the tasks assigned require lower level of skills to perform the job which again motivates organizations to control costs by standardization of operation.

Answer 2

In today’s present society is the concept of McDonaldization in gaining consideration in different aspects such as a culture. The cultural version of a McDonaldization thesis is a comparatively recent idea of the world wide homogenization of cultures. The process of McDonaldization can be summarized as the way in which "the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world" (Ritzer 1993:1). Education is now a form of Mcdonaldization, the education system is now set up in a way whereas students are in at a certain age and out before or by the time they turn eighteen. There are four primary concepts of McDonaldization: Efficiency – the optimal method for accomplishing a task. In the text of the reader, Ritzer has a very specific meaning of "efficiency", for example; for McDonald's customers, it is the fastest way to get from being hungry to being full. Efficiency in McDonaldization means that every aspect of the organization is geared toward the minimization of time (Ritz, 2009).