Mcdonaldization

Robotic Culture

How much of your life do you think you control? Do you really think that your everyday shopping activities are at your complete control? Today, our world has transformed into a land of efficiency, low quality, and automation. This process is called Mcdonaldization, a major influence on American culture. As the name implies, this theory originated from the daily operations of the famous fast-food franchise. Because of popular demand from consumers and producers, Mcdonaldization has spread its dehumanizing presence into other industries and into the American culture.

According to Ritzer, Mcdonaldization has four factors that are appealing to both consumers and producers; they are efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control (Keel para. 7). Efficiency is the ability to complete a task in the fastest and most cost effective manner. This factor of Mcdonaldization can be witnessed when fast food patrons have to fill up their own sodas, thus saving time for the employees. Even the drive-through allows for easy access to the consumer. Calculability deals with quantity over quality issue. McDonald’s super size option and its Big Mac exemplify how the producer cares more about quantity than the quality. Predictability is a way to make sure consumers get what they expect, no surprises attached. A burger in McDonalds in New York will be the same as one in Los Angeles. Lastly, control is the ability of producers to have complete control over production with little mental effort from its employees. Thus, McDonalds has its food pre-packaged and pre-measured so that employees barely think about preparation. Evidently, these concepts allow producers to create products cheaply, maximizing profit, while the consumers are attracted by the price and speed at which they get their goods.

Although there are many beneficial aspects of Mcdonaldization, it is generally a damaging transformation. In addition to the physical damages made by McDonaldized...