|
McDonaldization is a term used by sociologist George Ritzer in his book ''The McDonaldization of Society'' (1993). He explains that it becomes manifested when a culture adopts the characteristics of a fast-food restaurant. McDonaldization is a reconceptualization of rationalization, or moving from traditional to rational modes of thought, and scientific management. Where Max Weber used the model of the bureaucracy to represent the direction of this changing society, Ritzer sees the fast-food restaurant as having become a more representative contemporary paradigm (Ritzer, 2004:553). In contemporary society, the concept of McDonaldization is gaining attention in different aspects such as culture. McDonaldization thesis in cultural version is a comparatively recent idea of the worldwide homogenization of cultures.〔Pieterse, Jan Nederveen. Globalization and Culture: Global Melange. Rowman & Littlefield, 2009.3.28〕 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)〕 In the current period, most countries have adapted to this concept because of globalization. In fact, it has been predicted that the Ritzer model will come to dominate in most cultures. ==Aspects== Ritzer highlighted four primary components of McDonaldization: * Efficiency – the optimal method for accomplishing a task. In this context, Ritzer has a very specific meaning of "efficiency". In the example of 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. * Calculability – objective should be quantifiable (e.g., sales) rather than subjective (e.g., taste). McDonaldization developed the notion that quantity equals quality, and that a large amount of product delivered to the customer in a short amount of time is the same as a high quality product. This allows people to quantify how much they're getting versus how much they’re paying. Organizations want consumers to believe that they are getting a large amount of product for not a lot of money. Workers in these organizations are judged by how fast they are instead of the quality of work they do.〔 * Predictability – standardized and uniform services. "Predictability" means that no matter where a person goes, they will receive the same service and receive the same product every time when interacting with the McDonaldized organization. This also applies to the workers in those organizations. Their tasks are highly repetitive, highly routine, and predictable.〔 * Control – standardized and uniform employees, replacement of human by non-human technologies With these four principles of the fast food industry, a strategy which is rational within a narrow scope can lead to outcomes that are harmful or irrational. As these processes spread to other parts of society, modern society’s new social and cultural characteristics are created. For example, as McDonald’s enters a country and consumer patterns are unified, cultural hybridization occurs. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「McDonaldization」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|