McDonaldization
organizing principle for other aspects of societies.
Notes:
George Ritzer’s book, The McDonaldization of Society, came out in its second
paperback edition in 1998. In it Ritzer updates Weber’s theories and applies
rationalization to modern society. Rationalization involves the processes present in
modern societies in which all aspects of human endeavor become subject to control to
achieve the best means to a particular end (usually organizational profit). Controls
involve calculation and measurement and the control over human labor. Ritzer maintains
that McDonalds is the epitome and was a pioneer in the application of rationalized processes
to the fast food industry. McDonalds was so successful that is has become the model for other
enterprises from theme parks to managed health care.
The McDonaldization of society has become an important concept in sociology. Sociologists
present papers at conferences based on Ritzer’s work. Books have been written
following up on Ritzer’s ideas. The concept appear prominently in most introductory textbooks.
You can read more about McDonaldization at these web sites: