McDonaldization. Spreads
Ritzer says McDonalds has become the model for other organizations.
Notes:
McDonalds as of 1995 had over 12,000 outlets, with annual sales of over $23 billion and a
net profit of over $ 1 billion. The outlet in Beijing, China has 700 seats and 1,000 employees.
Ritzer discusses how the model formulated by McDonalds has spread into other modern industries,
not just the fast food sector. He notes that banks would prefer that you use the ATM- they
don’t have to pay a teller and you, the customer, pay them to use their service and do all
or most of the work for yourself while paying them. Additionally, rational, efficient,
controlled systems have been applied to health care from optometrists (Pearle Vision, etc.)
to HMOs. In this case your very life may depend on how well you, the ill consumer, fit into
the organization’s model of health care requirements.
Ritzer suggests strategies to counter the negative effects of McDonaldization:
1. Eat at a greasy spoon.
2. Vacation in one place every year, get to know it well, don’t stay at Holiday Inn, KOA, etc.
3. Use cash instead of credit cards.
4. Patronize a local optometrist, dentist, garage, etc.
5. Get to know your professors; humanize the learning experience.