Mcdonaldization Analysis

"Explore the claim that contemporary societies have moved from modernity into the post modern condition. Illustrate your answer with reference to at least two substantive areas covered in the lecture and seminar programme."

As society has developed from a pre-industrial society to modern industrial society (modernity) many sociologists have studied the different elements that have contributed to society's arrival in the age of modernity.
One of the factors that sociologists attribute to modernity is the theme of community. Fulcher and Scott define community as "A group of people who have some aspect of their lives in common, engage in common activities and collective action, and have a shared and distinctive sense of identity" ; many sociologists
Central to Ritzer's argument is Max Weber's theory of bureaucracy and the larger process of rationalization that underlies it. While for Weber bureaucracy is the model of rationalization, for Ritzer the fast food restaurant is the paradigm of McDonaldization. Both instances describe an organizational model that strives to eliminate inefficiency, irrationality, uncertainty, and unpredictability. It should not overhastily be concluded, however, that the two processes are the same. McDonaldization is not just an extension of rationalization, it is also an extreme version of it. According to Ritzer, the Macdonaldization of society involves four basic organisational principles; Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability and Control through automation.
Efficiency means the choosing of means to reach a specific end rapidly, with the least amount of cost or effort. The idea of efficiency is specific to the interests of the industry or business, but is typically advertised as a benefit to the customer. There are many examples of this such as "drive thru" sections at fast food chains and self service tills at
On the issue of post-modernity and modernity Ritzer is adamant that modernity is not a thing of the past as most sociologists believe, instead Ritzer argues that Mcdonaldization and its principles are fast influencing society, he also believes that Mcdonaldization is going to be a firm fixture in modern society for the foreseeable future. While other sociologists emphasize a shift in modern society from uniformity, predictability, and standardization to contingency, uncertainty, and deregulation, Ritzer emphasizes the increasing domination of a system (McDonaldization) that is built on many of the ideas that have prevailed in industrial societies, namely bureaucratization, the assembly line, and scientific management. Modernity is, in many ways, co-extensive with McDonaldization. Instead of Modernity