The McDonaldization of society into the digital age

368 Pages·2.415 MB·English

by  George Ritzer

The McDonaldization of Society
Ninth Edition
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The McDonaldization of Society
Into the Digital Age
Ninth Edition
George Ritzer
University of Maryland
Los Angeles
London
New Delhi
Singapore
Washington DC
Melbourne
Copyright © 2019 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ritzer, George, author.
Title: The McDonaldization of society / George Ritzer, University of Maryland.
Description: Ninth edition. | Thousand Oaks, California : SAGE, [2019] | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017040207 | ISBN 9781506348551 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Social structure. | Social structure—United States. | United States—Social
conditions—1980- | Management—Social aspects—United States. | Fast food restaurants—Social
aspects—United States. | Rationalization (Psychology)
Classification: LCC HM706 .R58 2019 | DDC 306.0973/09048—dc23 LC record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2017040207
Printed in the United States of America
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
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Editorial Assistant: Adeline Wilson
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Production Editor: Veronica Stapleton Hooper
Copy Editor: Gretchen Treadwell
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Proofreader: Sally Jaskold
Indexer: Maria Sosnowski
Cover Designer: Janet Kiesel
Brief Contents
1. Preface
2. Chapter 1 Introduction
3. Chapter 2 McDonaldization Past and Present
4. Chapter 3 Efficiency and Calculability: Consumers 1
5. Chapter 4 Predictability and Control: Consumers 2
6. Chapter 5 Efficiency and Calculability: McJobs and Other
McDonaldized Occupations 1
7. Chapter 6 Predictability and Control: McJobs and Other
McDonaldized Occupations 2
8. Chapter 7 The Irrationality of Rationality: Traffic Jams on Those
“Happy Trails”
9. Notes
10. Bibliography
11. Index
12. About the Author
Detailed Contents
Preface
Chapter 1 Introduction
McDonaldization: The Basic Principles
Efficiency
Calculability
Predictability
Control
The Advantages of McDonaldization
A Critique of McDonaldization: The Irrationality of Rationality
McDonald’s: Creating the “Fast-Food Factory”
McDonald’s and Other Brick-and-Mortar Consumption Sites
The Long Arm of McDonald’s
McDonald’s as an American and a Global Icon
A Look Ahead
Chapter 2 McDonaldization Past and Present
Thinking About the Brick-and-Mortar “Solids,” Digital
“Liquids,” and the Augmented Reality of “Bricks-and-Clicks”
Augmented Reality
The Changing Nature of Work
Key Predecessors
The Holocaust: The Concentration Camp and Mass-
Produced Death
Scientific Management: Finding the One Best Way
The Assembly-Line: Turning Workers Into Robots
Levittown: Putting Up Houses—“Boom, Boom, Boom”
The Rise (and Fall) of Brick-and-Mortar Shopping Malls
McDonaldization and Consumption Today
Is “McDonaldization” Still the Best Label?
Comparing McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, and Amazon
In Consumption
In Degree of McDonaldization
Digital McDonaldization
Chapter 3 Efficiency and Calculability: Consumers 1
Efficiency: Drive-Throughs and Finger Foods
Streamlining the Process
The Fast-Food Industry: Speeding the Way From
Secretion to Excretion
Home Cooking (and Related Phenomena): “I Don’t
Have Time to Cook”
Shopping: Creating Ever More Efficient Selling
Machines
Higher Education: Multitasking in McUniversity
Health Care: Docs-in-a-Box
Entertainment: Moving People (and Trash) Efficiently
Internet Consumption Sites and Streamlining
Uberization: It’s all About Efficiency
Online Dating: Show Your Interest With Just a
“Wink”
Simplifying the Product
Putting Customers to Work
Fast-Food Restaurants: Doing It All for Them
Other Brick-and-Mortar Sites: Working While
Consuming
Internet Consumption Sites and the Working Consumer:
Reaching Unprecedented Heights
Calculability: Big Macs, Algorithms, and Big Data
Emphasizing Quantity Rather Than Quality of Products
The Fast-Food Industry: Of “Big Bites” and “Super Big
Gulps”
Higher Education: Grades and Scores
Internet Consumption Sites: Of Big Data and the Algorithms
Used to Analyze Them
Quantification on Augmented Sites
User-Consumable Data
Chapter 4 Predictability and Control: Consumers 2
Predictability: It Never Rains on Those Little Houses on the
Hillside
Predictable Consumption Settings
Motel Chains: “Magic Fingers” but No Norman Bates
The Fast-Food Industry: Thank God for Those Golden
Arches