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Mcdonalds S.O.C
Mcdonaldization in modern culture and social institutions
Fast food culture in america
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Jasmine Patel Mr. Roncone 3rd period AP Human Geography 09/08/2014 Mcdonalds is one of the biggest and largest fast food chains in America, it can be viewed as a cultural icon. The principles of McDonalds as a business has a tremendous influence on every aspect of a culture. The business characterizes American Culture through the impacts on our society and economy. The golden arches are a sign of happiness to most people in America. Mcdonalds provides services to our society which carries dominance over our decisions. Whether it be a quick meal after a long practice or a quick stop on your road trip, Mcdonalds is located almost everywhere. Without knowing the ingredients in the food, people still buy the product. Even children beg their
McDonald’s, which has operated in London successfully for thirty years, has recently become aware of dropping sales which have been attributed to the country’s growing health concerns. The plan the British marketing team has developed includes sending the famous “golden arches” on hiatus while a new campaign will attempt to reposition the fast-food chain as a healthy choice for consumers. The theory is interesting, due to McDonald’s strong consu...
McDonaldization is the process in which the principles of popular fast food companies such as McDonald’s are appearing throughout the world in many aspects of our modern society. As McDonaldization sweeps across the globe, The authors of McDonaldization Revisited argue that “‘Americanisation’ is so often a synonym for cultural decline” (Alfino, Caputo, & Wynyard , 1998, p. 8). George Ritzer claims that this is due to the rationalization of society as McDonaldization is meant to signify the optimal fusion of efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control (Ritzer, 2011). The intricacies of the human touch are utterly eliminated from this process, and what is left is an uninviting, cold, and unforgiving concept. When the novelty of something so foreign and American wears off, adaptation is needed to sustain one’s position in other countries. One research design type that researchers might utilize to view McDonaldization would be observation of the adaptation and cultural assimilation across different parts the world. This can be measured with ethnographies, the systematic study of the customs of people and cultures.
Jordan was quite competitive from an early age and that is why when he was at Laney High school, he worked so hard at his built and game tactics that he qualified for selection to the McDonald’s All-American Team in the senior group by growing 4 inches and working extremely hard at the game practice. He also earned the basketball scholarship from University of North Carolina and was nominated the ACC Freshman of the year award. This was where his journey of success and achievements began. He entered the National Basketball Association draft after winning the title of Naismith College Player of the Year in year 1984.
sociologist George Ritzer argues that the relationship between McDonald’s and our society runs even deeper. Beyond its commercial propaganda and symbolism, Ritzer says, McDonald’s is a potent manifestation of the rational processes that define modern society.
From just one restaurant in San Bernadino, California, run by two brothers, McDonald’s has grown to become the best known and most popular fast food restaurant chain in the world.
Everyone has heard of McDonald’s, but where did this familiar name come from? When people think of American food, it is not uncommon for two golden arches to appear in their minds. This story began with two brothers Dick and Mac McDonald who owned and ran a small restaurant in San Bernardino, California during the 1940s. In 1954 a man named Ray Kroc came across these two brothers while selling multi-mixers and was impressed with the business they were running. The menu was compact, listing options for only a few burgers, fries and beverages, but the restaurant was effective in its operation. Ray Kroc pitched the idea of spreading McDonald’s restaurants across the United States and in 1955 he founded the McDonald’s Corporation. By 1960 he bought the exclusive rights to the name. Kroc was able to expand substantially on this small business so that by 1958 McDonald’s sold its 100 millionth hamburger. (“McDonald’s.com”)
Our research indicated more viable strengths than weaknesses. Strengths such as brand recognition, steady growth in global markets, and strong leadership. McDonald's has become part of America's culture and now the same can be said for the global arena based on the demonstration of growth and continued dominance over competitors. Business Week Magazine even ranked McDonald's as "one of the ten most recognized brands in the world", a position that creates significant opportunities for the company. An important strength that continues to have the most dramatic impact on McDonalds is their top level management. Even though this is classified an as internal strength, McDonald's has capitalized on a management style that helps to infuse a strong culture. A dynamic aspect of the McDonald's culture is the willingness to innovate and adapt, thus making necessary changes when the need arises.
The McDonaldization of Society The McDonaldization of society may sound somewhat misleading but the term actually refers to the rationalization of society. The use of the word "McDonaldization" just simply indicates that the fast food restaurant is one of many great examples of rationality. Ritzer discusses five dimensions that characterize rationality or a rationalized society: efficiency, predictability, calculability, the use and preference of non-human technology, and the control over uncertainty. The five characteristics can be noticed in various aspects of society which exemplifies the extent that rationality affects our society and societies worldwide. In this paper I will summarize Ritzer's discussion of these five characteristics and give possible examples of each dimension.
The largest of the fast food companies have forever cemented themselves into the American culture and they are fully aware of that fact. Written on a McDonald’s paper tray liner is their statement to this knowledge; “I think about great memories from my past. Road Trips, friends, study breaks and lots of laughs. Anytime nostalgia sets in, I know it’s not too long before I’ll be going to McDonald’s for a Big Mac. Someday in the future, when I’m looking back at today, McDonald’s will still be there.” Since our future only holds visions of more and more fast-food restaurants springing up across the horizon, we need to learn where the best food is being served outside our own kitchen. There are several different chains of fast food restaurants in the Redding area, but which one is the best? During recent interviews with several managers and a crew member from different fast food restaurants in Redding I learned that each one had a little different story about where their restaurant’s food came from and what their experience was working there. Daryl Yeomans, a crew member (the manager didn’t want to speak with me) at a McDonald’s in Redding stated, “all of our lettuce, tomatoes and onions come pre-packaged and pre-sliced. All we do is basically assemble the food.” This way of processing orders has been the McDonald’s way since the 1950’s. As Stacy Perman describes in her book In-N-Out Burger, “each [McDonald’s] Grell 2 order required little more than a quick assembly from a ready-made food kit” (86). According to the McDonald’s website, their meat patties are “frozen instantly, after the meat is ground, to make sure the very best quality and flavor is preserved. It is then transported frozen to our restaurants” (McDonald's). When asked...
According to Royle (1999) McDonald’s is a very large multinational enterprise (MNE) and the largest food service operation in the world. Currently the company has 1.5 million workers with 23,500 stores in over 110 countries with the United Kingdom and Germany amongst the corporation’s six biggest markets, and over 12,000 restaurants in the United States. In 1974 the United Kingdom corporation was established and in 1971 the Germany corporation was established, currently the combined corporation has over 900 restaurants and close to 50,000 employees in each of these countries (Royle, 1999).
America has a wide variety of identifiers; however, one thing in particular that stands out is America’s interest in fast food. During the mid-20th century, the McDonald brothers opened their first drive-through McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, California. The drive-through was significant because at the time “the number of single-parent families and the number of women working outside the home have increased greatly” which means that people did not have time to go home and cook a homemade meal every day (Ritzer). When Ray Kroc came across the McDonald brother’s restaurant in 1954, he saw a gold mine and wanted to invest (Ray Kroc Businessman). He came up with a moneymaking concept, later known as franchising, where he would open the
The McDonald's Corporation is the largest chain of fast food restaurants in the world. It is franchised in over 119 countries and serves an average of 68 million customers daily. The company started in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald in the United States. They reorganized their business as a hamburger stand in 1948. In 1955, Businessman Ray Kroc joined the company as a franchise agent. He purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers and oversaw its global-wide growth (McDonald’s 2014).
Have you ever wondered how the business empire of McDonalds was started? With over ninety nine billion served, it was started in 1940 in San Bernardino, California. It was started off as just a Bar-B-Q that served just twenty items. Its first mascot was named “Speedee” They eventually realized that by setting up their kitchen like an assembly line that they could be much more productive and get their food done faster, with every employee doing a specified job; the restaurants production rate became much higher. A milkshake machine vendor came into their small restaurant one day, his name was Ray Kroc. He saw how much potential the restaurant has, so he bought it out and opened one of the first franchises. Within the first year of Ray Kroc buying it, there were one hundred and two locations all around the world. McDonalds currently is one of the largest fast food restaurants in the world and currently has served over sixty four million customers through one of their thirty two thousand sites. It has almost become a way of life for America. Though, McDonalds started off as a small business between two brothers, it grew into one of the largest restaurant franchises in the world and greatly affects our society and how we eat our food.
In today’s market, McDonalds faces numerous challenges such as fierce competition, a more health conscious customer, and the continual need for improved customer satisfaction and menu. McDonalds needs to go through some changes in order to remain ahead in the fast-food industry.
McDonalds provide high quality products, such as burgers, fries, drinks, muffins, etc, which are safe and reliable that it does what it is supposed to do, but not only does the quality of the products matter, the good value for money affects the business. E.g. buy one extra value meal and get one free with a food voucher that represents the offer only. They ensure that a high standard of the product is carried out at all times and they try to compete very competitively with other fast food businesses with their good value for money. Also a customer would know if the product is good value for money by checking in another food outlet like KFC for their services and products.