Ritzer claims that a society characterized by rationality is one that emphasizes efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control through non-human technology.

Efficiency

George Ritzer was an American Sociologist who’s most notable work was the McDonaldization which theorises that society adopts the characteristics of the fast food industry and it is a re-conceptualisation of the Scientific Management and Rationalisation which replaced the traditions, values and motivators of society.  He highlighted primary components of McDonaldism which included Efficiency, which is the optimal method of accomplishing a task. Something we can see in the movie “Founder” as what made McDonalds originally successful.  Where the original founders had found a way to streamline hamburger making, by mapping out the sandwich assembly and ensuring every burger had the exact same ingredients.  They personalised the service and created the culture of getting out of the vehicle to be served a hamburger, fries and coke.  “Ritzer has a very specific meaning of “efficiency” and in the example of McDonald’s customers, it is the fastest way to get from being hungry to being full.”  The original founders had found a way to reduce the car wait time, by improving productivity and changing customer expectations. Customers were expected to walk to the window to order, which also reduced the need for additional staff.  Food was in disposable wrappers and the customer also needed to dispose of this themselves. Efficiently serving the customer and meeting their needs rapidly, was key to McDonalds early success. .  “Efficiency in McDonaldization means that every aspect of the organization is geared toward the minimization of time.” (Wikipedia, 2021)  By looking at how the work was performed with the goal of creating efficiency, Scientific Management process can be observed.  McDonalds was concerned with looking at the way that work was being done at fast food chains similar to their own and found a way to improve efficiency.  Motivated economically the original McDonald founders improved the labour & productivity and developed and adjusted as needed to create the optimum performance environment.

Calculability

Ritzer also included “Calculability” where an objective should be measurable rather than subjective.  He developed the idea that quantity equals quality and that delivering a product to a customer in a short amount of time equals quality. A worker is judged by the quality of the work they do, not by their speed of performing the task.  As McDonald’s grew, attention was paid to having a team lead who was trained to ensure all employees made their products the same way.  The franchises that were offering products that were not on the McDonalds menu, were quickly brought in line and continued efforts were placed on ensuring all employees and franchise owners adopted the McDonalds “vision, mission and values.”.

Predictability

The third idea from Ritzer is the concept that services should be uniform and predictable, known as Predictability.  This means that no matter where they go they receive the same service.  McDonalds has been excellent at ensuring their menu and burgers are the same globally.  Workers within McDonalds are trained the same and are expected to replicate the service and standard regardless of their location.  Having a recognisable “Golden Arch” brand, and ensuring franchise owners have the same products regardless of location was an important part of developing the brand.  The introduction of the first milkshakes (made with substitute icecream ) aided the business to grow without the usual overhead cost of other business.  They sought ways to save financially, to grow their brand and locations and to provide a reliable predictable service throughout the USA.

Control

Finally, the concept of  “Control” replaced human roles with non human substitutes. Greater control is obtainable with less humans, as there is less objection to change as machines do not argue.  We see this in the movie “Founder” as machines automated the ice cream making process and everything becomes pre-packaged, premeasured and controlled. Having the customer do some of the work themselves also reduced the need for staff.  Having a customer walk to the counter and dispose of their own garbage, reduced the need for staff thus automating the process and providing greater control to McDonalds.  The change of ownership and management changed the process of control at McDonalds and enabled the business to grow in the manner that it has.