American Sociologist George Ritzer: The Mcdonaldization Of Society
McDonaldisation
The term ‘McDonaldisation’ was coined by American sociologist George Ritzer in The McDonaldisation of Society (1993). In The McDonaldisation of Society Ritzer describes the process of McDonaldisation as “the principles of the fast-food restaurant […] coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world”, in other words society taking on the characteristics and principles of a fast-food restaurant – in this case the globally popular McDonald’s Restaurant. Because of its influence on aspects of world-wide societies and cultures, it is clear to see why the term has become synonymous with Americanisation. Ritzer takes theories of commodification and rationalisation, such as Max Weber’s theory that the model of …show more content…
bureaucracy represents the direction of change in society (bureaucratic rationality), and updates them, arguing that fast-food restaurants serve as a more contemporary representative. Ritzer presented four key components of McDonaldisation; efficiency, calculability, predictability and control. By applying these ‘pillars’ of McDonaldisation, Ritzer argues that profits will increase by a relentless process that dehumanises society and ‘disenchants’ the world, as Ritzer puts it in his work Re-Enchanting a Disenchanted World, (1999). Such practises, Ritzer would argue, have subsequently been applied across various cultural, economic and social contexts, including higher education (Hartley, 1995) and gathering of information (Larney).
Examples:
An actual McDonald’s burger
A branch of a McDonalds’s Restaurant
A ‘McJob’ (i.e. low-paying, low-prestige job, predominantly based in the service industry – fast-food, retail, coffee shops)
Bibliography:
Hartley, D., ‘The McDonaldisation of Higher Education: Food for Thought?’, Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 21, No. 4, (Dec., 1995), pp.409-423
Larney, T., ‘The McDonaldisation of Information’, Ferdinand Postma Library, Potchefstroom University, http://web.simmons.edu/~chen/nit/NIT%2796/96-171-Larney.html
Ritzer, G., The McDonaldisation of Society (Thousand Oaks, CA.: Pine Forge Press, 2000)
Ritzer, G., Re-Enchanting a Disenchanted World (Thousand Oaks, CA.: Pine Forge Press, 1999)
Ritzer, G., Explorations in the Sociology of Consumption: Fast Food, Credit Cards and Casinos (SAGE, 2001)
Globalisation, Grobalisation and Glocalisation
Globalisation has many definitions, the most simplified probably being the process of taking a local or regional trend (such as an aspect of culture, a business, or trade) and transforming it into a global trend. In its most primitive form, globalisation can be seen as international trading, dating back centuries ago to the growth of civilisation. As J. Timmons Roberts and Amy Hite defined it in From Modernisation to Globalization: Perspectives on Development and Social Change; “Globalisation refers to a set of processes that increasingly makes the parts of the world interdependently integrated.”
Grobalisation is a phrase coined by George Ritzer, who used it to describe “the process in which growth imperatives push organisations and nations to expand globally and to impose themselves on the local” (The Globalisation of Nothing, 2004).
Glocalisation can be described as the relationship between global and local issues, dealing primarily with the impact a global trend or issue has on a localised scale, and vice versa.
It can also can be used to describe a product that is developed and distributed to a global market, but is also created to suit the needs of the consumer in the local market.
Examples:
(Globalisation) The recent recession in America has effected much of the rest of the world, because of global trading and the influence the American economy has on worldwide economies.
(Glocalisation) The Internet – specifically websites such as Google and Yahoo!, both American companies that provide worldwide search engines, email accounts and news feeds, all of which allow the user to extract both global and local information, as well as contact people locally and globally. Language choices on websites are also indicators of Glocalisation – a person can have entire sites translated so that they become accessible on a global scale, not just local.
Bibliography:
Antonio, R. J., & Bonanno, A., “A New Global Capitalism? From ‘Americanism’ and ‘Fordism’ to `Americanization-Globalization’”, American Studies No. 41, (2000), pp.
33-77.
Friedman, J., Cultural Identity and Global Processes. (London: Sage., 1994)
Ritzer, G., “Rethinking Globalization: Glocalization/Grobalization and Something/Nothing”, Sociological Theory, Vol. 21, Issue 3, (August, 2003) pp. 193 – 209
Roberts, J. Timmons, & Hite, A., From Modernization to Globalization. Perspectives on Development and Social Change, (Malden, MA – Oxford)
Tomlinson, J., Globalization and Culture, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1999)
Cultural Imperialism
Cultural Imperialism is the term used to describe the process of imposing one nation’s culture or language onto another nation, or to favour one nation’s culture or language over others. European settlers imposed their culture on a newly discovered America, with the English language becoming the dominant language of United States, despite the native languages already present in North America, and other European languages that settlers brought with them. European culture and society had a huge impact on the creation and development of the United States. In contemporary society, the idea of American Cultural Imperialism is prevalent, mainly due to America’s undeniable global influence.
Examples:
English language in the United States
American corporations and franchises (McDonald’s, Apple, IBM etc) on a global scale because of trading partners and relationships with other countries
Bibliography:
Golding, P., Beyond Cultural Imperialism: Globalism, Communication and the New International Order, (London: Sage, 1997)
Hitchens, C., Blood, Class and Nostalgia: Anglo-American Ironies, (London: Vintage, 1991)
Marling, S., American Affair: the Americanisation of Britain, (London: Boxtree, 1993)
Tomlinson, J., Cultural Imperialism, (London: Pinter Publishers, 1991)
Wright, E., The Special Relationship: The United States as the British have seen it, (London: National Book League, 1976)
Cultural Appropriation
Cultural Appropriation is the adoption of certain elements of one culture (such as forms of dress, music, religion and language) which is usually a minority culture, by another cultural group. This appropriation of cultural elements is generally carried out by younger generations, and often negatively perceived by the minority group whose culture is being assimilated. Cultural Appropriation is different from Cultural Imperialism in that with Cultural Imperialism, a culture, or aspects of a culture are imposed upon another cultural group, whereas with Cultural Appropriation, these aspects are generally adopted freely.
Examples:
Rap Music – Traditionally associated with African American music, white musicians such as Eminem have adopted this cultural music style as their own.
Film & TV – American television shows are shown worldwide, by popular demand, and the American film industry is the highest grossing in the world.
Fashion – American fashion trends, such as the sports clothing brands Nike and Adidas, are worn by people from many different cultures all over the world.
Bibliography:
Angus, I., & Jhally, S., (eds), Cultural Politics in Contemporary America, (London: Routledge, 1989)
Campbell, N., & Kean, A., American Cultural Studies, (London:
Campbell, N., Issues in Americanisation and Culture, (Edinburgh: EUP, 2004)
Pells, R.H., Not Like Us: How Europeans Have Loved, Hated and Transformed American Culture, (New York: Basic Books, 1997)
Young, J. O., & Conrad, G. B., The Ethics of Cultural Appropriation, (London: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009)
In what ways does the label ‘Americanisation’ help and hinder our understanding of these processes?
The term ‘Americanisation’ refers to the impact and influence American culture has on other cultures around the world, often including the appropriation of elements of American culture into other societies, and sometimes the substitution of local culture for American culture.
The label ‘Americanisation’ helps our understanding of processes such as ‘McDonaldisation’, ‘Globalisation/Glocalisation/Grobalisation’, ‘Cultural Imperialism’ and ‘Cultural Appropriation’, because all of these processes can be seen as facets of Americanisation. In a way, all of the processes are linked, and can be put under the umbrella term of Americanisation. Globalisation, for example, is the most similar in definition and process to Americanisation, as they both concern the growth and spread of a country’s influence – Americanisation obviously being concentrated on American influence, Globalisation on the influence of a country’s product or industry on a global scale. McDonaldisation is probably the most obvious in terms of its connection with Americanisation, as the McDonald’s franchise is a purely American product. Other than the obvious, McDonaldisation concerns the spread of an American product – or in this case, as Ritzer would argue – a method of supply and demand modelled on the American fast-food industry. It could be argued that Americanisation hinders our understanding of the process of Cultural Appropriation, because Cultural Appropriation usually deals with the taking of aspects of a minority group’s culture and adopting these elements into a more dominant cultural group, whereas with Americanisation, the elements of a dominant group (America) are adopted into cultural minorities’ society. The same can be said for Cultural Imperialism and Americanisation. Cultural Imperialism describes the process of enforcing a culture or language onto another cultural group, which, in a way, is what Europeans and early Americans during the settlement of America –English became the dominant language of the United States, with an English and European society acting as the foundation of the American society. The native peoples of America were forced out of their homes and forced to interact with the now dominant settlers in English, and adopt a more European way of living – a Christianised, white way of life. In contemporary society, Americanisation doesn’t necessarily help our understanding of this term, as American culture isn’t enforced on minority groups around the world, but rather it is slowly adopted by them. In conclusion, the label ‘Americanisation’, as an umbrella term for the cultural, social and economic processes mentioned, helps our understanding of the terms, as it provides a specific, well-known example of an influential, globally dominant culture that utilises the processes for its own global expansion and power.
The term ‘McDonaldisation’ was coined by American sociologist George Ritzer in The McDonaldisation of Society (1993). In The McDonaldisation of Society Ritzer describes the process of McDonaldisation as “the principles of the fast-food restaurant […] coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world”, in other words society taking on the characteristics and principles of a fast-food restaurant – in this case the globally popular McDonald’s Restaurant. Because of its influence on aspects of world-wide societies and cultures, it is clear to see why the term has become synonymous with Americanisation. Ritzer takes theories of commodification and rationalisation, such as Max Weber’s theory that the model of …show more content…
bureaucracy represents the direction of change in society (bureaucratic rationality), and updates them, arguing that fast-food restaurants serve as a more contemporary representative. Ritzer presented four key components of McDonaldisation; efficiency, calculability, predictability and control. By applying these ‘pillars’ of McDonaldisation, Ritzer argues that profits will increase by a relentless process that dehumanises society and ‘disenchants’ the world, as Ritzer puts it in his work Re-Enchanting a Disenchanted World, (1999). Such practises, Ritzer would argue, have subsequently been applied across various cultural, economic and social contexts, including higher education (Hartley, 1995) and gathering of information (Larney).
Examples:
An actual McDonald’s burger
A branch of a McDonalds’s Restaurant
A ‘McJob’ (i.e. low-paying, low-prestige job, predominantly based in the service industry – fast-food, retail, coffee shops)
Bibliography:
Hartley, D., ‘The McDonaldisation of Higher Education: Food for Thought?’, Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 21, No. 4, (Dec., 1995), pp.409-423
Larney, T., ‘The McDonaldisation of Information’, Ferdinand Postma Library, Potchefstroom University, http://web.simmons.edu/~chen/nit/NIT%2796/96-171-Larney.html
Ritzer, G., The McDonaldisation of Society (Thousand Oaks, CA.: Pine Forge Press, 2000)
Ritzer, G., Re-Enchanting a Disenchanted World (Thousand Oaks, CA.: Pine Forge Press, 1999)
Ritzer, G., Explorations in the Sociology of Consumption: Fast Food, Credit Cards and Casinos (SAGE, 2001)
Globalisation, Grobalisation and Glocalisation
Globalisation has many definitions, the most simplified probably being the process of taking a local or regional trend (such as an aspect of culture, a business, or trade) and transforming it into a global trend. In its most primitive form, globalisation can be seen as international trading, dating back centuries ago to the growth of civilisation. As J. Timmons Roberts and Amy Hite defined it in From Modernisation to Globalization: Perspectives on Development and Social Change; “Globalisation refers to a set of processes that increasingly makes the parts of the world interdependently integrated.”
Grobalisation is a phrase coined by George Ritzer, who used it to describe “the process in which growth imperatives push organisations and nations to expand globally and to impose themselves on the local” (The Globalisation of Nothing, 2004).
Glocalisation can be described as the relationship between global and local issues, dealing primarily with the impact a global trend or issue has on a localised scale, and vice versa.
It can also can be used to describe a product that is developed and distributed to a global market, but is also created to suit the needs of the consumer in the local market.
Examples:
(Globalisation) The recent recession in America has effected much of the rest of the world, because of global trading and the influence the American economy has on worldwide economies.
(Glocalisation) The Internet – specifically websites such as Google and Yahoo!, both American companies that provide worldwide search engines, email accounts and news feeds, all of which allow the user to extract both global and local information, as well as contact people locally and globally. Language choices on websites are also indicators of Glocalisation – a person can have entire sites translated so that they become accessible on a global scale, not just local.
Bibliography:
Antonio, R. J., & Bonanno, A., “A New Global Capitalism? From ‘Americanism’ and ‘Fordism’ to `Americanization-Globalization’”, American Studies No. 41, (2000), pp.
33-77.
Friedman, J., Cultural Identity and Global Processes. (London: Sage., 1994)
Ritzer, G., “Rethinking Globalization: Glocalization/Grobalization and Something/Nothing”, Sociological Theory, Vol. 21, Issue 3, (August, 2003) pp. 193 – 209
Roberts, J. Timmons, & Hite, A., From Modernization to Globalization. Perspectives on Development and Social Change, (Malden, MA – Oxford)
Tomlinson, J., Globalization and Culture, (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1999)
Cultural Imperialism
Cultural Imperialism is the term used to describe the process of imposing one nation’s culture or language onto another nation, or to favour one nation’s culture or language over others. European settlers imposed their culture on a newly discovered America, with the English language becoming the dominant language of United States, despite the native languages already present in North America, and other European languages that settlers brought with them. European culture and society had a huge impact on the creation and development of the United States. In contemporary society, the idea of American Cultural Imperialism is prevalent, mainly due to America’s undeniable global influence.
Examples:
English language in the United States
American corporations and franchises (McDonald’s, Apple, IBM etc) on a global scale because of trading partners and relationships with other countries
Bibliography:
Golding, P., Beyond Cultural Imperialism: Globalism, Communication and the New International Order, (London: Sage, 1997)
Hitchens, C., Blood, Class and Nostalgia: Anglo-American Ironies, (London: Vintage, 1991)
Marling, S., American Affair: the Americanisation of Britain, (London: Boxtree, 1993)
Tomlinson, J., Cultural Imperialism, (London: Pinter Publishers, 1991)
Wright, E., The Special Relationship: The United States as the British have seen it, (London: National Book League, 1976)
Cultural Appropriation
Cultural Appropriation is the adoption of certain elements of one culture (such as forms of dress, music, religion and language) which is usually a minority culture, by another cultural group. This appropriation of cultural elements is generally carried out by younger generations, and often negatively perceived by the minority group whose culture is being assimilated. Cultural Appropriation is different from Cultural Imperialism in that with Cultural Imperialism, a culture, or aspects of a culture are imposed upon another cultural group, whereas with Cultural Appropriation, these aspects are generally adopted freely.
Examples:
Rap Music – Traditionally associated with African American music, white musicians such as Eminem have adopted this cultural music style as their own.
Film & TV – American television shows are shown worldwide, by popular demand, and the American film industry is the highest grossing in the world.
Fashion – American fashion trends, such as the sports clothing brands Nike and Adidas, are worn by people from many different cultures all over the world.
Bibliography:
Angus, I., & Jhally, S., (eds), Cultural Politics in Contemporary America, (London: Routledge, 1989)
Campbell, N., & Kean, A., American Cultural Studies, (London:
Campbell, N., Issues in Americanisation and Culture, (Edinburgh: EUP, 2004)
Pells, R.H., Not Like Us: How Europeans Have Loved, Hated and Transformed American Culture, (New York: Basic Books, 1997)
Young, J. O., & Conrad, G. B., The Ethics of Cultural Appropriation, (London: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009)
In what ways does the label ‘Americanisation’ help and hinder our understanding of these processes?
The term ‘Americanisation’ refers to the impact and influence American culture has on other cultures around the world, often including the appropriation of elements of American culture into other societies, and sometimes the substitution of local culture for American culture.
The label ‘Americanisation’ helps our understanding of processes such as ‘McDonaldisation’, ‘Globalisation/Glocalisation/Grobalisation’, ‘Cultural Imperialism’ and ‘Cultural Appropriation’, because all of these processes can be seen as facets of Americanisation. In a way, all of the processes are linked, and can be put under the umbrella term of Americanisation. Globalisation, for example, is the most similar in definition and process to Americanisation, as they both concern the growth and spread of a country’s influence – Americanisation obviously being concentrated on American influence, Globalisation on the influence of a country’s product or industry on a global scale. McDonaldisation is probably the most obvious in terms of its connection with Americanisation, as the McDonald’s franchise is a purely American product. Other than the obvious, McDonaldisation concerns the spread of an American product – or in this case, as Ritzer would argue – a method of supply and demand modelled on the American fast-food industry. It could be argued that Americanisation hinders our understanding of the process of Cultural Appropriation, because Cultural Appropriation usually deals with the taking of aspects of a minority group’s culture and adopting these elements into a more dominant cultural group, whereas with Americanisation, the elements of a dominant group (America) are adopted into cultural minorities’ society. The same can be said for Cultural Imperialism and Americanisation. Cultural Imperialism describes the process of enforcing a culture or language onto another cultural group, which, in a way, is what Europeans and early Americans during the settlement of America –English became the dominant language of the United States, with an English and European society acting as the foundation of the American society. The native peoples of America were forced out of their homes and forced to interact with the now dominant settlers in English, and adopt a more European way of living – a Christianised, white way of life. In contemporary society, Americanisation doesn’t necessarily help our understanding of this term, as American culture isn’t enforced on minority groups around the world, but rather it is slowly adopted by them. In conclusion, the label ‘Americanisation’, as an umbrella term for the cultural, social and economic processes mentioned, helps our understanding of the terms, as it provides a specific, well-known example of an influential, globally dominant culture that utilises the processes for its own global expansion and power.