McDonalds has always been able to face the challenges that arise when trying to expand to foreign cultures. They have successfully expanded to over a hundred countries, including countries in East Asia. In the book “Golden Arches East” by James L. Watson, he studies different cities and how McDonalds has played a role in their cultures. Three places that he mentioned in his writing were Beijing, Seoul and Japan. They all share similarities in the way the culture was impacted positively and negatively, in society and politically. They have their differences in the way things were dealt with and how the public viewed the American company coming to their countries. In this paper, I will be talking about how McDonalds is involved in the cultural transformation of different cultures, as well as, if they created the trends mentioned or if they just followed the market they had to work with. I will also be covering my beliefs on whether or not what McDonalds got involved in was an American inspired, transnational culture crowding out indigenous cultures.…
Globalization is an important concept for many capitalist. It is the process of developing an integrated society where interchange of culture, products and world view are recognized. Globalization could bring advances in technology and economic development to many countries. It brings greater interdependence and awareness among the people of the world. Aside from these benefits, globalization could also affect any country’s interdependence for economy and culture. In this paper, examples of native non-Western cultures that have been impacted by globalization will be discussed and one of those examples will be further analyzed.…
McCulture has extended and has changed many traditions and cultures around the world. McCulture is a form of globalization that has entered societies life. Foreigners believe that McCulture is an American formed tradition; therefore, it should remain in America. Many Countries embrace their unique cultures and show disturbance when McGlobalization interferes, Tyler Cowen argues, “nothing gets one’s anti-globalization juices flowing more than the thoughts of a McDonald’s restaurant in France (Cowen). McGlobalization is obligating different cultures to lack originality in their foods. When a McDonald’s enters a new region it automatically attracts fear into local business owners. For example, in France there may be many local business owners…
In his book entitled ‘The McDonaldization of Society’, George Ritzer nicely encompasses concepts from sociology, management, and economics to provide a profound understanding of our modern society. According to George Ritzer, McDonaldization is defined as the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world. Toys “R”Us, Wal-Mart, Gap, Jiffy Lube, and Home Depot are all examples of companies that want to become the McDonald’s of their industry. The success of McDonald’s is also evident worldwide as over half of the company’s revenue comes from overseas operations serving 50 million customers a day. Indeed, this fast-food restaurant has become more than just a company. It has become a part of our culture.…
In 1955, after hard negotiations, Ray Kroc saw his ideas and aspirations of franchising McDonald’s come to life; since then the corporation has franchised all over the world. Kroc constructed a business model that produced a phenomenon called McDonaldization, which has translated beyond the fast-food world to other consumer companies that we frequent, everyday. McDonald’s has influenced not only the American society but also outside its borders to affect multiple cultures around the world on a micro and macro level. This essay will summarize the central dimensions and ideas of McDonaldization, its effects on our day-to-day lives, and its threat to cultural diversity, our values, and our futures. Throughout this essay one should consider: Is McDonaldization more harm than it is good?…
The “McDonaldization” of society, is what Ritzer believes to be the direction the country is moving in. In the text, Ritzer discussed the way a Mcdonald’s restaurant works, and how it relates to society today. Components such as “efficiency, calculability, uniformity, and control” (Appelbaum, P.R.) are good examples of how behavior is becoming more routine. In relation to society, Ritzer argues that “McDonaldization is making social life more homogenous, more rigid, and less personal.” (Appelbaum, P.R.) In the McDonalds system, the goal is for the consumers to get their products quickly, or to master a method in the fastest way possible. Because of this, technology has played a huge part in the process, making human responsibility decrease.…
Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal explores the effects of the spread of multinational fast food corporations into other countries, and the resulting loss of national culture. In his chapter “Global Realization” Eric Schlosser claims that “The global expansion of American fast food is homogenizing cultural identities; like Las Vegas, it offers “a brief sense of hope… that most brilliant illusion of all, a loss that feels like winning” (Schlosser). Schlosser intentionally chooses the order and content of the information and examples he provides in order to promote his main claim. He uses both subtle and direct strategies to persuade his reader. In order to critically evaluate the validity of his argument, it is important to explore different perspectives of this issue by taking into consideration about what others have to say regarding this matter before coming to a conclusion.…
George Ritzer, in his acclaimed sociological commentary, The McDonaldization of Society, defines “McDonaldization” as “the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world” (Ritzer). Ritzer deems modern Western society an entity in which the individual in his or her natural creative, free-thinking state is rapidly being eclipsed by an authoritative, de-humanizing force in the name of technological progress. Ritzer names four major aspects key to the McDonaldization process: predictability, control, calculability, and efficiency (Ritzer). Ritzer asserts that via these four elements comprising the McDonaldization phenomenon, our society, along with myriad societies that emulate or are influenced by ours, is rapidly growing more impersonal, hierarchical, and mindlessly efficient—in short, more like a well-oiled fast food restaurant assembly line, and less like a society of interacting individuals.…
Cultural globalization is a term often used to describe the influence of one national culture on another. This is perhaps more prevalent in the United States than anywhere else in the world. Although America is often viewed as the villain with regard to globalization, it is clear by the diversity of cultural groups in America, that this nation is also the recipient of global culture. With such a diverse cultural population it’s foreseeable to think there will be differences of opinion when it comes to discussion cultural importance. For every society believes it is their culture that sets them apart and makes them unique. Differences in cultural beliefs often leads to the “Us vs Them” mentality, but it is also cultural beliefs that unite Americans.…
Ritzer McDonaldization- to describe the process through which the principles of the fast-food restaurant have come to dominate certain sectors of society, both in the U.s and throughout the world…
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…
Critics of globalization have been concerned that the spread of a global consumerism would wipe out local cultures and homogenize the entire world, but Foer returned convinced that globalization has not and will not soon wipe away local institutions and cultures. On the contrary, he suspects the opposite has happened: In response to the threat of global integration, local entities have launched counterattacks that are successful but "not always in such a good way." Globalization means different things to different people. To those who favor it, it represents fewer reasons for armed conflicts, more opportunities for escaping the confines of tradition and narrow-mindedness, a higher standard of living, and more access to the good things of life; in short, capitalism and democracy. To those who mistrust it or hate it, it means the submersion of national sovereignty, the extinction of regional cultures, the enrichment of multinational corporations and the bankruptcy of corner stores, the undermining of religion, and the corruption of morality; in short, capitalism and democracy.…
Many cultures in all parts of the world have totally different ways of celebrating and doing things, then North America does, but these societies are slowly changing and beginning to have some of the same customs. Cultural globalization is the diffusion of ideas and values around the world to strengthen social relations. Food is a major part of globalization as one can get Asian or “Chinese food” almost anywhere in the world and not just in China. While the food is Americanized it is still a Chinese culture in which was spread around the world. Another example of globalization on food is Japan and their obsession with Kentucky Fried Chicken, also known as KFC here in America. Japan is so obsessed with this American food chain and food they’ve…
Americanization is a term used for the influence of US on different countries and their cultures. This also refers to the process of acculturation by immigrants to American customs and values. Americanization was highly spread through those immigrants or the foreigners who have stayed in America for a long time. These people become Americanized, and when they go back to their home country, and people around also get influenced. American styles became familiar to the world by showing often; America is the most powerful country currently, so most things are US-related. America has influenced so many things, not just with their language, but with the things like media, culture, American business and visibility.…
Globalization is an indirect threat to the value of culture around the world. Globalization affects culture through its strong parallel of Americanisation. Americanisation can be defined as strongly influencing American culture on foreign countries outside of America, causing them to assimilate. Americanization is typically seen as more aggressive than globalization in as sense that americanization can rapidly change a local or national culture of a foreign country. This can be directly seen in a quote from a Washington Post interviewee stating, “I used to go have dim sum every day. Now I have no dim sum- I just got to McDonald’s,” (Richburg 1). Dim sum is a traditional east asian delicacy that has a strong cultural tie to China and Japan specifically. When McDonald’s made its entrance into Japan, it entered with a boom. As seen in the quote, families would go from eating dim sum multiple times a week to none at all, completely diminishing cultural value The term for this is cultural imperialism. A quote from the book Jihad vs. McWorld explains, “selling American products means selling America: its pop culture, its putative prosperity, its ubiquitous…