Theorizing/Resisting Mcdonaldization: a Multiperspectivist Approach
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The Globalization of Nothing
The Globalization of Nothing THE GLOBALIZATION OF NOTHING GEORGE RITZER University of Maryland WITH MICHAEL RYAN University of Maryland In this essay,1 we will argue that we are witnessing the globalization of nothing.2 Note that we are not arguing that globalization is nothing; indeed it is clear that the process is of enormous significance. Rather, the argument is, using a term borrowed from Weber, that there is an elective affinity between globalization and nothing. That is, one does not cause the other, but they do tend to vary together. Thus, globalization tends to involve the spread of nothing throughout the world. Of course, what is pivotal is the meaning of nothing. By nothing, we mean (largely) empty forms that are centrally conceived and controlled and relatively devoid of distinctive content. Conversely, something is defined here as (largely) full forms that are indigenously conceived and controlled and relatively rich in distinctive content. Thus, it is easier to export empty forms (nothing) throughout the globe than it is forms that are loaded with content (something). The latter are more likely to be rejected by at least some cultures and societies because the content is more likely to conflict with local content and be found offensive by more of the natives. In contrast, empty forms are less likely to come into conflict with local forms and since they are devoid of distinctive content, it would be difficult for them to arouse anxiety in the natives. In addition, empty forms have other advantages from the point of view of globalization including the fact that since they are so minimalist, they are easy to replicate over and over 51 Social Thought & Research and they have a cost advantage since they are relatively inexpensive to reproduce. -
Mcdonald's Nutrition Information
McDonald's USA Nutrition Facts for Popular Menu Items We provide a nutrition analysis of our menu items to help you balance your McDonald's meal with other foods you eat. Our goal is to provide you with the information you need to make sensible decisions about balance, variety and moderation in your diet. % DAILY VALUE Nutrition Facts Fat (g) Serving Size Calories Calories from Fat Total Fat (g) % Daily Value** Saturated Fat (g) % Daily Value** Trans Cholesterol (mg) % Daily Value** Sodium (mg) % Daily Value** Carbohydrates (g) % Daily Value** Dietary Fiber (g) % Daily Value** Sugars (g) Protein (g) Vitamin A Vitamin C Calcium Iron Sandwiches 3.5 oz Hamburger (100 g) 250 80 9 13 3.5 16 0.5 25 9 520 22 31 10 2 6 6 12 0 2 10 15 4 oz Cheeseburger (114 g) 300 110 12 19 6 28 0.5 40 13 750 31 33 11 2 7 6 15 6 2 20 15 Double 5.8 oz Cheeseburger (165 g) 440 210 23 35 11 54 1.5 80 26 1150 48 34 11 2 8 7 25 10 2 25 20 5.3 oz McDouble (151 g) 390 170 19 29 8 42 1 65 22 920 38 33 11 2 7 7 22 6 2 20 20 Quarter 6 oz Pounder®+ (169 g) 410 170 19 29 7 37 1 65 22 730 30 37 12 2 10 8 24 2 4 15 20 Quarter Pounder® with 7 oz 510 230 26 40 12 61 1.5 90 31 1190 50 40 13 3 11 9 29 10 4 30 25 Cheese+ (198 g) Double Quarter Pounder® with 9.8 oz 740 380 42 65 19 95 2.5 155 52 1380 57 40 13 3 11 9 48 10 4 30 35 Cheese++ (279 g) 7.5 oz Big Mac® (214 g) 540 260 29 45 10 50 1.5 75 25 1040 43 45 15 3 13 9 25 6 2 25 25 7.2 oz Big N' Tasty® (206 g) 460 220 24 37 8 42 1.5 70 23 720 30 37 12 3 11 8 24 6 8 15 25 Big N' Tasty® 7.7 oz with Cheese (220 g) 510 250 28 43 11 -
The Mcdonaldization of Medicine
Opinion VIEWPOINT The McDonaldization of Medicine E. Ray Dorsey, MD, AsputforthinTheMcDonaldizationofSociety,“theprin- length of patient visits can result in equal care that does MBA ciples of the fast-food restaurant are coming to domi- not address individual needs. Department of nate more and more sectors of American society,”1 The final dimension of McDonaldization is control Neurology, University including medicine (Table). While designed to produce of humans by nonhuman technology,1 which is increas- of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, a rational system, the 4 basic principles of McDonaldiza- ingly applied to both physicians and patients. In fast- New York. tion—efficiency,calculability,predictability,and control— food restaurants, machines, not workers, control cook- often lead to adverse consequences. Without mea- ing. In medicine, resident physicians now spend far more George Ritzer, PhD, sures to counter McDonaldization, medicine’s most time with computers (40%) than with patients (12%).4 MBA cherished and defining values including care for the Billing codes and policies, which specify the length and Department of Sociology, University of individual and meaningful patient-physician relation- content of visits, dictate the care that patients receive, Maryland, College Park. ships will be threatened. influence clinicians, lead to unnecessary procedures, and McDonaldization’sfirstdimensionisefficiency,orthe can adversely affect patient health. The electronic medi- effort to find the optimal means to any end. While cal record controls interactions between physicians and efficiency is “generally a good thing,”1 irrationalities patients by specifying what questions must be asked and develop in the march toward ever-increasing efficiency. what tasks must be completed, thereby substituting the For example, while the drive-through window is effi- judgment of a computer for that of a physician. -
Mcdonald's USA Food Exchanges
McDonald's USA Food Exchanges McDonald's provides food exchanges for our popular menu items to assist our customers with meal planning for diabetes and weight control. Menu Item Calories Food Exchanges Sandwiches Hamburger 250 2 carbohydrate, 1.5 medium fat meat Cheeseburger 300 2 carbohydrate, 2 medium fat meat, 0.5 fat Double Cheeseburger 440 2 carbohydrate, 4 medium fat meat, 1 fat McDouble 390 2 carbohydrate, 3.5 medium fat meat, 0.5 fat Quarter Pounder® with Cheese+ 510 2 carbohydrate, 4 medium fat meat, 2 fat Double Quarter Pounder® with Cheese++ 740 2 carbohydrate, 7 medium fat meat, 3 fat Big Mac® 540 3 carbohydrate, 3.5 medium fat meat, 2.5 fat Big N' Tasty® 460 2 carbohydrate, 3 medium fat meat, 2 fat Big N' Tasty® with Cheese 510 2 carbohydrate, 3.5 medium fat meat, 2.5 fat Angus Bacon & Cheese 790 3 carbohydrate, 6 medium fat meat, 1.5 fat Angus Deluxe 750 3 carbohydrate, 4.5 medium fat meat, 2.5 fat Angus Mushroom & Swiss 770 3 carbohydrate, 5.5 medium fat meat, 1.5 fat Filet-O-Fish® 380 3 carbohydrate, 1.5 medium fat meat, 3.5 fat McChicken ® 360 3 carbohydrate, 2 medium fat meat, 1.5 fat McRib ®† 500 2.5 carbohydrate, 3 high fat meat Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich 350 2.5 carbohydrate, 2.5 lean meat, 1 fat Premium Crispy Chicken Classic Sandwich 510 3.5 carbohydrate, 2.5 medium fat meat, 1 fat Premium Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich 460 2.5 carbohydrate, 2.5 lean meat, 2 medium fat meat, 1 fat Premium Crispy Chicken Club Sandwich 620 3.5 carbohydrate, 4.5 medium fat meat, 1 fat Premium Grilled Chicken Ranch BLT -
Clowning with Kids' Health – the Case for Ronald Mcdonald's
Brought To You By: and its campaign Clowning With Kids’ Health THE CASE FOR RONALD MCDONALD’S RETIREMENT www.RetireRonald.org Table of Contents FOREWORD ....................................................................................... Page 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. Page 2 RONALD MCDONALD: A RETROSPECTIVE .......................................... Page 4 Birth of a pioneer…in marketing to kids ................................................ Page 5 Clown at a crossroads ........................................................................ Page 6 Where’s RONALD? ........................................................................... Page 7 What did Americans find? .................................................................... Page 8 Clowning around schools .................................................................... Page 8 McSpelling and Teaching .................................................................... Page 10 The Ironic Ronald McJock .................................................................... Page 11 Providing his own brand of healthcare ................................................... Page 12 Taking to the tube .............................................................................. Page 13 The McWorld Wide Web ....................................................................... Page 14 PUTTING RONALD ON KIds’ BraINS, PAST PARENTS ......................... Page 15 The power of getting the brand in kids’ hands -
The Internet, Web 2.0, and Beyond
33 The Internet, Web 2.0, and Beyond Nathan Jurgenson and George Ritzer Technology changes rapidly, often transforming the social world in the process. The internet, Web 2.0 in particular, is a perfect, even an extreme, example of this fact. This chapter focuses on the changes in the last half-decade that have radically transformed the web, creating what many now describe as Web 2.0 (succeeding the largely earlier Web 1.0). This new version of the internet is defined by the explosion in user-generated content. Because so many people are actively involved in this, as well as in the internet in general, their social lives have changed, sometimes dra- matically. Furthermore, new, very active, social worlds have been, and are being, created on the internet; users are actively creating a more richly social internet. Because of its impact on the larger social world, and because of the social worlds that it is creating, Web 2.0, as well as whatever form the web takes in the future (Web 3.0), should (must) be of increasing concern to sociologists. Technology is social: an inTroducTion To social Technologies online Barry Wellman (Wellman, Salaff, Dimitrova, Garton, Gulia & Haythornthwaite 1996; Wellman & Gulia 1999a, 1999b; Wellman, Haase, Witte & Hampton 2001; Wellman & Haythornthwaite 2002) has argued that computer networks can be social (see especially Wellman et al.’s [1996] article, “Computer Networks as Social Networks: Collaborative Work, Telework, and Virtual Community”). One of his early insights is that virtual communities are based more on shared interests The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Sociology, First Edition. -
A Gastronomic Meditation: on Mcdonald's Colin James Sheringham a Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2008
A Gastronomic Meditation: On McDonald’s Colin James Sheringham A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2008 University of Western Sydney © C. Sheringham, 2008 Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my daughter Kate. I hope food helps bring you a life filled with significant pleasure and provides you a constructive vehicle for an examined existence. ii Acknowledgements I particularly wish to acknowledge: My supervisors, Professor Bob Hodge, for his valuable guidance, the enjoyable wide-ranging conversations and, importantly, his patience; Dr Lesley Kuhn for her valuable assistance in the final stages of the thesis, and Dr Jim Bergen, who helped start the process. The library staff at the University of Western Sydney, particularly Maureen Hunt, for all their help. Friends and colleagues who good-naturedly listened as my ideas developed. All those who have participated in the Australian Symposium of Gastronomy and the Research Centre for History of Food and Drink, Adelaide University. Both have been valuable forums for the serious and pleasurable discussion of food. This thesis is offered, in the spirit of Rabelais, ‘to drinkers of wine rather than oil’. iii Statement of Authentication The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. Colin James Sheringham iv Table of Contents Abstract....................................................................................................................... 5 Preface......................................................................................................................... 6 Part 1--Foundations ................................................................................................. 14 Chapter 1--Ambiguity of order in classic structuralism. ................................. 15 The use of binaries by Claude Lévi-Strauss ................................................. -
Prosperity Without Growth?Transition the Prosperity to a Sustainable Economy 2009
Prosperity without growth? The transition to a sustainable economy to a sustainable The transition www.sd-commission.org.uk Prosperity England 2009 (Main office) 55 Whitehall London SW1A 2HH without 020 7270 8498 [email protected] Scotland growth? Osborne House 1 Osbourne Terrace, Haymarket Edinburgh EH12 5HG 0131 625 1880 [email protected] www.sd-commission.org.uk/scotland Wales Room 1, University of Wales, University Registry, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3NS Commission Development Sustainable 029 2037 6956 [email protected] www.sd-commission.org.uk/wales Northern Ireland Room E5 11, OFMDFM The transition to a Castle Buildings, Stormont Estate, Belfast BT4 3SR sustainable economy 028 9052 0196 [email protected] www.sd-commission.org.uk/northern_ireland Prosperity without growth? The transition to a sustainable economy Professor Tim Jackson Economics Commissioner Sustainable Development Commission Acknowledgements This report was written in my capacity as Economics Commissioner for the Sustainable Development Commission at the invitation of the Chair, Jonathon Porritt, who provided the initial inspiration, contributed extensively throughout the study and has been unreservedly supportive of my own work in this area for many years. For all these things, my profound thanks. The work has also inevitably drawn on my role as Director of the Research group on Lifestyles, Values and Environment (RESOLVE) at the University of Surrey, where I am lucky enough to work with a committed, enthusiastic and talented team of people carrying out research in areas relevant to this report. Their research is evident in the evidence base on which this report draws and I’m as grateful for their continuing intellectual support as I am for the financial support of the Economic and Social Research Council (Grant No: RES-152-25-1004) which keeps RESOLVE going. -
Global Studies Capstone Course -- HIST 1005-1280 Fall 2013
Global Studies Capstone Course -- HIST 1005-1280 Fall 2013 GLOBALIZATION: Impacts, Approaches, Struggles Instructor: Roger Rouse Wednesdays, 6.00-8.30pm 103 Allen Office Hours: M noon-2.30pm in 4106 Posvar; or by appt. Phone: 412-251-0327; e-mail: [email protected] OVERVIEW What is globalization? How has it been changing? And what does it mean for the ways people around the world relate to one another and their shared environment? In recent years, scholars, journalists, and artists have increasingly used the term “globalization” to register the sense that we are in the midst of a rapid intensification and reorganization of the processes through which people interact with one another and with nature beyond the boundaries of the states in which they live. Yet there are significant debates about how to evaluate these transnational developments and more profoundly about how to understand them. Such debates are often closely linked to major disagreements and disputes about whether globalization should continue or more commonly about the forms that it should take. 2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES In this course, we will focus on enhancing your ability to understand and evaluate these developments, debates, and conflicts, giving particular emphasis to: • the varied and changing impacts of contemporary globalization on people in different parts of the world and on the processes through which their experiences are connected and divided • the contending approaches that scholars, journalists, and artists are taking to conceptualizing these developments, investigating -
An Introduction to Mcdonaldization
Ritzer-ch01.qxd 1/22/02 11:05 AM Page 7 1 An Introduction to McDonaldization George Ritzer cDonald’s is the basis of one of the most influential developments in Mcontemporary society. Its reverberations extend far beyond its point of origin in the United States and in the fast-food business. It has influenced a wide range of undertakings, indeed the way of life, of a significant portion of the world. And that impact is likely to expand at an accelerating rate. However, this is not . about McDonald’s, or even about the fast-food business. Rather, McDonald’s serves here as the major example, the paradigm, of a wide-ranging process I call McDonaldization—that is, 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. As you will see, McDonaldization affects not only the restaurant business but also . virtually every other aspect of society. McDonaldization has shown every sign of being an inexorable process, sweeping through seem- ingly impervious institutions and regions of the world. Editor’s Note: Excerpts from “An Introduction to McDonaldization,” pp. 1–19 in The McDonaldization of Society, 3rd ed., by George Ritzer. Copyright © 2000, Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks, CA. Used with permission. 7 Ritzer-ch01.qxd 1/22/02 11:05 AM Page 8 8 Basics, Studies, Applications, and Extensions The success of McDonald’s itself is apparent. “There are McDonald’s everywhere. There’s one near you, and there’s one being built right now even nearer to you. -
Efficiency and Calculability
3 Efficiency and Calculability Consumers 1 distribute or hapter 2 dealt largely with the organizations and systems that have been C the precursors of the process of McDonaldization. As we saw, they include bureaucracies, concentration camps, industrial organizations, suburban communities, shopping centers, and, of course, fast-food restaurants. Needless to say, people exist in these settings.post, It is the norm to distinguish between two types of people in these settings: consumers (or customers, clients) and produc- ers (or workers). We will adhere to that norm in the next four chapters. This chapter and the next will deal with consumers, while Chapters 5 and 6 will be devoted to producers. However, more and more scholars are rejecting the binary distinction betweencopy, producers and consumers and thinking more in terms of “prosumers,” or those who both produce and consume.1 We will have more to say about prosumers at several points in this book, but for the time being we will set that concept aside and deal separately with consumers and producers.not This chapter deals with consumers in terms of two of the four basic dimen- sions of McDonaldization: efficiency and calculability. Chapter 4 does the same withDo the other two dimensions of McDonaldization: predictability and control. While the focus is on the consumer, workers—the producers—will inevitably be touched on in these chapters and discussions. We will deal with a wide array of consumers in the next two chapters includ- ing tourists, students, campers, diners, patients, parents, mothers-to-be, shop- pers (including cybershoppers), dieters, exercisers, and those looking for dates (or for only sex). -
The Mcdonaldization of Academic Libraries?
248 College & Research Libraries May 2000 The McDonaldization of Academic Libraries? Brian Quinn George Ritzer, a sociologist at the University of Maryland, has proposed an influential thesis that suggests that many aspects of the fast food industry are making their way into other areas of society. This article explores whether his thesis, known as the McDonaldization thesis, is applicable to academic libraries. Specifically, it seeks to determine to what extent academic libraries may be considered McDonaldized, and if so, what effect McDonaldization may be having on them. It also investi gates some possible alternatives to McDonaldization, and their implica tions for academic libraries. n 1993, George Ritzer, a soci chy of functionaries performing nar ologist at the University of rowly defined roles according to pre Maryland, wrote a book titled scribed rules.3 Weber was careful to point The McDonaldization of Society.1 out that although rationalized social in It caused considerable controversy in the stitutions such as bureaucracies had the field of sociology and in academia gener advantage of being efficient, if carried to ally, sold many copies, and inspired sev extremes, they could lead to their own eral articles and even a book to be writ form of irrationality, which he termed an ten about the subject.2 In his book, Ritzer “iron cage.” The iron cage metaphor re argued that the principles of the fast-food ferred to Weber’s belief that extremely industry had gradually come to pervade rationalized institutions could be dehu other areas of society. manizing and stultifying to both those In The McDonaldization of Society, who work in them and those they serve.