(Tharwat 2009)

I will begin this blog by explaining what the term ‘McDonaldization’ means;

George Ritzer created the term ‘McDonaldization’ and states that it 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 the rest of the world’ (2010, p.4). McDonaldization can be seen as a theory that has built upon Max Weber’s theory of rationalization (Ritzer 2015). Rationalization in the simplest terms means order and systematization (Kaesler 2017). It is the movement, over decades, from industries that deliver results based upon emotions, tradition and religion towards delivering results based upon control, predictability, efficiency and calculability (Casteel 2013). This movement allows for companies to have control over the probable outcomes of their employees, and allows them to easily predict risks and create a means to minimise them (Weber 1978). Although Weber believes McDonalization is an extension of rationalization it is argued that McDonalization does not add anything to Weber’s theory and instead is just a different word for the same thing (Smart 1999). This argument can be seen as both McDonalization and rationalization have the (Uli 2013)               same four core dimensions that underlie the theory; efficiency, calculability, predictability and control (Smart 1999; Ritzer 2015). With this in mind I will continue this blog only referring to McDonalization and will look at how I witnessed the dimensions of this theory at the PCMA European Influencers Summit.

A great blog that looks at McDonalization within the day to day life is ‘Living in a McDonaldized World’ by Todd Schoepflin (2010); https://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2010/01/living-in-a-mcdonaldized-world.html