Essay about Mcdonaldization

Words: 1740
Pages: 7

People At Work Coursework

Question To what extent do you consider this concept of the McDonaldization of society disturbing, expected or inevitable, for employees in the twentifirst century. Also the possible consequences for theories of human motivation and whether the concept applies equally to all jobs.

In this paper I will be analysing the effects McDonaldization has on society and the employees of the twentifirst century. I will be discussing whether McDonaldization is to be expected, accepted, rejected or is inevitable. I will also be arguing that McDonaldization does effect employee motivation, and how it fits in the numerous theories on motivation. McDonaldization as defined by George Ritzer is "the process by which

George Ritzer argued that McDonaldization has a lot of social implications. In a society that acknowledges Efficiency, Predictability, Calculability and Control as its main objectives, have had perverse effects on those who experience it. Ritzer said that "It leads to people wanting everything fast, and having a limited attention span because we want everything fast to deal with something than takes longer to what we are accustomed to". McDonaldization has set the standard for what we are used to, if something is not as we perceive it should be we immediately reject it or subconsciously feel it's inferior to the norm.

We are constantly bombarded with advertising and persuasions telling us that "this way is the right way". Dr Ellen Langer argued that human brains take too much for granted, She argued "If we are told something is the ‘correct' way for long enough we will stop looking for alternatives and simply accept it as the way things should be". With McDonaldised Organisations defining to us what to perceive as normal and different the sociological implications it holds are tremendous as it has the capabilities to mould the values of society.

As I have just outlined that McDonaldization effects our everyday life so much that it has the power to define what we consider our norms, it must in turn effect our "wants and desires" and the motives behind achieving them.
When looking at how McDonaldization fits in