McDonaldization

A disturbing piece of gossip I have heard recently -

The Security Guards of Mustafa Centre keep a very sharp lookout for shoplifters. Upon caught in the act, they would not bring the guilty to the police immediately. Rather, they would provide an alternative to the shoplifter - Purchase double/triple the value of the product they stole or they would be handed to the police without question.

Why do the security guards do this? Apparently for every shoplifter who "purchased" the additional value the guards would receive a small amount of commission.

Therefore, the guards are motivated to keep the security tight for they know they would be rewarded directly. Like a direct sales commission. Secondly, the Shopping Centre would bring in more sales as a result and overall profit goes up. Thirdly, the shoplifters would be spared from Criminal Records. Fourthly, security would always be tight and vigilant. Fifthly, the police would not have to be troubled with "minor cases" and be able to concentrate on "bigger cases." Sounds ingenious?

BULLSHIT.

My head was screaming the issue of ethics.

Case Scenario -

Boy: Mum! I shoplifted today and I got caught!
Mum: *Holds hands to mouth in horror* God! What have you done?

Boy: It's ok Mum! I just have to purchase triple the value of the shoplifted product and they let me go scot-free.
Mum: Really? That's convenient! Guess money talks! Har har har!

Is this the message we would want to convey to the younger generation?

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An apology for the lapse in the updatings, just finished a book called "The McDonaldization of Society" by George Ritzer. Pretty heavy on the thought-provoking part so it took me some time to digest.

Peter Kollock, University of California [LA], was quoted as saying "..genuinely succeeds in communicating the sociological imagination.. and would serve as a wonderful catalyst for an extended discussion on rationalization, modernity and a number of related issues."

Very interesting insight on how we should be aware of the changes that are happening around us. This author - in a nutshell - uses the phenomenal success of McDonald's to illustrate on a larger scale what is happening to the younger generation.

Now when we say McDonald's, what do we think of? Fast Food? Convenience? Efficient? Mobility? Culture? Ambience?

He illustrated 4 key points - Efficiency, Calculability, Predictability and the replacement of human with nonhuman technology.

Efficiency - McDonald's staff would be very clear about what to serve you, all at the touch of buttons. Everything is computerised, from the menu sets to the timings of the food cooked and the drinks served. They even have a mini hour-glass to emphasise that. At the same time, the products are simplified. The work process becomes like an assembly line [put the bread, lay the meat, spread the sauce if any, put the top bread and wrap it up. Voila! Big Mac!]. Gasp! Did I mention we have to pour the coffee ourselves and tear the chilli/tomato sauce packets ourselves? Singapore's one of the few countries where we simply leave the trays after we leave but in the other countries people pour away the trash and leave the trays in a orderly fashion fashion after they leave. They were subsequently praised as "cultured people" which of course motivates them to carry on with what they are doing. Guess what? Employees are supposed to do this, they're being paid for it. Oh wait, McDonald's meagre wages is a common topic isn't it? Guess that explains the logic of the unwillingness of the staff and thus the burden falls to us - the customers. Efficiency? Sounds like exploitation - on both the employees and the consumers.

Calculability - Everything at McDonald's is measurable in terms of units, calories, prices and weight. No. of tables, chairs and even the weight of the food you consume. Do you think they're emphasising on health when they announce how many calories there are in their burgers? They're simply putting a tag of measurement on all their products so that there's accountability for each and every single product. Ponder on this, For every change you attempt to make to your set meals, you have to pay extra. If you want mayonnaise you have pay extra. Sooner or later if you want extra chilli or tomato you'll have to pay extra as well. Everything has been calculated to a T.

Predictability - When you think of McDonald's you would probably be able to recite the menu by heart. You would probably know where is the nearest McDonald's to your house and even when you travel overseas you would be sure you can find a McDonald's somewhere within the city. The moment you step in, you can repeat what the counter staff would say to you. But strangely, people go back to certain products because of predictability. The taste is the same, the menu is the same but these people are afraid that if they go to a different eating place they would not be able to 'predict' if they would be getting their money's worth. At least at McDonald's everything sounds reasonable.

Replacement of humans with nonhuman technology - The staff at McDonald's does not have to learn how to cook. They just have to know which buttons to push. Ever wondered how McDonald's was so successful in "re-training" seniors to do the job? That's because there aren't any skills learnt, just button-pushing procedures. In fact, they don't really need humans. Fast forward 10 years down the road and you'd probably have McDonald's ATM Kiosks where you simply push a couple of buttons, deposit your money and voila! Big Mac is served! "Would You like an upsize sir?" Push a button. "Would you like to try our newest McSpicy?" Push a button. Oh yes, you can even use your mobile to key in the respective codes and sms via infrared to the ATM Kiosk and you'll also get your food. And they would still taste the same.


A key issues he's addressing here is the advancement of the rationality in the culture of McDonald's. You can term McDonald's as being like a Bureaucracy. In a Bureaucracy, everything is standardised. Work processes are simplified and then specialised - like a production factory. The customers become standardised and have no complaints because everything is predictable and efficient. Emotions are kept to a minimum whenever necessary. There are rules and regulations and they are observed with strict punishments. Technology is the key factor, not the people.

Equate it down to the IT age and you get people who are getting used to "faceless communications" meaning they use emails, sms, mms, telephone, radio, IRC, MSN and chat forums to communicate themselves. When they are actually facing people they develop a subconcious fear/anger/confusion thus severely undermining their communication skills. They tend to become anti-social because they are not prepared to handle actual face-to-face emtions. Link it the rising number of social problem cases amongst youths and teenagers and you might just see the connection. It is not beneficial that the culture in our children is of a competitive nature which would only enhance their emotional frustrations. Some youths may just enter a chatroom via IRC and starts blasting everyone inside the chatroom but they need not fear any social repercussions or as what the olden days call it - getting your ass whopped. Combine these youths into a group and suddenly all you need is some strong personality to take over as leader and the rest will follow. If the leader advocates ideas of cultured mannerisms and wisdom, thank heavens. Sadly it's always more of the opposite case where violence, attempts to show feats of power and machoism are advocated.

People in control tend to further enhance their status or attempt to further consolidate their power positions. By using their power to enforce their authority, members are recruited via pressure tactics or fear factors. Sounds familiar? Street Corner Gangs. Explain their personality via the reasons above and you would have a vicious cycle of youths who are having problems communicating themselves properly due to pressure from the competitive environment in schools and amongst friends who tend to compare results, lack of available avenues for communicating their frustrations, the feeling of being in control of yourself when in power and there you have it - A youth delinquent.

Be aware of these changes my friends, McDonaldization is infusing into our culture. Rationality can breed irrationality when the rules and regulations becomes an end to the means instead of just being a means to and end.