| Edition |
20th anniversary ed., 7th ed. |
| Description |
x, 237 p. ; 23 cm. |
| Note |
Rev. ed. of: The McDonaldization of society 6. c2011. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (p. 186-220) and index. |
| Contents |
1. An introduction to McDonaldization -- McDonald's as an American and a global icon -- The dimensions of McDonaldization -- Efficiency -- Calculability -- Predictability -- Control -- A critique of McDonaldization : the irrationality of rationality -- Illustrating the dimensions of McDonaldization : the case of IKEA -- The advantages of McDonaldization -- What isn't McDonaldized? -- Are In-N-Out Burger and Pret A Manger antitheses of McDonaldization? -- 2. The past, present, and future of McDonaldization : from the iron cage to the fast-food factory and beyond -- Bureaucratization : making life more rational -- Weber's Theory of Rationality -- Irrationality and the "iron cage" -- The Holocaust : mass-produced death -- Scientific management : finding the one best way -- The assembly line : turning workers into robots -- Levittown : putting up houses, "Boom, boom, boom" -- Shopping centers : malling America -- McDonald's : creating the "fast-food factory" -- McDonaldization and contemporary social changes -- The forces driving McDonaldization : it pays, we value it, it fits -- Higher profits and lower costs -- McDonaldization for its own sake -- McDonaldization and the changing society -- Postindustrialism and McDonaldization : complexification and simplification -- Fordism and post-Fordism : or is it McDonaldism? -- Postmodernity : a threat to McDonaldization? -- Are t here any limits to the expansion of McDonaldization? -- 3. Efficiency and calculability -- Efficiency : drive-throughs and finger foods -- Streamlining the process -- The fast-food industry : speeding the way from secretion to excretion -- Home cooking -- Shopping : creating ever-more efficient selling machines -- Higher education : just fill in the box -- Health care : Docs-in-a-Box -- Entertainment : moving people (and trash) efficiently -- Online and Smartphone dating -- Ten steps to spiritual maturity -- Simplifying the product -- Putting customers to work -- Calculability : Big Macs and little chips -- Quantity rather than quality -- "Big Bites" and "Super Big Gulps" -- Higher education : grades, scores, ratings, and rankings -- Health care : patients as dollar signs -- Sports : Nadia Comaneci scored exactly 79.275 points -- Politics : no sound bites in the Lincoln-Douglas Debate -- Reducing production and service to numbers -- 4. Predictability and control -- Predictability : it never rains on those little houses on the hillside -- Motel chains : "magic fingers" but no Norman Bates -- The fast-food industry : thank God for those golden arches -- Scripting interaction with customers -- Making employee behavior predictable -- Creating predictable products and processes -- Minimizing danger and unpleasantness -- Control : human and nonhuman robots -- Controlling employees -- Controlling customers -- Controlling the process and the product -- Food production, cooking and vending : it cooks itself -- Ultimate examples of control : birth and death? -- |
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5. The irrationality of rationality : traffic jams on those "happy trails" -- Inefficiency : long lines at the checkout -- High cost : better off at home -- False friendliness : "Hi, George" -- Disenchantment : where's the magic? -- Health and environmental hazards : a day's calories in one fast food meal -- Homogenization : it's no different in Paris -- Dehumanization : getting hosed at "Trough and Brew" -- Family : the kitchen as filling station -- Higher education : McLectures and McColleges -- Health care : you're just a number -- Dehumanized death -- 6. Dealing with McDonaldization : a practical guide -- Creating "reasonable" alternatives : sometimes you really do have to break the rules -- Fighting back collectively : saving hearts, minds, taste buds, and the Piazza di Spagna -- McLibel support group : McDonald's pyrrhic victory -- Slow food : creating a place for traditional, regional, and high-quality food -- Sprawl-busters : a "hit list" of McDonald superstores -- Local protests : not wanting to say "bye-bye to the neighborhood" -- Coping individually : "skunk works," blindfolded children, and fantasy worlds -- Games, knitting, and nonrationalized niches -- A range of individual actions : if all else fails, save the children -- Freedom : if you can't cope, can you escape? -- Some concluding thoughts -- 7. Globalization and the possibility of the deMcDonaldization of society? -- Globalization and McDonaldization -- The globalization of nothing -- Nothing and something -- Glocalization and grobalization -- The grobalization of nothing -- The deMcDonaldization of society -- Starbuckization -- What has Starbucks added to, or removed from, the McDonald's model? -- Should the concept of "Starbuckization" replace "McDonaldization"? -- The irrationality of rationality at Starbucks -- The internet and deMcDonaldization -- eBayization -- eBayizing McDonaldization -- Web 1.0 and 2.0.. |
| Summary |
George Ritzer's McDonaldization of Society, now celebrating its 20th anniversary, continues to stand as one of the pillars of modern day sociological thought. By linking theory to 21st century culture, this book resonates with students in a way that few other books do, opening their eyes to many current issues, especially in consumption and globalization. As in previous editions, the book has been updated and it offers new discussions of, among others, In-N-Out- Burger and Pret A Manger as possible antitheses of McDonaldization. The biggest change, however, is that the book has been radically streamlined to offer an even clearer articulation of the now-famous McDonaldization thesis. |
| Subject |
Social structure -- United States.
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United States -- Social conditions -- 1980-
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Management -- Social aspects -- United States.
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Fast food restaurants -- Social aspects -- United States.
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Rationalization (Psychology)
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Since 1980 |
| ISBN |
9781452226699 (pbk.) : $46.00 |
|
1452226695 (pbk.) |
|
