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McDonaldization
Can anyone explain to me what McDonaldization theory is? Like what is the concept of it? I would prefer someone to answer this on previous knowledge & to not just google this, thanks. 5*
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Pretty much what was said below.
Its when you take a goal and reduce each job to the most basic form you possibly can so that anyone can do it. You destroy competition through efficiency and size rather than through quality of product. McDonalds is hands down the shittiest hamburger you can buy anywhere, but its also everywhere, and its open late, and its cheap.
How does it work? Wal Mart provides a better example for practical application.
Wal mart is huge. This means that they can operate some stores at a loss while still making large profits as a company.
Lets say theres a small town called Podunk. Podunk has less than 50,000 people and no chains of any kind. All the grocery stores are privately owned, and provide quality product for a fair expense.
Then they open Wal Mart down the road. This wal mart undercuts the prices of the grocery stores, the clothing stores, the electronics stores, etc. You can get EVERYTHING cheaper there.
Now, at these prices and without an established customer base, this wal mart is actually losing money. But Wal Mart has plenty of cash to pay for this loss. Because they buy in bulk their expenses are lower per item sold than the competition, so they can stock alot more stuff alot cheaper.
More selection at lower prices lures in business. Eventually Wal-Mart starts shutting down other businesses because they are taking the sales the other stores had, and the other stores can't stay in business.
So now Wal Mart is a staple with a stable customer base, and has little to no competition. Instead of the local place where the owner works every day and the staff knows who you are, you have a faceless shopping megaplex where there are forty managers on duty to tell you to fuck off when you have a problem.
Thats what McDonald/Walmartization is. Its chains crushing competition by using the size of their business to move themselves into new markets even when they can't immediately make a profit in those markets. Things a normal business simply doesn't have the resources to pull off. Joe blow who owns three stores can't open a fourth thats losing as much money as one of his other stores is making, but Wal Mart can suffer a hundred stores that lose money when they have several thousand world wide that make a great profit for them.
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Everything is becoming standardized and branded. Chain companies are taking over and crushing smaller, independent businesses and small communities. For example, there is now a Target or Walmart in pretty much every town. Nobody goes to a small, family owned business anymore, because they don't have to. All of these chains (Walmart, McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, Macy's, Speedway, Mobil) are run the exact same way across the country. That is like one of the main parts of McDonaldization, "regulation." They make it so easy to work at places like McDonald's, that the workers need little to no training, so vitually anyone can do the job. All you have to do is press the "hamburger" button. This is how they "take over." Anyone, anywhere, of any age can do the job, they often don't even have to speak english; and when each one operates the same, that means a lot less work is involved in opening/running new stores/restaurants, etc., so they are able to spread like wilfire. Small communities are being ruined by highways and Walmart. We spend a long time on "McDonaldization" is my college sociology class last semester... that is just a part of it, but i think "chains ruining everything" is kind of the main idea
hope this helped.
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