Notes to Accompany Chapter 7 of Ritzer
(McDonaldization)
"The
Irrationality of Rationality"
I. Purpose
of Chapter:
A.
"...McDonaldization
leads to inefficiency; unpredictability; incalculability; and loss of control."
B.
"Most
specifically, irrationality means that rational systems are unreasonable systems--
they serve to deny the basic humanity, the human reason, of the people who work
within them or are served by them. In other words, rational systems are dehumanizing
systems. Whereas the terms rationality
and reason are often used interchangeably in other contexts, here they are
employed to mean antithetical phenomena." (p. 121)
1.
Question:
Is this always true or can rationality actually enhance human reason and
"basic humanity"?
II. Ritzer
gives some examples of the "lesser irrationalities" of inefficiency.
A.
Long
lines of people (and cars at drive-thru windows) at fast food restaurants.
1.
McDonalds
and grocery store checkouts may be outfitted with television receivers so
people can do something else while waiting in line.
B.
The
Japanese "just-in-time" parts delivery system causes all kinds of
traffic problems as the delivery trucks clog highways at all times during the
day.
C.
ATMs
that are designed to save time, avoid long lines at bank windows, have long lines
themselves and then charge customers for certain kinds of transactions.
1.
To
me, this is a weak criticism given the fact that ATMs are open 24 hours a day
and are much less likely to have lines of people in front of them than are
tellers' windows.
D.
Grocery
Super Stores with countless isles containing tens of thousands of different products.
1.
Ritzer
argues that these stores can hardly be efficient as shoppers walk miles in
search of an item.
E.
Ritzer
also claims that McDonalds and other fast food restaurants suffer from low
productivity if computed according to the number of workers hired.
1.
They
can tolerate this low level of efficiency because of the low wages that they offer,
but eventually turn more and more to "sophisticated technologies" to
replace workers or make them more productive.
F.
Another
claim that Ritzer makes is that "Those at or near the top of
[organizations like McDonalds]... want their own positions to be as free of rational
constraints --as non-rational-- as
possible. They need to be creative, but
creativity is not desired form underlings in the organization."
1.
But
this is inconsistent with all the TQM that is presently out there in industry,
and Ritzer clearly fails to address quality circles and the role of worker
input to the company.
2.
There
are clearly two ways that Ritzer could go with this argument-- the first would
be to acknowledge the role of TQM in industrialized society; the second would
be to argue that even those at the top of the pyramid are constrained by rationality.
a.
For
example, it could be argued that since society is almost entirely rationalized,
fast food restaurant owners become prisoners themselves-- always struggling to
keep ahead of the competition-- thinking up new products (or new ideas to
market the same old product).
(1)
Isn't
this now characteristic of American industry, in general. Think of your own work loads-- how have they
increased? Is the pace of your work
more frenetic today than it was 5 years ago?
(2)
Even
among college teachers-- there's a move away from the tenure system (which is
regarded as inflexible and inefficient in some circles) toward periodically
renewable contracts.
(3)
College
graduates face similar pressure-In the past just having a degree was enough to
get a job-- now its difficult to find one even with a Ph.D.
b.
[I'm
saying that Ritzer could have been a lot more rigorous in his argument, but has
failed to do so].
G.
Fast
food restaurants are still expensive with compared to what you could cook at
home.
1.
Disney
World was cited as another example of "Expense World."
2.
Ritzer
says, "If it really isn't efficient, and it really isn't cheap, then what
does the fast-food society and, more specifically, the fast food restaurant
offer us? Why has it been such a worldwide success?"
a.
Ritzer
claims that it offers us the "illusion" of efficiency and economy.
(1)
It
also offers us "fun"-- an amusement park for food, with Ronald the
clown, and a whole host of cartoon characters.
(2)
Many
restaurants now have playgrounds for kids.
(3)
In
fact grocery stores, malls, etc. all have an amusement park atmosphere. They
have to in order to compete with each other-- think of all the activities that
Malls sponsor to draw customers-- antique shows, car shows, Halloween parties,
etc.
(a)
The
ultimate in "amusement malls" is the Mall of America in Bloomington,
Minnesota.
b.
Actually,
he has a point when describing the trend towards "fun foods."
(Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cereals, etc.
H.
The
food itself has been described as "salty candy." [I was surprised that
McDonalds puts both salt and sugar on its fries].
I.
Entertainment
has become a theme underlying almost every facet of society, from the news
media to eating.
III. "The
unhealthy industry"
A.
Whole
industries are now in the business of producing and marketing unreality. [Is this different from 100 years ago with
quack remedies, cocaine Coca Cola, and spiritualists?]
1.
"McDonalds
creates the illusion that we are having fun, that we are getting lots of
French fires, and that we are getting a bargain when we purchase a
meal." Other examples:
a.
Sizzlean
is made out of beef and turkey, kosher bacon has no pork.
b.
Molly
McButter and Butter Buds have no butter, [and the list goes on...Ritzer neglects
to mention that people don't want the cholesterol and bad stuff in butter, but
they do want the "real butter taste."]
IV. The
"homogenization" of the country (and the world)
A.
Ritzer
claims that McDonaldization eliminates diversity and establishes a pattern that
other cultures imitate, themselves--e.g. the French "Croissanterie."
1.
[But,
I would argue that placing a McDonalds in Paris actually increases the ethnic
diversity of the food found in that city, (although I'm not certain that I
would want to call it American Cuisine)].
2.
[There's
another argument to be made here, also.
The diversity of ethnic restaurants all over America has actually increased
in recent times, due to the influx of more immigrants from eastern countries--
you can even see this in the Richmond Area.
All this has happened despite McDonalds.]
V. Demystification,
Deprofessionalization, and Assembly-Line Medicine:
A.
[This
is a repeat and reinforcement of what has been said earlier].
1.
[I'm
not so sure that medicine has been "demystified." In fact, with all the new machines and cures
available today, doctors have managed to retain their aura of magician/healer
(and maybe even increase it).
2.
[With
regard to dehumanization of the medical practice-- doctors now take courses in
patient relations and management-- partly as a result of criticism leveled
against them in the past for being so impersonal and treating patients like a
piece of meat.]
VI. Factory-Like
Universities, Bureaucracies, and Planes that Almost Fly Themselves.
A.
Here
Ritzer is referring to larger classes; television professors, and the
like. [Actually, from a personal
standpoint, I can agree with much of what he says. College deans under pressure from faculty to reduce teaching
loads, but unable to budget the hiring of new faculty often seek a solution by
enlarging classes. This seemingly
rational solution produces some very irrational consequences-- huge classes
filled with constantly talking (or sleeping) students and a very muddled
learning environment.
B.
With
regard to bureaucracy-- Ritzer needs to say much more, for it is within the
context of the bureaucracy that dehumanization really occurs.
C.
[More
importantly, Ritzer seems to miss the consequences of depersonalization in our
everyday lives-- families that don't spend time together: If they are together
it is in front of the TV; not eating together; not interacting with each
other; kids who interact more with machines--
computer games and the internet-- than face-to-face. People (and machines) saturating us at mealtimes with phone calls
selling things we don't need, asking for charitable donations, etc. (We now
have electronic devices (caller ID and answering machines) that help us screen
unwanted calls). The list goes on...]
VII. Wholesale
irrationality and the environment
A.
Ritzer
laments over our increasingly oil-dependent society; the proliferation of polluting
automobiles and unsightly highways; the alienation of assembly line work;
1.
These,
he claims are examples of a rational system that "has produced a seemingly
never-ending string of irrationalities."
[As wasteful and polluting as the automobile is, it is ironic that it
has become the symbol of adulthood, freedom and individuality in our society--
The driver's license has become a "right of passage," to lose it is
to curtail ones freedom-- (perhaps because mass transit is inadequate).
VIII. Finally, Ritzer's conclusion at the end of Chapter 7:
A. "Thus
is the argument of this text that contrary to McDonald's propaganda, and the
widespread belief in it, fast-food restaurants and their rational clones are not
reasonable, or even truly rational, systems. They spawn problems in the health
of their customers and the well being of the environment; they are dehumanizing
and therefore, unreasonable; and they often lead to the opposite of what they
are supposed to create, for example, leading to inefficiency rather than to increased
efficiency."
