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Mc Donalds, American culture, and the World 

“Over the past three decades, fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society (Schlosser 3)”.  One can find fast food almost anywhere. Fast food can be found not only in restaurants but in: stadiums, airports, zoos, high schools, elementary schools, universities, on cruise ships, trains, airplanes, at Wal Marts, and Kmarts, gas stations, and even hospital cafeterias (Schlosser 3).  One of the fast food restaurants, found in these many locations, is Mc Donald’s and one might wonder if Ray Kroc, genius behind franchisingMc Donald’s, could have anticipated the astounding impact of his creation (Ritzer 1). American’s spent more $110 billion dollars on fast food in 2000; compare that to the $6 billion that was spent in 1970 and one can see the rise in fast food in American culture (Schlosser 3).  Americans spend more money on fast food then higher education, personal computers, computer software, or new cars. Even more interesting, Americans spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, videos, and recorded music combined (Schlosser 3).      

The whole concept of buying and eating fast food has become mundane and, almost, second nature in American society.  Fast food has been taken for granted, much like brushing one’s teeth or stopping for a red light. It has become a social custom as an American to partake in the fast food world (Schlosser 3). It is as if the American public finds eating and buying fast as a  part of their regular daily routine.

“Mc Donald's is a place to fill their stomachs with lots of calories and carbohydrates so that they can move on to the next rationally organized activity. Eating to refuel is far more efficient than eating to enjoy a culinary experience (Ritzer 69)”.

For consumers Mc Donald’s offers the best available way to get from being hungry to being full (Ritzer 12)” Something as simple as the parking lot has been incorporated into the Mc Donald’s plan and copied by other restaurants. Mc Donald’s also were the first to uncover and understand the importance of the drive-through window and how to make the process more efficient. In 1975 Mc Donald’s opened their first drive-through,in Oklahoma City, and within four short years almost half of Mc Donald's restaurants had a drive-through. Many fast food restaurants followed and within a few short years almost every fast food restaurant had a drive-through.

Not just American business has been affected by Mc Donald’s and Mc Donaldiziation, but the education system, health care system, the entertainment industry, and even religion have all been changed.Today’s contemporary university, which is now being dubbed “McUniversity”, is showing signs of the pressure for greater efficiency.Today’s contemporary university relies heavily on multiple choice answer examinations. Publishers, of the professor’s manual, now often provide sets of questions on computer disks. Publishers now provide, the professor, withservices to streamline teaching. A professor may receive many materials in which to fill class time with (Ritzer 52-53). In education another sign of Mc Donaldization is the development of online schools, online classes, and “working adult” colleges.

Healthcare has also seen its industry change to the “Mc Donald’s way”, as well. “… medicine has been Mc Donaldized. In fact, instances of what may be termed “assembly linemedicine “ have been reported (Ritzer 54)”. In the United States is a growth of walk-in/walk-out surgical or emergency centers.Working in these centers is what is known as “McDoctors” or “Docs-in-a-box”, these doctors serve patients who want medical problems handled with maximum efficiency. “From anorganizational point of view, a McDoctors can be run more efficiently than a hospital emergency room (Ritzer 55)”.

The entertainment industry has been affected by the touch McDonaldization. No longer are the days of waiting for a movie to come the big screen and the entire family going to see the movie. Now families wait for the movie to come to their local video store t so they can rent the movie and watch at home.