Education McDonaldized
1. Think back to your last vacation. In what ways was it McDonaldized and in what ways was it not McDonaldized?
2. In what ways is your education McDonaldized? What about this class?
3. Is scientific management a good thing? Think about this from both the perspective of the worker as well as that of the business owner.
4. In what ways is the assembly line a good thing? In what ways is it a bad thing?
5. Are higher profits and lower costs always a good thing? What if it means the dehumanization of the worker?
6. Are we living in a modern or a postmodern society?
7. For students that have worked, in what ways were their work places rationalized and controlled?
8. In what ways do bureaucracies strive to create increased predictability?
As you read through the Ritzer text I would like you to journal weekly, writing down what you’ve learned from each chapter and how it applies in and to your life. You might say this is your observation on and about consumer culture and technology in the 21st century and where you fit in. As you read Ritzer and come across his principles correlate them to your life, past and present; in other words what impact has McDonaldization had on you and on the world you live in. I do not want a book report nor do I want a recap of Ritzer’s theories, what I want is for you to show me what you’ve learned from the Ritzer text and how you recognize it as being part of your life or not.