Deck 36: George Ritzer, the Mcdonalds System From the Mcdonaldization of Society

Question 1

The McDonald's system is built on the idea that

A) anything we can do ourselves can be done better by a large corporation.
B) we are social animals who seek others' company rather than staying (isolated) at home.
C) advertising makes us see the world the way we want it to be, not the way it really is.
D) we have too little time, money, or desire to be surprised or challenged.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In Ritzer's terminology, a shop whose employees make violins by hand in the traditional manner of a craftsperson would be

A) an example of a part of the society untouched by the McDonald's system.
B) moderately McDonaldized because the shop probably uses an assembly-line process.
C) more like Domino's Pizza (optionally delivered) than McDonald's hamburgers.
D) anti-innovative, unprofitable, and elitist.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Ritzer thinks the most valid criticisms of the McDonald's system are ones that

A) compare the past-slower, more humane, less materialistic-to the present.
B) focus on economic exploitation of workers and government subsidies to major corporations.
C) describe the way people's potential is limited by "overly rationalized" organizations.
D) point to government policies that make unhealthy food cheap and healthy food expensive.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following does Ritzer NOT associate with the McDonald's system?

A) pleasure
B) calculation
C) predictability
D) control

Question 5

By "McDonaldization," George Ritzer means the

A) declining standards of quality in the American economy
B) postindustrial emphasis on productivity rather than serviceability
C) practices that maximize efficiency, predictability, calculation, and control
D) commercial emphasis on young consumers who are more receptive to advertising