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ldization to McDona uction lntrod

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in the success McDonald'shasbeen a resounding restaurOver half of McDonald's arena. international (in 1980s, mid the United States the ants are outside of McDonald's were outsidethe United only 25o/o rvorldwide. visit Wal-Martstores Atates). Themajority(233)of the 280newrestaurants customers their own variants Other nations havedeveloped (in the United States, Jpened in 2006were overseas hasa chainof coffee Canada on the McDonald'schain. by only 47)' Well increased the numberof restaurants shopscalledTim Hortons (mergedwith Wendy'sin comesfrom for McDonald's ,i ou.. half of the revenue (336in the UnitedStates). with 2,7i1 outlets 1995), are McDonald'srestaurants operations. its overseas providerwith nearly foodservice largest It is Canada's now found in Il8 nationsaroundthe world, serving twiceas many outletsasMcDonald'sin that country' by far, asof the a day.The leader 50 million customers (Starbucks of the coffeebusiness beginningof 2007,is fapan with 3,B28restaurants, The chain has620/o ' Paris, of that business) with iust7o/o is a distantsecond followed by Canadawith over 1,375and Germany a city whoselove for fine cuisinemight leadyou to Thereare currently780McDonald's with over 1,200. think it would proveimmuneto fastfood, hasalatge over operates in China (but Yum! Brands restaurants French the revered numberoffast-foodcroissanteries; 2,000KFCs- the Chinesegreatlypreferchicken to a chain has India breadhasalsobeenMcDonaldized. will Huts in China).McDonald's beef- and300Pizza Nirula's, that sellsmutton of fast-food restaurants, a yearin Chinawith a goalof add 100newrestaurants (aboutB0%of lndiansareHindus,who eatno burgers by the openingof the 2008Beijing 1,000restaurants cuisine.Mos Burgeris Olympics(but KFC will add 400a yearl).As of 2006, beef) as well as local Indian that, in chain with over 1,600restaurants a |apanese and the comthere were 155McDonald'sin Russia, burgers, chicken Teriyaki additionto the usualfare,sell in the 4any plans to open many more restaurants rice burgers,and "Oshirukowith brown rice cake"' Union and in the vastnew territory in former Soviet #r Perhapsthe most unlikely spot for an indigenous that hasbeenlaid bareto the invasion Europe eastern fast-food restaurant,war-ravagedBeirut of 1984, Although there have been of fast-foodrestaurants' # the openingof |uicy Burger,with a rainbow witnessed for McDonald'sin GreatBritain, that ,-iS' recentsetbacks and J. B. the Clown standing of goldenarches instead of Europe,"and the "fast-foodcapital nation remains in for RonaldMcDonald.Its ownershopedit would with its shopas"McDonaldized," israelis described ffi, 'R' '*+ becomethe "McDonald'sof the Arab world'" In the Toys Us, by "Ace Hardware, # ping mallspopulated immediatewake of the 2003invasionof Iraq, clones 1# andTCBY." OfficeDepot, ?.:i: ^i$ firms outsidethe fast-' of McDonald's(sportingnameslike "MaDonal" and Many highlyMcDonaldized :1fH '1Matbax")opened in that country completewith .{ globally'Although food industryhavealsohad success andevengoldenarches' frenchfries, hainburgers, arein theUnited sites 9,000-plus mostof Blockbuster's . And now McDonaldization is coming full circle' :;:.: States, about 2,000 of them are found in 24 other :!tl instituwith theirown McDonaldized Othercountries retailerwith Wal-Martis the world'slargest countries. s*: States' United the to ..4. and over $312billion in sales' tionshavebegunto exportthem 1.8 million employees }z :1. in theUnited States The Body Shop, an ecologicallysensitiveBritish 4,000of its stores Therearealmost chain,had,asof 2006,over 2,100shopsin cosmetics n.i (as of 2006).It opened its first internationalstore i units (in Mexico)in 1991; it now hasmore than 2,700 Costa Mexico, Argentina, in Puerto Rico, Canada, Honduras,Nicaragua, Guatemala, Rica,El Salvador, and the United Germany, China,Korea,fapan, Brazil, 175million than more week, Kingdom.In any given

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55nations,300 of them in thellnited States" American firms have followed the lead anC opened copiesoi thisBritishchain,suchasBath& Body Works. PretA Manger, a chainof sandwich shops that alsooriginated in Great Britain (interestingly, McDonald'spurchased a 330lo minority shareof the companyin 2001),has over150 company-owned and-run restaurants, mostly in the United Kingdom but now also in New York, HongKong,and Tokyo. PolloCamperowas founded in Guatemala in I97I andby mid-2006had morethan 200restaurants in LatinAmerica and the United States. In thelatter,23restaurants werein several major cities, and the company plannedto open 10 more in such cities by the end of 2006.(Jollibee, a Philippine chain, has10USoutJets.) ThoughPolloCamperois a smaller presence in the United States thanthe American-owned PoiloTropicalchain (whichhas80 U.S.outlets),Pollo Campero is more significant because it involvesthe invasion cf the United States, the home of fast food, bya foreign i n. cha IKEA (more on this important chain later), a (but Dutch-owned) Swedish-based home furnishings company, did about 17.6 billion eurosof business in 2006, derived from the over410million peoplevisiting their251stores in 34 countries. Purchases werealso madefrom the 160 million copiesof their catalog printedin over 44 languages. In fact, that catalog is reputed to print annuallythesecond largestnumberof copies in theworld,just afterthe Bible.IKEA's website features over 12,000 products and reportedover 125 million "hits" in 2006.Anotherinternationalchainto watchin the coming years is H&lt4 clothing, founded in 1947 andnow op.erating 1,345 stores in 24 countries withplans to openanother170 stores by the endof 2007. It currently employs over60,000 peopleand sells more than500million itemsa year.Based in Spain,Inditex whose Group, flagship storeis Zara,overtookH&M in March2006 to become Europe's largest fashionretailer withmorethan3,100 stores in 64countries. American."On the popularity of KentuckyFried the local owner said,"Anlthing Chicken in lr{alaysia, Western,especially American, peopleherelove [. . .l Theywantto beassociated with America." go One could further and arguethat in at least some ways McDonald'shas become more importantthan the United States itself.Take the following storyabout a former US ambassador to Israel officiating at the openingof the first McDonald'sin ferusalem wearing a baseball hatwith theMcDonald'sgolden arches logo: An Israeliteen-ager walked up to him, carrying his own McDonald'shat, which he handedto "Areyou Ambassador Indykwitha penandasked: the Ambassador? your autograph?" CanI have Somewhat sheepishly, Ambassador Indyk replied:"Sure.I've never been asked for my autograph before." As the Ambassador preparedto sign his name, the Israeliteen-ager said to him, "Wow,what'sit like to.be the ambassador from McDonald's, going around the world openingMcDonald's rstaurants everywhere?" Ambassador Indyk lookedat the Israeli youthand - not the "No, no.I'm theAmerican said, ambassador ambassador from McDonald's!"Ambassador Indyk 'Does described whathappened next: "l saidto him, youdon'twantmy autograph?'And thismean thekid 'No, said, I don't wantyour autograph,' andhe took hishatback andwalked away." Tr,vo other'indices of the significance ofMcDonald's (and, implicitly, McDonaldization) are worth mentioning. The first is the annual "Big Mac Index" (part of "burgernomics"), published,tongue-in-cheek, by a prestigiousmagazine,the Economlsf. It indicates the purchasing power of various currencies around the world based on the local price (in dollars) of the Big Mac. The Big Mac is usedbecause it is a uniform commoditysoldin manydifferentnations. In the2007 survey, a Big Mac in the United States costan average of $3.22; in Chinait was$ I .41;in Switzerland it cost was$7.44in Iceland. This measure $5.5;the costliest indicates, at leastroughly, where the costof living is high or low, aswell aswhich currencies areundervalued (China) and which are overvalued (Switzerland). AlthoughtheEconomistis calculating theBigMacIndex only half-seriously, the index represents the ubiquity importance ancl of McDonald'saroundtheworld.

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At theopening of the McDonald's in Moscow, one journalist "ultimate described the franchise asthe icon of Americana." When PizzaHutopened in Moscow in "It's 1990, a Russian studentsaid, a pieceof America." Reflecting on the growth of fast-foodrestaurants in Brazil, an executive associated withPizza Hut of Brazil said thathisnation"is experiencing a passion for things

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(its drive-throughis a good example)offersthe best availableway to get from being hungry to being full. to offer, The fast-foodmodeloffers,or at leastappears as manyotherneeds, an efficientmethodfor satisfuing well. Woody Allen's orgasmatronofferedan efficient to method for getting people from quiescence sexual gratification.Other institutions fashionedon the McDonald's model offer similar efficiencyin gettingnew losingweight,lubricatingcars, exercising, or completingincometax forms. glasses or contacts, systems workersin McDonaldized Like their customers, function efficientlyby following the stepsin a preprocess. designed

The second indicator of the global significance of McDonald's is the idea developedby. Thomas i1: & Friedmanthat "no two countries that both have a got McDonald'shaveeverfoughta war sincethey each Friedman callsthis the "Goldenfuches McDonald's." Another tongueTheory of Conflict Prevention." path to world peace it implies that the idea, in-cheek of expansion international liesthroughthe continued proved wrong by was it Unfortunately, McDonald's. whichhad in 1999, ts theNATO bombingof Yugoslavia (as there are 16 200V, the time of w McDonald'sat r there). E: McDonald's F To manypeoplethroughout theworld, McDonald's F At that openingof the institution. a sacred become i? has g a worker spokeof it "asif it in Moscow, H ;Donald's ft VeretheCathedral in Chartres [. . .] aplaceto experience F 'celestial joy."' Kowinskiargues n that indoor shopping R fast-foodresencompass always r, malls,which almost of consumption" arethe modern"cathedrals taurants, E F to whichpeoplegoto practice their "consumerreligion." t Similarly, a visit to another central element of P * B McDonaldized Walt DisneyWorld, hasbeen society, hajj, the compulsory as "the middle-class described F holycity." visitto thesunbaked F f tr;: t l
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of the quantitativeaspects Calculabilityemphasizes offered productssold (portionsize,cost) and services (thetime it takes to getthe product).in McDonaldized to quality; quantity has becomeequivalent systems, or the quick deliveryof it, means a lot of something, of contemporary it must be good.As two observers American culture put it, "As a culture,we tend to 'bigger is better."'People thatin general believe deeply can quantifi things and feel that they are getting a li F: to be a nominalsum of lot of food for what appears * I current by the McDonald's money (bestexemplified $. "Dollar Menu,"whichplayeda key rolein recent years os f T h eD i m e n s i o n F to * doldrums and its out of McDonald's in leading McDonaldization t r. ad,a man increasing siles).In a recentDenny's steadily F going "I'm I'm never much, but goingto eattoo modelprovensoirresistible? says, hy hastheMcDonald's lr to pay too much."This calculationdoesnot takeinto a hascertainlybecome Eatingfastfood at McDonald's the high profit "sign"that,amongother{hings, accountan importantpoint, however: oneis in tunewith the a: * contemporary chainsindicatesthat the owners, margin of fast-food Thereis also a kind of magic lifestyle. * t getthe bestdeal. not the consumers, Fi or enchantment associated with such food and its B. how much time it will taketo calculate People also is on the four allurhowever, The focushere, z) settings. be servedthe food, eat it, and drive to McDonald's, of that lie at the heart of the success ing dimensions of McDonaldization. return home;they then comparethat intervalto the this modeland, more generally, a time requiredto preparefood at home.They often it offers because In short,McDonald'shassucceeded conclude,rightly or wrongly, that a trip to the fastcalculefficiency, and managers workers, consumers, at home. time thaneating food restaurant will takeless .] andcontrol.t. . predictability, ability, This sort of calculationparticularly supportshome deliveryfranchises suchasDomino's,aswell asother Efficiency example savingtime. A notable chainsthat emphasize is LensCrafters, in anothersort of chain of McDonald's of time savings of the success Oneimportant element in one fast, glasses which promises people"Glasses getting from method for the optimum or is eficiency, "fast fashion." one point to another.For consumers,McDonald's hour." H&M isknownfor its

George Ritzer
Some McDonaldized institutions combine the eripitaseson time and money, Domino,s promises pizza delivery in half an hour, or the pizza is free. PizzaHut will servea personalpanpizzain 5 minutes, or it, too, will be free. Workers in McDonaldizedsystems also emphasize the quantitativeratherthan the qualitativeaspects of their work. Sincethe qualityof the work is allowed to vary little, workers focuson thingssuchashow quickly tasks canbe accomplished. In a situationanalogous to that of the customer, workers areexpected to do a lot of work, very quickly, for low pay.

The peoplewho work in McDonaldized organizn_ tions arealso controlled to a highdegree, usually more blatantlyanddirectly than customers. Theyaretrained to do a limitednumber of thingsin precisely the wav they are told to do them. This controlis reinforced bv the technologies usedand the waythe organization is setup to bolster this control.Managers and inspectors make surethat workerstoe the line.

A Critique of McDonaldization: the lrrationality of Rationality

McDonaldization offerspowerfuladvantages. In fact, efficiency, predictabilitv,calculability,and control McDonald's also offerspredictability, the assurance through nonhumantechnology(that is, technology that productsand services will be the sameovertime that controlspeoplerather than beingcontrolledby and in all locales.The EggMcMuffin in New york will them) canbethoughtof asnot onlythebasic components be, for all intents and purposes, identical to those ofa rationalsystem but alsoaspowerful advantages of in Chicagoand Los Angeles. Also, those eatennext such a system. However,rational systems inevitably week or next year will be identical to those eaten spawnirrationalities. Thedownside of McDonaldization today.Customers takegreatcomfort in knowingthat will be dealtwith mostsystematically underthe head_ peopleknow that the McDonald'soffersno surprises. ing of the irrationality of rationality; in fact,paradox_ next EggMcMuffin theyeatwill not be avrful,although ically,the irrationality of rationalitycanbe thoLrght of it will not be exceptionally delicious, either.Thesuccess asthe fifth dimension of McDonaldization . .] [. of the McDonald's modelsuggests that many people Criticism, in fact, can be appliedto all facetsof haveconre to prefer a world in which there are few the McDonaldizing world. As just one example, at the "This is strange," surprises. notesa British observer, openingof EuroDisney, a French politiciansaidthat it "considering is] the product of a culture IMcDonald's will "bombard France with uprooted creations thatare whichhonoursindividualism above all." to culture whatfastfood is to gastronomy." Although The workersin McDonaldized systems alsobehave McDonaldization offers many advantages [. . .], this in predictableways.They follow corporaterules as book will focus on the great costsand enormous well as the dlqtates of their managers. In manycases, risks of McDonaldization.McDonald's and other what they do, and even what they say, is highly purveyorsof the fast-food nodel spend billions of predictable. dollars each year detailing the benefits of their system. Critics of thesystem, however, have fewoutlets for their ideas. For example,no one spollsorscomControl mercials between Saturday-morning cartoons warning The fourth element in the success of McDonald,s, children of the dangers associated with fast-food control, is exertedoverthepeople who entertheworld restaurants. of McDonald's. Lines,limited menus, few options, Nonetheless, a legitimatequestionmay be raised and uncomfortableseats all lead diners to do what about this critiqueof McDonaldization: is it animated managementwishesthem to do - eat quickly and by a romanticization of the past,an impossible desire leave. Furthermore, thedrive-through (in somecases, to return to a world that no longerexists? Somecritics walk-through)window invitesdiners to leave before do basetheircritiques on nostalgia for a time when life they eat. In the Domino's model, customersnever was slowerand offeredmore surprises, when at least enterin thc firstplace. (those somepeople who werebetteroff economically)

Predictability

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In short,if the world waslessMcDonaldized, people wouldbebetterableto live up to their human potential. We mustlook at McDonaldization asboth "enabling" and "constraining."McDonaldized systems us enable to do many things we werenot ableto do in the past; however, thesesystems alsokeepus from doing things weotherwise would do. McDonaldization is a "doubleedged" phenomenon. We mustnot losesightofthat fact, eventhough this book will focuson the constraints - its "dark side." associated with McDonaldization

werefreer,and when one was more likely to dealwith beingthan a robot or a computer.Although a,human they have a point, these critics have undoubtedly the positive aspectsof a world without exaggerated McDonald's,and they have certainlytendedto forget associated with earliereras. As an example theliabilities latter, take the following the anecdote about a visit of in Havana,Cuba,whichin somerespects to apizzeria behind the United States: decades is - theyscrimpon not muchto raveabout Thepizza's tomato sauce, andthedoughismushy. was It about7:30p.m., and asusual the place was standing-room-only, with people two deepjostling for a stool to come openanda waiting linespilling out ontothesidewalk. Themenuis similarly Spartan [. . .] To drink,there is tapwater. That'sit no toppings, no soda, no beer, no coffee, no salt, no pepper. Andno special orders. A veryfewpeople areeating. Mostarewaiting[. . .] Fingers aredrumming, flies arcbtzzing,the clock is ticking. Thewaiter wears a watch around hisbeltloop, it; time is evidently but hehardlyneeds not his chief concern. Afterawhile,tempers begin to fray. But right now, it's 8:45 p.m. at the pizzeria, I've waiting been anhour anda quarter for twosmall pies. Few would prefer such a restaurant to the fast, friendly,diverseofferings of, say,PizzaHut. More important, however, criticswho revere thepastdo not reemto reaLize that we are not returningto such a -world. In fact, fasffood restaurants have begun to appear evenin Havana{pnd many morearelikely after the death of FidelCastro).The increase in the number of peoplecrowding the planet, the acceleration of technological change, the increasingpace of life all this and more make it impossibleto go back to the world, if it everexisted, of home-cooked meals, traditional restaurant dinners, high-qualityfoods, meals loaded with surprises, and restaurants run by chefs free to express theircreativity. It is more valid to critique McDonaldization from the perspective of a conceivablefuture.Unfetteredby the constraints of McDonaldizedsystems, but usingthe technological advances madepossible by them,peopie could havethe potential to be far more thoughtful, skillful, creative, and well-rounded than they are now.

lllustratin tg h e D i m e n s i oo nf s McDonaldization:t ha es e C of IKEA

An interestingexample of McDonaldization, especially since it has its roots in Swedenrather than theUnitedStates, is IKEA.Itspopularity stems fromthe fact that it offers at very low pricestrendy furniture based on well-known Swedish designs. It has a large and devotedclientele throughoutthe world. What is interesting about IKEA from the point of view of this book is how well it fits the dimensionsof McDonaldization.The similarities go beyond that, however. For example,just as with the openingof a new McDonald's,there is greatanticipationoverthe openingof the first IKEA in a particularlocation.)ust therumor that one wasto openin Dayton,Ohio,Iedto "We herein Dayton arepeethe followingstatement: ingour collective waiting for the IKEA announceflants - it is nowin ment."IKEA is alsoa global phenomenon in 34 countries(including Chinaand |apan)and sells thosecountriesboth its signature productsaswell as those moreadapted to localtastes and interests. In termsof fficiency,IKEAoffers furniture one-stop shopping with an extraordinary rangeof furniture.In general, thereis no waitingfor one'spurchases, since a hugewarehouse is attached to eachstore(oneoften warehouse), enters through the with largenumbers of virtually everythingin stock. Much of the efficiency at IKEA stemsfrom the fact thatcustomers areexpected to do a lot of the work: ' Unlike McDonald's,therearerelatively few IKEA's in anygivenarea;thus,customers mostoftenspend manyhoursdriving great distances to getto a store. This is known asthe "IKEA roadtrip."

GeorgeRitzer

prices. As with uaiue *""1s, customersfeel they are getting value for their money. (There is evena large cafeteria offeringlow-pricedfood, includingthe chain,s signature Swedish meatballsand 99-cent breakfasts.) However, as is always the case in McDonaldized settings,low price generallymeansthat the quality is inferior, andit is often the casethat IKEAproductsfall apartin relatively shortorder. IKEA alsoemphasizes the huge sizeof its stores, which often approach 300,000 squarefeetor about four to five footballfields.This mammothsize leads the consumer to believe thatthere will be a lot of furnitureoffered(andthere is) andthat, given the store's reputation,most of it will be highly affordable. Of course,there is greatpredictability about any givenIKEA- Iarge parkinglots,a supervised children's play area(whereIKEA providespersonnel, but only because supervised children give parents more time and peace of mind to shop and spend), the masses of inexpensive, Swedish-design furniture, exit through the warehouse and the checkout counters, boxesto take home with furniture requiring assembly, and so on. An IKEA is a highlycontrolled environment, mainly in the sense that the maze-likestructure of ttre store virtually forcesthe consumer to traverse the entire place and to seevirtually everythingit has to offer. If one triesto takea path other than thatsetby IKEA, one is likely to becomelost and disoriented. There seems to'6eno wayout that doesnot leadto thecheckout counter,where you pay for your purchases. Therearea varietyof irrationalifies associated with the rationalityof IKEA, most notablythepoor quality of most of its products. Although the furniture is purportedlyeasy to assemble, manyaremorelikelyto think of it as "impossible-to-assemble." Then there Calculabilityis at the heart of IKEA, especially arethe oftenlong hoursrequiredto getto an IKEA,to theideathat what is offered is at a very low price.Like wander through it, to drive back home,and then to "Dollar Menu," one can get a lot of a McDonald's assemble thepurchases. furniturc a roomful, evena houseful at bargain t..l

On entry,customers areexpected to take a mapto guide themselves throLrgiithe huge and purposely maze-like store(IKEAhopes, like LasVegas casinos, that customers will get"lost" in the mazeandwander for hours,spending moneyas they go). Thereare no employees to guideanyone, but therearearrows paintedon the floor that customerscan followon theirown. Also upon entry,customers are expected to graba pencil and an order form and to write down the shelfandbin numbers for thelargeritemstheywish to purchase; a yellowshoppingbag is to be picked up on entry for smaller items. There are few employees and little in the way of help available as customers wanderthrough the stores.Customers canswitchfrom a shopping bag to a shopping cart afterleavingthe showroomand enteringthe marketplace, wheretheycanpick up other smalleritems. If customers eat in the cafeteria, they are expected to cleantheir tables aftereating.There is even this helpfulsign:"Why shouldI cleanmy own table? At IKEA, cleaningyour own table at the end of your mealis one of thereasons you paid lessat thestart." Most of the furniture sold is unassembled in flat packages, and customers areexpected to loadmost of the items (exceptthe largest) into their cars themselves. After they get home, they must break (and down dispose) of tire packaging and thenput their furniture together; the only tool supposedly required is an Allenwrench. If the furniture doesnot fit into your car,you can rent a truck on siteto transportit home or have it delivered, althoughthe costtendsto be high,especiallyrelative to thepricepaid for the furniture. To geta catalog, customers often sign up online.

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Uri Ram
A somewhatdifferentslan{s govided by Fantasia,s account of the reception of \cDonald,s in France. There,the attractionof McDon\d,s for youngpeople waswhat he calls the "American\mbience.,' Insofar as the display of emotional labor \an ingredientof this ambience, it maybe that it is no\that the French enthusiasts respondpositively to e al labor per sebut that in the context of McDonald, respond positivelyto the totalpackage, ofwhich sm\ng counter staffis a component. In otherwords,asthe*riters who emphasize local adaptations to global point out, local consumers frequently maketheir J,wncul_ turallybespoken uses ofthe forces ofglobalizat Clearly, therearerisks with the foregoing At a time when writers on globalizationp to emphasize "glocalization" or "creolization,' as of comingto terms with thevariedwaysin whichgl forceshave to run the gauntletoflocal culturalc\n_ ditions and preferences, it is unfashionable to s that impulsesemanating from the United States a trampingovertheglobe. Indeed, asthepreviously cited evidence concerned with emotionallaborimplies,w.e do need to take into account the wayssuchglobal influences are ing their way into and are being

incorporated into localcultures. But Disneyization is a more invisible process than the arrivalof brand names on foreign shores. It is designed to maximize consumers, willingness to purchase goodsandservices that in many cases theymightnot otherwise have beenprompted to buy. Theming provides the consumer with a narrative that actsas a draw by providing an experiencethat lessens the senseof an economictransaction and increases the likelihood of purchasing merchandise. Dedifferentiation of consumption is meantto givethe consumer asmany opportunities aspossible to make purchases and therefore to keepthem aslong as pos_ sible in thethemepark, mall, or whatever. Emotional labor is the oil of the whole process in many ways:in differentiating otherwise identicalgoodsand services, as an enactment of theming, and as a milieu for increasing the inclination to purchase merchandise. It maybethat,asin Russia and HongKong,emotional labor is ignoredor not effective. However,theseare fairly smallresponses to the diffusionof theseinstru_ mentsof consumerism. And insofaraswe can regard McDonald's asa Disneyized institution,the process of Disneyization hasa high-profilepartnerthat is likely to nhance theglobal spread of its underlying principles.

Glocommodification: Howthe Global consumes - McDonald's the Local in lsrael

Uri Ram rrn
One of the more controversial aspects of globalization is its cultural implications: doesglobalization leadto universal cultural uniformity, or doesit leave room for particularismand culturaldiversity? The global_local encounterhas spawned a complexpolemicbetween 'homogenizers' and'heterogenizers., This article proposes to shift the ground of the debate from the homogeneous-heterogeneous dichotomytoastructural_ symbolicconstruct.It is arguedhere that while both homogenizationand heterogenizations aredimensions of globalization,they take placeat differentsocietal levels: homogenizationoccurs at the structural_ institutional level; heterogenization, at the expressivesymbolic.The proposed structural-syrnbolic model facilitates a realistic assessment ofglobal-localrelations. In thisview, whileglobaltechnological, organizational and commercial flows need not destroylocal habits and customs, but, indeed,may preserve or evenrevive them, theglobaldoestend to subsume and appropriate the local,or to consume it, so to say, sometimes to the extent that the seemingly local, syrnbolically, becomes a specimen of theglobal,structurally. Thestarting point for this analysis is theMcDonaldization of Israeliculture. McDonald's opened its first

Glocommodif ication
in i993. Since outletin Israel then,it hasbeeninvolved ofsymbolic in avariety encounters [. . .] [in] theencounter McDonald's, between asthe epitomeof globalfastfood, andthelocalversionof fastfood, namelythe falafel[. . .] local idiomshavethrived, though only symbolically. level,they havebeensubsumed On the structural and global by appropriated socialrelationships. households, and the rise in family incomes.All this, alongwith accelerated economicactivity, has raised the demandfor fast or easy-to-prepare foods.As has happened elsewhere, technological advancements and business interestshave set the stagefor changes in Israeli eatinghabits.Anothertipical development has been the mirror process that accompanies the expansion of standardized fastfoods,namely, the proliferation of particularist cuisinesand ethnic foods as evincedby the sproutingof restaurants that caterto the culinary curiosity and open purses of a newYuppieclass in Tel Aviv,Herzliyaand elsewhere. As in othercountries, the'arrival'of McDonald's in Israelraisedquestionsand even concern about the survival of the localnationalculture.A common complaint against McDonald'sis that it impingeson local cultures,as manifested primarily in the local eating habitusboth actualand sl,mbolic. If Israeleverhad a distinctnationalequivalent to fastfood, it wasunquestionablythe falafel- fried chick-pea ballsservedin a 'pocket' of pita breadwith vegetable saladand tahini (sesame) sauce. The falafel, a Mediterranean delicacy of Eglptian origin,wasadopted in Israel asits'national food.'Althoughin the 1930s and 1940s the falafelwas primarilyeatenby the youngand impecunious, in the 1950s and 1960s a familyvisit to the falafelstandfor a fast,hot bite became commonpractice, much like the visit paid nowadays to McDonald's. The falafeleven became an Israelitourist s)'rnbol, servedasa national dish at formal receptions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Indeed,one kiosk in Tel Aviv advertises itself "'mighty' asa falafelfor a mightypeople." Despite the falafel's fall from glory in the 1970s and 1980s vis-)-vis other fast foods,such as shawarma (lamb or turkey pieces on a spit), pizza and the early l-ramburger stands, and notwithstanding the unwholesome reputationit developed, an estimated 1200 falafel eateries currentlyoperate in Israel. Altogether, theydish up about200,000 portionsa dayto the 62 percent of Israelis who areself-confessed falafel eaters. The annual industryturnover is someNIS 600 million - not that far shortof the hamburger industry. Thus,surprisingiy enough, in thelate1990s, McDonald's presence, or rather thegeneral McDonaldization of Israeii foodhabits,led to thefalafel's renaissance, ratherthan to its demise. The falafel's comeback, vintage in 2000,is available fwo forms:gourmetand fast-food. The clean,refined,

GlobalCommerce Encounters Eating the Local Habitus: McDonald a 's n dt h e F a l a f e l

The industrialized hamburgerfirst arrivedon Israel's shoresback in the late 1960s,althoughthe chains invoh'edat thetime did not makemuchof an impression.In 1972,Burger Ranch(BR)opened a localhamjoint burger that expandedinto a chain only in the l980s. It took the advent of McDonald's,however, f,:r the'greatgluttony'of the fasthamburger to beqin. McDonald's opened its firstbranch in October 1993.lt wasfollowed by BurgerKing (BK),theworld'ssecond Iargest hamburger chain,which opened its first branch in Israelin early 1994.BetweenMcDonald'sarrival and the year 2000,salesin the hamburgerindustry soared by 600percent. By 2000,annualrevenues from fast-food chains in Israelreached NIS I billion (about US$200 million according to the 2002exchange rate). McDonald's is the leadingchain in the industry,with 50 percent of thesales, followedby BRwith 32 percent, and BK with lB percent. In2002 thethreechains had a total of 250branches in place: McDonald's, 100;BR, 94 andBK,56. ?,r McDonald's,'like Coca-Cola- both flagship Americanbrands- conquered front-linepositionsin the rvaroverthe Israeliconsumer. The same is true of manyotherAmerican styles and brands, suchasjeans, T-shirts,Nike and Reebokfootwear, aswell.asmegastores,such as Home Center Office Depot, SuperPharm,etc.[. . .] As for eatinghabits,apartfrom the spreadof fast-foodchains,other Americanisms have found a growingniche in the Israelimarket: frozen 'TV dinners,'whetherin family or individualpacks, and an upsurge in fast-fooddeliveries. These developments stem from the transformation of the familial Iifestyleas an increasingnumber of women are no longer(or not only) housewives, the growthof singles

ffiH"uriRam
gourmet Tel-Avivianspecimentargetsmainly yuppies - five years and waslaunched in 1999 afterMcDonald's landed in the country in a prestigious restaurant owned by two women, famed as Orna and Ella. Located in the financialdistrict, which is swiftly being gentrified,it is knownas'The Falafel Queens'- a hip, ironic feministversion of the well-known'Falafel King' - one of the most popular designations for Israeli falafel joints, which alwaystake the masculineform. 'improved' The new, gourmet model comes in a variety of flavors.Apart from the traditional 'brown' variety,theQueens offeran original'red'falafel, based 'green' on roastedpeppers, as well as falafel,based on olive paste. Beverages are a mixed bag,including orange-Campari andgrapefruit-arrack ice.OwnerElla Shein rightly notesthat the falafel'srevival reflectsa composite global-local trend: We have opened up to the world culinarily speaking, we have beenexposed to new raw materials,new techniques, a process thatoccurs simultaneously with a kind ofreturn to one's origins, to one's roots. 'gourmetization,' Apart from its the falafel has simultaneously undergone'McDonaldized standardization.TheIsraeli franchise of Domino'sPizzainaugurated a new falafel chain,settingitselfa nationwide targetof 60branches. Furthermore, its reported inten'take tion is to the tidingsof Israelifast-food abroad.' The falafelhasthus beenrescuedfrom parochialism 'Israeli and upgraded to a world standard-bearer of fast food,' or, asoneobserver put it, it hasbeen transformed 'ryf from In fact, the Ma'oz chain it1!g*hfupd,' already oirerates l2 falafel eateries in Amsterdam, Paris and Barcelona and, lately, also in Israel. qthe new 'concept' 'clean, chainshavedeveloped a of fresh,and 'if healthy,'with globalimplications, because: you are handedan inferiorproductat "Ma'oz" in Amsffrdam, you won't setfoot in the Parisbranch'eitheilfincontrast to the traditionalfalafelstand,which itands in the streetandabsorbs streetfumesand filth. the new falafel is served indoors, at spruce,air-conditioned outlets,whereportionsare wrappedin designer bags and sauces flow out of stylizedfountainslt Falafels, the ballsarenot mouldedmanually, but dispensed bya mechanical implement at the rate of B0ballsiminute. There aretwo kinds- the SyrianZafur andtheTurkish Baladi.And as befits an industrial commodity, the new falafel is 'engineered'by food techniciansand subjected to tastingsby focusgroups. Like any self-respecting post-Fordist commodity, the falafelof the new chainsis not only a matter of matterbut, as statedabove, of conceptor, more pre_ cisely, offantasy, renderingthepastasnostalgia or retro. Branches aredesigned in a nostalgic style- in orderto evokeyearningwithin the primary target sector- and theycarry in the name of 'retro,'old-fashioned soda pops. This is the local Israeli habitus dusted off, 'branded'and'designed'so asto be marketed asa mass standardized commodity.Anothertrendyaspect of the new falafelis its linkage to the new discourseson the environment or nutrition. The proprietor of Ma'oz ' notes that'salads, tehini, andfalafel are healthyfoods, and we havetaken the healthissuefurther by offering also whole-wheatpita bread. The health issueis becomingso central that we are now considering establishing a falafel branchthatwouldserve only organic vegetables.r To sum up, the distinction betweenthe old falafeland the new, post-McDonald's falafel,is identified in a localnewspaper reportasfollows: lf in the past everyFalafe\ King took pride in the unique taste thesecret of] which [of hisownproduct, wassometimes passed downfrom fatherto son,and whichacquired a reputation that attracted customers fromfai andwide,in the[new]chains, thetaste would always 6e the same.Uniqueness and authenticiry wouldbe lost for the sake of cualitvand freemarket , rules. culinary habitusasa I Onemajor changein Israel's result of its McDonaldization, therefore, is the demise of theold'authentic'falafel and the appearance of the newcommodified'falafel 2000.') But McDonald's had to surmountanother- no less - culinary hurdle:the Israelicarnivorous challenging palate. for meat, especially [. . .] Giventhis hankering of the grilled variety, the McDonald's hamburger appeared ratherpuny,andtheIsraeli consumertended to favourthe Burger King broiled product. In 1998, McDonald's bowed to the Israeliappetite,changing boththepreparation and size of its hamburger.It shifted to a combined technique of fire and charcoal, and increased portion size The Israelicustomer by 25percent.

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ication Glocommodif
'one-way' of simpiicityrve shall call the former the from the asemanating the effect i.e.,seeing approach, 'two-way' globalto the local; and the latter, as the approach,i.e., seeingthe effect as an interchange the globalandthelocal. between The most prominent exponent of the one-way approach is George Ritzer, in his book The Ritzer,more than anyone of Society. McDonaldization the social for thetermthat describes else, is responsible process of McDonaldization. [. . .] approach[. . .] the literaContraryto this one-way ture offersanotherview,which we call here the twoonlya globalization This viewconsiders wayapproach. vector being the other traffic, vector in two-way single refines,or diffuses The latter suspends, localization. traditionaland so that the intakesfrom the former, theyratheringestglobal do not dissolve; localcultures them in thedigestion. flowsandreshape that it is impossible for one,asserts Arjun Appadurai, in of cultural globalization to think of the processes flow from center to periphery. terms of mechanical allow for a chaotic Their complexityand disjunctures local that is never global and the the between contest

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now has the distinction of being servedthe larf,est hamburger (120 grams) marketed by McDonald's modification worldwide.But themoststrikingfast-food 'Combina' (the Hebrew to the israelihabitusis the 'combo'), launchedin 2001by Burger of equivalent that tapsinto mealfor four eaters Ranch- a packaged 'sharing'and, quotethe marketing to thelocalcustomof 'a while retaining group experience allows for blurb, individualdiningexpression.' of that the interrelations It may thus be concluded McDonald'sand the falafelare not simplya contrast theyarea and globalrise.Rather, localdecline between complexmix, thoughcertainlyunderthebannerof the global.Indeed,the global (McDonald's)contributed somewhatto the revivalof the local (the falafel).In the the globalalsotransformed however, the prrocess, local, in turn, local. The of the and meaning nature and sizeof the a slightmodificationin the taste caused global, while leavingits basic institutionalpatterns intact.The'newfalafel'is practices and organizational consumer a componentof both a mass-standardized consumer on theonehand,and a post-modern market, marketniche,on the other.This sort of relationship betweenMcDonald'sand the falafel,in which the but global doesnot eliminatethe local symbolically is it structurally, appropriates or ratherrestructures epitomizedby interrelations tipical of theglobal-local

resolved. [. ..] of the two-wayperomission Onetypicalsignificant of power.[. . .] for imbalances is its disregard spective to globalizaasacounterbalance Positing'localization' of the cultural some as an offshoot, than tion, rather N4cDonald's. rich in textureand subtlety literatureis indeed studies of global commerce encounters when depicting'fhe rvith local popular culturesand everydaylife. This o 'r :n 'One-Wav D i s c u s s i lo 'Two-Way'? that its task literature is at its bestwhenacknowledging 'twist the stick in the other direction,' from the is to to a bottomperspective top-downpolitical-economic anaiisis,how, then,arewe to conBased on this case when it however, It falters, global perspective. up cultural and local commerce between ceivethe relations thetop-downapproach wholesale, to replace, attempts idioms? weightingthe relative without with a bottom-up one, the globaland T'heliteratureon relationsbetween powerof the top andthebottom. the Heuristically, a myriad of cases. the local presents study in an ethnographic Thelattermove is evident into two comfrom thesemay be condensed lessons Asiaby in Southeast conducted of McDonaldization the one almost - approaches: peting - contrasting, They argue overall that as a team of anthropologists. which it regards givesmoreweightto globalization, local customs, transformed (or McDonald's eventhough the homogeneity); fosteringcultural uniformity customers were nonethelessable to transform which it regards moreweightto localization, other gives into local establishments; culturalpluraliry or cultural'differences' McDonald'sin their areas aspreserving that McDonald'sdoesnot this led them to conclude (or heterogeneity). [. . .] the former is known alsoas always call the shots.Theyclairnthat, in the realmof and McDonaldization cultural imperialism [. . .] The to distinguish culture,it is no longerpossible popular hybriciization. For sake the latteris knownalsoas [. . .]

ffiW

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Who, theyprotest, the'local'and the'external.' between or is to saywhetheror not MickeyMouseis fapanese, to a perhaps, this attests RonaldMcDonald,Chinese; 'third culture' that belongsneither to one nationality nor the other, but constitutesrather a transnational the falafel and McDonald's coexist side by side; structurally, however, the falafel is produced and consumedas if it werean industrialized-standardized (McDonaldized) hamburger,or as its artisan-made 'gourmet'counterpart. . .] [. to globalization, which approach two-way The culture. 'difference,' of cultural highlights the persistence the varietyof stresses discussion This ethnographic containsmore than a grain of empirical truth. On the dishesMcDonald'shas includedon its supplemental for the diversity that does localcultures. spnbolic level, it accounts various menu in orderto accommodate - in our case, the falafel not succumbto homogeneity Applnng this approachto our casestudy, the new from the pita; the Israelihamburger onceagainsteams a manifestation can be considered falafel,for instance, nationalMcDonald'sspecimens other than is larger The new falafel of McDonald's. of [. . .] hybridization level, (andkosherfor Passover practices, but accom[. . .]). On the symbolic someof McDonald's assimilated 'difference' distinctive local has the renders that the themto localtraditionsandtastes. modated to lingeron. At the sametime, on the strucmanaged Thetwo-wayapproachto the global-localencounter 'sameness' at all locales tural level,that greatlevellerof by radical is usuallyportrayedascritical and espoused McDonaldized. hasbecome the falafel [. . .] it'empowers'the sustainability prevails: because socialscientists, A strong structuralist argument sees symbolic localidentities. and fosters oflocal cultures [. . .] 'differences' not merelyas tolerated but indeedas 'sameness,' in that they are functional to structural 'Both underlyingunithe structure's conceal to purported Ways' ll: Discussion identity. formity and to promotenichesof consumer identities cultural Iocal of the variety In other words, vs hetero[. . .] To the questionof homogenization 'licensed' commercialexpansion under globalcapitalist we suggest relationships, genizationin global-local fosterthereby capital, the unifiedformulaof disguises (l) both perspectives are herethefollowingresolution: sales. andeven ing legitimacy and levels; societal valid; (2) yet they applyto discrete to one levelof (3) the one-way approachis restricted t. . .] A varietyof observers all with the intention 'subaltern' 'other' 'giving - may and the voice'to the of level, i'e., social reality, the structural-institutional unwittingly be achievingan opposite effect. [. . .] into instituwhich areinscribed andpractices patterns Exclusiveattention to explicit syrnbolismmay divert the two-way approach is tions and organizations; level of social restrictedto the symbolic-expressive Finally, reality,i.e.,the levelof explicitsymbolization. model, (4) wesuggest a global-localstructural-symbolic in which the ffie-way structural homogenization and the two-way syrnbolicheterogenization process speaking' process are combined.Thus, heuristically on the distincresolutionis predicated our theoretical structurallevels, the tion between two different level. institutionalleveland the expressive-symbolic on the globalWhile eachof the rival perspectives is attunedto only one of theselevels, local encounter that asa process be seen that globalization we propose in two but two-sided and one-sided is simultaneously levels.In other words,on the strucdistinct societal but on the street; is a one-way globalization tural level, symboliclevel,it is a two-way street.In Israel'scase, for instance,this would mean that, symbolically, attentionfrom implicitstructures. arequickto takeadvancorporations Transnational andethnogpostcolonialism of multiculturalism, tage to their cultural concerns raphy,and exploitgenuine benefit.It is worth quoting at somelength a former executive: marketing Coca-Cola What we do is maybe theconcept. We don't change changethe music, maybe changethe execution, but in termsof whatit the casting, change certainly like andwhatit lookslike andwhatit isselling' sounds pointin time,we havekeptit moreor at a particular all keyed patterned. less [...] [our activity]hasbeen of theglobal with an umbrella overlaid on a localbasis, ethnic with various dealing been We have strategf. Very groupswith an overall concept. demographic recently [. . .] the companyhas moved to a more

Glocommodification

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fragmented approach, that based on the assumption the mediatodayis fragmented andthat eachof these groupsthat are targetedby that media core should becommunicated to in their ownwaywith their own message, with their own sound, with their own visualization. [. . .] herehasshown a number The case study presented process globalcommodities instances of the whereby of localtraditions.To recap with the example appropriate 'new falafel,'McDonaldization did not bring of the but, indeed,contributedto its revival, aboutits demise, The vindicating,as it were, the two-way perspective. falafel'snew leaseon life, however,is modelled after mechanical, McDonald's, that is, a standardized, product, on the one hand; or mass-commodified 'gourmetized' and responds to it in a commercial 'ethnicitized'product, on theotherhand.In both cases, prevails globalMcDonaldization structurally, while it to the local.[. . .] Indeed, may givea symbolicleeway from the end-user'sor individual consumer'sper'difference' the particular explicitsymbolic spective, gratification; but malr$. a sourceof greatemotional ofthe social structure, the system from theperspective

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of ploci.uction and consumption, what rnatters is tiie exact opposite - namely, the implicit structurai homogenization. vs. Thus, the questionof global homogenization local heterogenization cannotbe exhausted by invoking svmbolic differences, as is attempted by the two'McDonaldization' is not merely or way approach. mainly about the manufactured objects- the ham- but first andforemost aboutthe deep-seated burgers involvedin their productionanci socialrelationships and consumption- i.e.,it is about commodification instrumentalization.In its broadest sense here, McDonaldization represents a robustcommodification and instrumentalization of social relations,producan appropriation tion andconsumption, andtherefore of localculturesby globalflows.This study [. . .] proposes looking at the relations between the globaland the localasa composite of the structuraiand symbolic levels, a compositein which the structuralinherently appropriates the symbolic but without explicitlysuppressing it. [. . .] This is what is meant by glocommodification global uniformcommodifi cation combining structural itv with svmbolicdiversity.