Heavy dose of McDonald’s needed for successful business model?

In our part of the world, we celebrate what is described as the dominant way of organising business, the American Model. Its evolution  over the last one hundred years derived major success from the assembly type operation introduced in motor car manufacture and other industrial enterprises.

The model’s systematisation and application to a range of business types includes services particularly the fast food business. George Ritzer, who studied the rise and global spread of fast food chains and franchises, described the process as McDonaldisation, the new, successful business model of the west. Four alluring dimensions lie at the heart of this model’s success offering consumers, workers and managers — efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. Efficient service delivery is gained from predesigned  organisational rules and regulations which workers and customers are trained to follow supervised by managers. 

Calculability emphasises the quantitative aspects of the production process which in the fast food example relates to portion size, cost and time to provide the service. In the American environment, quantity has become equivalent to quality because of the bigger is better syndrome. The time factor has incorporated home or office delivery, even guaranteeing a delivery  time backed by no charge for late deliveries. Predictability is the assurance that products and services remain the same over time and space including international space.

This means if a consumer travels  to a foreign location such as the Caribbean islands, the product or service will be the same. It is argued that despite rapid changes given the pace of modern living, people now prefer a world with few surprises. The workers in McDonaldised systems also behave in predictable ways by following corporate rules and the dictates of the ever present  supervisor. Control is the model’s final element in the business world. Ritzer says that in the McDonald example, the lines, limited menus, few options, and uncomfortable seats lead diners to eat and leave quickly. In the drive through version they never enter at all. It was noted however that in the global application of the model this aspect has been tempered to suit  cultural differences.

Along with the four dimensions of the business model described above, there are three other factors integral to an understanding of the drive towards the growth in use of the McDonaldisation  model, namely economic interests, the spread of American culture, and  the model’s capacity to attune to important changes. The model properly implemented leads to lower costs and higher profits through greater efficiency which benefits people and organisations. American culture values efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control and seeks them out. The spread of American culture has transferred these values to other places as is so evident in Trinidad which boasts of being the fast food capital of the world on a population measure.

Important societal changes such as single parent families, high mobility, more discretionary income, the opportunity for lower income people to dine out and computer technology have contributed to the growth of businesses on the  McDonaldised  principle. Alternatively, the post-industrial  business model is based on the rise of new technologies and the growth in knowledge and information processing  which employs professionals, scientists, and technicians. The growth in the number and importance of such persons created the belief that society will be dominated by creative knowledge workers. However the low status service occupations which are central to the fast food business and other businesses that follow that model show no sign of disappearing, even though some of the actual brands may disappear.

It is clear that the two models will coexist in most economies for many years to come. The fast food model adopted wholesale in Trinidad and Tobago is not without difficulties in the USA due to market saturation. McDonald’s itself is declining in its home market but growth in foreign markets is currently ensuring survival. The model is also associated with environmental degradation, dietary problems, and poor working conditions. Locally,  some fast food outlets and similar enterprises contaminated the local drainage system with their effluent for years and internationally the charge of being the major contributor to the disease of obesity is being vigourously pursued by various health lobbies. It will not be long before such a lobby begins in Trinidad and Tobago with obesity already an increasingly serious problem  among the young population as reported by the wellness guru Geoffrey Frankson. Ritzer argues that McDonaldisation or the fast food model includes both benefits and costs and is an important social process but not the only process transforming contemporary society.

Further,  there are degrees of McDonaldisation  with fast foods an extreme example but even universities being a moderate example. The fast food example of the model is in its growth phase in Trinidad and Tobago with expansion of some of the existing fried chicken and pizza franchises and the entry of new chains. We can expect other brands in the future even some of the Mexican food types popular in the USA but the health implications will force a change in the model or its demise.

The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Guardian Life. You are invited to send your comments to guardianlife@ghl.co.tt