Fast Food Degrees?
Apr 10th, 2005Welcome to fast food nation … and an interesting comparison to online degrees. Here the Journal Star out of Lincoln, Nebraska …
The fast food philosophy, he said, has also changed other societies as America has exported it to places like Paris and Rome, where the culture has traditionally valued the savoring of long, inefficient meals.
Furthermore, the efficiency, calculability, predictability and nonhuman technology of Ritzer's McDonaldization theory have spread to a variety of other industries, not just more upscale restaurant chains but also so-called megachurches, hotel and motel chains, clothing stores, weight loss centers, bookstores, hair salons, oil change and Auto repair centers, tax preparation services, pharmacies, campgrounds, coffee shops – you name it.
Ritzer offers the "almost pure example" of online universities as one that's easy to understand:
It's more efficient to earn a degree while sitting at a home than to commute to campus, just as it's more efficient to drive-through than to prepare a meal at home or even get out of the car.
In an online university, everything is quantified, from what assignments must be completed to the grade received, just as production in fast food establishments emphasizes the products' size and cost and the time it takes to get them.Luckily, McDonaldization hasn't gone as far as fashion yet …
