UOL IFP Sociology Assignment

McDonald's Corporation is the world's leading food service organization. The

corporation started out as a small drive-through in 1948 by two brothers, Dick and
Mac McDonald. In addition, McDonald's opens a new restaurant every three hours. 'Big
Mac' is the biggest attraction and backbone of the corporation. The quick-servicerestaurant (QSR) giant has built an entire process over the years for managing a
sophisticated delivery system, starting on the live-animal production side and running
all along the supply chain until products reach their final destination as McDonald's
customers' favourite.
The game is a simulation and parody of McDonald's where you are in charge of
creating profits for the company by managing the four sections of its business:
Agriculture, The Feedlot, Fast Food and Headquarters. The Agriculture Section is where
soy is grown for fodder for the feedlot and where cattle are raised to maturity. The
Feedlot is where mature cattle are fattened up and slaughtered for hamburger. The
Fast Food Section is the actual restaurant itself where you control employees and
sandwich production. Employees are at on time and clean and neatly dressed. They
must be following certain standards operational procedures that is why customers
always receive good and quality able service. They always keep the smile up, when
they are servicing. Headquarters is where the executive decisions are made in relation
to advertising, public relations and profits. My job is to balance all areas of production,
make profits and keep the business running smoothly for as long as possible.
Occasionally consumer and public problems pop up for you to deal with due to your
business decisions. The game ends once you have accumulated a debt of around
$30,000.
After playing the game for several times, I acknowledged that a good strategy for this
game is 4 cows and three fields. Each time you create a pasture, lower it to one cow
to avoid over-grazing, which also prevents the need for crop/pasture rotation. You can
control the restaurant traffic by starting and stopping marketing campaigns. I ended
the game at $191,200 in October of 2030. I avoided genetically modifying crops,
adding waste to the feed or meats. I keep a close eye on my employees and fire them
whenever they look unhappy. Everyone is being bribed and I rotate my ad campaigns
just to keep my restaurant full.
Just as globalization has two different aspects of effects on human beings, in the
process of McDonald's globalization, McDonald's impacts on consumers are also
different, including positive effect and negative impact. After going through the game,
I acknowledged profoundly that the profits of the fast food chains have been made
possible by losses imposed on the rest of society - notably obesity, food poisoning,
rural poverty and environmental degradation. Obesity and food poisoning are growing
faster than at any time in our history. Criticism on fast foods especially on McDonalds,
among the critiques were allegations that McDonalds are using their political
influence to increase their profit at the expense of peoples health and the social
conditions of its workers
Notably, as shown in the game, cows are being injected hormone. The hormones are
administered through an implant under the skin of the ear and deliver measured
amounts throughout the animal's life. Implanted beef cows convert feed into muscle
faster and more efficiently, leading to quicker maturity and leaner beef. However,
growth hormones can cause early maturity in humans. In the late 1970s, the U.S.
banned a growth hormone (DES) known to cause cancer

The fast food chain like McDonalds should primarily concern reduction of the waste.
The social performance of McDonalds in relation to the environment has tremendously
contributed in the term of waste management practices. However, McDonald's waste
management practices are not effective unless McDonalds find out other alternative
ways in manage the waste, which are bring environmental friendly to society. If the
large fast food company like McDonalds does not control the waste produce from the
restaurant, other smaller company will follow the McDonalds same footstep.
Ultimately, it will bring the greater harm to the environment and society.
When McDonald's affect the eating habits of consumers, it also shock the culture of
different countries. In the context of globalization, different cultures around the world
communicate, permeate, collide and merge with each other. Thus, not only do
McDonalds products harm individual and environmental well-being, they are also
having an influence on some East Asian cultures with the corporations entry into
those countries. Critics claim that the rapid spread of McDonalds and its fast-food
rivals undermines indigenous cuisines and helps create a homogenous, global culture.
With the presence of McDonalds restaurants in Asian countries, and the
accompanying American cultural norms, children in these countries are recognizing
the potential for celebration of individual birthdays. McDonalds exploits this cultural
change to market party packages to children who want to celebrate this new occasion.
In many respects, McDonalds emergence in Asia is permanently altering culture, and
norms of the past are being lost in their McDonalds party packages and Big Macs.
McDonalds has become not only the largest fast food restaurant organization, but is a
symbol of globalization; literally changing eating habits around the world. It runs more
than 28,000 restaurants in 120 countries. As one character of a modern world is the
demand for good and efficient services, McDonald's has contributed in giving greater
access to a global marketplace of goods by its strong economic influence as they
encourage many enterprises to offer them different services in order to keep up with
the demands of people. Furthermore, McDonald's invests and supports initiatives to
adapt its products and services to different locales to ensure its global brand, which
increases global economy. McDonald's is a clear sign of globalization as everywhere
you go there will be a McDonald's.
Basing analysis on Max Weber's theory of rationalisation, Weber introduced the
concept of rationalization to explain how Western society has shifted from a mystic or
traditional orientation to a more rational orientation. Rationalization is the process of
replacing traditional and emotional thought with reason and practicality. Weber was
concerned that capitalism and industrialization were fulling a world where our
individual freedoms were being eroded. He warned that we were increasingly living in
an iron cage, as we become trapped in an impersonal world that values efficiency,
rationality, and control over individuality and autonomy. This can be related to the
case of McDonald. We can see that McDonald's influence on the fast-food industry not
only in America, but increasingly across the globe, has led to the establishment of
dozens of clones in just about every branch of the retail industry and has led to other
social institutions adapting McDonald's principles to their operations. The process by
which these principles are coming to dominate more and more sectors of society.
When you go to any McDonalds in the United States or around the world, you know
you will always find the same food, in the same amount, and at the same value. That
is why many people love it: its a predictable product delivered to you efficiently. Each
and every process of the business is organized to ensure that everything happens at

the right time and the right place so that the maximum gratification for customers
and the max profit for the company are ensured.
In a nut shell, globalization has a great impact on human worldwide, and its impacts
can be demonstrated from two aspects: positive impact and negative impact. Its
positive impact refers to promoting the development of innovation, promoting the
rational allocation of resources and boosting human civilization. Its negative impact
focuses on the human living quality and environmental issues. Globalization can be
understood well by the process of McDonald's globalization. Over the past four
decades McDonalds has been transformed from a local burger shack serving fresh
beef patties, into a huge corporation using mass production methods to produce and
sell their products. In contemporary, the globalization of McDonalds has raised many
debates on both sides of the issue. The Mc Donaldized social institution has really
spread across continents giving rise to a number of indigenous fast food chains.
McDonald's can bring enjoyment for consumers, while it also affects eating habits of
consumers, causes cultural erosion and has an impact on contemporary way of life. All
in all, globalization is an irresistible trend, and globalization can give a beneficial
effects on consumers as well as adverse effects.