In chapter four of “The McDonaldization of Society,” George Ritzer discusses calculability, the second dimension of McDonaldization. Calculability involves calculating, counting, and quantifying, which makes it very efficient in the process of McDonaldization. When taking the fast-food industry as an example, there are three key issues dealing with calculability. The first of these issues emphasizes quantity rather than quality of products. Just like all other industries, the fast-food industry is “bigger is better”. Most all fast-food chains have unique trademark products to make the consumer think that their items have greater quantity as well as better quality. Burger King has the “Whopper”, McDonalds, of course, has the famous “Big Mac”, and Pizza Hut has the enormous “Bigfoot” pizza. Another issue that Ritzer points about the McDonaldization of fast-food restaurants is the illusion of quantity that they portray. Fast-food restaurants use many tricks to make it seem as though the consumer is getting the most for his or her money. Huge buns and large amounts of condiments are used in order to make the hamburger patties seem larger. The boxes that are used to hold french fries have stripes that make to portion seem larger. In addition, the fries are scooped in such away that makes them look like they are overflowing. The third issue that Ritzer discusses in his book deals with the need to reduce the speed of production and serve the masses. Speed has always been an important factor in the fast-food industry. The drive-through window has greatly enhanced the “in and out” aspect of the fast-food restaurants. In addition, each fast-food chain has catchy way of increasing the distribution time of their products. One of the most obvious examples of this is Dominos goal of “eight minutes out the door”. Yet another aspect of this process is...
