Mcdonaldization
By: Trey Hart
Characteristics
Efficiency-“If the primary message of one-half of our practical training is Be Careful, the takeaway of the other half is Move As Fast As Humanly Possible. Or super humanly possible.”
people need to work with as optimal and efficiently as possible.
Calculability-“From the temp agency, Amalgamated has ordered the exact number of humans it should take to fill this week's orders if we work at top capacity ”
the ability to gauge whether something will happen or not
Predictability- “temp workers have to call in before shifts to see if they'll get work. Sometimes,they're paid piece rate, according to the number of units they fill or unload or move. Always, they can be let go in an instant, and replaced just as quickly.”
every morning they have to report in at a specific time
Control- "Everyone in here is hustling. At the announcement to take one of our two 15-minute breaks, we hustle even harder. We pickers close out the totes we're currently filling and send them away on the conveyor belt, then make our way as fast as we can with the rest of the masses across the long haul of concrete between wherever we are and the break room, but not before passing through metal detectors, for which there is a line—we're required to be screened on our way out, though not on our way in"
the company has the ability to fire you at any time
Irrationality- “The computers screening us for suitability to pack boxes or paste labels belong to a temporary-staffing agency."
the act of doing something unprecedented or strange
Deskilling- “They hire and fire constantly, every day. You'll see people dropping all around you. ” this is easier to do when the company is making jobs easier to obtain with the introduction of mechanized parts, like a conveyor belt
Consumer Workers- “The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that more than 15 percent of pickers, packers, movers, and unloaders are temps. They make $3 less an hour on average than permanent workers. And they can be "temporary" for years."
having someone work for you who will also buy the product they are making, such as from taxing