从麦当劳看美国快餐文化

The culture of Americans fast foodSeeing the Americans fast food culture from MacDonaldAbstrac tIn different cultural backgrounds, each nation has its unique different diet. With the accelerating pace of life, there is a new dietary pattern has soon dominated the forefront of the life fashion----fast food, which entered thousands of households, by its convenience and fast advantages.This paper mainly studies McDonald. The first and second parts analyzed the popularity and history of MacDonald. The third part discusses the social influence. The fourth part tell people the why MacDonald is so popular; The fifth part analyses the Cultural infiltration. The sixth part is conclusion, which points out that how to look on the fast food and the fast food culture correctly, in the hope of helping the readers to understand the fast food and fast food culture in a better way and to absorb the benefit elements for the better development of human body and mind. PopularityIf there is one thing that Americans can agree on, it is a love for fast food. Burgers, sandwiches, fried chicken and even salads are served up by the millions at a variety of fast food locations around the country, and there is no clear indicator that Americans intend to slow down. When it refers to the popularity of American fast food, MacDonald’s success is typical. What started in 1955 as a single store with a modest menu of burgers, fries and shakes became the leading global foodservice retailer, with more than 31,000 local restaurants serving 58 million people in more than 118 countries each day [source: McDonald's].History of McDonald'sThe business began in 1940, with a restaurant opened by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California. Their introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948 furthered the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant that the White Castle hamburger chain had already put into practice more than two decades earlier. The original mascot of McDonald's was a man with a chef's hat on top of a hamburger shaped head whose name was "Speedee." Speedee was eventually replaced with Ronald McDonald by 1967 when the company first filed a U.S. trademark on a clown shaped man having puffed out costume legs.McDonald's first filed for a U.S. trademark on the name McDonald's on May 4, 1961, with the description "Drive-In Restaurant Services," which continues to berenewed through the end of December 2009. In the same year, on September 13, 1961, the company filed a logo trademark on an overlapping, double arched "M" symbol. The overlapping double arched "M" symbol logo was temporarily disfavored by September 6, 1962, when a trademark was filed for a single arch, shaped over many of the early McDonald's restaurants in the early years. The famous double arched "M" symbol in use today did not appear until November 18, 1968, when the company filed a U.S. trademark.The first McDonald's restaurants opened in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, France, El Salvador and Sweden, in order of openings.The present corporation dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois, on April 15, 1955,the ninth McDonald's restaurant overall. Kroc later purchased the McDonald brothers' equity in the company and led its worldwide expansion, and the company became listed on the public stock markets in 1965.Kroc was also noted for aggressive business practices, compelling the McDonald brothers to leave the fast food industry. The McDonald brothers and Kroc feuded over control of the business, as documented in both Kroc's autobiography and in the McDonald brothers' autobiography. The site of the McDonald brothers' original restaurant is now a monument.With the expansion of McDonald's into many international markets, the company has become a symbol of globalization and the spread of the American way of life. Its prominence has also made it a frequent topic of public debates about obesity, corporate ethics and consumer responsibility.Social influenceAmerica's recently published "Fast Food Nation," a book of Eric Shiluosier, said: "Today, fast food had a huge impact not only on our eating habits, but also on our economy, culture and traditional valuesand . "currently, In United States ,about 1/4 of the adults eat a snack every day, typical American weekly eat three burgers and fried foods. According to statistics, 30 years ago, American spent $ 6 billion on fast food each year , and by 2000, this consumption has reaching a hight of $ 110 billion, far higher than those that Americans spent on education, home computer or new cars .Today, in the United States ,the employees in the fast food industry are highly mobile, fast-food company was able to created many opportunities for poor people to get jobs . Most of the fast food industry regard the market at the children, according to the latest survey , in United States , 90% of the 3-9 year-old children eat McDonald's at least once a month to. They do not know who is the current president, but no one do not know McDonald's founder Richard McDonald. in the United States like McDonald's "Happy Meals" will be able to sell 1 million units per week."McDonald's" as the representatives of the American fast-food culture has swept the world, but it also bring negative impact to society in the United States. Those manufacturers in the fast food industry in order to reduce labor costs, enjoy employing low-skilled workers who, without adequate training,.As the result ,theindustry's injury rate several times higher than the average of other sectors of the nation.The high medical costs has become difficult social problems. In addition, fast food nutrition structure is irrational the nutrition experts pointed out that the high-fat ingredients contain a large amount of trans-fatty ,which can lead to heart disease. Because people greedy Fast Food, More and more people suffer from obesity, which has become the second leading cause of American society to cause disease after smoking, and being face of the increasing number of obese children, some professionals in the United States appeal to the community , Limit fast food advertising, like the ban on tobacco advertising. Today, many fast food chains in the United States start to focus on the problems caused by the fast-food, they begin to improve employee benefits, and pay attention to product food with fresh ingredients instead of the frozen raw materials.AssociationAs is summarized by Scott Phillips , The Motley Fool’s feature columnist, McDonald’s success owes to 10 secrets, which are Franchising, International expansion, Global, but local, The brand is the business, ‘Old and new’ menu, Low prices, Meal sizes, Film tie-ups and sponsorship, Recruiting young workers, Free Wi-Fi. But when it trace back to the inner factors, as far as we are concerned, MacDonald’s success is closely linked with its corporate culture, whic h is a shared value system that forms the basis of all company decisions. A relatively enduring, interdependent symbolic system of values, beliefs, and assumptions evolving from and imperfectly shared by interacting organizational members that allows them to ascribe common meanings to stimuli encountered in the organizational context; these functions are accomplished through the mediation of implicitly and explicitly rules that act as cultural warrants. What’s more, we can find that the popularity of fast food in America also reflects the character of the American people. It’s a group that full of enthusiasm and time sense. The fast pace of daily life is the incessant driving force of fast food industry.Cultural infiltrationThe world's largest chain of fast food McDonald's corporate responsibility co. LTD. With the slogan "Im loving it" text as a young company propaganda culture of flags, rapidly influenced many Chinese young people's values and consumption behavior . McDonald's slogan to spy on how American culture through the business culture to shape and influence the behavior of the young Chinese values, expansion of culture and cultural infiltration.American culture is a strong culture includes its values, lifestyle and cultural goods etc., will spread through various channels to countries around the world. In themass media have developed communication and convenient transportation, international exchanges especially today. Due to the popularity of English and the development of the Internet, and the influence of American culture will also further expanded. Culture, the Coca Cola, Disney, McDonald's to from Hollywood to CNN, NBA, American culture has become a "strong culture". , "American cultural power is the United States dominate the world's most widespread source ofstrength. Unipolar hegemony in the United States from its culture."Phenomenon of globalization in today is objective existence, also is inevitable, also to a certain extent, globalization has led to a convergence of national cultures in the world, so in the cultural communication and integration to keep a clear mind, continue to carry forward Chinese culture, keep the diversity of culture, promote cultural diversityConclusionThroughout the world, American fast-food chains have becomes symbols of Western economic development, opening everywhere from Bulgaria to Western Samoa. and attracted a large number of consumers and the economic benefits. Fast food industry is decided by the development of social progress and economic development, it improves people’s living standards and way of life. The fast food industry is an important industry of living environment and investment environment, and also an important component of the consumer leisure, tourism, consumption, shopping and spending. The competition in the fast food market is very intensely, but should be focused on one aspect: that is, to eat fast food with nutrition, health. High-calorie fast food as a high-fat food is not suitable for eating. Fast food does have double-sided effects on the development of economy and people’s life. Though fast food still have so many shortages of this or that, This kind of food culture is true developed to be part of people’s life, no matter the criticism of fast food is true or not, fast food is still to be a trend in the future.Works Cited//englishstudy/movie/kandianyingxueyingyu/2008-02-19/25687.html。