Study guide and discussion questions for “McDonald’s in Hong Kong: Consumerism, Dietary Change, and the Rise of a Children’s Culture” (from Golden Arches East) by JAMES WATSON. Be prepared to discuss the discussion questions next week (or on the discussion board for this week for the online class).

Here are some discussion questions that you can think about:

What is Watson’s assessment of the Americanization of the world?

Have the people of Hong Kong become Americanized?

Discuss the differences in mental categories with respect to hamburgers in the U.S. and Hong Kong.

Discuss the differences between the U.S. and Hong Kong with respect to consumer preferences for food at McDonald’s.

Discuss the transformation of attitudes about McDonald’s in Hong Kong.

Discuss cultural differences with respect to friendliness between the U.S. and Hong Kong.

Discuss the busing of trays, speedy consumption, the queue, “hovering,” and “Napkin Wars.”

What have you noticed in your travels around the world or from meeting people from other places here in the U.S? Has the world become Americanized?

Study guide questions:

In what ways is McDonald’s in Hong Kong similar or different from McDonald’s in other Asian countries?

According to Watson, McDonald’s restaurants in Hong Kong have attracted what group(s) of customers?

How is McDonald’s reinterpreted by the Hong Kong people?

What is the main reason people in Hong Kong eat at McDonald’s?

How do customers’ typically behave in Hong Kong’s McDonald’s restaurants?