The Disneyfication of a University
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The Disneyfication of a University
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Re: The Disneyfication of a University
#2Re: The Disneyfication of a University
#3Quote about George Washington University: "Our president is rumored to have forked over three to four million dollars to the Disney Institute to improve our culture (he refuses to reveal the cost)"
Re: The Disneyfication of a University
#4A quick summary: the employees at a university had to attend seminars put on by the Disney Institute to try to instill in them the 'values' that the university should adopt.
I vaguely remember the corporate culture workshops we had to attend at a couple previous employers, and yeah, it's annoying and boring, but someone had to justify spending X million dollars on a new slogan and spiffy "these five words summarize who we are and what we do for the world".
Apparently that wasn't (isn't?) the norm in university settings?
Re: The Disneyfication of a University
#5A quick summary: the employees at a university had to attend seminars put on by the Disney Institute to try to instill in them the 'values' that the university should adopt. I vaguely remember the corporate culture workshops we had to attend at a couple previous employers, and yeah, it's annoying and boring, but someone had to justify spending X million dollars on a new slogan and spiffy "these five words summarize w…
They call those "general electives" and require you take like 9.
Re: The Disneyfication of a University
#6Well written piece.
I've been subjected to these kinds of 'workshops', and, like the author I too resent them. What's interesting is that many people (a majority?) in my organisation hated it too.
Why do sessions like this keep getting organised? Why don't employees unite and speak up? What's in it for management? Deep down they must know that for most people attending, it doesn't add any value (it detracts).
Re: The Disneyfication of a University
#7Wow, that's… gross. The university is treating its employees like young teenagers. There are always better things for schools to spend money on, such as faculty and staff salary. One wonders why they instead buy silly services like this.
Re: The Disneyfication of a University
#8"The main purpose of this corporate culture initiative is to create a more disciplined and compliant workforce."
Surely the main goal is to drive out older workers. Some number of them will refuse to tolerate repeated exposure to such nonsense.
Re: The Disneyfication of a University
#9I've worked at places that have really great culture. And places that just wasted everyone's time like we all have.
The key for me was seeing people consistently let go for breaking "core values". Or having it be a basis for someone's promotion. Obviously that is never going to work well in a University context where tenure is a thing.
If your company is doing that... AND you actually agree and like the Core Values they are promoting, I'm kind of into these workshops and the extra work that goes into maintaining a strong and specific work culture.
Re: The Disneyfication of a University
#10Wow, that's… gross. The university is treating its employees like young teenagers. There are always better things for schools to spend money on, such as faculty and staff salary. One wonders why they instead buy silly services like this.
Believe me, young teenagers find these meetings just as abhorrent