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The Disneyfication of a University

academeblog.org

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Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#11

Post by koboll »

tdons wrote: post #6

Well 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).

It might have something to do with

>A select group of faculty and staff, those identified as opinion leaders, are being offered all-expenses paid trips to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando “to gain first-hand insight into Disney’s approach to culture.”

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#12

Post by keenmaster »

The main problem I see here is not with the culture training or Disney consultants. It’s the lack of leadership. The president of the university should inspire cultural change in his own institution, in cooperation with faculty and staff. That’s part of his job. The irony is that there are probably multiple professors at GWU who teach about organic change. They would have offered their consulting services for free.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#14

Post by hartator »

koboll wrote: post #11
tdons wrote: post #6

Well 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).

It might have something to do with >A select group of faculty and staff, those identified as opinion leaders, are being offered all-expenses paid trips to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando “to gain first-hand insight into Disney’s approach to culture.”

Well. That explains a lot.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#15

Post by ollien »

geerlingguy wrote: post #4

A 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…

My university has latched onto "innovation," and finds the need to tack it onto everything. Sometimes I wonder whose reputation is on the line for that one piece of marketing.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#16

Post by 333c »

webkike wrote: post #10
333c wrote: post #7

Wow, 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

Of course; I didn't mean to imply they enjoy them. I just meant that they're often subjected to them.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#17

Post by bjd2385 »

hartator wrote: post #14
koboll wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It might have something to do with >A select group of faculty and staff, those identified as opinion leaders, are being offered all-expenses paid trips to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando “to gain first-hand insight into Disney’s approach to culture.”

Well. That explains a lot.

Maybe everything.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#18

Post by chishaku »

AKA the corporatization of higher education.

[Corporatization] has saddled us with a higher-education model that is both expensive to run and difficult to reform as a result of its focus on status, its view of students as customers, and its growing reliance on top-down administration.

Not surprisingly, those administrators who occupy the highest ranks in our college and university bureaucracies are those who have professionally benefited the most from corporatization.

https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/the-corporatization-...

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#19

Post by jressey »

bjornlouser wrote: post #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.

It is to reduce labor cost and ultimately increase the bottom line. Many people will leave because they don't "fit." Many people will be attracted and take a lower salary than they deserve in exchange for "culture."

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#20

Post by sharkmerry »

geerlingguy wrote: post #4

A 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…

It is the norm, but the author is questioning the effectiveness.

Also, your summary hit the nail well but missed,

>A select group of faculty and staff, those identified as opinion leaders, are being offered all-expenses paid trips to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando “to gain first-hand insight into Disney’s approach to culture.”

Which makes the situation more insidious.

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