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The Disneyfication of a University

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Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#221

Post by jimbokun »

Loughla wrote: post #207
jimbokun wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One of the two of those positions actually provide value to the student experience. It's not clear at all that academic coaches provide value to students. Being advised by actual professors would provide far more value to students.

>It's not clear at all that academic coaches provide value to students. Whoa there, I need a citation for that, and I need a strong citation for that. It literally flies in the face of higher education research. Here's one study from the WWC, indicating strong evidence of effectiveness for coaching: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/study/72030 . And that was after 30 seconds of searching. Actual professors provide value t…

Hmm, was not aware of that. I was thinking of how I would have preferred a professor as a mentor, but maybe looking back from the perspective of someone who has already achieved a, b, and c.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#222

Post by ghostbrainalpha »

kthejoker2 wrote: post #159
whatshisface wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The opposite position of honesty is lying pathologically and constantly, which some leaders do, so honesty passes your test.

Lol well fair enough but I guess I mean "Pathological lying" isn't emblazoned on the front door ... The #1 "value" at Koch Industries is "Integrity".

This is exactly what I am talking about.

"Pathological lying" will never emblazoned on the front door, but if you work in P.R. or a Law Firm they will absolutely embrace phrases like "Framing the narrative".

At those work places "Honesty" is absolutely not a core value.

I worked at one institution where if you took a sick day, but then posted pictures on Facebook from Disneyland it was entirely acceptable. That place kind of sucked even though you could get away with anything.

Another job I had would fire people for very comparatively small lies. Things that people do all the time like pretending to have sent an email that just wasn't delivered somehow. It resulted in an incredibly honest and relaxing workplace.... once you adjusted to not telling white lies to cover your ass, and just admitting your mistakes all the time.

That company paired honesty with being much more lax than usual about punishing mistakes. And it was totally ok to say "I need a mental health sick day" and then go to Disneyland. The more honest people thrived in this environment, but many people just can't adapt to the culture at the institution.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#223

Post by ForHackernews »

nabla9 wrote: post #138
Seenso wrote: post #25

Several years ago, I had to attend a full day "culture training" session given by Senn Delaney (a division of Heidrick & Struggles) [1]. It was also a massive waste of time. Our company actually has a really great culture, and what I remember of the training amounted to a somewhat subtle attempt to indoctrinate employees to be more blindly obedient to management change initiatives. There was some other stuff, but I h…

When Japanese companies came to the West some of them tried to push the Japanese company culture into their subsidiaries without any modifications. Starting workday with everyone standing in attention outside and singing company song when company flag was hoisted did not go well.

𝅘𝅥𝅮 There's a thrill in store for all 𝅘𝅥𝅮

𝅘𝅥𝅮 For we're about to toast 𝅘𝅥𝅮

𝅘𝅥𝅮 The corporation known in every land... 𝅘𝅥𝅮

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ChoHNEgRI

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#224

Post by [deleted] »

zweep wrote: post #197
JackFr wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A saying I learned from a Russian coworker: "The only people who smile all the time are idiots and Americans." As an American, I find that quite amusing. I'd say it brings a smile to my face, but there's likely one there already.

The flip side is when Lisa Simpson asks a Russian man for directions to the bus and he politely answers her but she mistakes his gruff Slavic manner for hostility.

[deleted]

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#225

Post by whatshisface »

ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #222
kthejoker2 wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lol well fair enough but I guess I mean "Pathological lying" isn't emblazoned on the front door ... The #1 "value" at Koch Industries is "Integrity".

This is exactly what I am talking about. "Pathological lying" will never emblazoned on the front door, but if you work in P.R. or a Law Firm they will absolutely embrace phrases like "Framing the narrative". At those work places "Honesty" is absolutely not a core value. I worked at one institution where if you took a sick day, but then posted pictures on Facebook from Disneyland it was entirely acceptable. That place…

Crazy to think there are people who are that pathological. Lying must be a regional trait where you work, I have never met anyone who lies in professional situations. Frankly, I have never heard someone give an excuse for not sending an email. What kind of weird culture would punish forgetting to send an email but not punish lying about having sent it? Crazy.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#226

Post by throwaway3157 »

throwaway3849 wrote: post #107
bitwize wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not long ago at $JOB I sat through what I call "mandatory psychobabble day". The particular psychobabble being peddled to, or rather, imposed on, us was the DISC system -- a variant of which was recently outed on Hackernews as pernicious hucksterism which somehow held much of Sweden in its sway. It was supposed to make us better collaborators, under the rubric that understanding the traits of both your own star sign…

You must have more tact than me. I caught the ire of the iridologist when I asked 'What if we disagree with the chart?' Could not find a more uncomfortable way to spend a morning.

What did the instructor do to you for the remainder of the morning?

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#227

Post by jhbadger »

ACow_Adonis wrote: post #177
nabla9 wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When Japanese companies came to the West some of them tried to push the Japanese company culture into their subsidiaries without any modifications. Starting workday with everyone standing in attention outside and singing company song when company flag was hoisted did not go well.

If by not go well, I'm assuming you mean adopted by many American firms. I'm assuming you're unfamiliar with "the Wal-Mart cheer". I'd love to say it was isolated, but my wife worked for a big 4 consultancy firm straight out of university. Just do a Google search for "Ernst and young happy day". I'd paste a link, but I'm afraid I'd actually have to watch it again...

There's a long history of US firms doing this sort of thing. IBM used to have an official songbook and employees would sing "Ever Onward" like they were at a school pep rally.

https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/music/music_EO1.htm...

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#228

Post by tatersolid »

downerending wrote: post #73
Animats wrote: post #44

The funny thing is that Disney actually could teach a university something, but that's not it. Disney is really good at a few things, like line, crowd, and parking management. Disney could probably make a school's football stadium and parking run better. Disney creates the illusion that they're better than they are by over-maintaining the visible stuff. So they could help create a culture that makes a school look les…

Actually, just got back from a trip there and was absolutely shocked at the lack of cleanliness of one of their restaurants (Oga's). Maybe it was a one-off.

Oga’s was spotless when the fam went in October, other than the “decorative” grittiness literally painted on the walls so it looked like the movie.

That said, most of the Disney World “quick serve” cafeterias are covered in food waste by the end of the day. I suppose there’s only so much you can do to keep up with 20,000 toddlers times three meals a day.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#229

Post by joelnc52 »

bitwize wrote: post #55
Seenso wrote: post #25

Several years ago, I had to attend a full day "culture training" session given by Senn Delaney (a division of Heidrick & Struggles) [1]. It was also a massive waste of time. Our company actually has a really great culture, and what I remember of the training amounted to a somewhat subtle attempt to indoctrinate employees to be more blindly obedient to management change initiatives. There was some other stuff, but I h…

Not long ago at $JOB I sat through what I call "mandatory psychobabble day". The particular psychobabble being peddled to, or rather, imposed on, us was the DISC system -- a variant of which was recently outed on Hackernews as pernicious hucksterism which somehow held much of Sweden in its sway. It was supposed to make us better collaborators, under the rubric that understanding the traits of both your own star sign…

Link for the recent HN DISC post? Not finding it via search and would be interested to read...

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#230

Post by throwaway3157 »

zweep wrote: post #191
bitwize wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not long ago at $JOB I sat through what I call "mandatory psychobabble day". The particular psychobabble being peddled to, or rather, imposed on, us was the DISC system -- a variant of which was recently outed on Hackernews as pernicious hucksterism which somehow held much of Sweden in its sway. It was supposed to make us better collaborators, under the rubric that understanding the traits of both your own star sign…

Or he also realizes that it’s bullshit. I led a “diversity workshop” in my company at the request of management because I’m known to be an excellent public speaker. The content was 100% crap but I was commended for my work and was rewarded for it so I’d gladly do another.

I also got invited to one of these diversity workshops at $JOB once, by our VP of diversity. Cost was >$5000 but I would have to get my manager to pay for it. They sent this email to me, not my manager. No thanks.

Edit: why the downvote? You could tell me what I did wrong

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