The Disneyfication of a University • Hacker News Board

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#101

Post by Nasrudith » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:46 PM UTC

TremendousJudge wrote: post #42

cs702 wrote: post #24

It's part of the ongoing "corporatization" and "MBA-ization" of US colleges and universities. GW's attempt to institute a "culture" using techniques developed at Disney is just one of many possible examples, although I will admit it is a particularly easy one to mock. (Quoting the OP: "The GW culture initiative can be summed up in two words: Mickey Mouse.") Much of higher education in the US is now controlled by an a…

>Whether this corporatization proves a good or a bad thing in the long run, it remains to be seen. Is it? How could it end up being a good thing? Bureaucracy always pops up somewhere where there is money floating around like a patch of moss grows in humid tree bark. It doesn't produce anything of value besides justifying its own existence

Technically bureaucracy has one function taken for granted - consistency at scale. Even with bueracratic kerfluffles their algorithmic approach is usually far more consistent.

It also tends to be more organizationally driven than dynastic or personal. That is partially why even corrupt ones were an improvement over literal feudal fiefdoms historically.

It is still often a source of mediocrity and stagnation but we should remember why they existed in the first place. They do need periodic reform and streamlining certainly.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#102

Post by daveslash » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:49 PM UTC

Mirioron wrote: post #30

333c wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Why are teenagers subjected to this kind of stuff anyway? It's usually pretty apparent that they don't like this stuff. They won't tell you outright, because they're trained to be compliant and taught to never entirely disagree, but it should still be apparent to those who understand teenagers, no?

As the parent of a teenager, I now realize just how hard it can be to get some messages to really land with a teenager. Unless the message that you're trying to get through, no matter how important, is already something that's of interest to them, most things end up feeling like a lecture to them. Upon reflection, I was the same way. As a result, you (the parent) sometimes try to make things "fun" as a way to engage with them and drive home a message. (spoiler: it often turns out lame and not fun...)

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#103

Post by smacktoward » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:50 PM UTC

ravenstine wrote: post #52

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #23

A good rule of thumb is that the more a corporation talks about "culture", the more the employees should be wary that they are getting fleeced. A lot of companies have realized that they get employees to work harder for less if they are able to get the employees to develop some sort of emotional attachment to the company. If you as an employee are getting a lot of push about "company culture" and the company is tryin…

Culture should be apparent. Repetitious reinforcement of the "culture" is propaganda.

Or to put it slightly differently: culture derives from what you do, not why you say you do it.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#104

Post by dvtrn » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:50 PM UTC

Consultant32452 wrote: post #65

The most common reason people leave companies is not compensation. It's usually about relationships, primarily with the boss but also coworkers. I'm on the spectrum, so I function a bit like an automaton which places little value on the social aspects of work, but most people aren't like that. This is how "on the spectrum" I am. One time I was on a team that did a team building exercise where we went to a local chari…

"...a company is not cause driven because they sponsor walkathons, donate to charity or give employees paid time off to volunteer[...]Service is not an ornament. It is a touchstone. And no amount of corporate social responsibility is enough to offset or balance the finite focus that may consume the rest of the corporate culture"

- Simon Sinek, "The Infinite Game"

An excellent book that I'm recommending more and more.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#105

Post by ampersandy » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:52 PM UTC

hef19898 wrote: post #74

Consultant32452 wrote: post #65

The most common reason people leave companies is not compensation. It's usually about relationships, primarily with the boss but also coworkers. I'm on the spectrum, so I function a bit like an automaton which places little value on the social aspects of work, but most people aren't like that. This is how "on the spectrum" I am. One time I was on a team that did a team building exercise where we went to a local chari…

This. Feelings became such a driving force lately, no matter where you look. Politics, business, it's all about how people "feel". And not even really how the feel, but more about the pretending of how they feel. Your example trends a little bit on the extreme end of the spectrum (I totally get your point, so), but the truth is that for a lot of people that is a truly good experience. IMHO companies are abusing this…

Is it really abuse, though? Asking employees to volunteer their time to charity has got to be pretty low on the list of scummy ways to boost motivation and PR.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#106

Post by protonfish » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:53 PM UTC

smacktoward wrote: post #63

cs702 wrote: post #24

It's part of the ongoing "corporatization" and "MBA-ization" of US colleges and universities. GW's attempt to institute a "culture" using techniques developed at Disney is just one of many possible examples, although I will admit it is a particularly easy one to mock. (Quoting the OP: "The GW culture initiative can be summed up in two words: Mickey Mouse.") Much of higher education in the US is now controlled by an a…

> Perhaps the most salient example of this ever-expanding bureaucracy is Stanford's shiny new 35-acre campus in Redwood City, which houses only non-academic administrative staff. The idea of a separate campus just for administrative staff feels like a real-life version of Douglas Adams' Golgafrinchan Ark B: https://everything2.com/title/B+Ark

Except we can't ship them into space.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#107

Post by throwaway3849 » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:53 PM UTC

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…

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.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#108

Post by ianandrich » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:55 PM UTC

riyadparvez wrote: post #48

As someone who is not from North America, this positive/good vibe culture really baffles me. You are a human being. Negative emotions are part of life. World is full of pain and sufferings. You are supposed to feel empathy for other people and feel bad for their misfortune even if you have the good luck of not going through suffering. I just don't understand this obsession of feeling good all the time. I don't know h…

You are right, it is a serious problem.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#109

Post by Loughla » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:55 PM UTC

cs702 wrote: post #24

It's part of the ongoing "corporatization" and "MBA-ization" of US colleges and universities. GW's attempt to institute a "culture" using techniques developed at Disney is just one of many possible examples, although I will admit it is a particularly easy one to mock. (Quoting the OP: "The GW culture initiative can be summed up in two words: Mickey Mouse.") Much of higher education in the US is now controlled by an a…

> According to federal figures, as of a few years ago, the number of non-academic administrative and professional employees at US colleges and universities has more than doubled in the past quarter century, outpacing the growth in the number of students or faculty.[a]

Just as an aside - this does include professional staff, which is advisors, academic support staff, and other student facing services. The problem with higher ed statistics like that is that it makes no effort to separate the assistant to the assistant to the assistant provost from the academic coaches. One of the two of those positions actually provide value to the student experience.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#110

Post by mbostleman » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:56 PM UTC

It's interesting to me to see where, when there is something wrong, people determine the problem is. So in this case there's an implied diss against Disney and probably more generally against consultants. To me, both of those are symptoms and are sure to be supplied by the market wherever the real problem crops up which is a buyer. In this case, GW's president and/or the board.