Disney World

Disney World in Florida is one of the most profitable corporations of the industrial century. A trip to the corporation in Florida includes a spin on the "It's a Small World" ride in the Fantasyland section of the organization's park. Typically, the journey is a slow boat ride through the world that represents over a hundred nations and features hundreds of robotic children dressed in symbolic costumes, with the majority of these robotic children participating in symbolic or cultural stunts that represent the cultures of their native lands. Through this, Disney tries to send a strong message to the public that in as much as we are different, we are all the same. The masterminds behind the boat ride wanted to dissolve the issues of boundaries that divide us based on race and ethnic backgrounds (Disney's Theme Park Sing-Along 4). Racism is an act of discrimination that is based on the complexion and ethnic background of an individual or a group of persons.

Usually, the targeted person or groups of individuals are made to feel inferior as compared to other groups. In most areas of Europe and the U.S., most of the persons that face discrimination are those from the African American background. Racism has a negative implication and effects on those groups that are targeted. Some of the negative consequences of racism may include psychological challenges and stress and escalation of inferiority complex among the affected groups. Disney is one of those organizations that have in the past three decades come out strongly condemning racial segregation and divisions based on ethnic backgrounds, and this is evident from “It's a Small World” boat ride.

Narration (Background information)

Over the years, Walt Disney has been on the frontline in the promotion of global peace, diversity, and mitigation of racial discrimination. In one of its first strong messages, the company came up with a program dabbed “people to people” that was aimed at eradicating misunderstanding and misconceptions of countries across the globe by allowing people from these countries to meet and interact freely (Adkins). The move by the organization to come up with the “It's a Small World” boat ride was remarkable (Strodder 67). The “It's a Small World” is a strong message that promotes the culture of equality irrespective of age, gender or ethnic background. The boat ride offers a symbolic meaning to the essence of global unity by dissolving the chains of ethnic and racial discrimination (Marx, Jennifer, Alexander, and Dave 34-52). The Disney version of the “it’s a small world” stands out as an ironic reminder that “our understanding of other people’s culture usually lacks the detailed authenticity, and this challenge is directly linked to the educators that only provide superficial knowledge on students on the essence of cultural equality and the need to eradicate racial discriminations.” In as much as the elementary schools are dotted with children from a diverse population, the elementary instructors are limited on time required to provide these children with the knowledge on the essence of embracing cultural diversity.

The curriculums in the other education levels also fail to dig deeper into the issue of cultural diversity and racial discrimination. The curriculum instead focuses on humanity, sciences, and mathematics, thus failing to address the issues that affect the society on a daily basis. Upon complication of school, an individual has to understand that while it is valid to make cultural contrasts and comparisons, the cultural values that guide our lives are far much complex (Mowry, Curtis, Adam Pimentel, Elizabeth and Brittany 55). In most occasions, when studying different cultures, individuals tends to be limited by the representations of the culture that they are trying to study and this makes it hard to tell whether the representation of the culture is authentic or not. Connecting all these information to Disney’s “it’s a small world” one gets to learn that we may be different in complexions but we are all the same (Setyawan 2013). The mental attitude that propagates racial discriminations comes from deep within us and is influenced by the societies in which we come from and the superficial knowledge that is derived from the learning institutions.

“It’s a small world” is symbolic term that means that the world is interconnected through different types of relationships among individuals thus making the world a very small place to live. The smallness of the world is given a true meaning by the Disney Corporation especially by its push for a united world through the understanding of the cultures of people from different ethnic backgrounds. A boat ride at the Walt Disney’s park provides one with a clear view of the cultures of people from different backgrounds through the robotic representations. Disney sends a clear message to the world through “it’s a small world” boat ride that by understanding the different cultures that exists across the globe, then issues of cultural discrimination or racial discrimination can be mitigated. Cultural authenticity is also portrayed as a thematic aspect of the “It’s a Small World.” from an organizational point of view, a combination of cultural values and cultural authenticity can be instrumental in the promotion of cultural diversity.

Argument type 1

Racial equality focuses on the equality among the various races across the globe. Walt Disney portrays the essence of embracing cultural diversity and racial equality (Sherman, Richard, Robert, and Arnold 45-67). Over the years, the issue of racial discrimination has been on the rise, with members of specific races being the targets. In the U.S. for instance, the black Americans continue to face a lot of discrimination, most of them being considered as inferior. The red Indians and Asians have also been victims of racism in the past.

One of the main causes of cultural segregation is the lack of understanding of different cultures from various parts of the globe (Young 43-45). This is further propagated by the lack of authenticity of these cultures. With such inferior knowledge on different types of cultures, people from one culture may end up viewing those from a different culture as inferior. According to Walt Disney’s “it’s a small world,” the lack of in-depth comprehension of different cultures is one of the main reasons behind racial discriminations and a lack of cultural diversity. The belief that one culture is superior to the other is only but a mind-set that has to be eliminated, and Disney, through its boat ride has tried to dissolve the issue in the past three decades (EvanTubeHD 2012). People from all walks of life are allowed to visit the Disney Fairyland, and through the experience derived in this visit, they learn to embrace the essence of cultural diversity.

A lack of understanding of the various cultures that exists across the globe is the reason behind the racial discrimination that is experienced in most of the countries across the globe. Usually, an individual will grow having a clear understanding of his or her culture. Such an individual will always find it hard to appreciate other cultures that are in existence across the globe. It is because of such mentalities that Disney has in the past decades come out to help eradicate the issue of racial discrimination. Cultural discrimination may have a lot of negative effects on the targeted ethnic groups. One of the main effects of racial discrimination is the psychological challenges that those affected have to face from time to time. Some of those affected may end up being denied employment opportunities even if they have the necessary qualifications. Such issues of lack of cultural diversity have over the years been addressed by Disney.

Argument type 2

Cultural diversity is an integral concept, and either companies or institutions have to ensure that they embrace it. “It’s a small world” by Disney serves as a lesson on the essence of cultural diversity and exploration. Cultural diversity refers to the representation of people from all ethnic background in either an institution, an organization or even in the society. A rise on a boat in the Disney’s park provides one with an opportunity to identify the essence of equal cultural recognition as well as the essence of cultural diversity. The aspect of cultural diversity plays a great role in the organizational progress (Jacobs, 78). In most cases, the multi-national corporation finds themselves with the problem of a lack of cultural diversity especially when they are set up in regions that do not have the same culture as that of the organization.

Disney is one of those companies across the globe that has embraced cultural diversity. Other than the company’s Small World, it also has a representation of people from all cultures as employees (Lainsbury 110-113). The company believes that through the exploration of cultural diversity, the world will keep on getting smaller and smaller and will someday get united. The essence of cultural diversity, according to “it’s a small world” by Disney is to promote racial equality and mitigate the boundaries of division that affect the relationships between people from different ethnic backgrounds (Disney, Walt, Rex Allen, Paul, Richard, and Daws 16-33). Cultural diversity also covers the cultural values of the persons from various ethnic backgrounds. Promotion of these cultural values can be instrumental in the mitigation of issues of cultural segregation that arises within communities.

Based on the “It’s a Small World” cultural authenticity and cultural values are things that are all in our brains and they may play a role on whether an individual appreciate those from different cultural backgrounds or consider them inferior (Disney, Walt, Rex Allen, Paul, Richard, and Daws 16-33). The same case applies with cultural diversity within organizations. Institutions that are founded on cultures that call for equality among people from diverse cultures tend to be effective when it comes to the promotion of cultural diversity, unlike those organizations that fail to understand the essence of cultural equality (Disney, Walt, Rex Allen, Paul, Richard, and Daws 16-33).

Argument type 3

One of the main factors that contribute to the divisions across the globe based on culture is the lack of representations of the cultures in the educational curriculum. Learning institutions have failed in the provision of vital lessons pertaining to the essence of cultural equality. Schools have failed in the provision of knowledge to students on the essence of appreciating the cultural values and norms of people from different ethnic backgrounds (O'Connor, Flannery and Zaafirah 67-78). Elementary schools have to be the platform where instructors need to introduce to the children the topic of cultural values and practices across the globe. However, this hardly happens in most of the elementary schools. Instead, teachers spend most of their time feeding the students with theoretical knowledge and arts. As these students progress through various grades, thy only get the taste of superficial knowledge on cultural diversity and universal cultural values. This student grows with the mentality that only their cultures are superior from those cultures that they have hardly heard off.

Other than schools, family backgrounds also influence a child’s perspective on different cultural values (Chapman 213-245). Some children come from families where racial discrimination is a daily practice. In such a case, this child may end up with racial discrimination as a part of his or her habit. The society as a whole may also contribute to the erosion of cultural authenticity and cultural values. The society makes its members have the belief that their culture is more superior compared to other cultures. Members of such societies are also some of the main promoters of racial discriminations. The society need to be on the frontline in teaching its members about cultural diversity and the essence of cultural interactions (Chapman 213-245). Children need to be taught by their parents, from the word go that all people are equal irrespective of colour or ethnic background.

“It’s a small world” by Disney is also a portrayal of the essence of workplace diversity. At the workplace, diversity is categorized into the race, gender and language. People in the organization come from different ethnic backgrounds and speak different languages. Moreover, there is diversity in terms of social status and age. In the organization, individuals believe in different religions. Diversity has come along with various benefits to the organization. Diversity has led to the incorporation of diverse experience in the organization. Each and every member of the organization is equipped with a different strength that they can put into use to lead to improved organizational performance. Being exposed to new ideas, culture and perspectives leads to personal growth as the individual learns new things in the organization. Personal enrichment leads to an increase in productivity in the organization.

In as much as it may be argued that workplace diversity has brought a lot of benefits within organizations, it has also come along with its shares of challenges. One of the major problems associated with diversity is communication issues. People come from various races and communicate in a language understood by them. Hence, in the organization, this may result to language barriers. Moreover, diversity leads to the formation of small social groups in the organization. Usually, those from able backgrounds do not associate with those from poor backgrounds. Moreover, diversity has resulted to racism in the organization. Some races are seen as inferior. In as much as gender-related issues occur in the organization; they have not been given the necessary attention. The women are allocated the low paying jobs while men get the better share of the lovely jobs in the organization.

Counter Argument

Cultural values focus on the values that have been set aside for the society to embrace. The societal values are based on the moral education that is administered to the members of the society. In most cases, these values relate to the norm of culture, and they have to be practiced by all the members of the society. Those members of the society that fail to uphold cultural values end up finding themselves with problems with the members of the other members of the society and the authorities. Cultural values are transmitted from the parents to their children through both physical and cognitive education. Based on the three arguments, one thing stands out “lack of cultural equality.”

In as much as schools may be accused of not being on the frontline in the promotion of cultural diversity and cultural values, the society has to take the full blame. The society serves as the child’s first school, and failure by the society to provide its members the necessary knowledge on the essence of cultural equality leads to the development of issues of racial discrimination and cultural inferiority. Individuals need to take responsibility for the cultural divisions that exist around the world rather than shifting blame on the lack of adequate cultural representation on the school curriculums. Walt Disney has over the years promoted the theme of a united people through various programs (Smith, David, and Steven 1-12).

Another lesson that can be derived from the “it’s a small world” is the essence of cultural competence. Cultural competency refers to the organization’s ability to stick to the values and the set organization’s ability to stick to the set organizational behaviours. In the organization, there are various people from different cultures and background. The workability of the organization depends on the type of treatment that the employees receive. In the health context, cultural competency referrers to the level-based knowledge skills required providing effective clinical care to patients from different ethnic groups. Through cultural competency, individuals learn to embrace one another as equals, irrespective of their cultural backgrounds. Disney, through “it’s a small world” has been on the frontline in emphasizing the essence of cultural competency and the portrayal of the message that we are one and no individual has to be segregated based on his or her ethnic background or skin color.

Rebutta

The cultural inequalities that exist in the modern world have been inexistence since time in memorial. During eras of the slave trade, for instance, people from Africa and Asia were taken as slaves to the white man’s property. After the eradication of slave trade racial discrimination emerged and those from the black or Asian communities were seen as inferior to the white man. Since then, various bodies have tried to address the issue of cultural discriminations with Disney being one of those organizations (Hanley web).

From a bigger picture, the societies have to be on the front page when it comes to addressing the issue (McManus 96). Societies need to teach its members to appreciate the cultural values of the universal cultures. As for the learning institutions, one way to enhance cultural diversity and reinforce students’ understanding of other cultures and cultural values is to have the students examine other cultures in more depth from as early as elementary schools (Gallavan 7-10). Students should be encouraged to find examples of cultural universals from other communities and societies and hypothesize about the cultural values that underlie these cultures.

Based on the learning from the “It’s a Small World” by Disney, it is clear that workplace diversity is an integral thing that each and every organizations across the globe need to embrace. In most cases, workplace diversity brings people from different ethnic backgrounds together and through this diversity, they relate with one another in their daily operations. Over the years, Disney Company has been one of the main promoters of workplace diversity and this has always been evident through the different cultures that are represented in its workforce. “It’s a Small World” serves as a major teaching to the globe that racial discrimination is something that need to be eradicated from the world. People need to unite and focus on attaining sustainable goals that can push the globe forward.

Within companies, in the case where cultural diversity leads to challenges, the management team has to come up with practices that curb the vices. The manager can involve each and every employee in formulating and executing diversity initiatives. The manager needs to encourage the employees to share ideas and opinions as well as decision-making policies of the organization. Additionally, diversity needs to be incorporated in the management team. The company has to ensure that is not bias on how it selects its managers. With cultural diversity in the management team, solving cases related to diversity will be easy.

Conclusion

“It’s a Small World” by Walt Disney is a representation of cultural authenticity. Disney, through the “it’s a small world”, tries to show the public that cultural unity is the way forward and the obstacles that may end up leading to cultural divisions need to be eradicated. The company provides individuals with an opportunity to explore cultural diversity and learn on the essence of eradication of discriminations based on ethnic backgrounds and skin complexions. Based on the argument above, it is clear that the smallness of the world depends on how individuals view cultures other than the ones where they belong. Appreciation of different cultures can help in promoting global unity.

Works Cited

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