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.”
Yeah, definitely not effective in the least. The only thing I remember from those trainings was it was nice to not have to be on-call (at all, another team took over) for a full day, and we got donuts and tasty boxed lunches, so I guess that was nice.
But I can't remember any of the content of the seminars, because I'm not sure I was fully conscious through them.
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.