Disney’s ethical conduct comprises the statement, “We believe that acting in an ethical manner and with respect for human rights is core to being a good corporate citizen,” (The Walt Disney Company). They also say that they strive to follow the law in all means necessary and that their goals include the following: “disclose relevant citizenship information in a timely manner; integrate citizenship into the day to day decision making of leadership; engage with our stakeholders on a regular basis; integrate citizenship into the responsibilities of every Disney employee; and respect human rights within our operations,” (China Labor Watch). Instead of Disney actually running the factories themselves, they outsource factories all around the …show more content…
based Disney licensee, decided to shut it down altogether instead of just obliging the code of conducts which led to more than 2000 people suffering an immediate layoff. Disney publicly announced that the shutdown was due to the political instability level in Haiti and committed to staying silent so it wouldn’t get publicized. It then relocated to China (Disney’s Sad Sweatshop History). The Hung Hing, Yiuwah, and Nord Race are three factories in China that produce consumer products for Disney. Liu Pan, a 17 year old worker at Yiuwah, was crushed to death in 2009 by a paper crusher machine that he was operating. The machines being used were very old, outdated, and have no safety device besides the employee’s own cautiousness. Wounded accidents take place at these factories at a shockingly high rate. Everyone has to work on these machines day and night, including the children as young as 13 and the older workers up to 80 years old. One month after the accident, Disney responded by refusing to cease any new orders from Yiuwah until the conditions were approved. China Labor Watch and the France-based Peuples Solidaires started a campaign pressuring Disney to make changes to the factories and to face the public. This generated an outcome of thousands of letters from the stakeholders to Disney. The China Labor Watch also suspected that the audit system Disney had been
Disney took that community and essentially broke it over its knee, as well. The houses were razed, the land was cleared, and there wasn't a damned thing anyone could do or say about it. Local TV and Newspapers were against the resort at the beginning, but some insane connection between Disney's media holdings and the local venues came into play and their opinions turned on a dime.
Disney is a lie. Why? This corrupt company brainwashes consumers into handing over their hard-earned money in order to purchase overpriced merchandise, all while under a facade of innocence and happiness. Fairy-tale endings and a cheerful mouse might represent Disney’s projected values, but underneath the exterior lay indicators of Disney’s corrupt ideals. Common people are deceived into handing over their hard-earned money to corrupt companies in order to purchase overpriced products. The power that these companies gain allows these businesses to control, to a certain extent, politics and influence political decisions. These companies will not hesitate to fire American workers in order to save a handful of dollars and stifle any trace of dissent. Therefore, large corporate companies should stop exploiting and manipulating consumers for profit.
Walt Disney once said, “It’s not the magic that makes it work, it’s the work that makes the magic.” (Capodagli & Jackson, 2007). Walt Disney was truly a visionary and ethical leader that used his talents as a transformational leader and artist to dream up a world that has stood the test of time for nearly 90 years. In this paper I will explain why he was both a visionary and ethical leader. It will show that he used inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation to further his clear and easy to follow vision, inspire his personnel, and leverage their creativity. It will also show why I believe Walt Disney fit into the traits of an ethical leader by valuing his team members and creating an environment of mutual trust and respect. Then I will tell you how I have used the same transformational leadership behaviors to lead my people, have made sure not to fall into an ethical trap and take credit for the work others do. All leaders could learn something from Walt’s visionary leadership.
The way I plan on presenting this paper to you, is in three main paragraphs. The first paragraph will talk about the Code of Ethics of Disney and what is in them. The second paragraph will state what Walt Disney’s Corporate
Introduction The Walt Disney Company is an American diversified multinational mass media corporation. It is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. It generated US$ 42.278 billion in 2012. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, and established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and travel. The Walt Disney Company operates as five primary units and segments: The Walt Disney Studios or Studio Entertainment, which includes the company's film, recording label, and theatrical divisions; Parks and Resorts, featuring the company's theme
The Disney Corporation is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media. (Disney Corporate, 2009). This company did not become one of the leading corporations in the world without hard work, an extreme dedication to the mission and core values of the organization, and the successful application of the four functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Many internal and external factors may have a direct impact on the four functions of management like: globalization, ethics, and innovation.
Other than that, each park is designed and structured towards the country’s culture. As operations exist outside the United States, Disney had to consider and accept the cultural differences between their home market of the United States and different international markets. A key theory that assisted Disney in global expansion to Shanghai, China is the understanding of Hofstede’s cultural factors which focuses on six cultural dimensions; power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term/short-term orientation, and indulgence/restraint (Steers, 2016). “Hofstede compares culture to the “software of the mind” that differentiates one group or society from another.” (Steers, 2016). Figure 1 illustrates the cultural differences between China and the United States through Hofstede’s six cultural dimensions.
The Disney Corporation has had both positive and negative effects on American society. Disney has majorly affected both the youth and adults in America by way they interact with each other, what they expect from each other, and how parents bring up their youth in harsh and unrealistic expectations according to Disney. Disney has fostered a strong sense of imagination in the past, present and future youth of America. This sense of imagination is necessary to the development of children when it comes to success in life and self-confidence. The Disney Corporation knows how to work it’s audience for a profit and mastering that skill has allowed Disney to accumulated billions by advertising and selling fantasies to young children and their parents. It’s also these very ideas that influence what Americans believe our government and policies should be founded on. In “The Mouse That Roared” the author states “Education is never innocent, because it always presupposes a particular view of citizenship, culture, and society. And yet it is this very appeal to innocence, bleached of any semblance of politics, that has become a defining feature in Disney culture and pedagogy” (Giroux 31) This quote defines Disney at large. Disney has created the idea of ‘imagination’ in American society and perpetuates it in everything America does and influences everything America stands. In everyday American life, politics and business, The Disney Corporation has a hand in it.
Disney strives to maintain a workforce that reflects open opportunity, where everyone is at an advantage by the company potential.
The Walt Disney Company is a media and entertainment corporation that is centered in the United States but also spans across North America, Europe, Asia- Pacific, and Latin America. Disney has five main components in which it operates, which includes media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products, and interactive.
The Walt Disney Company started as a small entertainment company in 1923 (Disney.com, 2011). Since that time the company has used various strategies enabling them to grow into a global entertainment company.
The Walt Disney Studio’s Diversity Mission Statement is “To create an inclusive environment that is open to all perspectives, allowing us to tell compelling stories in film, animation and music that visually and emotionally reflect our audience worldwide.” “The Walt Disney Studios maintains that the only existing boundaries are those of talent, ambition, imagination and innovation.” (Moore, 2007)
Even in the United States, Disneyworld (Florida) and Disneyland (California) vary in there social forces. Cast Members (Disney’s term for employees) in CA are trained to be friendly and greet every guest, while in FL they are trained to only greet guests who seek them out. The political, legal, and regulatory factors again, vary from theme park to theme park. The parks in the United States have more restrictions than say those of Hong Kong, China. In the U.S, minors (age 15-17) are only allowed to work 20 hours a week. In Hong Kong, young persons (ages 15-17) are allowed to work up to 48 hours a week. Regulatory factors such as this differ in each region. The Walt Disney Company Parks and Resorts has quite an extreme variety of natural environments. The weather in Florida for example can get in the 100’s regularly whereas in California it can get as cold as the low 50’s. These weather conditions actually are a big factor in guests determining which park they want to visit. Technology seems to stay consistent between most of the theme parks. In fact, many of the theme parks have some of the same rides at their parks. The global forces actually can create threats to the company. The addition of the newest theme park to the company, Shanghai Disney, took several years to become accepted. This has been common throughout the duration of The Walt Disney Company. Many people vote against a new theme park or resort because of the crowds that it
“The purpose of the company "Walt Disney" is to be one of the world 's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information using its portfolio of brands to differentiate its content, services and consumer goods. The primary financial objectives of the company are to maximize profits and cash flow, and allocate capital to initiatives the development of long-term shareholder value.”
Culturally, Disney cannot force itself on another people, which in this case was the whole of the European continent. Disney promoted its product, the theme park, similar to that of Tokyo Disneyland believing Europe wanted their piece of “Americana”.