The proposal will identify the organization (Walt Disney Corporation)
Write a brief background of two to three organizational issues/problems that are publicly recognized.
Walt Disney World Corporation
Walt Disney Company is a top entertainment and media corporation. For decades, the organization’s brand has established itself in the field of family entertainment. Despite the success of the company in offering pleasant experiences to its clients, the company has been in the spotlight over issues with its employees pertaining to discrimination and low wages. Majority of Disney’s labor complaints have been raised by employees working in its theme parks. Several charges of racial, religious, and age discrimination have been filed by staff over the years. In 2019, ten women accused the company of gender discrimination, claiming that the company’s managers across its various divisions mistreat women by offering them lower wages compared to men (Levin, 2019). Additionally, Disney workers have complained about low salaries as well as a huge number of its staff being unable to afford to pay rent (Mendelson, 2018). Statistics indicate that employee salaries can reach as little as $13,000 per year, which is 68 percent lower than the average national wage (Mendelson, 2018). Such poor working conditions can have a great effect on employee motivation, which will affect the company’s performance. Disney also struggles with issues of sustainability. In 2009, the company declared that it would cut its carbon emissions by half over the next five years with the help of Conservation International (Pearce, 2009). The company has only focused on emissions at the lower levels, such as monitoring electricity at the offices while neglecting the fundamental practices that cause greater harm to the environment, such as the millions of individuals who fly from Europe to visit the theme park. According to estimates, the total carbon dioxide emissions from one person flying from London to Orlando is 1.96 tons (Pearce, 2009). Considering the rising issues over the environment across the globe, Disney’s failure to adjust its business model to become more sustainable, as stated in its 2009 commitment, might lead to criticism and eventually affect the company’s reputation.
References
Levin, S. (2019, September 19). Underpaid and undervalued’: 10 women claim systemic discrimination at Disney. The Guardian. Available from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/18/disney-lawsuit-gender-pay-gap-abc
Mendelson, J. (2018, October 4). Disney world is anything but magical for its employees. Jobs With Justice. Available from https://www.jwj.org/disney-world-is-anything-but-magical-for-its-employees
Pearce, F. (2009, March 19). Greenwash: Disney is Greening its activities but not its business model, says Fred Pearce. The Guardian. Available from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/mar/19/disney-greenwash-fred-pearce
