Introduction
Disney World, also known as Walt Disney World Resort or Walt Disney world is a renowned entertainment and destination resort located in Florida near Orlando. This entertainment complex was opened on October 1, 1971, and is ranked as the most visited destination worldwide. The company is owned and managed by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, which is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Disney World hosts themed resorts hotels, water parks, non-Disney hotels, theme parks, camping resorts, golf courses, shopping malls, and other forms of entertainment. The resort has a rich tradition that brings great characters, stories, and wonderful experience to their guests from different parts of the world. Being a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, Disney world operates under the code of ethics, rules, and regulation provided by the Walt Disney Company.
Corporate Compliance
Disney World, among other affiliates of the Disney Company, believes in doing what is right and take full responsibility for their action to protect their quests, consumers, audience, and shareholders. Walt Disney Company's code of business conducts defines the standards and controls of the Disney World. The code of business conduct outlines what the corporate is expected to do or not to do. The company believes that the continued success and competitive advantage is based on the conducting business with integrity, honesty, and in compliance with the law throughout their diverse operations.
Walt Disney Company's standards of business conducts reflect the company's commitment and offer the guests with the information they need to do the right thing in the work environment. Consequently, the staff and employees can preserve the reputation of being an ethical company. The employees and staff are required to act with honesty and integrity and comply with the applicable regulations and laws while performing their duties. In addition, the employees and staff are required to share their concerns regarding the issues that violate the company's standards.
Headed by Walt Disney Parks and Resort's chairperson, Bob Chapek, the leadership in the Disney World is actively involved in building a firm ethical foundation to ensure that all stakeholders comply with the laws. In this case, leadership oversees and understand the compliance program to enhance effectiveness. For instance, Jolie Hodges has the authority and responsibility to carry out the compliance programs among other roles. She is responsible for human resources-related activates such as overseers labor and employee relations, compliance, recruitment, diversity and inclusion, talent planning, compensation, and organization development among others. Therefore, the company has high ranking compliance officer who has the resources and the authority to manage and monitor compliance programs in the Disney World.
Ethical issues
Disney Company and all its affiliated companies such as Disney World are committed to ethical standards that define their relationship with the stakeholders and their competitors. The company's Standards of Business Conduct and Ethics is offered to all the employees and staff through a management system known as Disney Development Connection. Disney world is responsible for for safety, quality and privacy protection to all their guests and customers (The Walt Disney Company, 2012).
Safety
On safety, Disney world embraces commitment to promoting welfare, safety, and health to their customers and guests as the critical responsibility. All the employees in the company share the responsibility of ensuring the guest have are secure and safe when they are consuming the Disney World's products. The designers, builders, operators and other employees within the company have the commitment to meet the high standards of company attractions, facilities or products (The Walt Disney Company, 2012). In addition, the commitment made by employees preserves not only the safety of the customers and the guests but also a safe work environment for the other employees.
Quality
Disney World leads in offering high-quality products that include experience and entertainment of all kinds such as films, theme park attractions and results, consumer products, and stores, and online experience. The company takes the responsibility to build quality into every service and product they deliver and every interaction they share. For instance, Disney World provides convenient services and help through the resort (The Walt Disney Company, 2012). This implies that all the company's employees and staffs have to be passionate, knowledgeable, and courteous when offering high-quality experience to all customers and guests. For example, for the guests who participates in MyMagic+, the company values them and is dedicated to treating the information shared with respect and care (Walt Disney World, 2016).
Privacy
For the Disney World to maintain and protect privacy for their guests, customers, and their employees through compliance with data privacy laws. However, the guests and customers are entitled to comply with the Company policies related to retention and handling of the information. For instance, the information collected from the guests who use the mobile app or My Disney Experience website is treated in accordance with the company's privacy policy. This policy is established to offer transparency into the company's privacy principles and practices, in a structure that the guests can explore, read and understand. In addition, the company has implemented administrative, physical, and technical security measures that are established to protect the clients' information from disclosure, unauthorized access, modification, and use (The Walt Disney Company, 2015)
Corporate Social Responsibility
The Disney World is the famous and large corporation practicing corporate social responsibility within its subsidiaries business model. Disney World has developed solid and admirable reputations for going the extra mile to give back to their employees, the community as well as to the world in large (Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, 2016). Disney World has turned their success into an opportunity to give back to the societies.
In 2009, Disney World was named a leader in corporate social responsibility as an honor for taking significant steps to better the world through its responsible business practices. Disney World mainly focuses on the community, environment, and labor standards which enhance volunteerism. In 2010, Disney World continued to give to charity, which focused on natural disasters, for example, the earthquakes that strike Haiti in the same year. Another major focus for the Disney World is volunteerism (Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, 2016. The corporation offers millions of free tickets to people to go to the organization of their choice in exchange for a day of volunteer services. This social responsibility has encouraged millions of people in the United States to be committed to service efforts in volunteering to their communities.
The Disney World has strived to keep environment protected as one of their forefront goals. This is to cater and ensure they benefit their employees, guests and business in large. The goal at this juncture is to make the Disney World a desirable place for their guests and to work through their consumer social responsibility efforts (Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, 2016. Disney World has an intensive concern on the environment since it is a reoccurring theme in its business practices such as theme parks. In 1995, during the Earth Day, the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund was established to enforce and support efforts of global and local non-profits who conserve the ecosystems, wildlife and make intensive effects on the community (Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, 2016. The designated fund has helped to support conservation projects in different states.
The Animals, Science and Environment team, connects the Walt Disney Company and Disney World with the plants, animals, and nature. This brings inspiration to them to positively impact the environment. The Animal Programs team contributes in supportive breeding programs with other zoological amenities at the other theme parks. Additionally, the team offers education and tour programs in the Disney World (Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, 2016. Despite these activities creating magical memories for the Disney World guests, they also make a difference for environment conservation across the world.
Legal Issues
The Disney World is committed to observing the law in everywhere they operate across the world. Therefore, the Disney World is committed to lawful business practices. The first legal concern of the Disney World is competition laws (The Walt Disney Company, 2012). The Disney World expects the staff and employees to compete aggressively, but with intensive fairness. They are also expected to sell the Disney World products and services on the basis of merit and quality. The corporation has designed antitrust and competition laws to promote a free and open marketplace. Therefore, the staff and employees have a responsibility to adhere and comply with these laws wherever they do business. They also must be careful in conduct that might lead or suggest a violation. Violation of these laws can subject the employee as well as the corporation to imprisonment, civil financial liability, and substantial criminal fines.
The Disney World expect its staff and employees not to enter into understanding or agreement, be it formal or informal with a customer, competitor or supplier in setting prices or anything involving price terms (The Walt Disney Company, 2012). Additionally, the employees and staff should not refuse to deal with a supplier or customer and should not divide territories or customers.
The Disney World ensure enforce that the workforce has honored the trade secrets, patents, copyrights, and trademarks for other companies. Therefore, it ensures that the workforce is entitled to their skills as well as creative energy while they work in the Disney World but the corporation does not want to learn of secrets employees learned or developed for their previous employers (The Walt Disney Company, 2012). The Disney World state that if an employee infringes a copyright for commercial advantage and willingly may be subjected to criminal prosecution and civil liability.
The safety of products bearing Disney intellectual property, characters and brands is of vital concern to the Disney World. Therefore, the corporation licensees and manufacturers should comply with all applicable legal as well as safety regulatory requirements. For food and drug safety, the Disney World, as a provider of high-quality food merchandise, ensure that the employees should maintain the company's reputation (The Walt Disney Company, 2012). Therefore, the resort should enforce and ensure that its employees are complying with all applicable food and drug laws as well as cooperating fully with related federal and state inspectors who visit resort facilities.
The Walt Disney Parks & Resorts ensure that the employees do not store, prepare or serve food, drugs or any other products in a sanitary condition. Additionally, the employees should not present a product that has not been labeled or inspected as fit for use. In addition, the employee should not sell anything that is incompletely or improperly labeled (The Walt Disney Company, 2012). The resort enhances that employees are not allowed to purchase or sell as a product that needs inspection in any of resort facilities.
References
The Walt Disney Company. (2012). Standards of Business Conduct | The Walt Disney Company and Affiliated Companies. Retrieved April 19, 2016, from https://ditm-twdc-us.storage.googleapis.com/DIS-SBC-CM.pdf
The Walt Disney Company. (2015, December 11). Privacy Policy - Disney Privacy Center. Retrieved April 19, 2016, from https://disneyprivacycenter.com/privacy-policy-translations/english/
Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. (2016). Julie Hodges | Leadership. Retrieved April 19, 2016, from https://aboutdisneyparks.com/about/leadership-team/julie-hodges
Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. (2016). Citizenship. Retrieved April 19, 2016, from https://aboutdisneyparks.com/citizenship
Walt Disney World. (2016). My Disney Experience – Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved April 19, 2016, from https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/my-disney-experience/my-magic-plus-privacy/
Walt Disney World. (2016). Privacy & Legal | Walt Disney World Resort. Retrieved April 19, 2016, from https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/help/privacy-legal/
