Disney continues to show its willingness to cooperate with the government, especially on a controversial issue like labor unions, it might be able to expand its brand further through more television programming and increased film distribution. China remains a huge, profitable, untapped resource in the media world. This proposal, if successful, would bolster Disney’s revenue and drive demand for its products among 1.3 billion people. Through these initiatives, Disney is capable of implementing crucial steps towards eliminating sweatshops. While there are many details and complications with these proposals, they remain plausible solutions that benefit all parties involved. Working with the Chinese government will prove to be an extremely difficult task that will take years of concessions. There is also the risk that negotiations will simply fall through. In the end, it is up to Disney’s executives to weigh these risks against the potential upside. Even if these proposals do not return as large a profit as Disney might have hoped, the company will be looked upon as an exemplar of socially sound business practices. Such an image is sure to be appreciated by consumers, employees, and all other stakeholders. Only then can Disney truly claim to be “The Happiest Place on Earth.” ¥
1 Barboza, David. “Job Conditions Worsen in Areas of China, Experts
Say.” The New York Times. 23 Jun 2009. Web. 6 May 2011. <http:// www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/business/global/23labor.html>. 2 “Sweatshops.” Dictionary and Thesaurus – Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 6 May 2011. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ sweatshops>. 3 Barboza. 4 “Introduction to International Labour Standards.” International Labour Organization. Web. 6 May 2011. <http://www.ilo.org/global/ standards/introduction-to-international-labour-standards/lang-en/index.htm>. 5 “How the ILO Works.” International Labour Organization, Web. 6 May 2011. <http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/how-the-iloworks/lang--en/index.htm>. 6 “Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour,” trans. “Mickey Mouse Is No Longer Lovely.” Rep. Students Disney Watch (China), 27 Nov 2009. Web. 6 May 2011. <http://sacom.hk/wpcontent/uploads/2009/12/sdw-labour-report_summary.pdf>. 7 “Fortune 500 2011: Industry: Entertainment.” CNNMoney.com. Fortune 500 Magazine, 3 May 2011. Web. 6 May 2011. <http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/ fortune500/2011/industries/145/index.html>. 8 Schuyler, Shannon. “Corporate Responsibility at PwC.” Business and Its Publics. Skirball Auditorium, New York. 24 Jan 2011. Lecture. 9 “Supply Chain – About | Corporate Citizenship Report | Disney.” The Walt Disney Company and Affiliated Companies – Corporate Information. 2010. Web. 6 May 2011. <http://corporate. disney.go.com/citizenship2010/supplychain/overview/ aboutthesupplychain>.
Emil is a junior at NYU Stern and is majoring in finance and economics.
10 “2008 CR Report – Labor Standards in Licensing and Product
Sourcing.” The Walt Disney Company, 2008. Web. 6 May 2011. <http://disney.go.com/crreport/workplaces/laborstandards/ focusareas.html>. 11 “Code of Conduct Is No More than False Advertising, Disney Suppliers Continue Exploiting Chinese Workers.” Rep. China Labor Watch, Nov 2010. Web. 6 May 2011. <http://www.chinalaborwatch. org/investigations/2010_11_10/I00404E.pdf>. 12 “The 3.0 Process.” The Fair Labor Organization, 2011. Web. 6 May 2011. <http://oldsite.fairlabor.org/what_we_do_fla_3.0_c3.html>. 13 Ibid. 14 “Supply Chain.” 15 Adams, Jonathan. “Is China’s Labor Law Working.” Newseek.com. Newsweek, 13 Feb 2008. Web. 6 May 2011. <http://www.newsweek. com/2008/02/13/chinese-union.html>. 16 Ibid. 17 Adams. 18 Ibid. 19 Barboza, David. “Foreign Companies Pushed to Allow Chinese Unions.” The New York Times. 11 Sep 2008. Web. 6 May 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/business/worldbusiness/ wwiht-yuan.4.16084372.html>. 20 Ibid. 21 “Code of Conduct.” 22 Barnes, Brooks. “China Approves Disney Theme Park in Shanghai.” The New York Times. 4 Nov 2009. Web. 6 May 2011. <http://www. nytimes.com/2009/11/04/business/global/04disney.html>. 23 Ibid. 24 Barnes.
THE CALL FOR CORPORATE ACTION
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