Posted on 05/05/2022 6:21:59 AM PDT by MarvinStinson
As Disney grapples with the aftermath of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis revoking the company's special tax district, business leaders around the globe are contemplating their own company values as political issues take center stage.
"I don't think [Disney CEO Bob Chapek] did his homework," Bill George, a Harvard Business School professor, said.
"We're in a different world today — he was acting like he was back in the 1990s. In this world of 2022, you have all kinds of stakeholders who expect you to take a position, especially your employees," adding that workers today have found their voice "particularly in this post-COVID world."
"They want to be respected and heard, and they want their CEOs to speak on their behalf," he said, saying that Bob Chapek's silence on what critics have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill, created the "uproar" that eventually led to the political crossfire with DeSantis.
Chapek initially decided not to speak publicly on the matter, opting instead to work behind the scenes in an attempt to soften the legislation. It didn't work.
The executive eventually reversed course following intense backlash. He publicly denounced the act during the company's annual shareholder meeting on March 9, in addition to directly apologizing to employees in a company memo.
But many believe it was just too little, too late.
"When this legislation started in Florida, [Disney] should have had a position ready to go...a position that was true to the mission and values of what Disney is — a place that accepts everyone for who they are," George noted.
Chapek's fumble now serves as a cautionary tale to other business leaders who are "very concerned" about future political battles, according to the professor.
(Excerpt) Read more at aol.com ...
That means Disney controls all of its utilities and infrastructure, sets building codes, operates its own police and fire departments, and can expand and grow whenever it wishes — all without local or state government interference.
"I call it a Vatican with mouse ears, because it's essentially the same kind of authority that the Vatican has in Rome in the state of Italy," said Richard Foglesong, Disney historian and author of the book "Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando."
instead of ‘dont say gay’
How about “Don’t say GRAPPLE’
“Florida can’t do without Disney World, I can tell you that.”
Spoken by someone who sounds like they share Disney’s “values.”
Those values are ruining our nation. I can tell you that.
So, not woke enough. Too little woke, too late.
In a decent world, Harvard would fire the professor for incompetence.
How many employees have actually quit Twitter? Stopping their censorship will be akin to telling them they can’t play minesweeper because the company replaced Windows 95 with Windows 2000, not like telling them they have no purpose in life.
How has Disney’s stock performed, now that Disney has “corrected” their previous inaction?
Ah, so Chapek’s error wasn’t sticking the Mouse’s nose into state politics - it was failing to loudly parrot the leftist party line early enough in the debate. Presumably this is what now passes for business analysis at Harvard.
Disney’s stock trajectory is “going down in flames” - they have erased *all* the gains of the last three years and it’s now trading below the pre-pandemic price and dropping.
“a position that was true to the mission and values of what Disney is — a place that accepts everyone for who they are,””
No, Disney “values” are now to strongly proselytize whatever the current woke issues are.
The premise is that Disney did not go hard left soon enough -- that it should have taken a stronger position against the legislation right off the bat. But that would only make sense if Disney's current problem was opposition by the left. But that isn't the case at all -- Disney is now under fire from the right, not the left, so going harder left earlier would just make it's current problems even worse.
This professor obviously knows that, which means this article isn't really an analysis at all, but rather a polemic written solely to push more corporations to the left. Regardless of its impact on business.
“...Disney is — a place that accepts everyone for who they are,” George noted...”
So they accept pedophile groomers? As I have always suspected. Now Disney can go down with the ship.
Die, MOFO’s! DIE!
“They need to be prepared to deal with these crises and have a position that’s true to their company.”
The newly-established DHS Disinformation Office of Misinformation will be glad to supply talking points.
I am not a harvard graduate..
I am not a yale graduate..
I don’t have alot of letters after my name..
Hell, I did not even sleep in a holiday inn express last night..
But, I do know that any business model that automatically alienates half of your potential customer base, is doomed to fail
If corporations keep coddling employees they will lose everything. Let them quit and hire new ones. You want to use your corporate power use it to get the government to stop paying to keep people comfy at home.
“They want to be respected and heard, and they want their CEOs to speak on their behalf,”
If a CEO believe his role is to voice the political opinions of the loudest employees to the world, then that CEO is a MORON.
“Florida can’t do without Disney World, I can tell you that.”
Disney cannot do without Florida. It has billions invested in infrastructure in place that cannot be moved and would have to be abandoned if Disney decided to shut down Disney World. Shareholders would not accept a write-off of the magnitude required, or the stock price decline that would follow.
Where would Disney relocate Disney World if it left Florida? It would be difficult to acquire a large enough tract anywhere in the extreme southern United States. Climate would limit the locations to South Texas, New Mexico, California, or Arizona. The closer a new Disney World gets to California, the more cannibalization of tourist traffic to Disneyland would occur. Also the farther away from the East Coast the fewer East Coast visitors who drive to the park. European traffic would also decline due to longer air flights.
A park of the size of Disney World needs huge amounts of water for the park as well as the hotels and other businesses required to support the park. Many locations in the southwest do not have sufficient water and the water situation is getting worse.
The truth is Disney is more dependent today on Florida than Florida is on Disney. What liberals also forget is when they are in charge of government they take actions which are negative to business interests all the time. What really is the difference between removing Disney’s special district advantages and denying drilling permits to oil companies or eliminating tax loopholes for a specific industry? Nothing.
Disney will keep operating in Florida because it has no other economic choice. Hopefully the Disney CEO and Disney board have learned a lesson. There was a reason CEO’s in the past avoided having their company’s take a political stance. The LGBTQ community represents less than 5% of the total population. Why cater to an insignificant group that likely represents a small number of customers for the company?
It was an act of incredible stupidity for the CEO to cave to a small group of employees supported by a social justice organization and media orchestrated national outrage. He should have simply said the corporation does not take political positions. He could even have expressed his personal opinion as a personal opinion. Had he taken the hard line on the company not taking positions on political issues, within a couple of weeks the furor would have blown over and the social justice lobby would have moved on to another issue. Instead, he has destroyed the value of the company’s stock and cost the company billions of dollars in economic advantage in the future. He, and the board of directors, should be fired.
I don’t understand any of this.
It’s 2022, so a company’s employees want their CEO to be a strong spokesman on their liberal values??
I understand homosexuals work at Disney, ok, they work there. What about the concept that individuals and their political views, should not be in the workplace? And should not be trying to force their employer to get politically involved on these fringe issues such as homosexuality and transgender issues? How about the concept that employees go to work and get paid, and they get involved in politics as individuals, on their own time?
What about how these employees are getting a business to take a leftist position, on an issue which public opinion polls show the general public strongly opposes? Why is that apparently a good thing?
Hmmmm...I thought the chief executive of the company was supposed to represent STOCKHOLDER interests...not employees.
I wonder how that is working out for Disney......
That's the bottom line and correct conclusion.
Fired and seriously sued by shareholders.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.