JWI 505 Strayer University The Crisis Faced by Disney Company Paper

NAVIGATING A CRISISAssignment #2 – Navigating a Crisis
[Write Your Name Here]
Jack Welch Management Institute
JWI 505: Business Communications and Executive Presence
[Write Your Professor’s Name Here]
[Write the Date Here]
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied,
further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University. This course guide is subject
to change based on the needs of the class.
JWI 505 – Assignment 2
NAVIGATING A CRISIS
Your submission should be typed, double spaced, with a blank line between paragraphs, using a
professional font (size 10-12). Application of course material or other resources is needed. References
and in-text citations must be included and provide appropriate information that enables the reader to
locate the original source. Use the JWMI Writing Standards Guide in Course Documents to guide you in
the formatting of your citations. Your writing should be concise, and your analysis should not exceed 23 pages, which does not include your cover page or your references page. Your memo which follows
your paper should also be professionally written and concise. Aim for 1-2 pages in length. The crisis you
chose should be one that occurred at a specific company in the last year.
The Crisis Faced by [Write the Company Name Here]
In 1 paragraph, describe the crisis faced by your chosen company.
Summary of the Company Response to the Crisis
In 1 paragraph, summarize how the company responded to the crisis.
Evaluation of the Company Response to the Crisis
In 1-2 paragraphs, use Jack or Warren’s advice to evaluate how effective the company’s
response was.
Strategic Overview of Internal Memo
In 1-2 paragraphs, provide a strategic overview of your internal memo. Explain what exactly
you hope your memo accomplishes.
This completes the first part of the assignment. A template for the internal memo follows:
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied,
further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University. This course guide is subject
to change based on the needs of the class.
JWI 505 – Assignment 2
NAVIGATING A CRISIS
Memo
TO: All Domestic Employees of [Write the Company Name Here]
FROM: [Write the Chosen Leader’s Name Here]
DATE: [Write the Date Here]
RE: [Write the Topic of the Crisis Here]
Write a memo from the perspective of a leader in the company to your team members. Use the heading
above, aligned to the left, and make sure you cover the following, including relevant headings (centered
and bold) to guide your memo:
1. The nature of the crisis
2. How the company – and you – are responding to the situation
3. What steps your team members should take, or what they should expect to do differently
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied,
further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University. This course guide is subject
to change based on the needs of the class.
JWI 505 – Assignment 2
NAVIGATING A CRISIS
References (examples below; this goes on the last page)
1. JWI505. Week 5. Lecture Notes
2. JWI505. Week 6. EoP Video. Jack Welch
3. Jack Welch. 2005. Winning
4. Heather Haddon. August 10, 2020. McDonald’s Sues to Recover Severance from Fired CEP,
Claiming He Lied About Affairs with Employees. The Wall Street Journal.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-sues-to-recover-severance-from-fired-ceoclaiming-he-lied-about-affairs-with-employees-11597064924
5. Jack Garson. October 1, 2019. Crisis Management: Do You Have the Right Plan?. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackgarson/2019/10/01/crisis-management-do-you-havethe-right-plan/#27e3138b4907
In-text Citing Examples (based on the examples above):
Quotes:
In the Week 5 EoP video Jack states that he likes to “plan for a crisis and act with haste before it gets
out” (Welch, 2). Jack also says to “get all the brains in the game” (Welch, 3).
Paraphrased Research: As we refocus our planning on guiding our company through this time of crisis it
is critical that we all have a voice and share our ideas (Welch, 3).
© Strayer University. All Rights Reserved. This document contains Strayer University confidential and proprietary information and may not be copied,
further distributed, or otherwise disclosed, in whole or in part, without the expressed written permission of Strayer University. This course guide is subject
to change based on the needs of the class.
JWI 505 – Assignment 2
5/15/22, 3:47 PM
Disney Faces Backlash in Florida Amid ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Controversy – WSJ
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-faces-backlash-in-florida-amid-dont-say-gay-controversy-11650027780
BUSINESS
Disney Faces Backlash in Florida Amid ‘Don’t
Say Gay’ Controversy
Politicians threaten to strip the company of Mickey Mouse copyright, special tax status
for Walt Disney World, as parents protest in Orlando
By Robbie Whelan
Follow
and Arian Campo-Flores
Follow
Updated April 15, 2022 6:57 pm ET
When Walt Disney Co. DIS 2.90% ▲ Chief Executive Bob Chapek explained his decision to stay silent
on Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, known by its opponents as the “Don’t Say Gay”
legislation, he told employees in a March letter that he didn’t want Disney to become a “political
football.”
More than a month later, that’s exactly what Disney has become, nowhere more than in the Sunshine
State.
Some Republican lawmakers in Florida are threatening to end a special tax district that has allowed
the company to effectively govern the land on which Walt Disney World sits for decades. Members of
Congress have called for Disney to be stripped of its original Mickey Mouse copyright.
Dive Into for
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re-election
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corporations” that they say are promoting messages and taking stands that put them out of step
with the values of Florida parents and voters. Fans and park workers protested outside the
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5/15/22, 3:47 PM
Disney Faces Backlash in Florida Amid ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Controversy – WSJ
company’s headquarters earlier this month, and others have used social media to call for boycotts
against Disney’s parks and its flagship streaming service, Disney+.
Mr. Chapek and Disney stayed silent on the bill until after the Florida state Senate voted for it on
March 8. Soon after the vote, Mr. Chapek moved quickly to reassure angry employees who criticized
the company for not taking a stand. Later, the company said the bill “should never have been
passed,” and vowed to fight for its repeal and to fight other bills like it in other states.
The Florida bill prohibits classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for
schoolchildren through grade three, and limits it for older students to material that is “age
appropriate.”
President Biden condemned the bill as hateful toward LGBT people, and Disney employees organized
walkouts in protest of it. Public-opinion polling on the measure is mixed, but most polls have found
that the bill and others like it in other states generally have the support of about half of voters
surveyed.
As Disney enters the second month of fallout from its handling of the Florida bill, now it’s politicians
and fans, more than employees, who are using the company as a punching bag, underscoring how
perilous it can be for a family-oriented entertainment company to take a stand on sensitive social
issues.
Disney, one of Florida’s largest private-sector employers, with nearly 80,000 workers, declined to
comment on criticism from lawmakers. Inside the company, some executives have expressed
disappointment that Disney has become politicized, said people familiar with their thinking.
This month, Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana, sent a letter to Mr. Chapek saying he
opposed extending the original copyright for Mickey Mouse, which is set to expire at the end of 2023.
Certain Disney copyrights have been extended repeatedly in the past by acts of Congress.
Mr. Banks wrote that he now opposes further extensions because he objects to Disney’s investments
in China and because the company has “capitulated to far-left activists” on LGBT issues. Two other
U.S. House members have since voiced support for Mr. Banks’s letter.
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Disney Faces Backlash in Florida Amid ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Controversy – WSJ
A small group of Florida Republicans has resurrected the idea of repealing what’s known as the
Reedy Creek Improvement District, a 38-square-mile plot of land near Orlando that includes Walt
Disney World and was created in 1967 by the state of Florida at the request of Walt Disney himself.
The Reedy Creek district, believed to be one of the largest independent tax districts in the country, is
exempt from many state and local environmental rules, building codes and taxes, allowing Walt
Disney World to have more control over its development projects. The district has its own board of
supervisors and fire department.
It’s unclear exactly how much the benefits Disney gets from Reedy Creek are worth, but the district
collected $140 million in taxes last year from Disney, according to public filings. Disney saves tens of
millions of dollars a year by avoiding paying certain county and state taxes and fees, according to a
former executive who studied the issue over a decade ago. A representative of the district declined to
comment.
Disney’s challenges in the state come after the company reported record income from its theme
parks and resorts business in its most recent financial disclosures.
“Disney has wielded an enormous amount of power in this state and has basically been untouchable,
but now they are in their weakest position, politically, in more than 50 years,” said Spencer Roach, a
Republican state representative from Lee County, on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Mr. Roach, who is seeking re-election in November, in early April published a tweet calling for the
repeal of the state law that established Reedy Creek, saying that the tax-exempt district gives Disney
an unfair competitive advantage over other companies in the entertainment business in Florida.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis, who clashed repeatedly with Disney in recent weeks, signaled his support for the
effort.
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Disney Faces Backlash in Florida Amid ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Controversy – WSJ
“Disney had held so much sway, they were able to sustain a lot of special treatment over the years,”
Mr. DeSantis said last month in response to a reporter’s question. “And if that stops now, which it
should, that’ll be a good thing for Florida.”
Anthony Sabatini, a state representative from exurban Orlando, is running for Congress this fall and
says that standing up to “woke corporatism and corporate tyranny” from companies like Disney will
be a central tenet of his campaign.
The political backlash is unlikely to drag on Disney’s financial results in the short term, but there
remains concern that political fallout might continue to alienate the company’s creative employees
and drive them to competitors, said Laura Martin, a media analyst with Needham & Co.
Republican state Rep. Joe Harding, chief sponsor of the Parental Rights in Education bill, said while
Disney has a lot of assets in Florida, company executives in the state told him that the decision to
oppose the bill came from California.
“They’re not a company in line with Florida values,” Mr. Harding said.
The prospect of Republican state leaders—who have long presented themselves as pro-business and
have benefited from Disney’s political contributions—battling one of the state’s largest employers is
jarring for many. Disney last month said it is pausing all political contributions in Florida.
“It’s just really quite shocking to see Disney in this situation, coming under attack from Republicans”
who traditionally have been supportive of Disney, said Aubrey Jewett, a political-science professor
at the University of Central Florida.
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Republican opposition to Disney an effort to rebuke the company for speaking out, rather than a
principled stance against corporate influence.
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5/15/22, 3:47 PM
Disney Faces Backlash in Florida Amid ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Controversy – WSJ
“My concern is that much of this seems punitive in nature,” Ms. Eskamani said. “Disney stood up to
say, ‘We don’t consent to homophobia and transphobia.’ ”
Some longtime Disney fans have canceled streaming subscriptions and vowed not to spend any more
money at Disney parks in response to the media push over LGBT issues and the Florida bill. The
conservative group Moms for America has planned a protest this Saturday at the entrance of Walt
Disney World in Orlando.
Jordan Smith, a pastor and charter schoolteacher in Jacksonville, canceled his Disney+ account this
month because he disagreed with the company’s stance on the bill. “I think that Disney took a strong
stance against parents,” he said.
Write to Robbie Whelan at robbie.whelan@wsj.com and Arian Campo-Flores at arian.campoflores@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
The Reedy Creek Improvement District in Florida does not have its own police department. An
earlier version of this article incorrectly said that it does. (Corrected on April 15.)
Appeared in the April 16, 2022, print edition as ‘Disney Is Whipsawed Over Stance in Florida’.
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This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For
non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.
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