Background Information: EPCOT

Introduction

The Walt Disney Company has been founded in 1923, its parks have been built since 1952 (“Corporate Information”); and Epcot was created in 1982 (“Disney-Common in Any Language”). EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype for the Community of Tomorrow and is located in the Disney Park in Orlando, Florida (“Disney-Common in Any Language”). EPCOT contains 2 sections: “…one being the futuristic section towards the front of the park and the entire rear portion of the park is referred to as The World Showcase. This area surrounds a large lake and consists of eleven pavilions, each devoted to the culture of a different country,” (“Disney-Common in Any Language”). This tries to combine the future with the present and is a park that will delight people and children of all backgrounds: ‘“…[It] celebrates the diversity of the world’s peoples, portraying a stunning array of nations with extraordinary devotion to detail,’” (“Disney-Common in Any Language”).

Chief Executive Officer, Robert A. Iger

Robert Iger is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company. He was named President of the company in 2000, and later succeeded the much embattled Michael Eisner who was stripped of his chairman’s title, as chief executive officer in 2005. He oversees one of the largest multi-billion dollar television, motion picture, vacation destination and media corporations in the world.

He was born in New York in 1951, is married and has 4 children, 2 from a previous marriage. He graduated Magna Cum Laude and holds a BS in Communications from Ithaca College. His total annual compensation is $2 million dollars.

Mr. Iger began his career as a weatherman and in 1974 joined ABC television as a studio supervisor and then moved onto ABC sports. He eventually became a senior manager and was instrumental in the merger of ABC with the World Disney Company. He has held various titles since the merger and has been a director of the Walt Disney Company since 2000 (“Corporate Information”).

Called something of an enigma- “easy to like but hard to get to know” by his colleagues, he is a tough financial manager who since 2005 has delivered five consecutive years of double digit growth in operating income.

http://investing.businessweek.com/businessweek

http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/bios/robert_iger.html

http://topics.wsj.com/person

http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/executiveBios/images/iger.jpg

Ethical & Social Responsibility Policies

“May EPCOT Center entertain, inform and inspire and above all, may it instill a new sense of belief and pride in man's ability to shape a world that offers hope to people everywhere in the world.”—E. Cardon Walker, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Walt Disney Productions, October 1, 1982 (Epcot); Epcot is a theme park owned by the Disney Corporation, and since they are owned by Disney, they must follow the same rules of ethics and social responsibility as their owners. Disney’s corporate code of ethics and social responsibilities are what makes Disney World a globally user-friendly environment. Ethics is defined as “the principles and standards that guide our behavior toward other people,” (Haag, 13). Corporate social responsibility refers mostly to decisions that are based on final outcome; “There are four areas that should be measured regardless of the outcome needed: economic function, quality of life, social investment and problem solving,” (“Social Responsibility).

Disney’s goal of corporate social responsibility values their approach of excellent deliverance to their key audiences of kids and families. As exemplified from the above definition, Disney’s measurements of social responsibility involve issues related to environment, community, workplaces and product development. Since Disney puts 101% emphasis into their social decision making responsibilities, the outcome of its brand has globally transpired into a positive outcome and has inspired people from all walks of life to share their mission (“Corporate Responsibility”).

Disney’s standards of ethics are predominately based on the outcome of their standard business conduct, which refers basically to how people are treated with regards to employees, guests, and customers. “People trust us because of our commitment to them and to the standards to which we hold ourselves. We alone are responsible for upholding our excellence and our integrity. This means acting responsibly in all our professional relationships, in a manner consistent with the high standards we set for our business conduct,” (“Corporate Information”).

Since ethics is described on principles and standards, Disney has not only proven themselves by way of entertainment, but also how people act when they actually go to any of their theme parks. For the most part, everyone has a smile on their faces and this is all due to the way Disney delivers their service.

Security & Risk Management Practices

Epcot is one of the Theme Parks at Walt Disney Word Resorts. It's parent company Walt Disney Company prides itself on the safety and security of their guest and employees. They foster a culture of safety as a part of all their employee’s responsibility. In addition, they also employ 1,500 engineers, mechanics and electrician dedicated to safeguard all their attraction in the United States.

The Chief Safety Officer and Vice President of Worldwide Safety, Greg Hale, ensures the company partners with experts, devotes time and resources for the mission of continuous improvement and enhancement of all their safety programs and protocols.

They have actually been issued a U.S. Patent on and their “Smart” Seat Belts. These belts are connected to the control system of thrill rides and riders must buckle up before the ride will move. Once the belt is locked in and the rides start the belt cannot be unlocked until the ride stops.

The Disney World Company also employees over 1,200 in their security operations for all their resort and theme parks. They patrol the property on foot, bikes and cars. The local police is also part of the team and they have dedicated resources on the property at all times.

The Company Risk Management for emergency response is to maintain Emergency Operation Centers on site. These centers have command systems with direct communication with police. They also have a two-way radio system that allows messages to be sent to all staff members simultaneously. In an effort to ensure they will be ready in the event of an emergency they conduct quarterly drills on their emergency response action plan. Epcot and all the properties have emergency facilities for any medical needed services. Paramedics are available on site with direct connection to local hospitals and fire department for immediate support when needed. Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are located in several areas on their property and many employees are trained and certified in the use of the AED as first responders.

Works Cited

“Epcot.” Wikipedia. 5 July 2010. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 5 July 2010.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epcot>.

“Social Responsibility.” Wikipedia. 5 July 2010. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 5 July 2010 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_responsibility>.

“Corporate Responsibility.” The Walt Disney Company. 28 June 2010. Disney.com. 4 June 2010 <http://corporate.disney.go.com/responsibility/index.html>.

“Corporate Information.” The Walt Disney Company. 28 June 2010. Disney.com. 4 June 2010 <http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/conduct_standards.html>.

Haag, Stephen, and Cummings Maeve. Information Systems Essentials. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2009.

“Disney-Common in Any Language.” Disney-Common in Any Language. 18 April 2002. 1 July 2010 .