COM 3068
Disney Case
Even though I love Disney and would definitely be supporting building the Disney America
theme park in Virginia, I don't think it will be beneficial for the company in the long term
because the risk of Disney facing serious problems in the future outweighs the reason. If I was in
Eisner's position I would end the Disney project. It seems like a wrong decision at first but there
are lots of reasons why terminating this particular project would be the best option for the
company as a whole.
One might ask why? Why exactly should we end such a project? Especially when it can
be so beneficial to the State of Virginia. The park would attract millions of tourists to the state.
This was the reason why the governor George Allen immediately promoted Disney project. He
believed that Disney's worldwide reputation would make Virginia an international tourist
destination, create jobs and lower taxes for the residents of the state. Sounds like a win-win for
both Disney and Virginia but it’s not as easy as Eisner thought it would be. Unlike Disney
magical fantasy world, in real life things are not just black and white. It doesn't always have the
happy ending. Yes there are benefits of building the park but there are a lot of serious threats that
company has to face. So the question is will the benefits outweigh the risk? What is at stake?
When there's a company's reputation on stake I believe taking a chance is not such a good idea
no matter how tempting benefits might look. So if I had to make a decision I would go with
ending the project.
Ending the project would upset groups of Virginian residents who had supported Disney and
were counting on it to provide jobs and lower taxes. It would also upset countless politicians,
including Governor Allen, who fought for Disney. Ending the project would also risk going back
on his words to keep fighting for the Disney Park in Virginia. But there are bigger risks if Eisner
doesn’t back out and stop the Disney project. Despite the support of majority of Virginian
residents it attracted a lot of influential opponents, for example PEC who spent 2 million Dollars
in anti-Disney campaign. Such influential opponents are the main reason Disney should
abandon the project. These Campaigns could inflict a tremendous damage on Disney's reputation
if continued in the future. It will ruin it’s fun family image, the very reason why people love
Disney. Reputation is everything for the company. Without reputation Disney can’t continue to
exist. Another threat for Disney’s reputation is Environmentalists, historians and journalists who
also strongly opposed building the Disney Park.