Hello everyone! I am Carli and I hope to inform you about the magic happening within Disney’s business model. What really sets Disney apart from any other company is the unique way they align their mission statement with corporate social responsibility and business profitability. In order to ensure that the company’s working conditions for employees are safe and up to their standards, The Walt Disney Company’s Jay Rasulo traveled to China earlier this year to inspect these conditions and met with factory managers. A trip like that would not be unusual for an executive in charge of a company’s corporate citizenship program, as Mr. Rasulo is for Disney. What was out of the ordinary is that Mr. Rasulo is also Disney’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and senior executive vice president. This is a rare circumstance with in the world of business, but I think it is a smart decision that is partly responsible for Disney’s success.

I am a currently a junior studying at Colorado University at Boulder, and I just recently declared Finance as my major. I am currently learning a lot about the importance of social responsibility in business, and from what I can tell it seems much easier said than done.  It seems that it would be challenging to remain a profitable company while spending increasingly more money in order to accomplish CSR goals. But somehow (or magically), Disney has been achieving ambitious CSR goals while remaining at the top of the entertainment business for many years now.

Mr. Rasulo stated that his two titles required qualities belonging to two very different Disney characters: Toy Story’s Woody, a friendly guy who is all about doing the right thing and the classic Scrooge McDuck, a guy known to be greedy and make every dollar count. Mr. Rasulo believes that the company would be successful if it integrates its work in citizenship with its financial strengths. However, Rasulo acknowledges the challenge to make corporate decisions on environmental and social initiatives that involve trade-offs between short-term costs and long-term business benefit.

Scrooge McDuck

Woody

Rasulo is responsible for a worldwide finance organization that tracks and manages about $40 billion in annual revenue, and Disney gave him the power to also make decisions for their corporate citizenship program. Of course, that required him to educate himself on social responsibility and what needs to be addressed in that area of business. In order to build on creating fair labor standards, Disney faces challenges to implement its Code of Conduct for manufacturers as well as maintaining its labor standards that help ensure proper working conditions for its employees. Because Mr. Rasulo is familiar with financial tradeoffs within business, he can make better decisions on how costs should be allocated that are aligned with Disney’s CSR goals. Well whatever Mr. Rasulo is doing is clearly working, and others are starting to follow by example. It seems as if sustainability is becoming an important aspect to the operations of any business especially to earn respect. As a finance major, I think it is important to be aware of what is going on in the world in order to align corporate social responsibility with financial decision making. The negative impact businesses have on society is becoming clearer and I think it is a business’s responsibility to be informed on this subject. They should make efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and eliminate any externalities. In order to really be sustainable, a business should create positive wealth for society that lasts beyond the life of the company.