midterm Flashcards

1
Q

In a post pandemic/more isolated work environment describe the factors requiring managements’ special attention

A

company culture, trust, motivation and productivity
Ex: trust –> Starbucks offered “catastrophe” pay to employees, allowing them to self-isolate at home to discourage workers with COVID-19 from coming to work.

motivation: Google provided its workers with a $1000 credit to purchase office equipment, helping them create designated work areas at home and improve productivity

culture: data shows that many companies that had traditionally emphasized a strong culture found that their culture got even stronger in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. MIT Sloan found that the reason for this

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2
Q

Describe the functions of a manager

A

Planning: Stratagizing to reach goals, gather information develop ideas

Organizing: accuratly assinging tasks, doing goals

Leading: communicating and apllying ideas, guiding others

Controlling: conflic resoulation, disecting progress and improving

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3
Q

Describe the roles of managers

A

Informational roles: gathers and communicates information

     Monitor: monitors working environment to gather information 

   Disseminators: communicate information gained at monitors 

    Spokesperson: As a representive they communicate information gained to areas of unauthority or business place to push the company to further success 

 

    Interpersonal roles: emphasizes authority and the relational aspects of a manager, includes people inside and outside funtion 

   Figurehead: ceremonial or symbolic role that improves moral and relathionships bewen employees 

   Leader: focuses on dissecting, changing and motivating employee activities and tasks 

  Liaison: outsourcing relationships and communications to people outside areas of authority 

Decisional roles: make decisions

Entrepenure: developing new projects 

  Disturbance handiler: conflic resolitions through decision making 

  Resourse allocator: distibution of resources 

   Negotiator: conflict management, negotiating with all relathionships (employees, employers, distrubyters, buyers etc.)
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4
Q

Describe classical approaches to management

A

Scientific: optimizin tasks. Founded by Fredric taylor

      Standarizing the work: observed the most effcient way of owrking, put into simple terms, forced upon emploees to do the same job in the same way. No individualism  

         Supervising workers: a mnmagaers job is only to guide and observe, creating a canyon between workers and labourers. A mangers job is mental work, labours is phsical 

      Motivationg the workers: use of  price-rate system, you are paid based on proformace 

Aministarative management: founded by Fayol, organization and coordination

      Division of work: break work into simple blocks to have more productivity 

       Unity of command: one boss, authority focused on upper levels 

         Esprit De Corpse: teamwork and unity 

Burocratic management: formal structure and rules max webber

      Reles and prosedures: Strick rules on how to manage 

       Hiarchy of authority: fixed postions that are ranked bassed on power of authority 

       Divison of labour: splify jobs into simple terms (standardization) 

       Impersonality: only profecconal relationships allowed, no personal angendas 

         Selection and promotion: people will be hired and promoted based on skill and proformance
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5
Q

Describe behavoral approaches to management

A

Human relations movement:

           Elton Mayo founded the Hawthron effect; in which gibing special attention or observing emplyees incresed theor motivation. This was throu doigna test on the lighting to see if productivity increased, it had but in btoh the test and stabel party, they found it was nothe lighting changes but the observation of the employees 

         Was the transition between scientific and behavioral managment, caused managers to change there ways and treat business as social systems.

The assertions of Mary Parker Follet and Chester Barnard: more collaboration

      Mary was a societal pilosopher she advocates for  

                       Coordination: instead of forcing emplyees to do work, to up productivity managers coordinate group connections within the buiness and are more involved in employees activityes 

                          Self management: employees have a say in how things are managed and have responsibility to mange themselves as they are more espertise in the field. Most pefer leading themselves ratehr then a boss 

                    Collaboration: refering to collaboration with higher management, being present and having a voice when it comes to decisions about the work place. Be concidered partners 

Chester bernard worked for bell telephine company

           Constant communication between manager and employees 

              Mnagers must communicate the goals of the company and make sure employees understand and are motivated through 

            Understand what is to be done 

             How they relate to these goals 

               They will benefit from reaching the goals 

Modern beaviorla science and motivation-based prospective:

             Gained from behavioal scientists who studyed motivation and apply it to management 

                They found that instead of just forcing employees to work they inpire them to be motivated in the workforce 

The problem with it is that companies are constantly stuggle to find ways to keep employees motivated

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6
Q

Describe how you would slect management approach

A

the choice of a management approach should align with your organization’s
culture,
goals,
the nature of the work,
and the needs and preferences of your employees.

It may involve a mix of different approaches to best address the various facets of your organization’s operations.

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7
Q

Why do you think google is rated as best employer

A
  • on going convo with employees on their goals, observinving employees, having bi-weekly convos
  • involving employees in decsions
  • 70/20/10 rule (70% of the day on assigned tasts, 20% on new odeas, 10% on own ideas, having a lofe outside of work)
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8
Q

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each form of sole proprotor ship:

A

Advantages

In charge of the whole buiness in terms of money, legal responsibiliities as well as over sees how the business is done.

Simple in its desgin as everything is controlled by one person (ex: tax perspecive)

Low start up cost

Quick descion making and calling to action

Personal disionmaking

Negatives:

Unlimited liability

Hard to start up and keep going because all of the money to produce the business comes from one person

Limited skill set to be in charge because it is only one person

Less stabel over time, if the owner dies it will go under

Owner is responsible for all debts and liabilities

Works for small buinesses that need little investment to start and do not have any risks

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9
Q

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each form of partnership:

A

General parternship: all owners have a say in the business

Advantages:

If the skills of each pertern are complientary buiness responsibilities are less heavy

Less individual risk with both parties contributing financally

Easier to fund (low start up fees as well as two incomes)

Receive tax benefits

Not overly regulated by the government

Disadvantages

Unlimited liability is equal for each parter (if one person screws up, the other is also liable)

Each partner is individually taxed

Less stable over time, if one of the owners die it will go under

Limited partnership:

One person runs the business and has unlimited liability, the other just invests in the business and has limited liability (they are only liable for what they invested)

Avantaged

Same are general

Greater capital investmnets the general

The main owner has control over the busines while also being paid by investor partner

Disadvantages

Same as general

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10
Q

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each form of corporation:

A

Corporation: owned by a number of people

The company is independaent from its owners, its own entity, meanin it has its own rights to sell, be sued etc

Owners are shareholders/investors

TYPES: Note, they can change between types

Public: stocks and ownership is available to the public (stock exchange)

Private: few individual stockholders, not available to public

Advantage:

Limited liability

Permanence and transition ability of ownership, if an owner gets incapacitated we can easily transfer theor funds, sell or buy shares

Access to capital (money to start and keep up the business): more people invest (banks etc.) because of its coorportae stuckture and liquidity (ability to turn shares into money easily)

Disadvange:

More people and sectors make it hard to organize and communicate

High start up cost

Many legal and governmental requirements, included thoes to disclose finacal status and operations to th epublic in order to share stocks

Getting doccuments to support legally the company exbanding to the publuc (government regulations)

Difficuly in Governance

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11
Q

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each form of co-op:

A

Coopoerative: owned and controlled by workers

The workers own the shares (are the owners) and split the profits

participatory governance (they are controlled by the employees who use the services)

Every employee has a say in how the company is run (democratic), This increases the motivation because the employees are a part of it

Ex: reatil co – ops and credit unions (to shop there you must buy a share), housing co-ops (residental affordable housing)

Advantage:

Limited liability

A vote for each member, democratic

Profit sharing

Disadvantage:
- free riding
- limited potentail gorwth and innovation

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12
Q

Describe the principal-agent problem

A

Principle: investors

Agent: managers and enployees

the principal-agent problem reflects a conflict of interests between the owners and the hired management.

This misalignment can occur due to miscommunication, misunderstanding, or outright conflict between the two parties.

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13
Q

What are the roles of the major groups involved in corporate governance

A

Shareholders are the owners, they elect the board of directors

board of directors who make sure the managers act in the intrest of the shareholders, who hire the managers

managers carry out polocy and day to day supervision, who hire the employees

employess act

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14
Q

Describe the feature of good governance

A

Accountability: leaders take it

Fairness: every owener is equal

Transparicy: honest management

Reliable leadership

Stakeholder engagement

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15
Q

What is an organization

A

Organizations are social entities

       Made up of people 

Organizations interact with the environment

       Inputs from its environment, such as people, raw materials, technology, or financial capital 

          Turns into output, goods, services, or knowledge 

Organizations are created to achieve goals

           Profit-making or not, they are created with the purpose 

Organizations possess some sort of structure

            Ensures work is allocated properly and is completed daily
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16
Q

Describe the elements of organizationak structure

A

Work specialization

        Division of jobs into simple, repetitive tasks, everyone can do (functional) (specialized) 

           Social specialization refers to the specialization of individuals, in relation to their skill sets (accountants, pediatrician etc.) 

Decision-making source

      The authority at each level is given in relation to the decision-making process 

        (de-centralized is decision making spread across the organization. 

        Centralized is decision making in focus on the top (hiarchy) 

Levels of administration

           How many levels of admin is there? And how can we consider the hierarchy that is then formed? ------>   

       Tall or flat 

Formalization

       The degree to which rules, regulations, procedures and the like govern how work is performed 

       Informal is something done unoffically, or socially, unsaid rules 

       Formal or informal 

Departmentation

      Dividing or grouping major functions or work activities into separate units 

     Divisional departmentation  

            Grouping employees based on the products or services produced by the organization  

         Customer departmentation  

                 Grouping activities on the basis of specific needs so it can better service its customers 

         Geographic departmentation 

                Involves the grouping of work activities and resources in a way that serves customers in different geographical areas 

Organic and mechanic organizations

Polar extremities in structure (organic is social based, )

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17
Q

Describe the contingencies that determine organizational structure

A

Strategy

Intended to help achieve its objectives or goals

  • innovation or costa and efficacy (mechanic organic)
  • What main stratgegies is your compnay advocating for, innovation or cost and efficiency, based on these strategies you must choose what element combination works (always a combination of mechanoc and organic.

Organizational size

Technology

  • What inputs are used to produce the product or service (routine: automated standarized opperation, non- routine: non-standardized)

Environment

        Dynamic: Much uncertainty and much change 

        Static: Little if any change 

No new competitors, technology, regulations, etc.

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18
Q

Describe the key features of virtual organizations

A

Outsourcing

      Hiring external organizations to conduct work in certain functions of the company 

networking/alliances

            Can engage in cooperative relationships with suppliers, distributors, or competitors  

            The aim is to improve their efficiency and flexibility in meeting consumer needs 

Shedding non-core functions

          A virtual organization must be composed only of a small group of business executives who form the core 

        Their responsibility is to oversee and coordinate the activities, as well as maintain relationships with other organizations
19
Q

Describe the benfits and risks and challenges of virtual organizations

A

Benefits

Significant cost savings

Great alternative for entrepreneurs

Fast way to develop and market new products

Fast and flexible

Risks and Challenges

Notion of control

Lack of employee loyalty (the employees and customers have a lot of freedom as the actions are very independent from higher ups

Sacrifice competitive learning opportunities

20
Q

What is strategy and strategic management

A

Idenify the problem
-> search for relevent info
–>develop alternative solutions
—>evealuate solutions
—-> choose best solution
—–> impliemt
——> monitor and evaluate chosen soluion

factors that effect decsion making
- bounded rationality (limited rationallaty, humans are not all knowing)
- satisficing ( the focus is on finding only the first solution that meets the minimum criteria or standards set for a particular situation.)
- expected value (probiblityof sucess)
- innution
- framing
- emotion
- mood

21
Q

Describe SWOT analysis

A

Strategically use their internal strengths and external opportunities to neutralize threats and weaknesses

Application of VIRO and 5 forces

Strengths (internal) VIRO

Weaknesses (internal) VIRO

Opportunities (external) 5 forces

Threats (external) 5 forces

22
Q

Describe VRIO model to identify unique capabiliies or resources of a business (how do you do the table)

A

Value

          Managers need to ask if their firms’ resources and capabilities add any value that will increase their ability to capture market share or enhance profitability 

               Explotinign emerging opportunities or neutralizing threats 

Rareness

              Managers need to assess whether their valuable resources and capabilities are unique among their competitors 

           Less known or mainstream, not available easily  

Imitability- abiloty to immitate

              When imitability occurs, it diminishes rareness and erodes the value 

          Managers must determine how they can limit imitability  

               Based pn uniquness but also competitive advantage (check for words like unique, as well as how they present the product that makes it unique even if it has been done) 

                  Can be mainstream and not mainstream 

Organization

                 Managers have to consider whether their firms can be organized in effective and efficient ways to exploit their valuable, rare, and difficult-to-imitate resources and capabilities to maximize their potential
23
Q

Describe in detail 5 forces model to identify external

A

Threats of new entrants
Five major barriers to entry – what stops people to make entry so the prices don’t go down

  Economies of scale;  

                                 - If you produce more, the spread of production cost gets spread across the units, brings down cost of production by produicing more 

                       - New entrants can not produce as much as old companies to keep up 

                            - How large os the market 

 Capital requirements 

             Capital is costly 

 Switching costs 

                  The cost of the buyer that comes with switching suppliers 

 Access to distribution channels 

               Difficult for potential entrants to gain access to loyal distribution channels 

  Cost disadvantages independent of scale 

              Governmental policies 

Bargaining power of suppliers

Can exert bargaining power over incumbents (big companies/suppliers) in an industry by demanding better prices or threatening to reduce the quality of purchased goods

Incumbents compete for suppliers, worse the more specialized an industry is

Bargaining power of customers

Switching costs

Buyers can easily switch incumbents with little cost

Undifferentiated products

Incumbents offer buyers similar products or services, they will not be in a good position to negotiate with them (because there is so mnay options it is up to the buyer)

Importance of incumbents’ products to buyers

Goods and services must be important to buyers, if they are the buyers have less power

Loyalty

Number of incumbents relative to the number of buyers

More companies with fewer buyers offer more competition and less bargaining power

Vice versa offers higher bargaining power and less competition

Threats of substitute products or services (usless as new products have arrose, what will make the product useless)

Rivalry among existing firms

Lack of differentiation or switching costs

More focus on price and loyoalty to keep customers

The attraction of customers is typically either based on lowest cost or excellent service

Numerous or equally balanced competitors

High exit barriers: hard to close down as it is expensive or community

24
Q

describe business level strategies

A

Cost leadership

  • To gain competitive advanatges by reducing economic cocts (over all costs) below those of all competitors
  • comes from three decsions, econmics of scale, (increase volume to reduce marginal cost, learning curve economics (improving efficencty), low cost acces to factors of production. (ex: walamrt)

Diffrentiation

  • A company tries to stand out from other companies buy making their product or service more unique or have more value (apple)

Focus (custom made furnature in niagra falls)

  • A company focuses on one imited oart of the market or demogroghic
  • Focused low cost strategy
  • Focused diffrienation strategy

(think box)

25
Q

describe corporate level strategies

A
  • diversify to continue to expand and compete
  • in what markets?
  • how can they be managed?
26
Q

Describe means of diversification

A

Internal development: diversitfyig within your buiness

Benefits
- Get all the money from it
- More control

Disavantages

  • No recourse help from other firms (limited resources if your firm cannot contribute)
  • Need time develop the capability to produce something new, which can ruin your odds for contributing to a market that is temporarily in demand

Mergers and aqusitions: merging two firms; aquiring shares from another firm

Benefits
- More resources
- More market power (the market bends at your will)

Disadvantages
- Power struggle between administarion and compnay culture

Strategic aliences: two or more firms working togather to achive a common goal

Non-equity alliances: contractual agreements

Equity alliances: one firm has partial ownership of the other and they work together towards a goal

Joint venture: cpntributing resources to a separate entity

Quick access to resources

Cheaper

Less commitment

Shared profit

Choosing a partner needs to be thought about theroughly as they can misinterpret eachothers resources and abilities as well as only persure their own personal benefits

27
Q

describe types of diversification

A

Related: expands into related markets

Unrealated: expands into unrekated markets

      - Already handy resources and skills are unuseful, hard to work together in harmony 

 - When a company has good manigeral and fincal skills they tend to take this pathway when a section of their buiness is not brining in money (diversify that section) 

Virtical integreation: diversifying how they produce and sell

  • Better market value when expanding with popular supliers and distributors
  • More control over price and quality
  • More control over strategy
  • Makes a compnay more complex and hard to manage so the manigeral costs are up

Forward integration: invoves raw materials and suppliers

Backward integration: involves distributors

28
Q

define decsion making

A

A conscious prosses of making choices between different alternatives to result in a situation best suited for yourself

29
Q

wat is progmammed and non- programmed decsion making

A

PROGRAMED DESCICIONS:

Routine decisions that are made all the time with the same set of circumstances

NON – PROGRAMED DESCISONS:

One – time made decisions that are unstructured with no ready-

made solutions

30
Q

rational model pf decsion making

A

These are the steps to making rational decsions:

Identify problems and oportunites

  • Moniters and asses environment for problems and oportunities to change

Choose the best descion style

  • Progamed problem: use standard procedures
  • Non-programed problem: search and identify appropriate solutions

Develop alternatuve solutions

  • Generate a range of solutions to one problem
  • Programed will gove you one

Choose the best solution

  • Weaight advantages and disadvantages of each alternative to pivk the one that benefits us the most

Impliment the solution

Evaluate descison outcomes

  • Measure the outcome and consequences of your implimented soultion to see if the solution would also work in the future of if we need to change tacktics
31
Q

what is prospect theory

A

Teatches two important things

Unlike the seggestion of the rational model we r not consustant in our choices

Decsions are influenced by how we frame our options and alternatives

Goes over the risk and uncertanty that is not touched upon in the rational model:

The theory explains the tendency for individuals to exhibit risk-averse behaviour when presented with the choice between a certain gain versus a higher but riskier gain.

Individuals will exhibit risk-seeking behaviour when presented with the choice between a sure loss and a chance to avoid the sure loss coupled with the risk of incurring greater losses.

How the facts are framed (ex:

option 1
Choice A: You are given $1,000 with certainty.
Choice B: You have a 50% chance of winning $2,000 and a 50% chance of winning nothing.

option 2
Choice C: You lose $1,000 with certainty.
Choice D: You have a 50% chance of losing $2,000 and a 50% chance of losing nothing.

32
Q

Why do we escalate commitment

A

Social determinants
- May hold an individual to a course of action, regardless of whether the person has lost faith in the success of the project or not
Ex. saving face/pride (lose creditability)

Structural determinants
- Economics, technical, political
- Political support for a venture; a company may not abandon it yet. Abandoning the decision can be seen as an insult to the initiator of the venture
-Administrative inertia. A failing decision is too much to revert to once it is set in motion, or lost among the papers and everyone is too busy to bring it up again

Psycological determinants
- prospective rational: Individuals will process information and make decisions to attain a high level of outcomes
- Retrospective rationality :Individuals with a level of ego defensiveness; will reevaluate alternatives and outcomes to make it appear like they acted rationally
- Framing and decision fiascos
Decisions that lead to fiascos are most naturally framed as a choice between two more unattractive options; it is then phrased as a choice between two losses
- sunk costs should not be included but may be

33
Q

How can we avoid decision fiascos

A

Dont ignore negative feedback
- Decision makers constantly seek to improve perceptual accuracy in decisions
- Raising awareness of biases and personal values
- Raising questions about assumptions made and framing

Hire an external auditor to provide a more objective assessment
- Third-party to provide unbiased opinions on the decision
- Helps assess the severity of situations excluding any preconceived notions anyone associated with the decision may have

Don’t be afraid to withhold further funding
- Don’t be afraid to discontinue the decision funding if it is not proving to yield the results you wanted

Dont obsess over managing impressions
- Everyone makes mistakes; saving face only leads to escalation (you are not him just stop)

34
Q

single loop learning

A

Single loop learning; correction of errors that employees may find in organization methods of performance in order to keep the system working
- Incremental improvements; address symptoms of the problem

35
Q

double loop learning

A

Double loop learning; individuals assess whether an error or problem exists in an organization because the systems themselves need to be changed

  • Modify underlying policies or goals; innovation and challenges the status quo
    -Examines the organization’s core function; addresses root causes
36
Q

paradigm shift

A

Paradigm shift; our set of beliefs or mental framework for understanding how the world operates

A paradigm in a sense tells you that there is a game, what the game is and how to play the game according to the rules
- Recognize the current paradigms that govern our behaviour
- Shift to a new paradigm

37
Q

cognitive scripts

A

The mental pictures that serve to organize knowledge in some systematic fashion

  • Organizational members can function efficiently in organizations through the use of scripts or schema to reduce the mass of information to be processed
  • helps prevent failing to chnage a stragetgig descion
38
Q

What does the author mean by organizational paradox?

A

Dysfunctions in a business that result in them acting in opposition to their original goals or fail to reach them

39
Q

What does the author mention as flaws in a system?

A

They are unpredictable

Systems can become so complex they run themselves into the ground and end up in an organizational paradox (so preoccupied in keeping the system afloat, that it distracts from their main purpose)

All system eventually will die off as they are not designed for change and react late when they idenify it

Systems are hard to take down even if they are malfunctioning, this is why organizations that have the organizational paradox continue to operate

40
Q

What is the strategy of the Potemkin village

A
  • Used in reference to organizations in which they were dysfunctional but kept running and purposefully tired to cover it up.
  • Large complex system ultimately end up working against themselves, and try to cover themselves up as Potemkin villages
41
Q

examples of potemkin village

A

The FDA is providing a false sense of security and providing the consumer dangerous prescription drugs that are said to be more effective and heathy.
- Turns out thay do not do any of the testing, they grab Reseach done by the drug manufactures who are known for putting profits ahead of the safety of consumers.
-TH FDA is hiding behind their reputation and goal of providing safety to the world.
- Lied about the opioid crisis

42
Q
  • Why organizations seem to be finding it more difficult to strategize?
A

Unprecedented Uncertainty: The COVID-19 pandemic and other factors have created a high level of uncertainty and rapid change in the business environment. This uncertainty makes it difficult for companies to predict future trends and plan effectively.

Technological Advances: Rapid technological changes require companies to adapt quickly, making it hard to develop long-term strategies that remain relevant.

Societal Clashes and Conflicts: Social, cultural, and political conflicts add to the complexity of strategic planning. Companies must navigate these issues while developing strategies that align with their values and goals.

Economic Upheaval: Economic instability and fluctuations can disrupt strategic plans, making it challenging to set clear financial objectives.

Media Reliability: Biased and unreliable reporting in the media makes it difficult for companies to gather accurate information to inform their strategies.

Political Pressure: Companies are increasingly subject to political pressures, including the need to consider the political implications of their strategic decisions. This can complicate the planning process.

Lack of Trust in Institutions: Trust in long-standing institutions and organizations has eroded, which means that companies can no longer rely on them to serve their needs and guide their strategic direction. This lack of trust can further complicate decision-making.

Societal Impact: Some companies may make strategic decisions without adequately considering the broader impact of their choices on society, which can lead to ethical and reputational challenges.

43
Q

Describe a few examples of strategies that didn’t work out well.

A

fargo, opened two million fake bank accounts to boost shrt term profits (resluted in them losing 1000 workers and 3 million dollars in fines)

apple, bad working conditions in china, treated employess like sweat shop workers, and injured 100 workers with cleaning chemical resulted in public scretiny

disney, doesnt properly compensate its workers at the teme park, was found guilty by department of labour