Pixar Essays (Examples)

Pixar Animation Studios is one of the leading film animation studios in the world. It is the subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company. Pixar Animation Studios develops high definition animated films and is ranked among the most competitive firms in its industry. It manages a large workforce by formulating and implementing its human resource management policies in the light of motivational theories like need theory, equity theory, and intrinsic and extrinsic motivational techniques. The analysis of company's motivational methods reveals that it offers competitive salaries and compensation packages, flexible working options, and attractive growth and learning opportunities through brainstorming, job promotions, feedback, and different performance appraisal techniques.
Pixar Animation Studios empowers its employees to contribute towards its success and prosperity by bringing up innovative and creative ideas. The company expends a large amount on marketing research and employee training programs in order to move forward in the industry in the…

Pixar
Not All Fun and Games

Pixar creates some of the most recognizable products of any company: Its animated films all display a distinctive style marked by a certain combination of realistic movement and an almost Impressionist use of color and form. The mingling of the realistic and the cartoonish, of the vulgar with touches of high art, the tongue-in-cheek commercial with traditional narrative tropes has given the studio a series of hits that have managed to be commercial successes while at the same time avoiding the air of commercialization that hounds their closest rival, Disney.

Even though Pixar's films too are accompanied by a very wide range of merchandise, the studio's films stand on their own more than do most of those of other studios. This paper examines the organizational culture of Pixar that has allowed it to achieve commercial success as well as to create a distinct style…

Pixar Case
There were three important things learned from reading the Pixar case, and they are not only important to companies and businesses. They do not just matter to creative people, or to those who are interested in a career in film and animation. They are important to living life, being happy, and doing something that makes one feel fulfilled. That is something to consider for work and career, but it is also something to consider for the rest of the things that happen in a person's life. There will always be issues to face, no matter where a person is in life, but how a person handles those issues defines much of who that person is. While there are plenty of things one can take away from reading the Pixar case, this is what this reader learned.

Be a Community

Working together matters. It can be hard to get…

Disney and Pixar
Disney's acquisition of Pixar in 2006 resulted in many headlines and opinions. The main reason for the acquisition was Disney's reluctance to lose its ties with the new giant in animation, while its own opportunities were waning because a lack of technology and innovation. The acquisition was therefore based upon Disney's drive to maintain a relationship that has historically proven to be profitable, while also maintaining its own health in a market where its traditional artistic as well as leadership style was no longer viable. In order to analyze the factors behind the acquisition, three main areas will be considered: Analysis and e-Design; Constraints and isks; and Market Opportunities and ecommendations.

Analysis and e-Design

The decision to integrate Pixar with Disney was, as mentioned above, based upon the potential of the latter to improve the market position of the former. According to Gayton (2006), the previous relationship…

Perhaps more than any of the media and entertainment conglomerates with which it competes, Disney has created a prolific, colorful and always expanding universe of characters that draw immediate recognition and appeal. Today, oody and Buzz Lightyear are as recognizable as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
eaknesses:

One of the core weaknesses revealed in the decade following Disney's early-90's animation renaissance was the lack of elasticity in its animation department. The company was unprepared for a set of lean years in which its growth had exceeded its ability to earn on its investment. According to Alcacer et al., "Some of the same features that observers credited for Disney Animations' success -- large staff, large budgets, and lots of time -- were also blamed for its demise. Disney Animation had just 275 employees in 1988; about 950 in 1994 for the release of the Lion King; and 2,200 at its peak…

Cinderella / Brave
Do films for children reflect a change in gender roles over the past half century or so? It is a truism that gender roles have changed in that time period: the feminine mystique of the 1950s has gradually yielded to greater egalitarianism, such that we now live in a moment when a female presidential candidate is plausible in a way that would not have been possible in the Eisenhower era. I propose to examine the change in gender roles by examining two animated films with central female leads -- alt Disney's 1950 "Cinderella" and Pixar's 2012 "Brave." I hope to demonstrate that, while each film expresses certain aspects of gender roles that are common to the decade in which it was made, there are elements which make the story slightly more complicated. "Cinderella" may seem like it is more retrograde in terms of gender roles, but my…

Disney and Pixar
Disney owns Pixar outright, having acquired it in 2006 for $7.4 billion. In terms of business, Disney is a distributor of films, while Pixar is a production studio. That is to say, Pixar makes movies, and Disney markets and distributes them. Disney had an equity stake in Pixar, which came with a contract to produce three films. This has been the relationship between the two companies since the first Pixar movie, Toy Story. After that film, Pixar's head Steve Jobs insisted that Pixar, at the time an independent company, would have equal billing and equal profit sharing. During that period, the two companies were strategic partners. It was a natural move, then, for Disney to acquire Pixar. After the acquisition, Pixar's strategy shifted towards more growth. The cost of computer animation was declining, and Disney wanted to see more films, but maintaining Pixar's standards of excellence. This…

alt Disney Company Scenario
Scene: Fiscal Karat (FK), host of TV's Let's Talk Money, is seated at the center of an oak conference table. Let's Talk Money is a weekly PBS talk show that interviews business leaders and often finds government officials to debate certain ideas and programs. Tonight's episode features Mr. Michael McDuck (MM), CEO of alt Disney Company and Mr. Rigid B. Crat (RC), Senior Administrator for the U.S. Treasury's Anti-trust Division.

FK: Good evening and welcome to Let's Talk Money, your weekly adventure into provocative and interesting monetary topics ranging from mild to wild. Tonight, a special treat for the kid in us all -- Michael McDuck, CEO of alt Disney goes head to head with the Administration's Senior Anti-Trust Maven, Rigid B. Crat. elcome gentlemen!

First though, let's take a moment to establish a bit of background. The alt Disney Company is a multinational mass media…

Barbie doll top ten viral commercials as of 2013 rely mostly on You Tube, Dailymotion, Facebook and Twitter.
The third doll brand, subject to this study is Bratz. As evidenced from the four commercials assessed in the course of this study, Bratz deploys a slightly different mode of advertising, which involves marketing adult entertainment to kids. Social psychologists have argued that this strategy is very effective within the realm of modern-day material culture. Adult entertainment, which often involves depiction of violence, sex, strong language and obscenity, has become very popular among children

. For Bratz, one of the most popular commercials involves cowgirls in Texas fighting crime modelled along the risque film group Charlie's Angels. The use of guns to depict violence is central to this commercial, which has since increased the brand's digital reach through pervasive advertising on TV and in the internet. In a similar commercial, Bratz acquired…

Even five years ago, this was not the case. Moore uses his own brand of investigative, and sometimes highly charged and emotionally biased journalism to make his points. He causes people to violently disagree with his determinations, but he causes people to think, something that many filmmakers simply avoid. Moore's documentaries are more than entertainment, they get people talking about and investigating issues on their own. His message may not appeal to everyone, but his methods are some of the best in filmmaking. He creates films that people remember, and this is an important aspect of the process. He uses emotional, controversial, social, and meaningful themes to "stir the pot," and will certainly be one of the 21st centuries most remembered filmmakers.
Steven Spielberg is probably the most influential and important filmmaker today. His films are much more than entertainment, they are thought provoking, artistic, and stunningly memorable. From "The…

6. Personal opinion

The global strategy is effective as it regards numerous areas, all focused on the overall development of Disney. ut since the strategy has numerous applications, it is only natural that some are better received that others. For instance, I believe that the decision to expand onto other continents was extremely wise as it not only increases profits, but it protects the company against economic features that might affect one continent and not the other. Furthermore, I disagree with the copyright strategy as I believe that by dismissing it, Disney would be the beneficiary of free publicity.

ibliography

Disney Official Website, http://disney.com/,last accessed on October 15, 2007

Walt Disney Studios Company Profile, Yahoo Finance, 2007, http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/103/103440.html, last accessed on October 15, 2007

Disney Parks Launches First-of-Its-Kind Programming for Interactive Cable Networks; Introducing Disney Travel on Demand, Tech Web Network, May 15, 2007, http://www.techweb.com/showPressRelease.jhtml?articleID=X607994,last accessed on October 15, 2007…

Merge the acquired company into your company. The result of this strategy will be one company containing the elements of both companies. What are the pros and cons of this implementation strategy? How will you know if the strategy is working?
The risks and downsides of mergers are well-known -- it is often said that mergers make it easy to predict the future, because they almost invariably fail. In fact, two-thirds of all mergers fail, a staggering statistic (McClure 2012). The theory behind mergers is that they generate potent cost synergies, improve profitability, and trim costs of production when the strengths and capacities of the two companies are merged together. The basic idea of a merger is that the best of both companies can be fused. However, mergers often result in the clash of organizational cultures. Inharmonious corporate cultures can lead to confusion and organizational disarray -- ultimately costing the…

(White, 33)
And it was rightly found in a life form which we encounter daily in our real lives- insects. ightly, insects possess the shape, form as also the texture that aligns perfectly within the realm of computer technology and the restricted movement was also not a vital challenge to the evolving medium of animation. This started with "A Bug's Life." From then onwards, the Pixar Studio has gone even more into the details of character design which were not believed to be possible till that period, like fantasy monster, fishes and cartoon superheroes. Like the 2D animation prior to that, 3D is yet to defeat the human form in any means in which the characters are able to act in a natural manner and no look like models made of plastic or wooden sculptures in the absence of the life form inside them. (White, 33)

The initial stage of…

ERG and Herzberg's Motivational Theories:
The life of Steve Jobs

The response to the death of Steve Jobs can be described as nothing short of extraordinary. Mourners placed flowers at Apple stores all over the world. How can this be explained, given the fact that Apple was a commercial product that people bought, not a spiritual movement? The answer is that in his design philosophy Steve Jobs made use of ERG motivational theory, tapping into the potential for self-actualization in terms of how his machines were constructed. Instead of simply being functional, Apple products embodied a concept of sleekness, excellence in design, and belief in human potential. The ERG concept was likewise embodied in Jobs' own life -- Jobs was a businessman who strove to make a profit, yet he also sincerely loved his work and continued to work, long after he could have retired or delegated more of his…

(3)

Then, aside from unethical behavior, the firing of John Lasseter also indicates the existence of political behavior within the company. As Lasseter had observed upon his employment with the firm, management at Disney had been based on loyalty to the firm and seniority, rather than actual performances, competence or innovative style. As he put it:

"You put in your time for 20 years and do what you're told, and then you can be in charge" (case).

The decision to fire Lasseter was not related to his competence in his job, but to his frictions with his managers. The situation eventually materialized in the manager's decision to have him fired, and the decision was a political one -- supported by executives -- rather than a justified one.

(4)

Today, John Lasseter is the creative force behind the films of both Pixar and Disney and finds himself in a position in…

ehavioral Finance and Human Interaction a Study of the Decision-Making
Processes Impacting Financial Markets

Understanding the Stock Market

Contrasting Financial Theories

Flaws of the Efficient Market Hypothesis

Financial ubbles and Chaos

The stock market's dominant theory, the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) has been greatly criticized recently for its failure to account for human errors, heuristic bias, use of misinformation, psychological tendencies, in determining future expected performance and obtainable profits.

Existing evidence indicates that past confidence in the EMH may have been misdirected, as the theory's models do not show a thorough understanding of trading operations in a realistic light.

Researchers have suggested that a variety of anomalies and inconsistent historical results demand that traditional financial theories, namely the EMH, be reconstructed to include human interaction as a key decision-making process that directly affects the performance of financial markets.

This research paper aims to determine whether or not there is a…

The launch of The Apple Store, Apple's online retail center that made it the first major computer manufacturer to sell its products directly to consumers, was the third largest online retailer within a week of its launch, signaling the success of Jobs' new vision (Sanford 2010). Having bought out many of the company's licensing agreements with other manufacturers, Jobs was focusing on making the company entirely contained in its vertical integration, and this has served the company incredibly well ever since (Sanford 2010).
The iPod was released to phenomenal sales, and these sales continue with newer models and with other products like the iPhone and the most recent iPad. No sales strategy could account for all of these products' success, however; obsession with detail is one of Jobs' overriding traits, and the aesthetic and practical design elements of these products are huge factors in their ongoing domination of sales for…

People have their unique perspectives and beliefs they use to get them through life and life’s obstacles. Some have a fixed mindset, while others have a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is when someone believes they have fixed traits, things like talent or intelligence. For them, there is no need to develop, but rather, document. A growth mindset on the other hand helps someone generate productivity and motivation in the areas of sports, education, and business. It is the growth mindset that allows people to innovate and develop their skills and traits to reach their potential. Not everyone is suitable to a growth mindset just like for the fixed mindset. It is important to acknowledge both mindsets and their benefits and disadvantages to better understand what can be learned from both. Ultimately, both mindsets have their place at any given point in someone’s life and should be considered.
What is…

Mergers and acquisitions also offer the potential for expansion into a new regional market if the old one is super-saturated, if one of the merging or acquired entities is located in a different area of the world.
On paper, it would seem that mergers and acquisitions can often convey value to a company, but two-thirds of most large mergers fail (Mergers and acquisitions: Why they can fail, 2010, Investopedia). One critical question to ask when evaluating if a merger or acquisition is likely to be successful is if the merging organizations have a similar enough corporate culture and standard operating procedures to truly generate such mutual synergy. Worker motivation may decrease if the corporate cultures are inharmonious. When straight-laced Disney acquired the more freewheeling Pixar studios in a friendly takeover, creating a common culture still proved to be a challenge, despite the fact that both entities were animation studios (What…

And all staff members will have a chance to sit down and try to understand the aspects of the merger that affect everyone on the general information section of the website. This web-based approach will also allow the company to add more information, as it becomes available.
Having a webpage is not a replacement for one-on-one or small group information sessions. In fact, the worst way to announce the restructuring would be through a general, impersonal email that would shock most members of the organization with its abruptness. Employees, especially those who have devoted many of the best working years of their life to the organization, wish to know that the organization cares about their welfare. Even the webpage providing updates about the restructuring should have the email addresses and phone numbers of individuals to consult for further questioning and information about the proposed changes. This will add to the…

The statement regulating accounting for stock-based compensations defines a fair value-based method of accounting for an employee stock option or similar equity instrument and encourages all entities to adopt that method of accounting for all of their employee stock compensation plans. However, it also allows an entity to continue to measure compensation cost for those plans using the intrinsic value-based method of accounting prescribed by APB Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees. The fair value-based method is preferable to the Opinion 25 method for purposes of justifying a change in accounting principle under APB Opinion No. 20, Accounting Changes. Entities electing to remain with the accounting in Opinion 25 must make pro forma disclosures of net income and, if presented, earnings per share, as if the fair value-based method of accounting defined in this statement had been applied.

Stock options are the most frequently used method in…

Table 2: Distribution of evenue by Product Area

Source: (Apple Investor elations, 2008) (Prudential Equity Group LLC, 2006)

Planning

The cornerstone of Apple's planning processes is the continual development of products and services that compliment the product and services ecosystem shown in Figure 1 (Apple Investor elations, 2008) (Prudential Equity Group LLC, 2006).

Figure 1: Apple Product and Services Ecosystem

Source: (Apple Investor elations, 2008) (Prudential Equity Group LLC, 2006)

For Apple, their future planning revolves around the following opportunities the company needs to capitalize on. First, the broader development of digitization of video across iPod and iTunes needs to be a catalyst of future growth for the company. Second, the development of Apple TV platforms including the development of an Apple Personal Video ecorder (PV) is critical. Apple TV needs to also have an HDTV equivalent and the ability to receive, not just play back recorded content. Third, there…

The company showed a global reach early, adding numerous language versions around the world. In 2000, the company reached 18 million search queries per day and officially became the world's largest search engine ("Google, Inc." paras. 11-14).
The company now sought to address its need for income by introducing a keyword-targeted advertising program for another source of revenue. The company partnered with Yahoo! And with other partners, such as China's leading portal NetEast and NEC's BIGLOBE in Japan. Google introduced Adords, a self-service advertising program that could be activated with a credit card. By December of 2000, Google received more than 60 million searches per day and reached the 100-million search mark per day in 2001 ("Google, Inc." paras. 15-16).

Google as a Public Company

Google would offer an IPO of stock beginning in 2004. McShane and Von Glinow cite Google as a successful company, especially in terms of navigating…

CEO
According to Taylor (2009) of the Harvard Business eview, Steve Jobs, "for all of his virtues, clings to the Great Man Theory of Leadership -- a CEO-centric model of executive power that is outmoded, unsustainable, and, for most of us mere mortals, ineffective in a world of non-stop change." Taylor may be right. After all, Jobs is renowned for his eccentric yet egocentric leadership style. But whatever Jobs is doing seems to be working. As Kahney (2008) points out, "When Jobs retook the helm in 1997, the company was struggling to survive. Today it has a market cap of $105 billion, placing it ahead of Dell and behind Intel. Its iPod commands 70% of the MP3 player market. Four billion songs have been purchased from iTunes. The iPhone is reshaping the entire wireless industry. Even the underdog Mac operating system has begun to nibble into Windows' once-unassailable dominance; last…

Deutschman, Alan. (200) The Second Coming of Steve Jobs. New York, Doubleday.
For those individuals with short memories, Steve Jobs of Apple Computer is the technical guru who led his company to prominence with the iMac and the iPod. But this recent success is the second act of a business career that has spanned many highs and lows over its long course. For Alan Deutschman, author of The Second Coming of Steve Jobs, the tile subject is the comeback kid of the technical business world. Jobs began his Macintosh Company as a rival to IBM. His company remains the greatest rival to Bill Gates' behemoth company Microsoft. How did Jobs accomplish this? hat is his leadership style that enabled him to scale such heights?

Deutchman, a great storyteller, begins his text with Jobs expulsion as leader of the company he founded in 1985 and ends with Jobs' return and success.…

Kusanagi Satoshi states that the so called 'anime' phenomenon did not, in fact, rise up all of a sudden within the past few years; in fact, it has been slowly developing over a longer period of time, perhaps from the 1960's onwards. This was the time that very many Japanese shows were in reality produce with such a clearly American style that the final product came to be labeled as an American one, despite the fact that they were really Japanese. What this means is that in a world where American domination of mass culture has more often than not been taken for granted, anime was one art form that began to be recognized for its very cultural resistance. In other words, anime is an art form that has very true Japanese roots, but still manages to exert an extremely wide influence on large areas beyond its natural boundaries. (Yoshida,…

CEOs Paid Too Much?
There has been much press of late suggesting that corporate CEO's are generally overpaid. This 'talk' often generates controversy and has resulted in much analysis of corporate compensation programs in recent years. There is a strong and growing group of representatives that claim that CEOs are overpaid. The overwhelming body of evidence however, suggests that by and large a majority of CEOs are paid or compensated very well because they produce extraordinary results for the corporations they work in.

In this review the researcher will examine both sides of the issue, countering claims that CEOs are overpaid and providing evidence of why most CEOs are paid as well as they have been for so many years. The author takes the stand that CEOs are not overpaid given the contributions they make to organization's bottom line and overall performance.

Executive Pay -- Paying Leaders for Performance

There…

Ind v Group
Creativity and the Generation of Ideas: Current Evidence

The generation of ideas and the encouragement of creativity is important for business growth and development and in many other applications, including those of purely artistic merit (however that might be defined), yet current research increasingly suggests that accepted wisdom regarding creativity and innovation can be more detrimental to the process than it is helpful. A variety of perspectives and levels/types of research have been brought to bear on this issue, and though they are not entirely consistent some clear trends appear to be emerging that directly counter decades of accepted "knowledge" and practice when it comes to creativity and collaboration. Through a synthesis of this current information, some more reliable and nuanced practices and perspectives can be recommended for better personal and individual understanding as well as for more effective business development and growth.

Alex Osborn, a highly…

Bets: Quiz 25%. key concepts:
What does "little bets" mean?

There are two types of innovators. One kind of innovator is conceptual and can make great discoveries early in life. However, there is another type of innovator that can make breakthroughs through "little bets." These are small, incremental, and usually slow experiments that are a driver for innovation.

"Little bets are concrete actions taken to discover, test, and develop ideas that are achievable and affordable. They begin as creative possibilities that get iterated and refined over time, and they are particularly valuable when trying to navigate amid uncertainty, create something new, or attend to open-ended problems."

Little Bets,

What is the difference between conceptual and experimental innovators?

There are several differences between conceptual and experimental innovators. The conceptual innovator is generally blessed with a large amount of natural talent that allows them to conceptualize abstract concepts that allows them to…

Japanese Animation
Japan is known for its creative and unique animations. Pokemon, Astroboy and Doraemon are only a few beloved Japanese animation characters. The genre dates back to the early 1900s. The first animated Japanese movie was Kyoto, a tale about a boy in a navy uniform waving. At only 50 frames, the film was considered an innovative breakthrough. In the years to come however, there was very little animation (also known as "anime" and "manga") created until the Nationalist Pre-war government thought that it could be a useful propaganda tool (Halsall, 2010). The Ministry of the Navy commissioned two movies in the 1940s to help encourage morale and raise the spirits of the Japanese people during the war. The films featured "Peach Boy," a Japanese folk hero that spearheaded a naval unit of people and animals representing other nations in Asia.

There were many starts and stops in the…

Extended Family in Finding Nemo and Lilo & Stitch
In the American society, the concept of the family can be interpreted in various ways, due to the flexibility in which the term is used by Americans. More often, family does not only mean the nuclear family composed of the father, mother, and child/children, but it also includes relatives and friends who are close to the individual. Indeed, through the years, society has evolved to make its family institution bigger, more flexible, and wider, yet deeper, in scope.

The concept of the "family" is an important theme discussed in the animated films, Finding Nemo by Pixar and Lilo & Stitch by Walt Disney. These films centered its theme on how a family is constructed and what are the dynamics (or relationships) that develop from within upon its creation. This paper discusses and analyzes how these two films depict the concept of…

all-E's appreciation for the world and his Eden-like naivete (versus the terrible knowledge brought about by Eve's discovery of the living plant that will bring back humanity), shows how false and world-weary the humans have become in their consumerist bubbles.
There is one particularly marked difference between all-E and the traditional Christian vision of divine grace offered in the Bible, thought. The concept of salvation is usually conceptualized as ascending to heaven and losing one's ties to the earth. For all-E, however, the only grace comes when human beings and the robot return to the planet and reconnect with the ability to move in an earthbound way and to love the earth, as embodied in the tiny planet that still survives and leads them there.

orks Cited

French, Phillip. "all-E." The Guardian. 20 Jul 2008. 6 May 2014.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/jul/20/animation.conservation

Genesis. Bible Gateway. 6 May 2014.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201&version=NIV

Murphy, M. "Anatomy of…

Science Fiction Stories -- Comparisons / Contrasts
all-E & Blade Runner -- Utopia vs. Dystopia

The two well-known science fiction films that are critiqued in this paper -- all-E and Blade Runner -- will be critiqued and contrasted as to the following dichotomies: utopia and dystopia; technophobia and technophilia; and futurity and nostalgia. Thesis: these films both delve into the potentially disastrous environmental future for the planet, and each in its own way provides an alternative future.

all-E and Utopia: This ravaged planet is no utopia in the traditional sense, for sure, but all-E has evolved over the past 700 years; some kind of mutation perhaps is what has allowed him to survive in a highly radioactive environment. To survive alone with the exception of a cockroach (which is one of the few species that can survive horrendous polluting events like radiation) is proof of his survivability. After all, utopia…

Disney Animation - John Lasseter
There are several forms of interpersonal power evinced within the Lasseter case study. Foremost among these is coercive power, which is subservient to relationship power in terms of empowering the individual (Boldt et al., 2007, p. 43-44). Since Lasseter went above his immediate supervisors to get the pilot for computerized animation, his immediate supervisors coerced the studio head to dislike the idea and ultimately used it. This sort of coercive power was also responsible for Lasseter's firing after the failed pilot. There is also an example of legitimate power in this case study, as Lasseter obtained his positions at Disney and Pixar through his own prowess at animation. eward is also evinced, as Lasseter was able to reward Jobs for employing him by making stellar contributions to the former's company.

The two faces of power appear in this article in that there are situations in…

Change esistance
Human beings are by nature change-resistant and particularly within an organizational context there is anxiety about change, given fears of job losses or simply being unable to adapt. It is essential to convince change agents of the need and urgency for change and also of the congruency of the change with the evolving vision for the company.

Vision statement

A "vision statement should have four elements: a customer orientation, employee focus, organizational competencies, and standards of excellence" ("Changing the game," 2015:3). The change should be demonstrated to enhance all of the organization's capacities, not simply improve its bottom line in the short-term. Having an effective vision statement is necessary for effective change. The Lewin Model of organizational change stresses the need for a three-part adaptation process called unfreezing, changing, and refreezing. In other words, the organization must be temporarily destabilized or unfrozen before it returns to a new…

digital games is quite relaxing, as no adequate research has been carried out yet, so nearly anything goes. Writing, in general, about gaming and games is also very much similar. Sadly, and with startling cumulative consequences, games are under-theorized. Although there is the work of authors such as Ehrmann, Huizinga, and Caillois, game theory, philosophical ideas such as the work of Wittgenstein, and libraries teeming with research on board games, one can not get far into the field of computer games using only the above resources. As well, if there is, or will be, a proper computer game research field, it can also be said to be at risk of colonization and intrusion from existing scholarly tribes (Eskelinen 2001). Computer games have to be secured against the colonizing effect of textual and narrative analysis. In the case of semiotics, the idea of "text" generalizes to everything in material existence; however,…

Politics Walt Disney
Conflict, Politics, and Conflict esolution

A major source of conflict that plagued Walt Disney in the previous periods was organizational conflict. In particular, organization conflict is defined as the battle that takes place when the goal-oriented behavior of one party impedes and interferes with the goals of another party. In this case, organizational conflict came about when Michael Eisner the CEO of Walt Disney started to lose the support of the board of directors owing to his centralized decision-making and as a consequence, failure of the company's performance (Jones, 2013). Eisner's centralized decision-making insisted that he approve all decisions for the company, which slowed down the organization. This hindered the development of new strategies.

Interventions used by Iger

The approach undertaken by Iger with respect to conflict resolution appears to be more of a compromising approach. In particular, the case study outlines the manner in which immediately…

Walt Disney Company CSR
The Company

Walt Disney Company began as a small cartoon studio in 1923, produced its first sound-synchronized short five years later, its first full-color cartoon short in 1932 for which it received an Academy Award, and from there the Company catapulted to greatness with hits such as Snow White, Dumbo and Pinocchio. Disney expanded into live-action production, television, theme parks, and global productions over the decades with Walt Disney World among its major attractions, even as it grew the Disney Channel, merged with AC (in 1996), purchased Pixar in 2006, acquired Marvel Entertainment in 2009 and LucasFilms in 2012 (rebooting the Star Wars franchise).[footnoteRef:1] It appeals to a broad-based audience from young children to older generations, with cross-cultural demographic appeal as well. The vision of the company is to be a "leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise," consisting of media networks, parks, resorts, studios,…

Education
Project-Based Assessment

Project-Based Learning (PBL), by design, lends itself to differentiated instruction. It uses a student-centric approach-- an extended learning process that incorporates inquiry and challenge to stimulate the growth and mastery of skills (Prescott, 2012). PBL allows teachers great flexibility in meeting the needs of students, handling assessments and managing daily instruction. As brought out by the course videos, teamwork and collaboration occurs regularly in PBL projects. Students of different academic performance levels often have a chance to learn from and teach one another. Differentiation critical in these multi-intelligence team settings and the PBL model not only allows students to learn in the format best suited to them, ultimately they are afforded a chance to reflect on their work and set goals for further learning. Instruction becomes personalized and targeted, which is much more engaging than standardized teaching approaches and strict lesson plans.

Benefits of PBL to students…

Apple Strategy
Apple: An Application of the Strategic Management Model

Current Situation

Apple Computer still has a small market share in the computer sector compared to some other PC manufacturers as of 2006, particularly Dell and Hewlett-Packard, however its share is growing and its profitability is quite high thanks to huge shares in the mp3-player market and in other technologies (Case Study, nd.). The company's vision and strategy of innovation and almost rabid protection of intellectual property rights (real or imagined) are made quite clear by both its actions and its own statements, and the company's performance also speaks volumes about the brand image and operational practices it pursues as a means of achieving greater market share and profitability (Apple, 2012; NY Times, 2012; Yahoo Finance, 2012). There appears to be a great deal of cohesion in the mission, objectives, values, and operations of the company, which functions quite cohesively…