Walt Disney Essays (Examples)

Walt Disney Company

Organization's culture determines communication

Walt Disney's culture and communication can be described as two sides of the same coin. It is through structured mechanisms and processes that the organization exists. It is through documents, memos, meetings, and conversations that employees coordinate their activities. These communicative behaviors are collectively known as the discourse of the company. Therefore, it is primarily identified as the means by which Walt Disney creates a coherent social reality. In case the ongoing communication practices were absent, employees would never have thought of themselves as an organization. The continuous meetings, telephone calls, corridor conversations, and sales talks are mechanisms that create the Walt Disney organization (obbins & Judge, 2011).

This viewpoint shows the connection between an organization's culture and communication. Communication is a viable way by which Walt Disney exists because its processes and structures determine the communication model adopted. This will makes employees…

One of the most important matters for Disney Corporation is something that is not materially valuable. Its reputation is the one thing that most tend to disregard when considering its fortune, as people would rather think about the money it generates and its possessions. However, the people at Disney's know that shareholders are expecting their investment to benefit them, given the company's tradition. In order to refrain from disappointing its shareholders, The alt Disney Company goes through great efforts to keep up with its reputation as one of the most successful corporations. In order to live up to its name, the company uses the simplest of rules, that involving ethical behavior, just as alt and Roy Disney did at the time when they started it.

Another essential factor responsible for keeping the corporation among the world's greatest is the public and its confidence. People at Disney's are well aware that…

When the dentist asked Walt to come over to finalize the deal, Walt had to admit that he did not have the $1.50 to recover his shoes from the local cobbler. The dentist not only came to Walt to hand over $500 for the deal, but also gave him the cobbler's fee. Walt then began work on Alice's Wonderland, in which a child was placed against a cartoon background, but this stream of activity also went bankrupt. In 1923, Walt decided he was getting nowhere and left for Hollywood to work in the movies with just $40 in his pocket. (p. 5)

After he was unsuccessful in securing any other meaningful employment, Walt was encouraged by his brother oy (who was living in Los Angeles at the time) to return to his earlier interest in animated productions and following oy's successful negotiations in gaining some financial backing and a distributor,…

The Walt Disney's animated cartoon has undergone evolution moving from a classic animated character to one of the most recognized symbols in the world.

3) Risk Factors

Walt Disney's media networks is facing a cut throat competition for viewers with other cable networks and television, independent TV stations as well other media among them internet, video games and DVD's. Concerning the selling of advertising airtime, Disney's radio stations, cable networks, and TV competes with other networks and media stations. MVSPs have increased the number of networks resulting to increased pressure of competition for advertising revenues for Disney's cable networks and broadcasting. Disney's ability to acquire and maintain terms of contracts for the supply of its numerous cable-programming services has been greatly affected by market conditions in the cable and satellite distribution industry. The company's digital products and internet websites are competing with entertainment products and other web sites in their…

Currently, the alt Disney Studio produces quality movie, music and even stage plays to consumers all over the world. Feature films are released by the studio under several banners. These include Disney (including alt Disney Animation Studios) Disney nature, Touchstone pictures and Marvel Studios (Cooke 44). The Disney Music Group constitutes the Hollywood Records labels and the alt Disney Records. The Disney Theatrical Group licenses and produces live events such as Disney live, Disney on Ice and Disney Live (Cooke 45).

Disney consumer product, which is the business segment of the alt Disney Company, extends the Disney brands of products which include toys, books, magazines, apparels, home decor, stationeries, fine art, electronics and food and beverages (Cooke 45). This is achieved through a licensing organization which is focused on brand priorities such as Disney Live Action, Disney Media Network and games and Marvel among others. There are other businesses that…

This award was first given to a alt Disney employee named Fred who was "taught the values for necessary success at Disney." Stated in the article is that these lessons "helped to inspire the award, in which the name Fred became an acronym for friendly, resourceful, enthusiastic and dependable. First given as a lark, the award has come to be highly coveted in the organization. Fred makes each award -- a certificate mounted on a plaque-as well as the Lifetime Fred Award, a bronze statuette of Mickey Mouse given to multiple recipients of the Spirit of Fred Award." alt Disney employees make and relive each day organizational stories and legends which serve as a reminder that there was a certain way that alt Disney wanted thing to be done. There are legends and myths about alt Disney as well which add to the excitement of being employed by the alt…

It makes deals with fast-food companies for using its characters for promotions which also serve to promote Disney productions. The company has some synergy with its television network as an outlet for Disney made-for-TV films and some television shows, though in-house productions are not as prevalent on the network as they might be.

The company has the money it needs to make changes and to continue to produce films, television shows, and other products for the public to consume. It continues to develop theme parks for different parts of the world as it sees a demand. It can draw on the expertise of people in many fields. One of its primary resources is its name, which has long been an attraction in itself. Few movie studios can give a boost to a film just by putting their name on it, but the Disney Studio can.

The Disney company needs to…

Disney Propaganda

alt Disney Company and its Contribution to Propaganda Usage in the United States

During orld ar II, the U.S. government retained the alt Disney Company to create a series of videos about various issues. These issues included everything from paying income taxes, dealing with gas or tire shortages, military training, as well as several that portrayed Germans and Japanese figures in vilifying situations (Higgins, 2011). The videos were animated cartoons that contained many of the company's most recognized characters and could be easily watched by adults and children alike. The animations were entertaining and produced in the same style and quality as many of their hit feature films of the time.

The government commissioned Disney studios to create the films shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was thought that having the Disney characters could make some items such as military training more enjoyable for soldiers as…

The Three Little Pigs went on to win an Academy Award for best cartoon of the year (45). Disney's movies were becoming much more than children's entertainment; they reverberated within a nation during a period of hardship.

During the Great Depression, many theatres started doing the "double features" (Selden 56), which meant that after renting two movies to show to people, there was not much money left over for short cartoons. This worried Disney because there was no longer such demand for his little films (Krasniewicz 87). He had to think of something to do and the first thing that came to his mind was to make an animated feature-length film. As a boy in Kansas City, he had been inspired by a silent film version of Snow hite and so this seemed like the perfect movie to make as it had everything that audiences wanted in films -- tragedy,…

Disney Analysis

The Walt Disney Company founded in 1922 started out with 2 employees from an animation studio. It has become a leader in family entertainment. The company has around 58000 employees worldwide and 189000 shareholders. It has become a media conglomerate with Motion Picture and Video Production (Walt Disney Picture, Touch Stone Pictures), Television Broadcasting Network (ABC), Cable Networks (ESPN, ESPN2), Amusement Parks (Disney World), esorts (Disney World), Professional Sports (Angels). (The Walt Disney Company -- A case study) We shall take a look at how the company achieved its profits, its market penetration, and its product implementation. The 5 techniques used are LE PEST, SWOT, Porters 5 Forces, Stakeholders Analysis and Business Life Cycles.

LE PEST Analysis:

LE PEST stands for political, economic, social and technological trends. The activity is essentially a brain storming session on each of these aspects. This comes into focus when a company considers…

Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida opened in 1971 as a simple theme park post-dating Disney Land in Anaheim, California. Over three decades later, Walt Disney World consists of four major theme parks: Animal Kingdom, Disney-MGM Studios, Epcot Center, and the original Magic Kingdom. These four theme parks each offer unique attractions, rides, and events for persons of all ages. Disney Animal Kingdom, the newest of the four major Orlando theme parks, offers a glorified zoo complete with interactive shows and experiences. In 1989, the Disney Corporation opened the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, in alignment with their original commitment to supporting the motion picture industry. In 1979, the second theme park to open on Disney grounds in Orlando was Epcot Center, a $1.4 billion project that encompasses both earthly and space travel. Finally, the 107 acre Magic Kingdom, which opened officially in 1971, is the heart of Walt Disney World…

The objective of this tight control is to ensure that the illusion of the Magic Kingdom is maintained -- it is destructive to the customer experience for a young child to see a man in a Donald Duck suit smoking a cigarette or going to the bathroom.

Disney's other businesses are also subject to tight controls. The company relies on both specific job descriptions and on training as part of the control system. Such control requires strong centralization and a significant level of managerial input over all aspects of the business. Thus Disney's internal processes are designed by management and enforcement of best practices is strict. The result is a seamless experience where customers can suspend their disbelief and enter a magic world.

The alt Disney Studios also takes a highly-controlled approach, even though its core businesses are creative. Disney focuses on market research to help guide its creative processes,…

Walt Disney Company

When Walt Disney returned from work with the ed Cross during World War One, his brother got him a job at a Kansas City art studio, and he started to experiment with animation. He and his partner made a deal with a local movie theater to run their cartoons, and the popularity of these allowed Disney to create his own studio. After losing the rights to many characters, Disney pursued the Mickey Mouse character and the third Mickey Mouse film, Steamboat Mickey, was an instant success. Many of the famous friends were created shortly thereafter. The company's first feature was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937, and it was an incredible hit, allowing the studio to produce a string of other now-classic films (Biography.com, 2017).

The company expanded into television and by 1955 it had opened a theme park. Disney has since evolved into an…

Disney is positioned to continue as a profitable entity for the foreseeable future. Its businesses are strong, financials good and the company has a stable model. Disney could be involved in M&a activity, but as the largest company in the industry and having financial strength there is low likelihood that Disney will be purchased.

Memo. Founded in 1923, the alt Disney Company is a diversified entertainment company. Its businesses are mature, enjoying mainly organic growth. Revenues are stable, even through the economic downturn, although profits have slumped slightly. Disney is the industry leader and is the largest firm in the industry by all measures. It competes mainly in theme parks, television, movies and music.

Disney has strong financial ratios, marked by a low debt level, good liquidity and healthy margins. The company's returns are better than the industry average. Because of its solid financial position, Disney has few major threats…

Since this control stems from the highest chain of command, a company's policies and procedures are usually directed by this authority (Droege, n.d.). Eisner took various actions in efforts to revive the company such as changing the organizational structure, hiring new management, controlling movie budgets and adopting a new company name.

Quality Controls:

This control mechanism not only depicts the extent of the suitable product but also influences the final product provided to customers. In Walt Disney Company, this control mechanism is evident in the company's decision to enter into film production after the failure of its initial cartoon business. The focus of the film production business is to maintain wholesome entertainment for the family.

Functions of these Control Mechanisms:

The major similarity between these four types of control mechanisms is that they have a significant effect on planning and organization of the company. These four control mechanisms are also…

For example, both jobs could have employee of the month programs with special perks, like free lunches, special parking spots, longer break periods and other small luxuries that allow the employee to valued and valuable. Moreover, once the individuals in these positions have at least three years of time with the company, they'll become eligible for more enticing intrinsic benefits, such as decision-making power and the ability to choose specific assignments. While these types of compensation don't have the same allure as financial ones do, they do have the appeal of giving each employee power, more autonomy and a higher degree of ability in enjoying one's job.

For instance, neither job position will receive a commission, but both will receive performance-based bonuses. For example, the security manager will receive a bonus of 10% of his monthly salary based on keep a low or steadily declining rate of crime. The facility…

Walt Disney Prospectus

#1 Disney offered a five-year bond at 4.5% for sale. These are classed as Global Notes and they were available in denominations of $2,000 minimum and $1,000 after the first $2,000. The notes cannot be redeemed prior to maturity, but the company can redeem at any time at fair value. These are fixed rate notes at 4.5% and they will be paid out semi-annually. The global notes means that they are cleared both in the United States and in Luxembourg, allowing the company to tap the European financial markets. One of the main underwriters, Deutsche Bank, is partly responsible for the European part of the issue. The debt is, however, wholly denominated in US dollars.

There are several steps that Disney undertook in order to enhance the marketability of the debt securities. First, the price and conditions of the issue need to be favorable for the market…

alt Disney including: a history leader- page applying leadership traits-: inspiration, goal setting, praise recognition, training/coaching, problem solving, planning,

alt Disney: Leadership style

alt Disney was a creative man who built an empire around his vision. Love or hate his product, he created a distinct, family-focused 'Disney style' of entertainment. Before alt Disney, cartoons were regarded as largely derivative forms of entertainment, as a warm-up to the feature film. Disney placed cartoons front and center of the American entertainment experience during a time when movies were one of the central ways in which Americans came together to enjoy a commonly-enjoyed fantasy. He later parlayed this success into television, and even into theme parks which brought the cartoon experience to life. Disney was able to create his cutting-edge vision through near obsessive control of his product and tunnel-vision focus upon his goals. He was a transformative leader, inspiring his subordinates with…

Walt Disney is the epitome of success through perseverance and hard work. The animator, filmmaker, and entrepreneur once said, "All of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." Disney had dreams that many did not think was possible to come true, and yet he continually proved to the world that anything was possible. The world of magic that we know of today would not have existed without the dreams and accomplishments of Walt Disney, who built veritable empires out of his own imagination. It is impossible to picture children's entertainment or theme parks without invoking the contributions of Walt Disney. His innovation and personal sacrifices required to make those innovations tangible realities have given us a world of magic and a world with no limitations to our imaginations.

Many have known Walt Disney to be the man who built the theme parks, particularly Disneyland…

Walt Disney's Marketing Mix/Strategies

Product and Service Strategy

The products offered by Walt Disney are much more tangible and services. These products have offered Walt Disney high awareness among many customers in the market. The products are designed to meet the specific needs and preferences of the customers in the diverse market. Walt Disney has gone ahead to customize all of its products under certain characteristics of the company. These characteristics help to differentiate and demarcate its products from those of other brands in the market (Deodhar, 2013).

Pricing Strategy

Prices of goods and services offered by Walt Disney are not low. Nonetheless, when one makes a comparison of the prices of products and services of Walt Disney and those of other competitor brands, he or she will realize that the prices are fair, with consideration of the quality and quantity of the products produced by Walt Disney. Pricing is…

Walt Disney

Indicate the type of debt Disney offers to the public for sale and discuss the various approaches Disney incorporated to ensure successful marketability of these securities

The type of debt that Disney offers to the public for sale include the company's debt securities, in one or more sequences, which might be senior debt securities or subordinated debt securities. In each of the aforementioned debt securities, it can consist of notes or other unsecured proofs of indebtedness. Another kind of debt offered to the public is the shares of the company's preferred stock. This stock might be issued to the public in the form of depositary proceeds, signifying a portion of a share of preferred stock. There is also the offer of the shares of Disney's common stock. There are also the offerings of warrants to buy any of the other securities that may be sold under the company's…

Walt Disney Conflict

Sources of Conflict and Politics that have Plagued Walt Disney in the Past

Walt Disney has had quite a number of highs and lows over the past two decades. One of the biggest problems that they faced during that period was excessive authority by the company's executives. This made several members of the upper management to feel disenfranchised by the executive. This problem started by the appointment of Michael Eisner as the company's CEO. Upon his appointment to the position, Michael Eisner brought with him a new style of management; he required that every important decision that was to be made by the corporation had to pass through him. This centralized decision making process and slowed down the company's decision making process. This, in turn, slowed down some aspects of its operations and also the speed with which it developed new strategies. Thus, within a few years…

Organization Management

The Walt Disney

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company

An organization is any social entity that has a well-designed structure to coordinate its functions, and the organization has to have a specific goal. Most organizations hardly work internally alone, but rather involve the external environments. Some organizations are profit oriented, like the business organizations, while others are non-profit making (Daft et al. 2010). In this context, a contemporary focus is overlooked towards the Walt Disney Company, a profound firm dealing with mass media and affiliated industrial operations.

Brief Company Profile

Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923, and has always kept the reputation in providing quality and extremely creative products, which consumers have loved ever since. The organization specializes in providing quality entertainment, services of media communication, broadcasting, television programs and live performances. The company, which is located in California (United States), exemplifies exponential characteristics that…

Life of Walt Disney [...] two questions: How did Walt manage each functional piece of the business and develop needed organizational capabilities? In addition, how did Walt achieve strategic and financial objectives?

WALT DISNEY'S FINANCIAL BEGINNINGS

Walt began his career in Kansas City, Missouri, where his family lived, and for years, the business teetered on the brink of collapse. Disney learned how to manage what little funds he had, and continue with his work from these early experiences. While still in Missouri, he incorporated a company called "Laugh-O-gram Films." With his last $500 from the venture, he began a series of cartoons based on "Alice in Wonderland." When his money ran out, he headed to Hollywood, where he set up a "studio" in his uncle's garage, and "wrote to M.J. Winkler, a film distributor, announcing that he was 'establishing a studio in Los Angeles for the purpose of producing a…

Business Ethics

Business proposal

Walt Disney is the largest entertainment company in the industry all over the world. Throughout the years the company ahs become a leader in the source of entertainment.an in-depth look at the company's financial processes [provides an insight of how the company became known, respected and loved by many people all over the world. Disney is a familiar household name due to the its lasting impact not only in American society but all over the world .from 1920's Walt-Disney has left an impact to people throughout the world for its entertainment which includes films, theme parks as well as resorts (Disney, 2013). Being a leading entertainment company in the world is an indication that the financial performance of Walt Disney has been secure since its inception. Everyone in the world enjoys entertainment and Walt Disney has natured and organization that provides entertainment to people just as…

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…

Disney Parks

Why do you think that the world's largest theme park operator, Walt Disney Company, was motivated to establish parks in Tokyo, Paris, and Hong Kong?

Disney Strategic Planning was able to find the optimal mix of income, family composition by key demographics, and favorability of national government to their expansion in each region (Data Monitor, 2004). The one area they had the most trouble with from a cultural and media relations standpoint was Euro-Disney in Paris (Forman, 1998). Disney pressed on however as the potential to attract millions of visitors from the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and throughout western Europe galvanized their commitment to this market (Kepler, 2005). Tokyo was a completely different experience, with many Disney fans asking for a park to be built there and the per capita income and demographic factors aligning with Disney's most loyal customer bases (Kepler, 2005). Hong Kong is one of…

Additionally, the affordability of the Disney products and services is also relative. While in the economically developed countries in the western hemisphere, the Disney products and services are affordable and part of every day life, within the less economically developed countries, the Disney products and services are less affordable; here, they represent social statements and signs of wealth, which integrate an overall experience, rather than a simple product or service.

All in all, the Disney capabilities and resources become mixed to create a series of organizational strengths, which, among other things, include the following:

Innovation and commitment to high quality

Brand strength and customer loyalty to the brand

The ability to create experiences, rather than just products and services

Large size of the corporation, which integrates extensive financial and human capitals (both labor as well as intellectual)

The ability to serve the entertainment needs of various age groups

A well…

Succinct structural form marks all Disney's pictures and makes other animated cartoons, no matter how ingenious they may be, look pallid."

The narrative source of the production is consistently the characters themselves, and the film's style is a mixture of realism in terms of the lush and colorful scenery and a caricature of the protagonist and antagonist, Toby and Max, as the bullied and bully, the show-off and the showed-off, respectively. As Nowell-Smith points out:

The technical advances explored in the Silly Symphonies partly arose from a rivalry with the Fleischers, who, among all the other animation studios that survived into the sound era, consistently produced excellent cartoons in the early 1930s. Unlike the Disney product, which tended increasingly to an 'illusion of life' live-action imitation, the earlier Fleischer cartoons reveled in stylization, caricature, unrealistic transformations, elaborate repetitive cycles, direct address to the audience, and illogical developments which seem inherent,…

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…

They can participate in a variety of programs from credit unions to service awards, contests, and other programs. There are employee stores in many locations, and childcare facilities in California and Orlando. Because of the allure of Disney, some experts call this capturing the "heart" of the employee. They buy in to the company's belief system and represent it totally, because the entire corporate ideals mesh with their own.

Another motivational technique is an extensive training environment for all employees. They offer an Executive Development Program called "Disney Dimensions," and a program called "Disney Way" that introduces the many diversified companies to management and above, and it offers training in professional and management development. Employees also participate in programs on ethics, integrity, and diversity. Most inspirational is the e-learning program, that will allow employees anywhere in the world to continue their education online.

Motivation at Disney is mostly about the…

f Disney hedges its yen royalty cash flow then earnings would be stabilized and risk would be reduced. n order to efficiently hedge its yen royalty cash flow, it is recommended that Disney take out short-term loans in yen in order to match its revenue stream. This will allow the company to have cash inflow and outflow in yen. The minimum amount of yen that is borrowed should be equal to reducing short-term borrowing to 1983's 43% debt/capitalization ratio. This borrowing should help Disney to maintain the company's favorable credit rating and reduce short-term borrowings.

Disney should forego hedging to speculate exchange movements. Because of this, the amount of revenue that is hedged should not exceed royalty revenue amounts. t is recommended that Disney opt for 10-year term hedging strategies and that hedging should not exceed ¥15 billion -- which is equal to the amount of term loan. During this…

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,…

Disney Character: Genie from Aladdin (1992)

I identify with the Disney character The Genie from Aladdin for three main reasons. First, the Genie is protean: he is capable of taking many forms and dealing with a broad variety of circumstances. Second, the Genie is powerful. Although he uses magic to exhibit his powers, one could argue that people use their own creativity and intellect in a similar way. Finally, the Genie knows his own limitations. He knows when he needs the help of someone else to escape the lamp in which he's trapped. In claiming that I identify with the Genie, I am not suggesting that I myself have magical powers: no human being does. But the Genie does seem to be a profound symbol for imagination, creativity, and possibility. As I hope to demonstrate in my conclusion, it is these aspects of the Genie -- rather than his bright…

Marketing Strategies of the Shanghai Disney esort

Shanghai Disney esort

Brief History and Facts

Investments

Target Market for the Shanghai Disney esort

Demographic Segmentation

Psychographic Segmentation

The Marketing Strategies of the Shanghai Disney esort

Product Strategies

Integration with the Chinese Culture

Product Mix

The Major esort Segments

Entertainment and ecreational Facilities

Pricing Strategies

The Most Potential Customer Segment

Why Chinese Market?

Promotional Strategies

Segmentation for Promotional Campaigns

Selection of Promotional Mediums

Place Strategies

Overall Plan of Shanghai Disney esort

SWOT Analysis

a.

Internal Environment (Strengths & Weaknesses)

b.

External Environment (Opportunities & Threats)

Failed Market Strategy

Successful Market Strategy

Selection of the Chinese Market

Differentiation

Growth Strategy

Critical Analysis and Concluding Thoughts

Appendices

Appendix 1: Introduction

eferences

Executive Summary

The Shanghai Disney esort is an upcoming theme park in China. The resort is being built by the world's largest entertainment corporation -- the Walt Disney Company. Consisting of theme parks,…

Motivational Strategies at the Walt Disney Company

Since the 1920s, the Walt Disney Company has been providing world-class entertainment for millions of consumers around the world and is now a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise. The company's consistent success is attributable in large part to the human resource policies that the Walt Disney Company has in place that motivate employees to provide consistently high quality customer service. To determine how this company has achieved this consistent level of success, this paper provides a review of the relevant peer-reviewed, scholarly and corporate literature concerning the Walt Disney Company and its motivational strategies, followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning these issues in the conclusion.

eview and Discussion

Motivational strategies that relate to the corporation's success outlined in detail

Organizations that are successful at motivating their employees are characterized by a consistent approach that recognizes…

The confidence of Disney was to some extent based on the number of Europeans visiting U.S. Disney parks. The Europeans would be visiting the parks based in U.S. As they were in America but not going to America with the specific motive to pay a visit to the parks. Therefore these figures do not exactly show the popularity of Disney theme parks in Europe. The American Disney Parks are viewed as a part of the American experience and not as a complete holiday destination. All the predictions of attendance are based on parks inside the U.S. And Japan that is also much Americanized. (Euro Disney - Why it failed)

Besides one more striking mistake on the cultural front has been the attention to the wrong details. There will be very few Europeans who will be paying attention to the leather wallpaper when they cannot get their normal breakfast or wine…

EISNE

Michael Eisner: A Lesson in Leadership

Men make history, and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.

Harry S. Truman (1884-1972)

Professional Development

In 1964, NBC clerk Michael Eisner made $65 a week. Though he only took one business course in his life, he obviously had a proclivity for business: in 1997, as CEO of Disney, Eisner earned over half a billion dollars. With absolutely no foundation in finance, he averted a Disney takeover when he became chairman in 1984 and by May 1998 he earned over $80 billion for Disney stockholders.

Education

Eisner went to boarding school in Lawrenceville, New Jersey in the 8th grade. "I had always breezed through academically at Allen-Stevenson (my previous school), where I was used to being a leader in…

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…

alt Disney Company (DIS)

• Fundamentals - the company's business, is it financially sound? Is it growing?

Per their earnings amounts for Disney, the answer is that they are growing. They are indeed fairly financially sound, but their overall revenues are not doing all that well. Over the last three full years, revenue has grown at a clip of about $3 billion a year as they were at $42.2 billion in 2012, $45 billion in 2013 and $48.8 billion in 2014. Gross profit grew at a good clip over that same time frame, going from $18.8 billion in 2012, $20 billion in 2013 and $22.3 billion in 2014. The proportion of gross profit to total revenue did edge up slightly, albeit by about one percent. Net income has grown at about a billion per year, so it too is looking good. Total assets are growing (about five billion a year…

According to Kepler Equities, there will be a 5% average growth in sales over the next five years for EuroDisney as a result, and breakeven is considered to be achievable in the 2012 timeframe. While EuroDisney can't compete with a strong British Pound and Euro relative to the weak American dollar, they can do what Disney does best, and that is bring in the flashy, new rides and entertainment. In 2005 for example Space Mountain 2 opened and Buzz Lightyear's Laser Blast opened in 2006, with Toon Studios planned in 2007 and Tower of Terror for 2008. All these new attractions are meant for generating interest from young families and stop them from going over to Orlando when they can get the same experiences at EuroDisney.

What will be remembered as Eisner's folly or grand mistake, EuroDisney was built under the direction of Disney's previous CEO, down to the specifics…

..in the same manner as their guests and if they operate with this type of beliefs they can ensure everyone gets a dose of the Disney magic." (Waltz, 2007)

V. DISNEY ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Waltz (2007) states that the organizational culture of Disney is build upon: "...innovation, quality, community, storytelling, optimism, and decency because the foundation of the company was based on the very same culture we see today in the above mentioned beliefs of Walt Disney." The work of Arnie Witchel entitled: "A Model for Implementation of Organizational Development in the Human Resources Area" relates that: "A few years ago, Walt Disney World consciously decided to move its culture toward a paradigm of "Performance Excellence." This concept affected all human resource areas, with concentration on eight key actions that would affect the culture, including breaking down barriers, sharing information, risk taking, teamwork (Performance Excellence, 1994). This is an ongoing change…

It not only recycles, but unlike Universal Studios it donates electronics, furniture, and office supplies to community organizations, so that the products will be put to good use. Like Universal Studios, the alt Disney Company is committed to purchasing recycled-content products, and uses packaging materials that can be reused or recycled. It tries to buy in bulk to minimize packaging waste ("aste Minimization: The alt Disney Company," 2007, the alt Disney Company ebsite). In a unique program that is not present at Universal Studios, the company educates Disney employees both in company policies regarding environmentally sound living and encourages and instructs employees to engage in such practices in their own homes.

orks Cited

Bernards, Kori. (21 Apr 2006). "Film studios maintain healthy recycling rate: Earth Day

Report Shows Studios' Continued Commitment to the Environment." Motion Picture Association of America: Press Release. Retrieved 17 Apr 2007 at http://www.mpaa.org/press_releases/2006_04_21.pdf

Go Metro Specials."…

To sum up Masters' characterization of Eisner, she highlighted him as an individual "who portrays himself as an insatiably curious child whose father begged for relief from his incessant questions."

Evidently, Masters' portrait of Eisner contrasted the personality of the individual fit to manage Walt Disney Co. Depicting Eisner as incapable of knowing, even perceiving, consumers' needs, particularly that of children, it was not surprising that he had failed to successfully launch Euro Disney at France. The book emphasized the importance of understanding and being sensitive to other cultures as one of the most essential factors that determine the success of a business, be it a local or global organization. Regressing to Eisner's childhood was a tactic that the author adopted in order to convey the message that one must be able to understand the targeted market in order to effectively deliver the appropriate services that this particular market needs…

external supply.

d) When expanding, a crucial decision refers to the actual place in the foreign country where to open the new operational facility. This should be selected based on the concentration of the target market as well as its access to the location.

e) The fact that the company has been successful in the past does not automatically mean that it will be successful in the future expansion projects. It is crucial to adapt each decision to the specifics of the expansion project.

f) The decision of whether to use a local or a delegated managerial team depends on each situation and should be made after a thorough analysis of the project features and requirements.

g) While it cannot be said that a specific industry or business is recession proof, the McDonald's experience in India has shown that there are still businesses which thrive in times of crisis. It…

Change

We parked in the Dolphin lot. The memories started to flood back. It had been years since I visited Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Only this time, I was not with my family. I wasn't with my parents, or even my brother. I was with two of my friends. We thought it would be a fun thing to do, go to Disney, trip the day away, see what it would feel like going as adults on our own. Not that it was cheap: the price tag really stung -- something I never had to think about when I was a starry-eyed little kid. As a teenager we stopped going to Disney World as a family. Probably because of the divorce, there was never enough time to take the family together on a fun vacation. It seemed like all we did was argue and do homework. This felt liberating, driving…

hite: Beyond Naivete and Obliviousness

One of the earliest interpretations of Snow hite can be traced to the collected works of the Brother's Grimm. Since then, the tale has been adapted into an animated feature -- Disney's first -- and has served as the subject for Anne Sexton's poem, "Snow hite and the Seven Dwarves." In these interpretations, Snow hite has traditionally been portrayed as an innocent, naive, and oblivious girl who eventually succumbs to the chicanery of her evil stepmother and is almost killed. Through these various interpretations, it can be argued that Snow hite is not only naive and oblivious, but she is also stubborn and selfish.

Snow hite can only be considered to be oblivious and/or naive up to the point that she realizes that her stepmother has tried to have her killed. Up until the moment she realizes that her stepmother has tried to have her…

He wished to build the happiest place on the planet and this message continues to be handed over to the new recruits who join the organization presently also. Disney exists to give a guarantee to the Americans that are there for real. Disneyland is not just unreal, rather it is hyper-real. As a result it is possible to express of the corporate culture of Disney as being created. ("eading Organizations from behavior and experience to representation and experience," n. d.)

4) Explain how the four functions of management support the creation and maintenance of a healthy organizational culture

The four functions of management support the creation and maintenance of a healthy organizational culture as it leads to planning, organizing, leading and coordinating of resources and it is these 4 activities which recur across the institution and are extremely unified. Present features relating to management cover claims leading are distinct from…

History of Disneyland

Walt E. Disney sat down on a bench at a small amusement park in California to watch his daughters play. While he was setting there, he noticed how tattered and filthy the small amusement park was. He also observed people's reactions to the different rides and noticed the parents of the children had nothing to do. They would be ready to go home halfway through the day, and their children were still playing and having fun.

This is where Walt started thinking about building a new type of amusement park. He wanted to create an amusement park that was clean, with safe rides, and one that had rides for and attraction for children and their parents. Eventually, this idea turned into Disneyland.

Years before he started construction on Disneyland, Walt completely created the entire theme park in his mind. He traveled the United States, and visited buildings…

movie industry in America has been controlled by some of the monolithic companies which not only provided a place for making the movies, but also made the movies themselves and then distributed it throughout the entire country. These are movie companies and their entire image revolved around the number of participants of their films. People who wanted to see the movies being made had to go to the studios in order to see them. They made movies in a profitable manner for the sake of the studios, but placed the entire industry under their control and dominated over it. The discussion here is about some of those famous studios inclusive of that of names like Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Culver, RKO, Paramount Studios, Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios, Universal Studios, Raleigh Studio, Hollywood Center Studio, Sunset Gower Studio, Ren-Mar Studios, Charlie Chaplin Studios and now, Manhattan Beach Studio.…

The level of the investment also isolated them more in the case of a failure. They paid attention to the wrong details. Disney acted on American views of Europe rather than on native views, which could identify the important cultural differences. It appeared that the managers were too confident in their success to research the small details about European cultures.

In planning Euro Disney there were not any contingency plans put into place. The attitude towards customer habits was very complacent. They assumed that there would be so many customers every day, each staying an average number of nights spending an average amount of money. In America this would have worked because there is already a well established theme park culture. The European market proved to be a lot more unpredictable.

Up until now, Disney's venture into China has been anything but magical. The Hong Kong theme park, which opened…

Frank Gehry has become a leading architect noted for his innovative structures using industrial materials in new ways and with a certain deconstructivist approach to architecture. Philip Johnson, the dean of American architecture and a power since the 1930s, more recently joined with other architects who have been shattering all the rules, leaving behind symmetry and classic geometry in favor of distorted designs, twisted beams, and skewed angles. Johnson in 1988 showcased this style in a program at the Museum of Modern Art, and he called the show "Deconstructivist Architecture." Among the designers following this approach are Frank Gehry of California or ernard Tschumi from France and Switzerland. Johnson says of this new architecture that it evokes "the pleasures of unease." These ideas have been utilized directly by Johnson in his design for the Canadian roadcasting Corporation building in Toronto. Today, Gehry is probably the foremost proponent if this approach.…

Paine is broken and reveals the entire scheme.

Similarly, Dumbo suggests that a belief in one's self can accomplish anything, even in the face of the most seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Dumbo is the story of an elephant with enormous ears. Dumbo is a freak and the mockery of the circus. His mother is taken away after she tries to protect him. The circus is a cruel and judgmental environment that put animals on display for the public's entertainment. However, Dumbo proves that with gumption, unrecognized talents can be honored. This is was typical of the Disney style -- much like during the Great Depression, the third little pig was celebrated as someone who "exhibits old-fashioned virtues, hard work, self-reliance, self-denial" (Sklar 204). The social prejudice that hurts Dumbo does not have to be cured; he merely needs to try harder to use his disability in service of society.

These films…

Jonathan Zaun

In two perceptive and provocative essays, authors Ann duCille and Henry Giroux examine toys, movies and media and examine ways in which the modern commercial culture directs the development of a child's psychology. Ann duCille's thoughtful essay, Dyes and Dolls: Multicultural Barbie and the Merchandising of Difference, provides an insightful analysis of the ubiquitous Barbie doll and the role this icon of Americana plays in molding the maturation of entire generations of young girls. With his expansive and detailed Children's Culture and Disney's Animated Films, essayist Henry A. Giroux investigates the Disney empire and its vast influence on today's youth, exercised through their domination of the children's media market. Both of these works provide readers with empirical evidence supporting their separate, yet inherently intertwined, suppositions that media manipulation targeting children for the pursuit of capitalistic gains invariably causes lasting unintended consequences. Whether through the rebranding of a centuries…

In 1996 Westinghouse/CS bought Infinity radio broadcasting and outdoor advertising group for $4.7 billion, a deal that was largely the result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Telecommunications Act heavily deregulated the media industry and allowed a company to significantly increase the amount radio stations it could own. In 1997, Viacom dealt its educational, professional and reference publishing businesses to Pearson for $4.6 billion, and retains Simon & Schuster. In 1999, CS bought King World Productions, the leading television program syndicator at that time, for $2.5 billion. On September 7, 1999, Viacom and CS announced their merger, a $50 billion deal. This was the largest media merger of that era, which came one-month after the FCC approved duopolies. Under this merger, the new Viacom had 33 television stations, eclipsing the FCC's 35% ownership cap. This cap was based on the amount of stations one company owns that reach 35%…

This also means that the prices must be reasonable. The resort also has an opportunity to make substantial revenue from this asset because it is open to the general public.

Entertainment- entertainment also has the capacity to generate revenue for the resort. The resort has banquet facilities that can accommodate bands and other types of entertainment. These banquet facilities were added on as part of the restoration of the resort and have proven to be a valuable revenue generating asset.

Gift Shop/Souvenir Items- ecause the resort is located so close to Disney land and designed to accommodate families the resort sells souvenirs and other products in its gift shop. Therefore the gift shop is a revenue generating asset. Once again the resort has to be careful to sell the memorabilia and other items at a discounted price because these items are available throughout the city.

Rentals/services-there are several things that…

The development of Google G-Mail is one of the best-known as is the creation of Picasa and Google Scholar as well. Google's senior management team realizes that to the extent they can continually deliver new applications is the extent to which they will become a platform, not being relegated to only a search engine (Gawer, Cusumano, 2008). The development of Chrome, a Web-based operating system that can work within a browser, to the development of Google Office, and Translate, an incredibly powerful tool for translating documents of all types from one language to another all came into existence due to the ule of 20%.

All of these innovations have over time completely re-ordered the definition of strategy within the company as well, concentrating the focus more on services and extension to enterprises on the one hand, and being the replacement of individual operating systems on the other. Google's single largest…

Instead of designing businesses through much analysis and interpretation, Seth Godin describes how the long-term effects of stories can revolutionize the culture of businesses for the better. When an entire business can get galvanized on the core values of their stories, they are capable of becoming much more cohesive, operate much more efficiently and concentrate on the core values of customers (Kim, Morris, Swait, 2008). This is all possible because the story core values and concepts attract only those prospects and customers who have comparable values that align. Mr. Godin alludes to how this strategy is responsible for how fan bases are created and sustain themselves over time, and shows how a brand can become multigenerational as well.

The book also convincingly shows how trust and credibility are the new currency in customer relationships. This is prescient to the exponential growth of social networking and the rise of Facebook, Twitter…

In summary, we recommend that the IESBA reconsiders the proposals in the Exposure Draft and provides more guidance on safeguards applicable to sole practitioners and small accounting firms to ensure that the benefits of the changes outweigh the costs to SMEs. Under a principle-based approach, there should be safeguards and practical relief for all practitioners rather than rules-based outright prohibitions. The rewrite of this Independence component of the Code is substantially rules-based rather than principles-based. In this regard, we also encourage the IESBA to prioritize the redrafting of the entire Code using a similar drafting convention to that used by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board in its Clarity project" (IESBA Exposure Draft of Sections 290 and 291 of the Code of Ethics on Independence - Proposed Additional equirements in relation to Internal Audit Services, elative Size of Fees and Contingent Fees 2007).

There will also be an all-time…

law should be used as a tool for shaping a shared moral climate? Why or why not? Should moral values be written into the law and enforced? Can you think of any examples where a change in the law seemed to improve the moral climate of society?

In general, I would say that the government should stay away from enforcing a moral climate in the sense that there has to be the question asked whether someone is harmed or not. However, "harm" is a very loaded term when it comes to some topics and this includes some things that are entirely legal. For example, adultery is assailed as a wrong thing to do. It can obviously break up relationships/marriages and any kids in the mix can be greatly impacted. However, while such tawdry details may (or may not) matter when a divorce or child custody hearing is done, it is…