While in the chairman role, Eisner always promoted his own decisions and actions. Also, the rest of the directors had sizable conflicts of interests, which may have stopped board members from asserting themselves against Eisner, despite their duty to act in the foremost interest of all shareholders. Quite a few of the directors had their children employed by the company. They may have feared for their jobs, back pay, severance, or any other compensation due to them in ending employment at Disney. Other board members relied on Eisner because Eisner’s sons went to their schools and could have feared retribution regarding the circumstances regarding Eisner donations to their schools or damage to the school’s reputation, if the board members were
However, in September of 2004, Eisner submitted a letter to the board indicating his intention to retire when his contract was up on September 30, 2006. Along with his retirement intentions, he included a succession plan that named Bob Iger, Disney 's President and Chief Operating Officer since 2000, as the new CEO. Eisner offered that he was proud of the accomplishments of his 20-year tenure and offered that Disney was “now poised for its brightest days in the years ahead under the able and insightful leadership of Bob, who has not only the qualities to succeed, but also has a keen sense of the Disney brand and how to maintain its leadership position and grow it on a worldwide scale” (Downes, Russ, & Ryan, 2014). In the end, it seems Eisner felt it was best to bow out of his role as CEO, perhaps realizing that the task of leading the company through a transformation would be best left to someone
481.) He had been characterized as a hard-working, traditional sort of businessman. Even though an extroverted personality has been attributed as a consistent marker for leadership emergence and effectiveness (Kreitner, 2013, p. 467), one can see several of Iger’s strengths when referencing the key positive leadership traits (Kreitner, 2013, p. 469). He was known for his even-keeled demeanor and nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic. He rose daily at 4:30 A.M. and was at the office within two hours, showing he had the traits of character and also the biophysical traits of physical fitness, hardiness, and energy level to take on the role of CEO. Iger clearly showed task competence during his long career at ABC, which then transitioned to the Walt Disney Company. Further, Iger seems to have stellar traits of character. Nell Minow, the editor of the Corporate Library, told Frank Ahrens of the Washington Post, "He 's not as glitzy and showbizzy. He projects a lot of sincerity and has that rare CEO quality—humility (Notable Biographies, Sidelight
Granted that Disney is a highly-publicized company, trade secrets, intellectual property, and sensitive information needs to be safeguarded; confidential agreements should be incorporated in succession planning to secure the business. The items to include in the confidential/noncompete agreement are an extensive screening of high-level employees, and they participate in a trade secret program. High-level employees must complete a thorough background clearance before beginning the new hire onboarding process (Swartz, 2006). Throughout the duration and the end of employment, high-level subordinates must sign a confidential agreement about his or her conduct in handling sensitive data, have an escort while visiting other locations, and remind ex-employees during exit interviews of confidential policies and agreements (Teska,
problems. In a study done on the role of the Walt Disney Company, Vincent Faherty explains
This report attempts to examine the Walt Disney Company as an organization whose international operations play a vital role in the company’s continuing existence. This report seeks to present a review and analysis of the company’s global strategy by analyzing the key internal and external factors that impact on the company and how it has used alliances and acquisitions as part of its global strategy. As a human technology-intensive company, this paper seeks to understand how Disney was able to leverage its resources to create a competitive advantage. As an important aspect of its operations, relevant management issues are reviewed to see how it has affected the company’s global expansion strategy.
...mation business right, particularly the new CG technology that was rapidly supplanting hand drawn animation. Acquisition of Pixar was the fastest way of doing this. Through this acquisition Disney would get access to key Pixar technologies which would enable it to produce movies at a lower cost and faster than its rivals. This technology transfer would also help revive Disney’s own animation unit. Apart from technology, Disney would also get access to all the Pixar characters, which it could use at its theme parks, merchandise stores and its other related businesses. Pixar’s journey to the top is inspiring. The leap from a dwindling financial future to billions of dollars in profit is a true testament to what can come from perseverance and hard work. This world renowned company has become a house hold name and a major player in the entertainment and business world.
The entertainment industry holds the immense potential for growth and development. The industry is constantly evolving and Walt Disney emerge as a global leader and recognized as the world’s second largest media conglomerate in the terms of revenue after Comcast. The Walt Disney Company is a multinational entertainment conglomerate headquartered at California, United States. The company integrated its products into five target segments are as follows: (1) Media Networks (2) Parks and Resorts (3) Walt Disney Studios (4) Disney Consumer Products (5) Disney Interactive. The company has strong diversified product portfolios and generate high returns and revenues from all the target segments but the media networks contributes
The Walt Disney Company is a highly diversified media and entertainment company that has been growing by leaps and bounds since its inception in the late 1920’s. In the past few decades, The Walt Disney Company has expanded into numerous markets and diversified its business greatly. The company states that their corporate strategy is targeted at creating high-quality family content, exploiting technological innovations to make entertainment experiences more memorable, and expanding internationally. Upon studying the happenings of the company throughout the years, it is easy to see that the company is executing this strategy well through numerous strategic moves in the industry.
[1] Information was mainly taken from the Harvard Business Case Study “The Walt Disney Company: The Entertainment King”
This paper will assess the corporate culture of Walt Disney, addressing the background of the organization, training and teaching, stories, legends and myths associated with the company, philosophy, values, mission statement and the organizational goals of the company.
The company that I choose to explore is The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney started the Disney Brothers studio in 1926, after years of working as a cartoonist. I selected this company due to the fact I am a fan of their products and services. Disney produced some of my favorite films like Aladdin, Hook and The Lion King. After I visited their website, I discovered that Disney owns multiple media outlets, in such areas as film, Internet, music, broadcasting, publishing and recreation. According to Disney’s “The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be the one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, service and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world”. The Disney brand is doing exactly what their mission states.
This case provides a brief history of management conflict and change at Walt Disney Company. Former CEO Michael Eisner was considered to be controversial because of his abrasive style and tendencies toward micromanagement. It was this style that strained several important relationships to the Disney Company. Though his reign as CEO during the 80’s and 90’s helped advance Disney Company, it was his conflicting management style that led to his demise and the beginning of Robert Iger’s epoch at Disney. Since Iger has taken the helm as CEO Disney was ranked 67th in the Fortune 500 list for largest companies, it has become the largest media conglomerate in the world, and relationships and disputes stemming from Eisner have been reconciled.
Walter Disney was the entrepreneur who had the creative skills. Knowing his limitations, he let other people do what he couldn't do good enough himself. This is an important skill, as it leads to quality products being made. The step from making short cartoons to doing full length cartoons and later live-action movie production is quite natural. What is not that natural and straight forward, and at the same time significant to the success of Disney, is the way in which Disney started to integrate vertically when they created the Buena Vista Distribution. The vertical integration along with the horizontal diversification has allowed for the exceptional building and exploitation of the huge synergies that exists in Disney, and which has to be regarded as the main reason for the success of Disney.
In a professional career, that has spanned more than 40 years. Many different people have described Alan Mullaly many different times, but always in the same manner. In the article, Three Outsiders, Three Styles (2013) featured in The Economist (2013) Mr. Mulally is described as a man who “gives hugs, and means it, he is a sort of “demanding cheerleader”, a boss you want to do your best to please, no blame-thrower but no soft touch either”. Jim Jamieson, executive vice president of airplane programs at Boing and a onetime top lieutenant of Mulally stated, “He is extraordinarily charismatic. He really believes in working together, and has a way of making people feel good about themselves” (qtd. in Song, 2010). An exploration of Alan Mulally reveals that his rise as a leader in the business world is credited to his personal development, his attributes as a leader, and his behavior.
They include: excellence in leadership, excellence in casting, guest satisfaction, financial results, and repeat business (Coverly, 2013). As it pertains to leadership excellence, Walt Disney is cognizant of the fact that communication is indeed the key driver and foundation for a collaborative culture within the company. Therefore, in this regard, the company encourages the cultivation of collaboration by essentially creating an enabling environment where ideas are spoken without fear of favoritism. Hence, Walt Disney promotes the use of positive language as part of its strategy of fostering leadership and collaboration. The use of positive language lays a basis for the realization of excellence in casting as one of the company’s policies. It is necessary to note that according to Coverly (2013), Walt Disney does not refer to its staff as employees; rather, the company classifies them as casts within the whole business arena. This concept, as Coverly (2013) continues to elaborate, emanates from the cognizance by the company that each employee has an intrinsic and unique role to pay within the company. As such, it is more natural to refer to them as casts, rather than the traditional “employee” notation. This strategy is very influential in generating and sustaining employee motivation which stems
From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to today 's global corporation, The Walt Disney Company continues to proudly provide quality entertainment for every member of the family, across America and around the world. One of the key statements in the text states, “Disney’s greatest challenge today is to keep a 90- year- old brand relevant and current to its core audience while staying true to its heritage and core brand values.” (Kotler, Keller, 2012, p. 179) Diversification has been one of Disney’s smartest business decisions. Today Disney has ventured into various industries such as studio entertainment,
Through the ratio analysis, we can conclude that Disney is a stable company, keeping up with industry trends and up to par with industry averages. Although at times it can seem that Disney is a risky and unstable company, those conclusions are false since the unstableness has come through decisions which will better establish Disney’s position on the market. Although Disney’s competition, namely CBS, is on a similar standing as Disney when comparing ratios, Disney will manage to remain the largest media conglomerate in the USA and one of the best corporations in the world.