EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Growth in the theme park industry is a challenge in today's market. Theme parks will not grow if they don't diversify their resources. The Walt Disney Corporation is a nation wide multi-varied entertainment company which is a household name to millions of people throughout North America. Michael Eisner who is Disney's chairman and chief executive officer knows that his company will have to diversify in order to meet his targeted growth rate of 20%. Eisner wants to follow one of Walt Disney's famous quotes which is "We cannot hit a homerun with the bases loaded every time we go to the plate. We also know the only way we can even get to first base is by constantly going to bat and continuing to swing" In order for Disney to meet this 20% target Eisner knows he will need to look at new industries and overseas expansion to be successful.
Since the Walt Disney Company is reaching a saturation point in domestic markets the corporation has recruited several notable executives and officers to fill its key management positions. Out of these positions only one of the ten corporate officers and three of the four group executives are Disney veterans. Eisner is hoping that with some new blood the company may generate new ideas to meet its corporate objectives which are: 1) to sustain Disney as the world's premier entertainment company; 2) to maximize shareholder wealth through a target annual growth rate of 20 percent and a 20 percent or greater return on stockholders equity; 3) to maintain the basic integrity of the Disney name and consumer franchise; and 4) to accomplish the above while preserving basic Disney values in terms of quality, fairness, creativity, entrepreneurialism, and teamwork.
If the objectives are accomplished Eisner feels that Walt Disney can continue the process of being the number one leader in the field of family and entertainment. Their mission is to be the worlds leading producer and provider of family entertainment and Eisner is steadily directed and loyal in his commitment to providing quality family entertainment.
I. Evaluation of Objectives and Current Strategy
The Walt Disney Corporation total net income for 1987 is $445 million. The company has been able to make the right decisions the past several years as its net income has almost doubled the last three years. Walt Disney's philosophy of providing family entertainment which focused on children, youths and adults has put Disney ahead of the competition.
problems. In a study done on the role of the Walt Disney Company, Vincent Faherty explains
...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 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.
The Disney corporation is easily the greatest empire of entertainment in the world thanks to the creator Walt Disney and his brother. Disney’s influence has been great within culture and society and I learned how much of an influence Disney has had through our course this semester. This influence is reflected and broadcasted through the many works and readings that we examined in class. The articles gave me new knowledge about Disney that I was previously unaware of.
Disney’s long-run success is mainly due to creating value through diversification. Their corporate strategies (primarily under CEO Eisner) include three dimensions: horizontal and geographic expansion as well as vertical integration. Disney is a prime example of how to achieve long-run success through the choices of business, the choice of how many activities to undertake, the choice of how many businesses to be in, the choice of how to manage a portfolio of businesses and the choice of how to create synergies between those businesses (3, p.191-221). All these choices and decisions are made through Disney’s corporate strategies and enabled them to reach long-term success. One will discuss Disney’s long-run success through a general approach. Eisner’s turnaround of the company and his specific implications/strategies will be examined in detail in part II. Disney could reach long-run success mainly through the creation of value due to diversification and the management and fostering of creativity, brand image and synergies between businesses (1, p.11-14).
In reviewing the vast corporation of the Walt Disney Company and all that it has to offer, one profound statement made by Walt Disney himself comes to the forefront, “I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse” (Walt, n.d.). This statement suggests that the company has a strong focus to continually guide them in the way of the original idea of the company. Even as it watches the changes taking place in society and adapts to the new technologies and innovations, the Walt Disney Company has been able to implement diverse strategies for its growth and prosperity.
Walt Disney Films are known to be as an incredible and outstanding fantasy stories producer. It created more than a hundred of films. Majority of what has been produced rely on fictional stories. The films that were released used animation to capture children’s interest and musically performed as well. Walt Disney produced fantasy stories like The Little Mermaid 1989; Sleeping Beauty 1959; Beauty and the Beast 1991; Cinderella 1950 and more. The tales most often than not were always about the life of a princess in search of her prince charming.
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.
Executive Summary: 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.
[Online]. http://www.m-w.com/cgibin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=opportunities Retrieved Oct. 18, 2005, from http://corporate.disney.go.com/ The Walt Disney Company, Disney Online. Retrieved October 19, 2005. Available: [Online] http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/business.html Thomas S. Bateman, Scott, (2004).
The Walt Disney Company, or more commonly known as Disney, is an American corporation headquartered in the Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California. Disney (DIS) is the largest operator of theme parks and resorts and largest media conglomerate, reported total revenue of $11.58 billion, a 4% raise from the previous year in its third-quarter results. Most of its revenue is generated from the media network segment and the park and resort segment. Disney's strategies mainly focus on generating the best creative content possible along with innovation and utilizing the latest technology. (Seekingalpha.com, 2014)
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.
His early struggles and determination created the path for him to build the Disney empire and legacy to live on long after his death. Disney’s dreams, visions, and aspirations went well beyond the animation on a roll of film. Those dreams would one day become a reality that lives beyond his death for millions of people every day that enjoy his movies, books, characters, soundtracks and theme parks. Disney made a place that people could escape to from their everyday realities by bringing his dreams to life as well as
For decades Disney has been the source of happy endings, fairytales, and family friendly stories for children of all ages. These stories range from realistic and familiar, to the eye-catching magical fairytale. The key to each of these stories are the happy endings brought about by each of the characters unique personalities and dreams. Disney’s films are attempted to provide children with the basic understanding of wrong versus right, but instead influences our society’s beliefs and awareness. Although Disney’s efforts to provide the basic morals to our children are misleading and affect our society strongly, they also contain the use of racism in a form which shows the major differences between characters. The once admired and well-known characters are seemed to be recognized by their species, ethnicity and even their social class. Disney films have taken out of context and have persuaded their viewers understanding of racial stereotyping, which is thoroughly explained in Henry Giroux and Grace Pollock’s novel, The Mouse that Roared. They bring awareness to the underlying racial stereotyping in Disney films, which deeply affect our societies understanding today. Giroux and Pollock bring into perception these admired and regularly watched films through precise examples and racist rendering of the specific characters species and ethnicities which strongly influence our society and lead children to intake these negative influences.