Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Disney Case Study

Better Essays
1100 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Disney Case Study
1) Why has disney been successful for so long?
Disney has been successful due to its grow business ventures. Walt Disney started the company initially producing shorts. It was only when Walt lost out on one of his characters did he get the motivation to go into creating full-length features. Disney became known as a company that always brought its "A" game to the table. The company's innovative thinking in the business world is what kept it ahead of the rest and kept it staying so successful. Disney went from Movies, to music, to TV, to theme parks, to hospitality, and even took its innovations global. In the beginning, Disney ran its company as a flat, nonhierarchical organization, which everyone used their first names and no one had titles. Walt said, "You don't have to have a title, If you're important to the company, you'll know it." I feel this model for his company, although it really didn't last, was instrumental in how great the company was ran. Employees loved working for Disney and is known as one of the companies with the least about of turnover. Even after Walt died in 1966, the company made an effort to continue the culture and legacy of his believes by instituting a three-day traning program at Disney's corporate university. They actually made each new employee and executive spend a day dressed as characters at the theme parks as a way to develop pride in the Disney tradition. This is just one of the examples as to why Disney continues to succeed. Their diversification within different markets allows them to stay atop the industry.

2) What did Michael Eisner do to Rejuvenate Disney?
When Michael Eisner was introduced as the new CEO of Disney in October of !984, his goal was to maximize shareholder wealth through an annual revenue growth target and return on stockholder equity exceeding 20%. He had a plan to build the Disney brand while preserving the corporate values of quality, creativity, entrepreneurship, and teamwork. He set up programs to teach the new employees of Disney the culture and legacy that Disney was trying to uphold. He viewed "managing creativity" as the most important and distinctive skill of the compnay, so he focused on that aspect. He revitalized the TV and movie department by first launching The Disney Sunday Movie on the ABC network. the launch was a big success as it according to Einser " put us back on the map". They created a syndication operation to sell to independent TV stations its old shows. In movies they branched out to to more riskier, but successful movie themes that at first may not have been in line with the Disney brand. He maximized the theme park profitability by expanding the attractions and raising tickets prices. He also expanded into new regions as well as businesses. From hollywood records to Disney press, the Disney brand continued to grow and flourish under Eisner.

3) Has Disney diversified too far in recent years?
Personally I feel that spreading your business across different areas in the market can be good when you want to reach a mass of people, but it can also take away from the things that made your company in the first place. In reading this short BIO I felt as if Disney tried to branch out at times where they should have been focusing on the existing market it already had. The theme park is a prime example as when Disneyland was built, the films took a dramatic fall. Overall though I feel Disney has done a wonderful job in its diversification.

4) What was your biggest takeway from CS#3?
The biggest take I will get from this case study is how to really stay diverse in the things you do. How creating a family environment within the work place can go a long way toward great employee satisfaction. This passage really stood out to me, "Walt Disney's philosophy was to create universal timeless family entertainment. A strong believer in the importance of family life, the company was always oriented to fostering an experience that families could enjoy together. As Walt Disney said," You're dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway." This passage really stood out to me because it showed how innovative Walt really was in the fact that he understood the importance of not just catering to one segment of the market.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths • Walt Disney World's greatest strength is its world famous brand. With theme parks around the world and movies released to generations of children, the Disney brand is one of the most recognizable brands in the world. Beyond the Disney name, Walt Disney World is able to use the brand power of its many animated characters such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Cinderella and Winnie the Pooh in order to attract customers. Disney has expanded its holdings to include the Mirimax film studio and the Pixar animation company, giving it access to an even greater number of brands and characters.


Weaknesses
• Walt Disney World includes several different theme parks within its resort, including Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. Additionally, they have opened up two water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. They have also expanded beyond their traditional brands with the ESPN Wide World of Sports attraction. On top of all of this, Walt Disney World operates several different hotels and a campground. This diverse product portfolio may represent a weakness because managing such different products can reduce efficiency and lead to a lack of strategic focus.


Opportunities • According to Danjel Lessard and Lauren Northcutt of Pacific Lutheran University, a major opportunity exists for Disney parks and resorts, including Walt Disney World, through the use of "imagineering." Imagineering is a combination of imagining and engineering, developed by Walt Disney. It refers to the company's ability to develop innovative new attractions that bring the imaginary world to life. This provides Walt Disney World with the opportunity to create exciting, new attractions that will draw in new visitors.


Threats
• According to Danjel Lessard and Lauren Northcutt, a major threat to Walt Disney World is the competition of other resort and theme parks such as Universal Studios, which is also located in Orlando. In addition to competitors in its geographic area, Walt Disney World risks losing customers to the many theme parks that are opening throughout the United States and the rest of the world. These theme parks have the potential to steal away visitors who might otherwise make the trip to Walt Disney World.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Over the years it has developed a very strong and well known "brand-name" over many years and its products are more ‘Disney’ than an actual product. This has lead to high brand loyalty as for most people it has no substitute and given the organization the ability to adapt when business lines perform poorly. e.g. when theme parks were not doing well, new movie revenues were maintaining the success.…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Disney Case Study

    • 2508 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The Walt Disney Company's objective is to be one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information, using its portfolio of brands to differentiate its content, services and consumer products. The company's primary financial goals are to maximize earnings and cash flow, and to allocate capital profitability toward growth initiatives that will drive long-term shareholder value.…

    • 2508 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Walt Disney Company

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Walt Disney Company has strong brand image. It has a reputation with customers for family-friendly, high quality entertainment. The company also has extensive human resources. By 2000, Disney had 110,000 employees throughout its divisions.…

    • 291 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Disney Case Analysis

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Michael Eisner- became Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 1984, known for transforming Disney into industry leader. He stepped down as CEO in 2005.…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Walt Disney was a real visionary in term of animations. He developed his capability to select new ways to invent special cartoons, with a "Disney's prestige" that was going to be the most famous brand in terms of family entertainment. Since Walt Disney's death in 1966, The Walt Disney Company had barely survived appropriation attempts by other corporations. Its shareholders Sid Bass and Roy E. Disney brought on Michael Eisner and Frank Wells to maximize the company’s assets. Disney Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner had a path of triumphs and challenges in the Company but in his last years as chairman and CEO two main problems prevail. First Disney's standing for fragile authority and second, disputes among the top positions of the organization. Whereas it is challenging to determine which originated first, each of these disputes continued during his reign and his management style became a problem to Disney growth and by removing him from his power position was the only way to recover.…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Disney Pixar

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Walt Disney’s’ first feature animation was in 1934 with the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Profits in this industry were not just from proceeds made by movie theatres, but also proceeds from sales in home videos, television, licensing agreements, merchandising and children’s toys. Since then, Disney struggled in the animated industry and did not find success again until the 1980’s and 90’s. The renewed success came with the production of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and the Lion King. Disney’s success was largely attributed to two CEOs, Michael Eisner and Chairman Jeffery Katzenberg. Michael Eisner had an openly collaborative environment management style. Eisner’s management style allowed employees to present story ideas to upper management three times a year to be rated. Eisner promoted these winners with bonuses, higher wages and responsibilities. Only concerned with success, Katzenberg was known as a driven and passionate employee. Katzenberg ensured morale resonance in story line by going through every detail of production after a story was awarded to an employee.…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Walt Disney

    • 1569 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The success of Disney is a combination of creativity and innovations, and the managerial ability to identify and take advantage of every possible synergy.…

    • 1569 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Disney Case Study

    • 3459 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Table of Contents Introduction................................................................................................................................3 Disney’s Current Published Mission Statement ........................................................................3 Proposed Mission & Vision .......................................................................................................4 Disney’s External Threats and Opportunities ............................................................................5 Competitive Profile Matrix ........................................................................................................5 External Factor Evaluation ........................................................................................................6 Disney’s Internal Strengths and Weaknesses ............................................................................8 Internal Factor Evaluation..........................................................................................................9 SWOT Analysis .........................................................................................................................9 Strengths:................................................................................................................................9 Weaknesses: .........................................................................................................................10 Opportunities:.......................................................................................................................10 Threats:.................................................................................................................................10 Recommended Strategies and Objectives ................................................................................10 Strategy…

    • 3459 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Walt disney case study.

    • 593 Words
    • 4 Pages

    -Roy Disney's son, Roy E., took over but was falling so Walt's son-in-law, Ron Miller, took over in 1980.…

    • 593 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Disney Case Study Answer

    • 1507 Words
    • 4 Pages

    1. The major factors that contributed to EuroDisney’s poor performance was the lack of market research and cultural awareness. EuroDisney was built just like American Disney parks, without giving though to cultural differences. American characters were used, instead of French cartoon characters. Disney banned alcohol in a culture that enjoys drinking wine. Everyone showed up for breakfast in the mornings, when Disney had cut down their serving because they were erroneously informed that Europeans do not eat breakfast. Pricing strategy was not accomplished correctly. Many Europeans would not pay the prices that EuroDisney was charging. In addition, Europeans do not vacation as long as Americans do. Other factors were the transatlantic airfare war and currency movement. This made it cheaper to go to Disneyland Orlando than EuroDisney. In addition, the park opened during the Olympics in Barcelona, and the World’s Fair in Seville.…

    • 1507 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Disney Theme Parks

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Walt Disney Company (“Disney” or “the company”), founded in 1923, together with its affiliated companies maintain a “commitment to produce unparalleled entertainment experiences based on the rich legacy of quality creative content and exceptional storytelling” (http://corporate.disney.go.com/). The company’s longevity, “exceptional entertainment experiences, widely diverse content and unique skill in managing [its] businesses in an integrated way allowed [it] to achieve strong results” that make it a model of organizational behavior that other companies replicate (Company Profile, 2011, May 13, p.29).…

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    making a decision

    • 332 Words
    • 1 Page

    As one of the world’s largest entertainment and media companies, Disney has had a long record of successes.…

    • 332 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Experience is an impression left with the customer as a result of receiving stimuli through his/her senses.…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Disney’s success also has counted for Eisner, he play an important role for the successful of the company. When Eisner joined…

    • 625 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Walt Disney Case Study

    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Walt disney has always been quite active in M&A. Their focus has always been to acquire the content that has the global reach.…

    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays