How Walt Disney evolved under Dennis Hightower’s Leadership?

Table of contents

Introduction

            Walt Disney commends Dennis Hightower’s efforts for the enormous growth and expansion in global markets. While, Walt Disney had been trying to penetrate and grow in the global markets and had failed successively until Dennis Hightower was on board with experience on global Marketing and Strategic Planning. The diversified culture and traditions had made it difficult for Disney to expand its operations in other markets. While, Dennis Hightower magically improved sales and profits of Disney’s global operations in a matter of just 5 years, first as the Vice-President of Consumer Products and than as the President of the Television & Telecommunication Department.

            This paper aims at researching what strategies were used by Dennis Hightower to make Disney what its today.

Dennis Hightower

            Dennis Hightower, a seasoned business executive, has had a very diversified career. From starting off as a regular army officer in the US Army to becoming the Deputy Secretary of US Department of Commerce, Hightower has had gained experience in practically every field. Not just as any ordinary officer but as one of the highest-ranked African American in public/private sector. Retired as a Major in the army after being trained by the forces as strategic planner. Hired by Xeror as their organizational planner, Dennis learned about the corporate environment and soon went to Harvard to nurture his skills and potentials. Strategically changing jobs to advance in his career, he built a strong portfolio of global marketing arenas while climbing up the corporate ladder. Soon enough, he became the master of global marketing, strategic planning and change management (Bloomberg Business Week, 2010).

             From electric company, to consultancy and than toys and games, he has been at the top of all games by capturing new markets and penetrating in the current ones. The companies saw a surge in their sales and profits while expanding in different world markets with diverse background, culture and heritage.

Dennis Hightower at Walt Disney

            In 1987, Walt Disney decided to revitalize and reposition its products in Europe and it is for this reason that a head office was made in Paris, France. Disney made Dennis Hightower as the vice president with the task to expand markets for Disney’s products in Europe, Africa and Asia. This included improving retail sales of Disney’s products from shoes to toys to publications, literally everything. This was a newly created position and so was risky for Walt Disney. Major strategic and operational decisions had to be made in order to materialize structural changes. The task was taken by Dennis Hightower and Walt Disney knew he was the best man for the job (Nanda,1994).

Challenges in Europe

            Dennis realized that he would have to face many challenges in accomplishing this task. He would have to develop a strategy that would amalgamate Europe and grow the business beyond one individual area. He used critical thinking and creative approaches to acquire the entertainment market share in Europe. But before that, he had to manage and handle the organizational structure and internal environment at Walt Disney Europe.

            The Disney Traditions, the culture of local autonomy in each franchise and the challenges of cultural heterogeneity were all had to be dealt with to penetrate in the European market and gain access to more markets through it.

            As the Vice President of Consumer Products, he was to handle responsibilities by changing the dynamics of the company in the region. He had well-developed practical, functional and peoples skills that could have been neutralized by language barriers and the European culture and traditions which Dennis Hightower was completely unfamiliar with. He explains that the experience he gained in Europe changed his management style from being an aggressive manager and executive to more of a coach, facilitator and mentor (Nanda, 1996).

            The European market was earlier segregated on the basis of each country which had a country manager that had structured and designed the operations to suit the needs and requirement of that particular country/market. Disney had licensed agreements in United Kingdom, Germany and the Nordic Countries while used Joint Ventures in France and Middle East with vertical Integration in Italy. Europe has very diversified cultures and unifying them would not have been easy. Thus, Dennis had to facilitate communication between countries in order to reconcile the European market in to ‘one size fits all’.

SWOT Analysis of Walt Disney

            Walt Disney is one of the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world. The following is the SWOT Analysis of the company.

Strengths

            One of the major strengths of Walt Disney has been its Creative Process. By blending the existing market trend with the best it has in creativity, the company provides fun filled and joyful experience to its customers that are mainly children. Disney, as a brand, has gained popularity and has a strong conviction among its target market for providing quality entertainment, products and services. Disney has developed its characters as per the attitudes, behaviors and values of the market for which they have gained popularity. It has diversified its operations into many key areas required to sustain the position of the market leader in media and entertainment. From consumer products, theme parks to entertainment channels, the company has made it to the Fortune magazine as one of the most-admired entertainment companies in the world with the all time highs in the guest satisfaction level in theme parks all around the world. Moreover, the company’s main asset has been their qualified and smart knowledgeable human resources that have struggled to take this organization to the next level. One other strength is the company’s strong network and affiliations with various other partners in the entertainment and media business around the world. It has had strong business relations with Pixar for almost 14 years while it keeps on arranging mega deals with various corporations around the world as joint campaigns and ventures. The two business philosophies used by Walt Disney are Innovation and Adaption. The rate at which it fits in every market it enters is one of the highest in the world while innovating to sustain its market position as the market leader and catering to the needs of its customers through the changes in time and technology.

Weaknesses

            The major weakness of Disney is that majority of its business revenue is earned from business ventures in United States while the overseas operations contribute to only 5% of sales of the company. Certainly, there is a high risk factor involved with the company having high sunk, competition and investment. Any venture if fails would hit Disney’s balance sheet very hard and damage its reputation in the market. One other major problem Disney faces is the frequent changes in its top management and so the inconsistency in company’s policies and organizational structure which leads to miscommunication within the organization while enhancing powers of the bureaucracy in the system (Nanda,1994).

Opportunities

            With the markets becoming more adaptable and flexible to outsourcing and globalization, the Walt Disney can expand its operations in other growing global markets. It can penetrate in the current markets it is operating in by offering new creative and innovative offerings while can offer its products and services in the global markets. It should focus on research and development for introducing more entertainment and media products for the greater satisfaction of consumers and creating value for them (Who Run Gov.com, 2010).

Threats

            Walt Disney being an American company faces difficulties with regards to the different culture and traditions prevalent in the different global markets while also considering the legal regulations under the domestic and international law. Entertainment industry is more damaged in terms of decline in sales and revenues in times of recessionary pressures on the overall economy. Consumers tend to spend less on entertainment when their purchasing power is declining or is low. The increase in direct and indirect competitors is also one reason for Disney’s management to be worried. Their focus on creating value for consumers has hurt Disney quiet a lot with its traditional partners aligning themselves with its competitors. Disney, with a diversified portfolio is facing strict competition from every angle of its business while its only strength that counters it is its brand equity in the minds of the consumers.

                                                            Decision Making

            Such was the scenario in which Dennis Hightower had to revamp Walt Disney’s operations in the European Market. The main challenge was restructuring organizational culture, design and internal operations in Europe to facilitate communication among the various regions and markets that were working in isolation from the rest of Walt Disney’s markets.  Unaware of European traditions, Dennis had to decide whether the American organizational system would work or would he have to design and implement an altogether new system and strategies that would be suitable for the entire European market and structure? What powers should each region have and what not? What would be responsibilities of the newly created European Headquarters? Should it conduct activities by partnering with other firms catering to the same market or should it work in isolation in the market? Should it hire more qualified employees or depend on its existing employees? What changes needed to be made to the products and services to meet the cultural demands?

United European Structure

            Under this structure, Dennis would aim at unifying the operations of the entire Europe under a centralized system. This would not only facilitate communication between regions but also make full use of common resources. This can be explained more precisely as the American system of ‘one size fits all’. However, with the diverse cultures and traditions of the different markets, this is not the most viable option to go for.

Designing a new system

            Given the high costs and risks associated with the business experimenting an organizational structure would not improve the situation but can lead to making it worse. It however would be suitable in meeting the needs of the diversified European markets.

Controls with Regions & Headquarters

            Regions should have the have control over the marketing and creativity environment within its own region in order to generate more sales and revenues. The Headquarters should be responsible for the audit and administration. This would enable regions to amend offerings according to the culture of that market while headquarters should assist the regions in matters that are creating hindrances in their path to success.  Regions should have the autonomy to generate and create business in their region.

Partnering

            The idea to partner with players from different industries has been an easy way of entering the market and making their presence visible to the target audience. However, this might result in regional offices losing their business while partners flourished by working with Disney.

Hiring more qualified staff

            The European market needs more qualified and professional staff to manage Disney’s business in the market. Thus, it should replace employees with more energetic, creative an d smart managers that might be ready to face the challenge. These should be experienced enough to bring Disney out of its difficulties.

Meeting Market Demand

            ‘One size fits all’ strategy would fail to meet cultural, attitudinal and behavioral demands due to the highly diversified markets. Therefore, offerings need to be altered to fit in the cultural and personal characteristics of market and consumers.

Recommendations

            Dennis Hightower should try not to change the system on the lines of the American ones as there is a lot more difference between American & European markets. The diverse culture requires more focus and attention on fitting in the culture rather than bringing in or experimenting a new system overall. Regions should be empowered both in terms of resources and authority to formulate and design offerings to cater to the demand of the local/regional market. It is vital to train existing employees with the level of dedication and belongingness they have with the company rather than incurring the cost of new qualified staff. The existing employees with their knowledge and skills would be able to perform the task in a better way. Partnering is necessary to reach out to the target audience.

Conclusion: Success in European Market

            During his time as the Vice-President of Consumer Products in Europe, Africa and Asia, Dennis was managing 14 consumer products in 28 regional markets including France where Euro Disney Land has been launched.

            When he joined, Disney’s revenue from sales was $650 million while 100% of the revenue came from licensing based activities. The sales increased to $4.5 billion with 46% of the revenues from the licensing-based business. The publishing wing issued 120 magazines in 16 languages and under Dennis it grew to 180 magazines in 27 languages. He also signed an exclusive 11 year relationship with Nestle Corporation to co-develop branded food products. The sales of ‘The Lion King’ soundtrack amounted to a record of 7 million cassettes and cds sold in Europe only.

References

Black Enterprise. (1996). A ‘magical’ ride comes to an end: Dennis Hightower leaves Disney to advance higher education, Retrieved on 16th May 2010 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_n12_v26/ai_18407126/

Bloomberg Business Week. (2010). Executive Profile – Dennis Hightower. Retrieved on 17th May 2010 from: http://investing.businessweek.com/businessweek/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=589312&ticker=DPZ:US&previousCapId=972190&previousTitle=Accenture%20Ltd.

JRank.org Encyclopedia .(2010). ‘Hightower, Dennis Fowler(1941–) – Business executive, educator, Chronology, The Disney Years, Retirement and Academic Career’, Retrieved on 17th May 2010 from http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/4293/Title-Hightower-Dennis-Fowler-1941.html

Nanda, A. (1994). ‘Walt Disney’s Dennis Hightower: Taking Charge’, Retrieved on 17th May 2010 from www.hbr.org

Nanda, A. (1996). ‘Walt Disney’s Dennis Hightower: Weaving Together the European Operations.’ Harvard Business Review Retrieved on 17th May 2010 from www.hrb.org

Smith, Jessie, Carner. (1996). Encyclopedia of African American Business, Retrieved 17th May 2010, Green Wood Publishing Group.

The History Makers.( 1996). Dennis Hightower Biography, Retrieved on 16th May 2010 from http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=1807&category=Businessmakers&occupation=Corporate%20Executive&name=Dennis%20Hightower

Today’s Drum. (2010). ‘President Obama nominates Dennis F. Hightower for Deputy Secretary, Department of Commerce’ Retrieved on 17th May 2010 from http://www.todaysdrum.com/6890/president-obama-nominates-dennis-f-hightower-for-deputy-secretary-department-of-commerce/

Who Run Gov.com.(2010).’Dennis F. Hightower’, Retrieved on 17th May 2010 from http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Dennis_F._Hightower

Zoominfo.com. (2008), Mr. Dennis F. Hightower, Retrieved 17th May 2010 from http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Hightower_Dennis_263061.aspx

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Disney SWOT Analysis

Table of contents

 

The Walt Disney Company is a media and entertainment company based in the US with operations pning North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. The company operates through its five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive. The media networks segment includes cable and broadcast television networks, television production and distribution operations, domestic television stations, and radio networks and stations. The Company’s Walt Disney Imagineering unit designs and develops new theme park concepts and attractions, as well as resort properties. The studio entertainment segment produces and acquires live-action and animated motion pictures, direct-to-video content, musical recordings and live stage plays. The Company also develops and publishes games, primarily for mobile platforms, books, magazines and comic books. The Walt Disney was founded by Walter Elias Disney on October 16, 1923 and is headquartered in Burbank, CA.

Strengths

The Walt Disney Company’s main strength is in its resources, its experience in the business, and its low-cost strategy. Besides, the company has developed clearly a very strong and well known “brand-name” through many years. Disney is known as one of the best entertainment companies and its parks are known as one of the most entertaining places in the world. With different business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media, Disney is performing well in each of the sectors.

The company made huge gains from the movies business, especially from the Star Wars. With the huge success of Star Wars and Marvel, Disney’s consumer products segment has also been benefiting from related toys and products. After The Force Awakens was released in December and has already broken the record fastest movie to earn $1 billion worldwide, Disney finally sees the tremendous profits. Their entertainment division is their third largest sector, and they have a new Star Wars movie planned in December 2017. Given that Star Wars is the highest grossing franchise of all time, the entertainment sector is guaranteed to flourish.

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The Disney brand is known throughout the world, and is regularly listed as one of the best global brands of all time. The company is known to have a wholesome image, as it has built this image for decades through its cartoons and, more recently, through its theatrical releases. Many look up to Disney for its good values and ethics, whether through its Disneyland theme parks or many of its other family-friendly business ventures. As of May 2017, Disney is in the seventh place on Forbes list of The World’s Most Valuable Brands.

Weaknesses

A major weakness is the cost of the Walt Disney Company’s products and services. Its plates, clothes and toys are more expensive than its competitors’, its amusement parks are also very expensive and many cable companies do not provide ESPN and the Disney Channel on their basic package. The Walt Disney Company loses a lot of customers because of its high prices.

Although Walt Disney operates in various part of the globe (U.S.A and Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific), its main profits are gained from U.S.A and Canada. North American markets are in maturity stage, where they can either remain or proceed to a decline.

Disney is the biggest attraction for the children. Disney needs to diversify its target audience to increase its revenue and to compete with the competitors. After all, adults are the one who pays the money.

Opportunities

Disney has been expanding its geographic reach over the past few years, and we look for this trend to continue. The company’s Parks and Resorts segment already has properties in Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo. The company just opened the gates to its first theme park in China, Shanghai Disney. The $5.5 billion investment, the largest foreign investment ever from Disney, is a bet on China’s growing middle class and booming domestic tourism. From its opening through the company’s first-quarter earnings call in early February, the park has totaled more than 7 million visits, with CEO Bob Iger predicting that attendance could exceed 10 million by the park’s one-year anniversary.

There has also been a major improvement over the years regarding internet services which have brought about the rise in the demand for online video, among others. There will be an estimated $40 billion dollars of business in these areas by the year 2020. Walt Disney has been working their way to reaching more clients through online videos. Web-based media will continue to expand in the coming years, and Disney needs to continue to shift its overall strategy to include this growing segment. Read also about 

Disney has made some investments in new media platforms in recent months that it hopes will allow it to regain some of the cable subscribers it has lost over the past few years. It invested roughly $400 million in Vice Media, an American-Canadian digital media and broadcasting company. Thanks to Disney’s investment, Vice has been able to start its own news channel called Viceland.

Threats

There are many threats in the Disney Company, and they emerge as time goes on. The Walt Disney Company is susceptible to recessions. When the recession came in the world, people have less money to occupy on vacations due to forfeiture of jobs or increased prices of essential items such as clothing and food.

There is very high competition in the entertainment industry, which poses a major threat to Walt Disney. There is everything to compete for, ranging from the consumers to the advertisers. Some of its major competitors include Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corporation in cable and satellite services, cheaper amusement parks like Six Flags Entertainment, Twenty-First Century Fox in the movie business. As one of the biggest and most revered entertainment companies in the world, Disney is constantly engaged in competition with local, national, and international mass media outfits at all times.

The advancement of technology has made it easier for people to watch pirated movies and shows and it is becoming more accessible along with the quality of pirated movies and shows also improving. This is a major threat because this can make the Walt Disney Company lose money from the entertainment industry; it will spend money on creating shows and movies and no one will pay to watch them.

Besides internet piracy, Disney’s media and movie production businesses may suffer from online TV and online movie rental growth. Subscription to online TV streaming and movie rental websites costs much less than to usual cable television providers. In addition, internet infrastructure is often managed by different companies, thus taking power away from cable network providers.

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Conclusion

The SWOT of Walt Disney tells us a lot about the company. The major points are that Walt Disney is still one of the strongest brands in the world. Although it has several threats and weaknesses, the same can be overcome if the company goes local and starts attracting the local crowd and the next generation of developing countries. Over the longer term, patient investors could benefit from future growth potential from the Shanghai Disney resort and the Star Wars franchise, among other potential movie blockbusters from Pixar, Marvel, or Lucasfilm.

References

  • The Walt Disney Company Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walt_Disney_Company]
  • Disney: A Short SWOT Analysis
  • Walt Disney Co Profile
  • Walt Disney SWOT Analysis 2017 [http://www.marketingteacher.com/swot-analysis-examples/]

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Walt Disney: the Man Behind the Magic

Disney’s empire has spread throughout the world, with his films being translated Into dozens of languages and his theme parks being located in many different countries. Animation became an important part of society with the innovative mind of Walt Disney who shook up the 20th Century with his quirky characters and charming storyline. Walter Alias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. Walt Disney was named after his father, Ells Disney who was “a peripatetic carpenter, farmer, and a bulling contractor” that would do any Job he could find do make money for his Emily.

His mother, Flora Disney, spent most of her time as a public school teacher. Alias and Flora had five children: Herbert, Raymond, Roy, Walt, and Ruth in order of oldest to youngest, descending in age with Herbert being their oldest. Soon after Walt was born, “the family moved to a farm near Marline, Missouri, a typical small Midwestern town. ” There Walt Disney started studying the art of cartooning and even attended classes at the Kansas City Art Institute and School of Design. Chicago called the Disney back to the windy city In 1917 when “Walt entered McKinley High

School, where he took photographs, made drawings for the school paper, and studied cartooning on the side. ” Disney eventually striver to become a newspaper cartoonist when he graduated (Crotchet). Walt Disney’s childhood dream of being a newspaper cartoonist was shattered with the outbreak of World War I In which he participated as an ambulance driver for the American Red Cross In France and Germany (Crotchet). When Disney got back home he started pursuing his career as a cartoonist again with “little than a public education, a few art courses in Chicago, and a year’s service as an ambulance driver n France. He tried to open an animation studio in Kansas City with his previously listed experience and five hundred dollars of poker winnings he had made overseas. Disney was not successful in his attempts, though, and he ended up even worse off than he had been before. He was seen sitting on a box, eating cold beans from a can and dry bread (Nilsson). Diane Disney Miller, his daughter, recalled her father telling her of his misfortunes before his fame and said that, “when Dad was telling me this story I asked, Wasn’t this about the low point of your life? And he said, No, it wasn’t ad.

I love beans’. ” Disney’s adult life was full of struggles to reach his dreams but Walt fell for his secretary, Lillian, and they were married on July 13, 1925 (Sitting 40). Even with his unfortunate situations and hopelessness at times, “by the time he was 30 years old, Walt Disney had become a public figure” (Finch 15). Back in Kansas City together. The dynamic duo “acquired a secondhand movie camera with which they made one and two minute animated advertising films for distribution in local theaters. ” Finally things had begun to look up for the two when a

New York film distributor cheated them out of their money and they were forced to “file for bankruptcy in 1923” (Crotchet). When Disney moved to California to pursue a career as a cinematographer, lowers stayed behind (Finch 50). Surprisingly, one of Disney’s Alice films compelled Walt and Roy, his brother, to open another studio in Los Angels. Although, the Disney brothers realized they needed the fellow cartoonist’s genius at Disney Brothers Productions in California (Finch 50). Walt Disney decided to “change the company name from Disney Brothers Studio to Walt

Disney Studio” (Sitting 42). Some believe it was his selfish decision to hog all of the fame, but supposedly it was Roy Disney who suggested the new studio name (Sitting 43). The Great Depression and its economic hardships that came along with it in the early sass’s hardly hurt Disney. Walt Disney tried his hardest to make his cartoons appeal to audiences all over the world, so he made money in spite of everyone else’s suffering. Many people know that Walt Disney wasn’t the sole animator of his characters, but most do not know Just who he worked with in the beginning (Crotchet).

Pub lowers who was said to be “easily the best animator of the day’ was Disney’s other half (Finch 49). Together they invented one of their first characters that became semi- famous, the character was named Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald was one of Disney’s most famous characters of his early career which “propitiously launched their small enterprise. ” 1927 was a huge year for lowers and Disney, little did the men know that they were designing what would become Disney’s most prized, well- known character “a cheerful, energetic, and mischievous mouse called

Mackey’ (Crotchet). Although most credit for Mackey Mouse is given to Walt Disney, lowers was primarily responsible for perfecting Mickey’s physical characteristics (Finch 49). lowers may have been responsible for Mickey’s physical characteristics, but Walt Disney invented his personality and behaviors. Mickey’s voice was “supplied by Disney himself, a task which he continued to perform for many years after. ” After Mackey, Disney and lowers developed many legendary characters such as Pluto, Goofy, and the prominent Donald Fauntleroy Duck. Donald F.

Duck came into existence when Clarence Nash, one of Disney’s employees, witnessed an ill-mannered duck at the park and became greatly amused. Disney loved the impression Nash gave, so Nash provided the comical, aggressive voice for Mr.. Duck (Alexander). During the early days of Disney, the cartoon sketches called Laugh-O-Grams that were soundless were popular as well as a “series of seven minute fairy tales that combined both live action and animation called Alice in Cortland. ” Disney was able to distribute his films at $1 ,500 each at times, which helped launch what was his mall business at the time.

Talkies were being introduced into society and he began to “recognize the possibilities for sound in animated cartoon films. ” Disney’s third Mackey Mouse cartoon, Steamboat Willie was fully equipped with music and voices, and it totally overshadowed his last soundless cartoons. Steamboat Willie appeared in 1928 and “was a sensation” (Crotchet). Walt Disney began making his first full called Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and cost Walt Disney $1 but over the years has made over $20,000,000 (Davidson 73).

Roy Disney tried to bring in more none by “franchising the tie-in sales with the cartoons of Mackey Mouse and Donald Duck watches, dolls, shirts, and tops which reaped more wealth for the company” (Crotchet). Walt Disney passed away from lung cancer on December 1 5th, 1966 in Los Angels, California at the age of 65 years old. The Disney Company, which changed its name again in the sass’s, became one of the “world’s largest entertainment conglomerates” (Crotchet). Disney’s words, planned and unplanned, were translated into numerous languages and his image could be found on any magazine or swapper across the world (Finch 15).

Disney has said, “Maybe it’s because I Just make what I like- good human stories where you can get with people and prove that the better things of life can be as interesting as the sordid things,” which is Just the attitude and way of thinking that almost everyone loves about the man behind the magic (Davidson 74). Disney’s Mackey Mouse and Donald Duck, the first two characters to be multilingual, were great successes overseas. Disney has become the “world’s most celebrated entertainer and possibly its best-known non-political public guru” from the spread of his achievements.

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Customer Management Plan: Disney Land Paris

Disney land Paris is the number one tourist attraction site in Europe. It attracts more than 12 million visitors each year. It is giving people wonderful amusement experience. Though it flopped at first because it failed to take local cultural values and behaviours into account. When 1 they first they thought that it was enough to be Disney but they eventually realized that their guests need to be welcomed on the basis of their own cultural and travel habits. The realization and the changes it occurred has made it number one amusement park in Europe.

And it also has introduced new movie theme park to accompany the revitalized Paris attraction. The new park blends Disney entertainment and attractions with the history and culture of European film. A show celebrating the history of animation features Disney characters speaking six different languages. Description of the Organisation: When we think of Walt Disney company we think first of theme parks and animated films. Since the release of its first Mickey Mouse cartoon 75 years ago Disney has grown to become the undisputed master of family entertainment.

It perfected the art of movie animation. From pioneering films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Pinocchio, and song of the south to more recent features such as the lion king, toy story and monsters. Disney has brought pure magic to the theatres, living rooms and hearts and minds of audiences around the world. But perhaps nowhere is the Disney magic more apparent than at the company’s premier theme parks. Each year nearly 40 million people flock to the Disney world resort alone 15 times more than visit Yellowstone national park.

Making it the world’s number one tourist attraction. The resorts 4 major theme parks Magic kingdom, epcot, Disney-MGM studios and Disney’s animal kingdom brim with such attractions as Cinderella’s castle, space mountains the tower of terror, body wars, the Kilimanjaro safari, big thunder mountain railroad, typhoon lagoon, buzz light-year’s space ranger spin, and honey L shrunk the audience. But these attractions reveal only part of the Disney world value proposition. In fact 2 what visitors like even more they say is the parks sparkling cleanliness and the friendliness of Disney world employees.

In an increasingly rude, dirty and mismanaged world, Disney offers warmth cleanliness, and order. As one observer notes in the magic kingdom, America still works the way it is supposed to. Everything is clean and safe, quality and service still matter and the customer is always right. Thus the real Disney magic lies in the company’s obsessive dedications to its mission to make people happy and to make a dream come true. The company orients its entire people from the executive in the corner office, to the monorail driver, to the ticker seller at the gate around the customer’s experience.

On their first day all new Disney world employees report for a 3-day motivational course at Disney University on Orland, where they learn about the hard work of making fantasies come true. They learn that they are in the entertainment business. Case members in the Disney world show. The job of each cast member is to enthusiastically serve Disney’s guests. Before they receive their theme costumers and go on stage employees take courses titled traditions, in which they learn the Disney language, history and culture.

They are taught to be enthusiastic, helpful, and always friendly. They learn to do good deeds, such as volunteering to take pictures of guests so that the whole family can be in the picture. Rumour has it that Disney is so confident that its cast members will charm guests that it forces contact. For example many items in the parks gift shops bear no price tags, requiring shoppers to ask the price. Cast members 3 are taught never to say it’s not my job. When a guest asks a question whether its where’s the nearest restroom?

Or what are the names of snow white’s seven dwarves? They need to know the answer. If they see a piece of trash on the ground they pick it up. They go to extremes to fulfil guest’s expectations and dreams. For example to keep the magic kingdom feeling fresh and clean, five times a year the main street painters strip every painted rail in the park down to bare metal and apply a new coat of paint. Walt Disney Company 4 always wants to give their guests an enjoyable moment. Disney’s customers delight mission and marketing has become legendary.

Its theme parks are so highly regarded for outstanding customer service that many of America’s leading corporations send managers to Disney University to learn find out how Disney does it. However as it turns out theme parks are only a small part of a much bigger Disney story. These units make up only a small part of today’s Walt Disney Company Empire. In recent years, Disney has become a real study in strategic planning. Via the 1990’s seeking growth, Disney diversified rapidly, transforming itself into a $25b international media and entertainment conglomerate.

Someone might be surprised to learn that beyond its theme parks, the Walt Disney Company now owns or has a major stake in all of the following: a major television and radio network, ABC along with 10 company owned television stations, 29 radio stations, and 13 international broadcast channels. 165 able networks including the Disney channel, lifetime television, toon Disney, soaps net, ESPN, A;E, the history channel, Entertainment and ABC family channel. Four TV production companies and eight movie productions and distribution companies including Walt Disney pictured touchstone pictures, Hollywood pictures and Miramax films.

Five magazines are publishing groups including hyper ion books and Miramax books. Five music labels including Hollywood records and mammoth records. Nineteen internet groups including Disney online, Disney’s blast, ABC Company and ESPN sport zone, family. com, toysmart. com nascar. com, nba. com and NFL. com and Disney interactive, which develops markets, computer software, video games, and CD ROMs. The Disney store 660 retail store locations carrying Disney related merchandise. Disney cruise lines. Two sports franchises the mighty ducks of Anaheim hockey team and the Anaheim Angels baseball team. It’s an impressive list.

However for Disney managing this diverse portfolio of business has become a real monster. Whereas Disney’s theme park and family movie operations have been wonderfully successful over the years, the new and more complex Disney has struggled for growth profitability. For example during the last half of 1980’s the smaller more focused Disney experienced soaring sales and profits. Revenues grew at an average rate of 23 percent annually. Net income grew at 50 percent a year. In contrast, during the most recent five years, the more diversified Disney’s sales have grown at an average rate of only 3 percent annually.

Net income has fallen 23 percent a year. Thus for Disney, bigger is not necessary better. Many critics assert that Disney has grown too large, too diverse, and too distant from the core strength that made it so successful over the years. Others however believe that such diversification is essential for profitable long-term growth. One thing seems certain creating just the right blend of businesses to make up the new magic kingdom won’t be easy. It will take masterful strategic planning. Along with some big doses of the famed Disney magic to give the modern Disney story a happy ever after ending.

Walt Disney Company Markets Two Distinct Winnie The Pooh Bears: The original line drawn figure appears on fine china, pewter spoons, and pricey kid’s stationery found in upscale specialty and department stores such as Nordstrom, and Bloomingdale’s. The plump, cartoon like pooh, clad in a red shirt and a goofy smile, adorns plastic key chains, polyester bed sheets and animated videos. It sells in wall-mart stores and five and dime shops. Except at Disney’s own stores, the pools do not share the same retail shelf.

Thus Disney offers both upstairs and downstairs poohs, hoping to land customers on both sides of the income divide. Key Features Of The Sector Within Which The Organisation Operates Are: Currently Disney land Paris 6 is offering 2 special offers. They are a day extra and a night extra free. The extra days are offered on only selected days of winter. It means one can enjoy extra breakfast free also. Another offer is kids free go. It refers to one kid can enjoy the offer with one adult only. The kid has to share the room and the offer is valid in January to march only. Another most popular offer is fact fun.

It is the most popular and enjoyable offer offered by Disney land Paris. There are auto animation figures and following toys and accessories. Other offers are Internet offers and tickets and packages. Description of the target segment(s), their key characteristics and the implications for providing customer service: Market segmentation 7 refers to evaluate each market segments attractiveness and selecting one or more segments to enter. Segmentation can be based on geographical for example dividing the market based on nations, state, regions, countries, cities or neighborhoods.

Disney land may segment the market based on countries. It may decide which countries should be served and which one is not. Another way to segment the market is demographic segmentation. It means dividing the market based on age, sex, family size, family life cycle and other variables such as income, occupation, education, religion, race, generation and nationality. Different aged people like different ideas and other values. Age is a major variable in demographic segmentation. Consumers demand change with their age. It can target different aged people.

Many companies generate different schemes for attracting different aged people. Age is one of the most important demographic variables. It is often very much-talked topic for a business. Different aged people need different services. And one who can serve the best is the leader. Gender is one of the demographic variables. Gents and ladies are often different in using different tools and their needs are also different. Income segmentation is another variable. Different income level person demand different things. Disney land Paris may use different plans to serve different income level persons.

As someone’s income is higher he or she will demand more and if someone’s income is low then he or she will demand less. Psychographics segmentation is another kind of segmentation, which means dividing market into different groups based on social class, lifestyle or personality characteristics. Social class is an important factor. Lifestyle is the way people live so it should be under consideration. Keeping all this information’s in the head Disney land Paris has to sell its product. Behavioral segmentation is another variable concerning the segmentation of the market.

It is one kind of segmentation where buyers are divided into groups based on their knowledge and attitude, use or response to a product. Buyer’s knowledge 8 is important in this sense that if buyer’s knowledge is low then buyer is not capable of taking the right decision. And if the buyer decision is accurate then buyer must contain knowledge of the product. Countries can also be segmented by economic factors. For example countries can also be segmented by population income level or by their overall level of economic development. Customer Management Issues: Marketing plays a key role in the company’s strategic planning in several ways.

First marketing provides a guiding philosophy, which is known as marketing concept. That suggests the company strategy should revolve around building profitable relationships with the important consumer groups. Second marketing provides inputs to strategic planners by helping to identify attractive market opportunities and by assessing the firm’s potential to take advantage of them. Finally within individual business units marketing designs strategies for reaching the units objective. Once the units objective are set marketing task is to carry them out profitably.

Partnership relationship management is working closely with partners in other company departments and outside the company to jointly bring greater value to customers. A Blueprint of Disney Land Paris: The blueprint of Disney land Paris 9 was developed in US but the world’s favourite theme park concept has transcended US. The Disney land Paris has hotels, shops, restaurants and many other enjoyable things, which attract people greatly. In fact Disney land Paris consists of two theme parks. One of the parks is Disney Land Park based on California’s kingdom and the other is Walt Disney studio. Quality Indicators For Customer Service Provision:

The quality indicators for customer service provision are increase in sales of tickets, increase in reservation in hotel of Disneyland Paris, and increase in the amount of people visit Disneyland Paris each year. As Disneyland Paris has many shopping centres, the increase in sales of these shopping centres is a good quality indicator for customer service provision. There are many restaurants in the Disneyland Paris so increase in these restaurants is also important quality indicator. As there are numerous rides in the theme park, many riders are also an indicator. Increase in the sales of tickets for movie is also important.

Service Script: Disneyland Paris gives much service to its customers. Service script includes movie shows, different rides and parking facility, lunch facilities, shopping malls, restaurants and many other amusing things. It gives specific offer for families and kids. Kids free are a very popular offer. It also has many amusing characters, which are very popular. There are many adventures in the theme park special occasion is also important. It often arranges many parties for people. There are special offer, Internet offer, tickets and packages in the Disneyland Paris. Get there is very easy they have own transportation system.

STAFF Management Issues And The Recommendations For Staffing Interface: Disneyland Paris trains10 each employee very efficiently and for this reason it can serve its customers smoothly. On the first day all new Disneyland Paris employees report for a three-day motivational course at Disney University in Orlando where they learn about the hard work of making fantasies come true. There they learn that they are in an entertainment business. There is also much training for Disneyland Paris employees after this training. Recommendations: Another university may be built for the training of the employees of Disneyland Paris.

And the standard of the university may also be upgraded as demand for new age changes rapidly. There should be hostels for the employees who get trained in the universities. The food and accommodation system should be adequate enough to give better training. The teachers of the universities may be performing better if they get additional training. There should be enough books and equipments for the training. One thing is also important is what is the duty of the employees in case of the emergency. There should be training for the emergency time also. Blueprint Flow Charting Layout:

What Happens Backstage As Well As Front Stage: At the backstage the company’s employees12 try very hard to give better service through effective communication and at front stage they directly give service to the customers. The visible actions are parking cars, buy tickets and others and the invisible actions are after the parking of the car how employees take care of the car and how effectively the ticket sellers sell their tickets. As we know Disneyland Paris employees keep the park very clean then there must be hard work to do it. And how they keep the park clean all the time it is invisible service to the consumers.

Internal physical interaction is also needed in the work of there. These interactions are motivation, leadership and other things. Maintaining many things Disneyland Paris is not easy. The employees need to be motivated strongly to give better service. The whole team of employees needs to work hard to maintain such a huge park. There are many facilities in the park. The gas, water, electric supply and heating system need to be checked thoroughly and billing records is also important because customers are likely to be pleased if they find it easy billing system.

There are many credit cards facilities in the park followed by ATM service. Systems And Instruments For Evaluating Service Delivery: Service13 delivery need to be evaluated for better customer service. Through better service Disneyland Paris has gained a position in its customers mind. If a company wants to give better service then only planning, implementation, and control is not important. Evaluation is also very important because through it a company can detect its glitches and make corrective action. The self-assessment instrument is one way to evaluate service delivery.

It will assist to identify different understandable aspects of service delivery utilized within the organization. Through this instrument one company can understand what its plan was and actually what was implemented. Disneyland Paris may introduce a system to complete and submit their work in brief. The employees may be asked to give service delivery report before and after their training. This instrument may be used to have or feel discussion among the employees and plan the changes, which are desirable. And the system for evaluating may be making a visual assessment of the employees by using enabling part replica.

There should be a meeting of the employees after their plan is implemented regarding the gaps and overwork. Disneyland Paris may introduce model for understanding the current situation of the company. Disneyland Paris may also introduce PowerPoint presentations for better service. Disneyland Paris needs to collect data for evaluation. One system may be achievement Planning preparation Module The Content Of The Plan is: Disney land Paris wants 14 to design and put into action the marketing mix that will best achieve its objective in its target markets.

The company first develops company wide strategic plans, and then translates them into marketing and other plans for each division, product and brand. Through implementation, the company turns the plans into actions. Control consist of measuring and evaluating the results of marketing activities and taking corrective action where needed. Finally marketing analysis provides information and evaluation needed for all of the other marketing activities. Marketing Analysis: Managing the marketing functions begins with a complete analysis of the company’s situation.

The company must analyze its markets and marketing environment to find attractive opportunities and avoid environmental threats. It must analyse company’s strength and weakness as well as current and possible-marketing actions to determine which opportunity is right. Marketing provide input to each of the other marketing management functions. Marketing Planning: Through strategic planning 15 the company decides what it wants to do with each business unit. Marketing planning involves deciding on marketing strategies that will help the company attains its overall strategies objectives.

A detailed marketing plan is needed for each business, product or brand. The plan begins with an executive summary which quickly overviews major assessment, goals and recommendations. The main sections of the plan present a detailed analysis of the current marketing situation as well as potential threats and opportunities. It next states major objectives for the brand and outlines the specifics of marketing strategies for achieving them. A marketing strategy is the marketing logic whereby the company hopes to achieve its marketing objectives.

It consists of specific strategies for target markets, positioning, the marketing mix and marketing expenditure level. In this section the planner explains how each strategy responds to the threats opportunities, and d critical issues spelled out earlier in the plan. Additional sections of the marketing plan lay out an action program for implementing the marketing strategy along with the details of a supporting marketing budget. The last section outlines the controls that will be used to monitor progress and take corrective action. Marketing Implementation: Planning good strategies is only a start toward successful marketing.

A brilliant marketing strategy counts for little if the company fails to implement it properly. Marketing execution is the process that turns marketing plans into marketing behaviour in order to complete strategic marketing objectives. Implementation involves day-to-day, month-to-month activities that effectively put the marketing plan to work. Whereas marketing planning addresses the and why of marketing activities, implementation addresses who, where, when and how. Many managers think that doing things right is as important as or even more important than doing the right things. The fact is that both are critical to success.

However companies can gain competitive advantages through effective implementation. One firm can have essentially the same strategy as another, yet win in the marketplace through faster or better execution. Still implementation is difficult. It is often easier to think up good marketing strategies than it is to carry them out. In an 16 increasingly connected world, people at all levels of the marketing system must work together to implement marketing plans and strategies. In Disney land Paris marketing managers make decisions about target segments, positioning, pricing and promoting and distributing.

They connect with people elsewhere in the company to get support for their products and programs. They talk with engineering staffs about product design, with manufacturing about production and inventory levels and with finance about funding and cash flows. They also connect with outside people such as advertising agencies to plan ad campaigns and the media to obtain publicity support. Successful marketing implementation depends on how well the company blends its people, organisational structure, decision and reward systems, and company culture into cohesive action program that supports it strategies. Marketing Control 17:

Because many surprises occur during the implementation of marketing plans, the marketing department must practice constant marketing control. Marketing control involves evaluating the results of marketing strategies and plans and taking corrective actions to ensure that objectives are attained. Operating control involves checking ongoing performance against the annual plan and taking corrective decision when necessary. Servqual Scale 18: This is a scale that may be used for performing the gap scrutiny of an enterprise’s service quality performance against consumer service quality wants. There are 5 key dimensions in this method.

They are: Tangibles: This includes appearance of physical facility, equipment, and manpower and communication facility. Disneyland Paris has provided all the facilities of these dimensions. Reliability: Disneyland Paris has always performed their promises and moreover they have tried their best to give better service. Responsiveness: Disneyland Paris is always very quick to response to their consumers and they are very willing to help. There are many employees employed for quick response. Assurance: Disneyland Paris has efficient employees who possess enough knowledge and meekness to their customers.

It gives highest facilities among its competitors. Empathy: Disneyland Paris has focused on the individual customers rather than aggregate customers. This has helped them to attract more customers. The Usage Of Servqual Scale: It is widely used in service industries for example Disneyland Paris. It may also be used in the inter organisation. Steps in Servqual Scale: In this method there are some steps they are the relative significance of each fact, and a dimension of performance prospect, and a measurement for the concerned company.

Cons Of Servqual Scale: There has been the validity of these dimensions. There is often problem in calculating the servqual contributions. Assumptions of Servqual Scale 19: For Disneyland Paris is we want to apply SERVQUAL SCALE then we need to keep some assumptions for example one of them are the result of market survey are precise. The power of the model is based on the empirical theories. And more over another assumption is that customers need be captured and the theory suggests that these things remain constant. Conclusion:

Disney land Paris has already achieved a great position in the world and in peoples mind. Through its constant efficient service it may be able to keep its pace for many years. Bibliography: 1. Kotler Philip and Armstrong Gary, 2004, marketing principles, 2 chapter, edition 10, education Pearson. 2. Disneyland Detective, By Kendra Trahan, Brian McKim,? Dave Hawkins 3. <http://dpi. state. wi. us/sspw/pstrainings. html> 4. <http://www. disneylandparis. co. uk/index. xhtml> 5. <http://www. wordtravels.? com/Resorts/France/Paris/Disneyland+Paris> 6. <http://www. 12manage. com/methods? _zeithaml_servqual. html>

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Internal Customers of Disneyland Paris

There are a number of needs and expectations in which Disneyland’s internal customers deserve and expect, if these needs and expectations are not met they will be unhappy and inefficient in the work and therefore provide a poor customer service, which in turn will deter repeat custom. Disneyland Paris gives their employees the title ‘Cast Members’. The term Cast Member comes from the entertainment industry. Each employee of Disneyland Paris is part of the cast working either onstage or backstage to put on the ‘magical show’ provided by Disney.

Therefore providing their employee’s with different job titles will provide the staff with assurance and self esteem that they are valued in the job they are carrying out. Disneyland Paris currently employee over 12,000 Cast Members with a combined effort of over 100 different nationalities this would therefore be important as there are a number of different people coming from all over the world with a number of different languages being spoken throughout the park consequently it would be vital that Cast Members can interact with these different customers.

Each Cast Member is trained in specific worlds; this means that each member of the staff is trained to bring about the completion of a certain task, for example, some people would be trained to cook and prepare food while others would be trained to fix broken machinery or rides. This training would be an expectation of Disney’s internal customers as if they aren’t correctly trained in the job they may not be able to carry the work out to a high level of efficiency and may also have a high number of errors while working.

If the employees weren’t trained correctly in their specific areas of work then this would also decrease their level of customer service provided which in turn would have negative effects on Disney. Internal suppliers must be treated with a high level of customer service, this would be vital to the running of Disneyland Paris as the internal suppliers are the people who attract and transport people into the Disney resort. Travel agents provide Disney’s customers with four main ways of gaining access to the resort; these include air travel, car, bus and train (Eurostar).

Disney carried out a survey into how people arrived to join the resort and came up with this data:

  • Arrived by Train: 35%
  • Arrived by Plane: 29%
  • Arrived by Car: 26%
  • Arrived by Bus: 10%

This data shows us that a total of just 26% of all UK Disneyland Paris visitors make their own way into the resort without going through an internal supplier and the other 74% arrange to stay in the Disney Resort through a travel agent so it is vital that these internal suppliers are treated with high respect and have been provided with a good customer service because without them, less people would be entering the park on an annual basis.

Disneyland Paris also provides services for any business customers who may wish to use their resort as a meeting place and require their facilities. The various places throughout the Disney Resort are business and family friendly but the main business areas would be Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Cafi?? , Buffalo Bills or even for night life the night club Hurricanes.

It is important that Disney provide places in which business talks can be held and discussed, it is also important that they provide the business individuals with facilities to use and places to go to enjoy their selves during their stay at the resort, however, if this range of facilities was not available it would be a less appetising place to hold business conferences and in turn would lose custom for Disneyland Paris which in turn would lose them revenue and profit. Internal customers of Marks & Spencer’s Marks and Spencer’s internal customers consist of Employee’s, Managers, Shareholders and the various people who work in the different departments of the business; for example Human Resources or Finance.

All these internal customers within Marks and Spencer have a series of wants, needs and expectations therefore it is important that these are met to ensure a high quality work force which in turn will provide a high quality customer service. One of the needs for the employees of Marks and Spencer would be suitable break times.

To ensure this need is met Marks and Spencer have set out these break rules; 0-4 hours they don’t get a break, work 4-6 hours they get 30 minutes, 6-8 hours they get 45 minutes break and if they work 10 hours + they get 1 hour break. Under 18’s are entitled to longer breaks, which is why M;S deter from employing many under 18 year olds. These break times all comply with the working regulations time act. A want to match this need would be that Marks and Spencer provide their staff with somewhere to go during their break times and to provide food for them to eat during this break.

To meet and exceed this aim Marks and Spencer have various staff rooms and a Cafi revive. The staff room is somewhere, where employees can sit and relax during their break times with tables, chairs, sofas and a television all provided. In the Cafi revive Marks and Spencer offer a place where employees can eat a packed lunch, make full use of the fridges and microwaves provided and they can also purchase low priced Marks and Spencer food to eat during this break.

This would be a major incentive for Marks and Spencer to entice employees into the company and as the wants of the internal customer have been met and exceeded it is very likely that employees will be much happier in their work place and in turn will provide an excellent customer service to all customers and make them feel valued when shopping in store. This will in turn help to increase repeat customer and generate more sales and revenue for Marks and Spencer. Another expectation for the internal customers of Marks and Spencer would be financial incentives.

In order to meet and again exceed these expectations Marks and Spencer offer discount cards to all their internal customers. These discount cards allow the user to gain a total of 20% off all products in store except electrical items as these are the only things in which Marks and Spencer do not product their selves. Employees also have the option to nominate one family member to be granted a discount card in which they have the same abilities and benefits as if they worked there.

Internal customers are also entitled to purchase high quality Marks and Spencer goods from the staff shop at a quarter of the original price; for example if sandwiches were usually sold for i?? 1 each, the staff shop would sell them for 25p each. This would be a major incentive to attract new employees and increase customer service provided by these employees as it not only benefits themselves but their families too with cheap products, high quality products being provided.

This increase in customer service would then lead to the increase of team moral throughout the Marks and Spencer stores, which in turn would increase the level of customer service provided by each staff member. Another want for the internal customers of Marks and Spencer would be health insurance (H. A. S). Once again Marks and Spencer have not only met this want but have exceeded it. In order to achieve this they have provided a health care service in which 2/3 of their total staff have signed up for.

This is majorly beneficial for the internal customers of Marks and Spencer, as it will make them feel respected and valued. This would again lead to an increase in customer service. A final want for the internal customers of Marks and Spencer would be a chance to save and invest money. In order for Marks and Spencer to achieve this aim they must devise a way in which would be beneficial to them and also beneficial towards their internal customers. This is when Marks and Spencer came up with a scheme titled ‘save and share scheme’.

This scheme consists of employees paying a fixed fee each month in which they can save and take out when they wish or buy shares in Marks and Spencer. This would be a incentive to spur workers on and would also be a good motivator as they could save money all year and take it would when needed; for example a holiday or Christmas time. Again like the rest of the points this would lead to the internal customer providing a higher standard of customer service. A final expectation for the internal customers of Marks and Spencer would be training.

This would be vital and employees would insist on training in order to complete their jobs and to complete them to a high standard and efficiency. Marks and Spencer’s first employee people then give them substantial training and provide them with plenty of experience in order to complete their work. During this training employees will learn how to first meet customer expectations then exceed these expectations, in order to achieve this they are taught skills which including; strong positive attitude at all times, enthusiasm, knowledgeable and a ‘can-do’ attitude to all work.

All this training will lead to an all round excellent customer service in which the customers will feel extremely valued which a high percent of repeat custom. Shareholders are internal customers who hold a stake in the M & S business, and rely on them to make a profit, as M & S is a big business the share holders will not have much involvement within the business as say you would with a much small company such as a sandwich shop. The shareholders are only interested if M & S made a profit and are gaining a good return of their shares.

If M & S are not fulfilling want the shareholder are looking for then they are likely to sell their share of the business. If M & S are not gaining enough profit then potential investors are going to take their interest somewhere else. External Customers An external customer can be one of three things; ordinary customers of the business, another business or organisation, all customers which are based outside the business (external). Usually the external customer, business or organisation is the person in which is providing goods or services for, basically the buyer.

Good external customer service is essential for a business as bad customer service can lead to customer loyalty being broken and a bad word of mouth being spread which will impact negatively on the businesses reputation. There are numerous external customers, these include: Sate and society The state, usually incorrectly referred to as just the government, is a major customer in a business. It collects all taxes, but also insists business implement the required necessary laws including health and safety, employment right acts and equal opportunities legislations.

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Walt Disney as a leader

Walt Disney as a Leader Throughout the years, in the field of entertainment there are very few people who have captured the eye of the public and made a name themselves. Walt Disney achieved this and much more, his name became a renowned brand and his success to the form of amusement parks around the world and iconic movies that continued to be passed down to be watched for generations, immortalizing his creations into the childhood of millions. Walt Disney presented himself as a leader for pioneering the world of animation into our day to day forms of entertainment.

His imagination ead him to go beyond the limits of a simple cartoonist. He dreamt of a much larger picture and he knew his creativity could bring something great to this world. Through his ambitious and creative nature he created whole worlds and characters with stories for us to fall in love with. His stubborn attitude and his optimism motivated cartoonist and animators alike, to aspire great goals in their careers despite what anyone else states against you. Walt Disney had always had big aspirations no matter how impossible it may have seemed he always worked his hardest to reach his goals.

His ambition motivated him to do the unthinkable, even when his ideas failed him he kept looking at the big picture. This mode of thinking lead him to want to “be the first person to create a full length animated This was in 1933 and at the time this goal seemed outrageous, no one believed it would succeed and that he would go bankrupt like in many of his other attempts at animation. But Walt Disney ignored these thoughts and stayed true to his vision, he hired only the most skilled cartoonists and began his four year project. All the while ignoring the warnings about his imminent failure.

Four years later his first full length production, “Snow white and the Seven Dwarfs” was released in 1937. It became a sensation and the success spurred on Walt Disney’s imagination into creating more films such as “Bambi,” “Cinderella,” “101 Dalmatians,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Lion King,”(Warfield) and the list goes on. Walt Disney’s ambition motivated him to reach his goal despite the criticism, and if he hadn’t where would we be without these iconic movies? Creativity was one of Disney’s many strong suits, his imagination lead to many conic creations that added a new level into the entertainment field.

Walt Disney was a pioneer and innovator, “and the professor of one of the most fertile and unique imaginations the world has ever known. ” (Brad) Hi creative mind set was one of the main factors that lead to his great success. Having always had an artistic interest, since he was Just a young boy he drew cartoons for his school newspaper and at times, when invited to, told stories to the class by drawing them out on the chalkboards in his classroom. His creativity grew in his studios, in the early days of is career it was located in his garage.

He grew fond of three mice that he latter took in as pets, “he had a particular favorite who inspired the cartoon character Mickey Mouse. ” (Kraws) His imagination lead him to create one of the most iconic characters in the entertainment field. Mickey Mouse forever characterized as the face for Disney’s name, one ot the greatest creations he made, torever immortalizing his brand and his future accomplishments. He also had an impulsive nature about him that often times turned to stubbornness when trying to bring his next vision to reality.

During his production of “Mary Poppins”, it was originally meant to be a movie with only real actors. But Disney was struck with this idea of merging animation along with the real people, and idea every involved in the production, including the actors found absurd. Many objected the idea claiming it to be “too high of risk. “(lMDb) This time Walt Disney was not ignoring the words of Just critics but his own co-workers and partners. He went ahead and added the animation to film despite the words of his team. The film was released in 1964 generating yet another wave of success in the Walt Disney Studios.

Walt Disney’s impulsive and stubborn nature could be viewed as one of his flaws but it often was that impulse to pursue the goals set by his imagination that fueled his stubborn nature to reach his goal despite of anyone’s advice. And that impulse usually lead to great creations that ended in success. Though optimism is not something that comes naturally to most people, Disney had an incredible way of seeing the “light at the end of the tunnel” even in his darkest situations. Such as his early attempted projects like “The Alice Comedies” which ended when he “and his company Laugh-O-Grams went bankrupt. Brad) Even having to face his past failure Disney still aimed to achieve greatness and he never let the negative parts of his life cloud these ideals. His views on life was always bright and challenges never seemed to faze him. Other parts of Disney’s life were not as easy to get over, “probably the most painful time of Walt’s private life, was the accidental death of his mother in 1938. ” Once “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was released Walt and his brother Roy Disney, bought a home for their parents closer to their studio, but unfortunately less than a month later Disney’s mother died of

Asphyxiation due to a faulty furnace. (Brad) The accident haunted Disney for years but he continued on with his animations despite his grief and still believed life would get better. His optimistic attitude during the darkest of times motivated thousand of cartoonists and animators to persevere and make them believe in Disney could do it so could they. Throughout the challenged Walt Disney had faced, his ambition led him to achieve impossible goals, his creativity allowed him to imagine captivating stories, his stubbornness stuck him to his ideals and his optimism go him through the greatest challenges.

A true inspiration for aspiring cartoonist, animators and entertainers alike that greatness can be achieved with perseverance and motivation. He taught the world that creativity should be embraced and that imagination is a gift that can lead the world to achieve seemingly impossible goals. Few men have made such a mark on the world, and most not as memorable as Walt Disney. In his words, “we keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. ” (Rosenbaum) Walt Disney, a true leader and pioneer to the creative imagination.

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Essay Summary of Walt Disney

, a $53. 7 billion corporation as of the closing price of its last day of business in the fiscal year of 2008, is a “diversified worldwide entertainment company” (Disney). The company is involved in four different entertainment sectors, Media Networks, Parks and Resorts, Studio Entertainment, and Consumer Products. The Media Networks segment includes its domestic broadcast television network, ABC Television Network, which has over 233 local affiliate agreements and reaches 99% of all U. S. television owning households. Almost all of its revenues come from advertising time sold during network programs. The company also owns television production and distribution operations including ABC Studios, Buena Vista Productions, and ABC Family Production.

These companies create and provide programming for ABC, as well as Disney’s other cable networks. They also sell content for syndication purposes. The productions are distributed domestically through Disney-ABC Domestic Television and internationally through Disney-ABC ESPN Television International. The content is also sold and distributed in DVD form as well as online. Disney also owns and operates nine very high frequency stations, and one ultra-high frequency television station. These are located in primary U. S. markets, transmit both analog and digital signals, and reach 23% of U. S. television owning households.

The company also owns carious cable networks in domestic and international markets. The cable networks garner most of their revenues from monthly subscription fees paid through contracts with cable providers, and the remaining revenue comes from advertising sold on some of the networks. Numerous cable networks make up part of the media network’s segment of the company. One of which is ESPN, a “multimedia, multinational sports entertainment company” (Disney). The company operates ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNNEWS, ESPN Deportes, and ESPNU, as well as four high definition sports channels.

ESPN has distribution rights or interests with 45 international sports networks in more than 195 countries. ESPN also has numerous radio stations also owned by the company. Disney Channel is another cable network service owned by the company. It targets families, and specifically children. Other family oriented cable networks owned by the company include Playhouse Disney, targeted towards preschoolers, and Toon Disney, featuring animated Disney programming, which will soon be reformatted as Disney XD, and will provide more live-action and animated programming for children 6-14.

The company also has full or partial ownership of Jetix (a publicly traded European children’s entertainment company), Jetix Latin America, Hungama (an Indian children’s entertainment company) ABC Family, SOAPnet, A&E, The History Channel, The Biography Channel, and History International. It also owns the Lifetime Entertainment Services, which include Lifetime Television, Lifetime Movie network, and Lifetime Real Women. The company also owns Radio Disney, a radio format carried on 52 stations that reach over 60% of the U. S. market. It is also available on RadioDisney. om, Sirius XM Radio, iTunes Radio, XM/DirecTV and mobile phones via subscription. In addition to its radio and television assets, The Walt Disney Company also owns various Internet and mobile operations. These include the websites ABC. com, ABCNews. com, Disney. com, ABCFamily. com, SOAPnet. com, ESPN. com, ESPN360. com, and Disney’s Club Penguin. The media networks segment of the Walt Disney Company faces competition from various other media entities for the share of viewers, including other broadcast and cable networks, Internet sites, radio stations, as well as other forms of media such as DVDs and video games.

They compete for advertisers with other television networks, radio stations, websites, as well as other media including newspapers, magazines, and billboards. The company also faces strict regulation in this sector by the Federal Communications Commission, as it heavily regulates broadcast media. The second division of the Walt Disney Company is the parks and resorts sector. These entities include the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, the Disneyland resort in California, the Disney Vacation Club, the Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney, and ESPN Zone.

It also includes 51% ownership of , and 43% of Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan. These assets generate revenues through admission and ticket sales, hotel fees, merchandise, food and beverage sales, sales and rentals of vacation club properties and cruise vacation packages. The profitability of these properties is dependent on economic and seasonal conditions. They are most profitable during summers and during winter and spring school vacation seasons. Perhaps the most well known division of the Walt Disney Company is its Studio Entertainment sector.

This includes all motion pictures distributed and created under the Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, or Miramax production banners. They also include numerous films created under the Pixar banner, as well as films created under what was formerly the Dimension banner. Together this includes assets of over 928 full-length live-action features, 80 full-length animated featured, approximately 546 cartoon shorts, and 53 live action shorts. The films are distributed through Disney owned distribution and marketing companies in the US and through joint ventures and independent companies in international markets.

These films are also distributed through home video sales as well as pay-per-view and video-on-demand services. The Studio Entertainment sector also includes the Disney Music Group, which includes Walt Disney Records, Hollywood Records, Lyric Street Records, Buena Vista Concerts and Disney Music Publishing. It also includes the Disney Theatrical Group, which develops, produces, and licenses live entertainment events, which include Broadway musicals, touring stage groups, and controls the licensing of musicals for local and school theatrical productions.

It also includes Disney Live Family entertainment, which brings tours like Disney on Ice and Disney Live to entertainment venues across the country. The sector’s success is dependent almost completely upon public taste and preferences, but is also affected by overall macro-economic factors. The final sector of the Walt Disney Company is its Consumer Products sector. This sector handles the licensing, manufacturing, publishing, and retailing of Disney related products, and the handing of Disney’s intellectual property. This also includes Disney Publishing Worldwide, which publishes books and magazines in multiple countries and languages.

It includes Disney Interactive Studios which create and distribute Disney related multi-platform games. The company also owns 229 domestic and 105 European stores operating as The Disney Store. Stores are also operated under Oriental Land Co. , Ltd. , in Japan. Disneyshopping. com acts as an online version of these stores. The largest aspect of this sector is the protection of the company’s intellectual property, as the profitability of the entire company is impacted by the company’s ability to protect these properties.

Technological developments and inadequate intellectual property laws and enforcement mechanisms in various countries have been significantly impacting the company’s ability to protect its intellectual property. This is a substantial risk factor to the overall company. Other important risk factors affecting the Walt Disney Company include the recent changes in the global economic environment. The downturn in the economy has affected demand for entertainment products. This will impact the profitability and performance of all sectors of the company.

Changes in consumer preferences and tastes are also important risk factors for the company. If the public develops a distaste for Disney products, or an affection for a competitor’s products, it would certainly affect the performance of the company assets. Changes in technology and consumer consumption habits will not only effect the ability of the company to protect its intellectual property, but also the ways new content is produced, as well as the cost incurred in doing so.

Uncontrollable factors like adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, health concerns, international, political, or military developments, and terrorist attacks may all have a substantial impact on the ability of the company’s assets to operate profitably. Also, because the company employs over 150,000 people, any changes in the cost of employee health, pension or welfare benefits will strongly impact the cost of company labor and therefore the profitability of the company.

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