Walt Disney

Introduction

Movies speak volumes about a particular subject. It is even understood that most animated motion pictures even hammer the point much clearer than their non-animated counterparts. It has been a tradition that with every animated movie, a corresponding moral accompanies it to the end of the credits. The ability of animated films to send out messages within the confines of its story has been one of the hallmarks of animated American movies.

With The Lion King, the movie stresses the importance of family through the relationship of both Simba and Mufasa. It also clearly does the same with the movie Finding Nemo as the whole story is about a dad clown fish tries to find his lost son, Nemo. There are a lot of subtle undertones and values which are also placed in some animated movies—some even more poignant than the next. This paper aims to shed some light on that fact. Walt Disney’s Aladdin, through the genie of the lamp, depicts equal opportunity and material comfort, which even solidifies the classic American dream.

The American Dream

The great “American dream” is defined by James Adams as “the dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement” (Adams, 2001) It has been one of the most treasured features of the United States as the wealthiest nation on the face of this earth. It is in this particular country that “dreams are made” and where one’s past is quickly covered in prosperity upon reaching this particular land. As grandiose as this claim is, the different testimonies of all sorts of people have given justice to it on more than one occasion. If one looks closely at the Walt Disney animated film, Aladdin, certain aspects of this dream are also embedded in it.

The Genie

The genie of the lamp in the animated film Aladdin can symbolize so many different things but more than anything, it is able to signify the American values of equal opportunity and material comfort. Gleaning from the genie’s character, it is not as hard to associate material comfort with him. The genie of the lamp is required to fulfill absolutely any three wishes that his owner desires. With the exception of making people fall in love, killing someone or wishing for more wishes, the master of the genie is quite literally powerful beyond measure. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie is when Aladdin, who is now already Prince Ali, parades across the streets of Agrabah. During the latter part of the song, the lyrics of the song gives testament to how much has changed with Aladdin’s situation:

“Prince Ali! Amorous he! Ali Ababwa Heard your princess was a sight lovely to see And that, good people, is why he got dolled up and dropped by With sixty elephants, llamas galore With his bears and lions A brass band and more With his forty fakirs, his cooks, his bakers His birds that warble on key Make way for prince Ali!” (Clements, 1992)

The former “street rat” has now become a prince because of the genie. This alludes to the fact that the genie is a very good provider of material comfort, should one choose to get that from him. In the same sense, the land of America is also able to provide material comfort from those who ask and willingly strive to make it happen.

The last American value, which is equal opportunity, is much more subtly expressed in the character of the genie. Since the rules of the lamp is that whenever a person gains ownership of the lamp, the genie of the lamp is now bound to serve that person and that person only. All of the wishes of the owner of the lamp are satisfied by the genie. The “equal opportunity” clause enters here by giving absolutely anyone a fair shot to being “rich and powerful” The only negative thing about relating this particular equal opportunity clause with the genie is that no one is able to share that equal prosperity in such a way that the genie sort of has an exclusivity clause that does not allow him to grant two separate wishes of two different masters at the same time. (Clements, 1992) One person must be able to wield the lamp in order for the genie to grant their wish.

Conclusion

Looking deeper at the animated feature film Aladdin, one sees a much more poignant picture of how America essentially is as a superpower and a proverbial land flowing with milk and honey. As the film and as this paper suggests, America is a land where one can prosper materially in terms of wealth and it is also a land where equal opportunity is stressed. As long as someone works hard enough, they will simply have both within their lifetimes. Maybe, just maybe, you really don’t need a magic lamp with a genie after all.

References

Clements, Ron. (Producer & Director). (1992). Aladdin [Motion picture]. United States: Walt Disney Pictures

Adams, J. (2001). The Epic of America. Phoenix: Simon Publications

It is every child’s dream to explore a grand and mysterious castle, to experience flying with the fairy tale characters we knew when we were younger, and to witness fireworks display even if it’s not Christmas or New Year. It is a child’s dream to live his/her life in a world where carpets can fly and life’s worries would be about rescuing a princess from the fierce dragon or from her evil stepmother. A stressed adult can be a carefree child again if he/she enters the wonderful and enchanting worlds of Mr.

Walt Disney: his very own Disney Land in California and Disney World in Florida. Mr. Walt Disney has been a kid himself all his life as we see his works through these two delightful and captivating amusement parks. He wanted to create a family park where the adults can bring their kids and enjoy their time together. He wanted a family park where every individual would go for regardless their age. A day of wandering around to explore these parks wholly is impossible (Bennett). Disneyland is built on a 300 acre lot in Anaheim, California.

It has five major theme parks: Main Street, U. S. A. , Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. As regards lodging, the surround areas of Disneyland quickly became urbanized. Subdivisions were built and hotels were everywhere. The Disney Hotel was, as a matter of fact, not owned by the Disney Company not until the 1990s. Means of transportation as one wanders around are by bus, by train, by privately owned vehicles, or on foot (J&M). On the other hand, Disney World is constructed on a 30,000 acre area in Orlando, Florida.

Like Disneyland, it also has the five theme parks mentioned earlier but with more themes and bigger of almost everything – streets, Main Street buildings, and castle to name a few. And as posted by J&M at Helpful Disney World Articles, the added themes include EPCOT, Disney’s MGM Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon, and Blizzard Beach. The last two themes mentioned are actually water park themes. Please take note that the audience can see live animals with their make-up natural inhabitant in the Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

However, it must be noted that it is not a zoo. One advantage of Disney World is the hotel availability within the confines of the said park which are said to be themed too (Perkis). Moving from one park to another would not be a problem because the monorail of Disney World can actually take you anywhere at any time. It is more convenient for those who do not have private vehicles. Coming to Disney World by ferry ride is also available (Huffman). Here are some things that I have concluded from these comparisons.

First, these two Disney theme parks are created differently from each other. Disney World shouldn’t be exactly like Disneyland because no sisters are alike. Furthermore, comparison of the two would somehow be inappropriate. Mr. Walt Disney contributed in the construction of Disneyland while he was still alive. Disney World is also Mr. Walt Disney’s dream. Unfortunately, he died even before its construction in 1964, so his brother, Roy Disney, delayed his retirement and worked on Mr. Walt’s Disney World.

In other words, there is a personal touch to Anaheim’s Disneyland. Second, the space of the two is incomparable. Of course, one could do bigger and remarkable structures of almost everything because of the land area. Nevertheless we should remember that not because it’s bigger, it’s better. Anaheim’s Disneyland and Florida’s Disney World have their own ups and downs. If one has very limited time, Disneyland would be the place to be. If time is not a constrain, visiting the bigger park first would do no harm.

The Disney World

Disney World, or Walt Disney World Resort, is a recreational resort that has theme parks, golf courses, water parks, resort hotels and shopping areas. It is owned by the Walt Disney Company and is considered as the largest recreational resort in the world.

Disney Culture

The culture espoused by the Disney World is proportional to the globalization of American culture. Just like the worldwide spread of American culture and ideas, “Disney culture” has received a global acceptance. Disney World is presented to the human race with charm, which makes people of all ages, of different races, and different gender preferences fascinated with anything (that is associated with) “Disney.”

The Disney culture is appealing. This is what makes Disney World rise to the top. Having focused on providing quality entertainment to the people, Disney is able to produce products and services that are cherished by its customers. Marty Sklar, Vice Chairman and Principal Creative Executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, enumerated five things that makes him proud of Disney. These five things, which mirror the sort of culture that Disney espouses, are “high-quality products, optimism for the future, great storytelling, an emphasis on family entertainment and great talent, passion and dedication from our Cast Members” (Sklar, 2007).

Products of Disney are of high quality because the company is dedicated to a tradition of innovation. With this, the company’s products and services are seen as original, creative and ground-breaking. Furthermore, each product of Disney has its own story to tell, and with every story being told, there is always a positive message for the customers. This makes Disney culture both entertaining and respected by its customers. It does not sacrifice the talent of its cast members, the storyline, and story’s positive message for mere entertainment.

Guestology

“Guestology” is a term coined by Bruce Laval, a Senior Manager at Walt Disney. The term is used to signify the company’s aim of focusing on guest behavior.

Using the idea of guestology, Disney employs a different kind of management. The company does not follow the traditional management style, which focuses on organizational development and managerial hierarchy. Instead, the company focuses on the “guests” or the “customers.” With such method, the company uses not the company’s or organization’s perspective, in determining the quality of the products. What is being used is the customer’s perspective. Customer experience is then given a paramount importance.

Because the perspective used is that of the customers’, Disney World is able to determine what customers need and want. With the use of surveys, Disney is able to determine that customers need a clean theme park and Disney World provides them with that. Efforts are also made to extend theme park hours and expand fireworks displays in order to satisfy the customers.

Customer Retention through Quality Culture

Though the focus is on customers, it should not be mistaken that Disney puts customer satisfaction as its core. Customer satisfaction is important, but customer retention is even a more important thing.

Often times, people take customer satisfaction and customer retention as synonymous. However, they are not. Customer retention necessarily implies customer satisfaction, but customer satisfaction does not always mean customer retention. Disney is one among very few companies that recognize this fact. Disney is not concerned merely with making its customers satisfied. It aims at giving its customers quality products and services because it is more concerned with the loyalty of its customers to whatever it offers.

As aforementioned, Disney is not concerned merely with marketing its products and services. It is not concerned merely with providing entertainment or mere satisfaction. It puts emphasis on the talents of its casts, the message that its products brings and with innovative ideas because it puts customer retention at its core. And Disney World successfully does this by its ability to produce an appealing culture.

Reference:

Baker, R. (2007 May). Earning My Mouse Ears, Part II: The Disney Approach to Customer Loyalty [WWW document]. URL http://verasage.com. 27 July 2007.

Sklar, M. (2007, July) [WWW document]. URL http://corporate.disney.go.com/careers/culture.html. 27 July 2007.

The HSM Group. (2005). Holding Onto Your Customers [WWW document]. URL http://www.hsmgroup.com/ebriefing/ebriefing08.asp. 27 July 2007.

Disney Corporation faced lots of problems when launching Euro Disneyland in Paris. Most of them were caused by poor research of the European market, European people’s traits and habits. Question 1: What could have been the reason why guests were spending less and leaving sooner? Disney Corporation expected that people will spend a lot of time and money in Euro Disney Park, however in reality they leave sooner and spend less money than was expected, and it causes big losses.

The main reason of it can be explained by Geert Hofstede?s dimension about time-orientation which is very similar to Fons Trompenaar?s time-orientation dimension. As USA is considered to be short-term-oriented country, while European countries are long-term-oriented people spend money differently. Europeans are likely to save money, save it for the future, not to spend big sums of money in short period, but US citizens can often spend a lot easily, and they are not likely to save money. Additionally, Americans did not count with the importance of culture for the average European citizen.

When visiting Paris, thousand years of history surrounds you. To the American, whose country is only a few hundred years old, the perception of spending your holiday does not likely include sightseeing. But when a European visits Paris, they will surely spend part of their holiday to discover one of the most famous and historical cities in Europe. Evidently they will spend less time in Disneyland, there is much else to see. Question 2: When reading the description of some of the critical aspects, what could have been the major problems and how could they be solved?

From the beginning Disney Corporation applied universalistic approach. As Disney’s community relation manager said: “we knew it would work because it had worked everywhere else”. They wanted that everything in this new Disney Park in Paris was as it is in USA because they already had experience of applying the same method in Japan. And in Japan it was successful; however it didn’t work in Europe. Probably, it was not a good idea for European Disneyland, since French and all Europeans are different from U. S. people by mentality; they have other habits, which effect European customers’ behavior.

To solve this problem Fons Trompenaar’s dimension about universalistic and particularistic approach can be used. As it was necessary from Disney Corporation to apply particularistic approach instead of universalistic, so they could make research before launching the park. Disney Corporation made all the same settings as they open new Disneyland in U. S. , so French citizens considered it as Americans’ desire to create a piece of USA on their land. In order not to have this problem Disney Corporation could know just one most wide-spread stereotype about France that French are proud people.

They are a nation that works hard to preserve their culture. Tourists often complain that they don’t speak English with them even if they know the language. They actively discourage the Anglicization of the French language, the primary objective of L’Academie francaise is to preserve the language. So it was obvious that French people will not welcome freely Americanization of their holidays on their land. If Disney Corporation just showed respect and add a bit of French traditional, cultural features, then French people would not perceive Disney as threat.

Moreover, it could attract more customers exactly to Paris Euro Disneyland, as they can find here some special things which they were not able to find in other Disneyland. One more major reason of Disney Corporation failure in France can be explained by Fons Trompenaar’s Nature Orientation dimension. As U. S. A. is rather internal country the corporation could believe that everything depends on them, they thought they could force Europeans to spend money. It can be prove by Disney’s community relations manager: “We are so good, nothing can stop us”.

Disney Corporation staff believed that if they create proper conditions, if they find, train good personnel – European customers will increase their expenditures and will stay late in the park. However, there are things which were not under Corporation control, for example, habit of Europeans to economize money is stronger than desire to spend more money in short-period. There is only one way to solve these kinds of problems, just to pay attention to them, be careful to consumers’ behavior, to be really customer-driven company.

Question 3: What assumptions did Disney make about the French and Europeans (as guests and consumers)? How might Disney have had a more favorable initial experience in France? The Disney Corporation assumed that all Europeans, as a “civilized West” are very similar to Americans, that European customers will behave the same way as Americans. And even if they have different way of vacations, they assumed that Disney will be able to Americanize Europeans’ vacation habits, what could entertain American families would satisfy European families as well.

Disney Corporation thought that what they created in Paris is something immortal and has enough to keep families happily there for a week. But thanks to Europeans’ cultural features, it is a safe bet that what American culture could offer would not be enough for them in many aspects. A civilization so deeply affected by their thousand year culture has different expectations. In addition chicken nuggets, hot dogs and fries might be somewhat standard fair in America but in Europe food is to be enjoyed and savored and one tends to linger over a meal as opposed to eat as quickly as possible.

Disney could have had a more favorable initial experience had they have prepared some market research. They would have found that the country has very different working standards. France has a lot smaller Power Distance than that in USA, additionally they are proud people, they must have taken it really bad when everything was prescribed to the last detail and they secretly kept a close watch over their work. In order to operate such a large and prestigious theme park with thousands of employees and millions of visitors, it’s inevitable to find out the expectations by both labor and customer side.

Strategies to transfer a successful business concept from one culture to another An important lesson to be learned is to always take cultural features into consideration. It is the base of good cross-cultural relationships both inside and outside of the corporation. Our success greatly relies on our customers’ judgement and our employees’ loyalty, which depend on managing cultural differences. It can be done in several ways, but the first step is always to examine and evaluate the country’s cultural dimensions.

Then we can move on to the next step: If it suits the country of destination (=CoD), leadership and most decisions can be defined by the country of origin (=CoO) (if the CoD has high PDI and UAI, Communitarianist and Specific, Achievement oriented…), or CoO has to let local leadership make short- and medium-term decisions (low PDI, high Masculinity, Individualist and Emotional…) Same market/customer approach can be applied if the CoD’s cultural dimension indexes are about the same as the CoO’s – translation check must be done.

There is no point in changing the image if our brand is already widely known and accepted, but needs a new type of approach if the CoO’s cultural values don’t match the CoD’s values. Generally neighbour countries are likely to share the same values because they root from a mutual history. Product placement – we have to find out about the CoD’s Time Orientation and Nature Orientation in order to get a correct picture: what do our employees and customers expect of our product?

What alteration must be done to keep our employees and customers satisfied and our business profitable? The answer is simple – if the CoD has high Long-Term Orientation and Nature Orientation, then we must plan our product to be economical, nature-friendly and our company will produce lower but more sustainable profit. If it’s indexes are low, we are facing a short but rapid profit attainment, and our products “go out of fashion” quickly.

Early in 1999, Michael Eisner, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, voiced his opinions concerning potential markets for his firm’s entertainment products and services.

A major thrust for the new millenium would be development in Asia.

• We could be getting close to the time for a major Disney attraction in the world’s most populous nation. ” The Walt Disney Company, Annual Report, 1998.
• “I am completely confident that Chinese people love Mickey no less than they love a Big Mac. Statement by Michael Eisner, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, during a trip to China in January 1999, Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News, 16 June 1999.

International Theme Parks and Resorts: Disney Experience

Disney and China in the 1990s

Relations between the Disney Company and the government of China had not been particularly tranquil in recent years. Disney held firm on its position in the movie.

“Disney’s potential business in China is infinite.But Disney has to decide whether it wants to facilitate business or stand for free speech. ” Not all of Disney’s relationships with China were negative, however. The liberalization of China’s markets had generated benefits for the firm. ‘The Lion King’ had brought in almost $4 million in 1996 and the soundtrack had sold 1. 4 million copies.

Potential of the Asian Market

Building and investing in a multi-billion dollar theme park would represent another major, long-term commitment for The Walt Disney Company.

Therefore, much research and planning were involved in this decision.In addition to the attractiveness of each of the remaining cities, Shanghai and Hong Kong, the market characteristics of the demand for theme park experiences by the Chinese people would have to be carefully evaluated. Although the success of the Tokyo Disney theme park would strengthen the case for another facility in Asia, other data and experience brought up additional questions. Between 1993 and 1998, more than 2000 theme parks had been opened in China, developed and financed by both domestic and foreign investors. Disney management was convinced that a huge, child-loving populace would support a lively theme park business. Instead, many projects were swamped by excessive competition, poor market projections, high costs, and relentless interference from local officials.

Cultural Factor

The Chinese had a cultural disposition toward pampering children, which had been accentuated by the nation’s one-child per couple policy.

Although many theme parks in China had not been successful, it was still generally believed that an exciting experience of high quality would attract visitors to a park. A mundane experience would be unlikely to spark interest in a second visit. Based on the repeat visitors at every other Disney theme park, management was quite confident that they would be successful in attracting Chinese visitors not only the first time, but also the second, third, and fourth times.

Case Questions for Review

What cultural challenges are posed by Disney’s expansion into Asia? How are these different from those in Europe? There are some cultural challenges posed by Disney’s expansion into Asia. For example, Disney in Hong Kong soon realized that its attempts at cultural sensitivity had not gone far enough. For instance, the decision to serve shark fin soup, a local favorite greatly angered environmentalists.

The park ultimately had to remove the dish from its menus. Furthermore, there is negative media coverage of the relatively new theme park for Hong Kong Disneyland in terms of cultural challenge. On the other hand, in order to make the park “culturally sensitive”, Hong Kong Disneyland would be trilingual with English, Cantonese and Mandarin.The park would also include a fantasy garden for taking picture with the Disney’s characters, popular among Asian tourists, as well as more covered and rainproof spaces to accommodate the “drizzly” climate. Attendance and operating income in France were less than anticipated and a major restructuring of the Euro Disney operating company was affected in 1994. Cultural challenges, as well as a European recession in the early 1990s, resulted in less than expected success of the park and its related hotels and facilities. Renamed Disneyland Paris early in 1994, and with enhanced performance, the Disney European experience finally began to pay off for this facility, which, by the late 1990s, was the largest theme park in Western Europe! With these two, quite different, experiences in operating a large theme park and resort facility outside of the continental United States, the Eisner management team was ready to move into China.

Two locations were “in the running” early in 1999, representing quite different operating and financial strategies and structures. Either Hong Kong or Shanghai would likely be the site of the next Disney theme park. This was the challenge faced by the Disney management team, with a target decision date of June 1999.

How do cultural variables influence the location choice of theme parks around the world? Cultural obstacles influence the location of new theme parks in Asia. One is finding the right location. Often, more important than content is whether a venue is located in a metropolis, whether it is easily accessible by public transportation.

However, in cultural perspective, there is an additional threat of competition, both from local attractions and those of other international corporations because of the fact that it seems that Asian travelers are loyal to their local attractions. Therefore, the stiff competition of the theme park industry in Asia will center on not only which park can create a surge of interest in its first year but also which can build a loyal base of repeat customers. In deciding on a site for a China theme park, a number of factors had to be identified, considered, and evaluated. In consultation with the Disney Board of Directors, they were looking for an “international character” for this park. A diversified visitor base would reduce the risks of problems in one country having an adverse effect on international visitor flow. Infrastructure in the area of the park and the region supporting it were also important.

Visitors should be able to reach the park easily, by a variety of forms of transportation — airports, railroads, roadways, tunnels, bridges, bus lines, etc. should be well established or enhanced while the park was being constructed. A prime area would be easily accessible and would also support a park most efficiently. The park and the region should contribute to visitors extending their time spent at the Disney facility. Management knew that convincing visitors to stay at the site, in a Disney hotel, was likely to generate greater cash flows from the park and its ancillary facilities. A stock of hotel rooms to upport park visitors was also important. Rooms at a variety of price points, from economy to luxury should be available when the park opened.

What location would you recommend for Disney’s next theme park in Asia? Why? We recommend Malaysia for Disney’s next theme park in Asia. Therefore, one of such strategic locations is the state of Johor in Malaysia due to the fact that Malaysian officials wanted to develop Johor in order to rival its neighbor Singapore, as a tourist attraction. In fact, there can be a Disneyland in Singapore; however, we don’t want to create a competitive environment between Hong Kong and Singapore. For us, there shouldn’t be two large Disney lands per region. Therefore, the best location in Asia to build a new theme park is Malaysia. We think that Malaysia Disneyland can rather bring in a new set of customers.

Epilogue

Despite its already large size, the Asian theme park industry is still developing.

The Disney company was founded by Walt Disney and his brother Roy as Walt Disney Productions in 1929 to incorporate their cartoon animation studio. Now it is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue, and the company is best known for the products of its film studio.

The company also owns and operates the ABC broadcast television network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, and ABC Family; publishing, merchandising, and theatre divisions; and owns and licenses 11 theme parks around the world. Introduction for the serviceThe China vacation package first start in 1st april 2008, China is the second country which have”Disney Adventures” in the Asia Pacific region after Australia. The main aid is to show the Chinese culture and traditions. In the 13-day tour, with the Disney’s guides guided to Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guilin and Hong Kong, climb the great wall, visit the li river, and the wild giant panda protection base in Sichuan province, learn about Chinese calligraphy and kite-making, and even drawing Beijing opera mask personally, visit the Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City and cruise past the breathtaking scenery of Guilin.Cap off the trip with a VIP visit to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. The Specific Trip Highlights for China family vacation from Adventures by Disney threads across cities starting in Beijing and continuing to Chengdu, Guilin and Shanghai before winding up in Hong Kong.

Situation analysis

The Walt Disney Company is in the entertainment industry.

This is a very simple way of saying something much more complicated: The Walt Disney Company is in business to produce entertaining theatrical productions that re family oriented and family friendly; they are in business to create products and toys that will promote their theatrical productions that are both entertaining and safe for children, and also stimulating enough to attract new customers; they are in business to entertain families with children who are looking for a fun, interactive and safe vacation spot both with resorts and parks, and also cruise lines; and finally they are in the business in keeping their name reputable and substantial in a growing business.

The service we choose is the Disney China Vacation Package, it is a journey of experience and feel the beauty of the nature and culture, not just a tangible product. The reasons for choosing it include that, as a long distance vication (Travel abroad), offered by a famous company, the service quality is high level. As an example, Each tourists group to China will be given two guides, one from the Disney Company headquarters, and another chinese guide from Hong Kong disneyland, to make sure that the tourists can receive best guide service.So, it is considered as a high involvement purchase. High involvement purchase. Are the purchase closely tied to consumers’ ego and self image, at the same time, it also include some risk like finicial, social or personal risk.

So, a Vacation Package service can improve self image with experience nature and humanities environment. The risk primarily come from the finicial, which mean that after a high payment for the service, no one can ensure that all the tourists will interested in and satisfy with the coming journey.So, the consumers will consider a lot of things to decide whether to purchase this or not. Market analysis The target market of the Disney China Vacation Package are the normal America families which are interested in China. As we have mentined, the aim for this journey is to experience Chinese culture and tradition, the tourists go to china to enjoy a cultural tour. For normal americans, it is a good chance to know about chinese culture directly, for the family parents, it is also a great chance to let their children experience the wonderful culture outside their own country.It is a journey to visit, at the same time, it is also a journey to study, to experience.

As the result, even China Travel Package is expensive(compare to other package), with the introduction of relevant advertisements in 2008, it received warm response from American families immediately. In erery period of the year of 2008, the tourists team are almost all full. So, the company should keep focusing on the family target market, do research and get information on it, it may bring a great sales increase. Customer analysisThis is normally for the young generation which want to know and experience the Chinese culture, these friends have a firm relationship and can take care of each other, so this trip is not only a tour but also a good chance for them to experience more of their friendship. Normally, they payer should be the ones who are in working now, they can bring their parents or their baby as a family tour team. For the old generation can achieve the dream which they want to do but had no time till now. For the young generation can have the experience of a foreign tour/culture which is a gift their family can give them now.

Competitor analysis

Disney Company and the theme park industry there are many competitors, such as Paramount Parks, Universal Studios and Six Flags Theme Parks, as mentioned earlier. However, there are many other less visible competitors that one might not naturally think of when assessing the competitive market in which Disney deals. For example, there are hundreds of water parks and various funplexes that can also be considered as cheaper or more valuable competition for Disney. Competition, in any form, can diminish Disney’s market share in the entertainment industry

Company analysis

The Disney is a world wide Company is in the entertainment industry.This s a very simple way of saying something much more complicated: The Disney Company is in business to produce entertaining theatrical productions that are family oriented and family friendly; they are in business to create products and toys that will promote their theatrical productions that are both entertaining and safe for children, and also stimulating enough to attract new customers; they are in business to entertain families with children who are looking for a fun, interactive and safe vacation spot both with resorts and parks, and also cruise lines; and finally they are in the business in keeping their name reputable and substantial in a growing business.

Case Study: Walt Disney World Question 1: Suppose competing attractions, such as Sea World and Universal Studios, lower their prices of adminission. How should WDW respond? The issue of competitive price is close to the supply and demand one. As long as people willing to pay whatever the price parks set, especially WDW, why would they change? WDW provides such a high-quality offer than it is impossible to lower his prices; it could try to keep them steady. Even if the company decides to lower prices, it should do it in a significant way in order to attract more customers.

For instance a $5 reduction in the price of admission would provoke any major changes. They would probably have to drop price below their competitors to make true gain. Besides, from a branding stand point, lowering prices sends a mixed message to consumers (adults with purchasing power) : indeed in customers mind, it would signal something goes wrong. Actually the price is an essential part of firms positioning and it would be difficult for WDW to position itself as the premiere theme park with lower prices than competitors; it is also un-strategic to re-position.WDW strategy has not to do with the credo “cheapest always win”. The corporation has to play on differentiation and keep playing its leadership positioning; it means making your product unique in some ways to maintain your competitiveness. The following paragraph deal with all WDW differentiation factors.

WDW uniqueness criteria -Marketing: WDW propose a complete offer for adults and/or children (families). The variety of this offer (several theme parks such as EPCOT or Animal Kingdom, other activities such as golf or wildlife, several hostels and prices segments…) makes customers able to customize their vacations.WDW provides multi-experience. -Communication: the firm must keep using a multi-channel and multi-media strategy to spread its marketing messages including as many new technologies as possible. -Innovation & Ideas generation: WDW must preserve the“environnement for supportive conficts” it created through its meetings: Gong Show, Charettes with architects and theme park designers, Movie Development meetings. – Common sense & Discipline: This is the practical part of WDW uniqueness because necessary to test ideas, especially from a fiscal and financial point of view. Indeed ood ideas need time that is the reason why WDW creative process goes against quick actions and audience research.

-Creativity: As M. Eisner said “Together conflict & common sense yield creativity”. We can add that WDW culture of diversity and fun take parts in the creative process: diverse point of views and individualism lead to frictions, conflicts, debates that are essential to get great solutions. -Facilities and Employees: in facts, WDW employees competent, well-trained and friendly. That is a crucially important factor because most of them are directly in contact with customers.No need to justify how essential the sense of contact is in business. Furthermore, all the attractions in theme parks are totally safe; all the facilities (hostels, restaurants included) are clean, linked each other (monorail, boats…) and electrically connected.

. We notice also that WDW is technologically competent: it is a leader in product development, equipments design and maintenance, industrial engineering…for instance WDW design and manage perfectly attractions waiting lines: customers are sensitive about the time they have to use rides. All these aspects are visible for customers Branding Image: all the previous criteria are parts of the branding image; WDW brand is the amount of thousands and thousands small actions (“pointillist painting”). In particular Mickey and Disney characters, the castle are the symbol that contains all the stories the company created, the dreams and thoughts it suggest to children. Thus, if competitors lower their prices, WDW should not change its prices and by the same time keep guarding its brand trough all the strategic decisions especially for marketing: WDW messages should be focused on the quality of the product.Question 2: How can WDW utilize customer information better to increase its volume of business? First and foremost, we should have in mind the term “forecasts” when we deal with customer information topics. Indeed WDW, due to his forecasts department, accumulates data on consumer’s attendance but also consumer’s behavior.

All the other departments of the firm (like Labor Management, Maintenance, Finance, Park Theme Design) have access to this precious information which will be used for a set of management decisions to increase volumes and profits.That information can be predicted daily, weekly, monthly or for several years (till five years). In order to understand how customer information is utilized, a look at the forecasting process is necessary; 1- What are the data sources? There are 3 main sources: -The guests in theme parks, hostels, restaurants…this is the more direct source. -The employees. For this category we could say that it has nothing to do with consumer information.Actually it has for at least two reasons: first employees can be directly in contact with guests and their recommendations are precious; secondly we could see each employee as a consumer into the firm and improve their working environnement leads to improve final customer satisfaction. – The travel industry professionals because they have their own data bases.

2- How WDW get them? Through surveys (questionnaires, interviews, focus group techniques…). All kind of topics could be dealt with but the two most important are customers experiences future Travel Plan. 3- How WDW process these data?Thanks to such models as judgmental, economic, moving-average models, regression analysis, monthly forecasting mode. Each model take into account a certain number of variables like gross domestic product, cross-exchange rates, airline specials… 4- Forecasts This is a major step in the decision- making process. All these consumer information and their analysis by models enable WDW to forecast consumer behavior (attendance in particular). Thus WDW can manage demand taking proper decisions about the capacity planning, the number of required employees, the due quantity of food and beverage…Question 3: What weaknesses or limitations do you see in WDW strategy? Ops Strat s WDW strategy is coherente but we can observe some accurate failures especially in operations strategy. Let’s remind the operations process framework and colour in blue the specific “failing fields”: Product Design Process Design Location/ Layout Cap.

planning/Forecasts Work Organization Operations execution Of course other fields like merchandising or Facilities development are concerned. In the following paragraphs we focused on all of those black points. Prices of admissionFirstly, we can put forward the fact that WDW does not compete on prices (especially price of admission). From a positioning point of view it is logical: WDW is a leader in entertainment industry and bet on quality, innovation and uniqueness. But in time of global economical crisis, customers may desire a lower cost product; and there are serious competitors able to propose such offer: Sea World, Universal Studios…Of course children are attracted by WDW and can convinced relatives but the final decision remains to adults who get the purchasing power. Hotel development strategyThen we should notice the expanding strategy for WDW hostels: it does not deal with short term demands. Long term demand is not so much reliable when economy is disrupted.

Thus Disney occupancy rates above 90% much of the year which is not sufficient anymore. Synergies & organization -Another point is the fact that WDW meet some difficulties to create synergies because of its top management. It is a problem of hierarchy, organization, authority delegation and culture. Actually the main problem could be that it is hard to delegate autonomy, to create empowerment among the group. We should notice that the hierarchy reorganization tends to create duplications (cf: example of a person running movies in Italy reporting to two executives): several hierarchical levels are added. Actually WDW is a hybrid structure; it is in time of mutation or transition.Profits & Losses – WDW experienced losses in home-video earnings because of strategic decisions that lengthen the release cycle for certain animated movie classics.

It could be a problem of product development (cf: The product Development Funnel and especially Products Design step) or process engineering. The consumer products department also knew difficulties. Actually it is a matter of merchandising, especially concerning licensed-characters. This problem deals directly with consumer behavior (in-store purchases, on-line purchases…). -Concerning the Interactive media division, Disney experienced huge losses (source: Disney Fiscal Year Results). Actually the group invested in self-published video games (video games that are published by their author) and it needs more times to be profitable. -It goes the same for Internet (Go.

com, Disney. com, ESPN. com…).It is s a crucial business field but investments cost a lot. To conclude we could qualify WDW weaknesses and limitations as mainly cyclical strategic problems . They are not structural even though it could deal with the organization (organization chart) and we can afford to say that those difficulties are temporary. The only structural change that has affected deeply the company concerned consumers attitude.

“Disney still knows how to sweep people off their feet”, better than anyone else but the corporation needs to take into account new habits and expectations.