Disneys Business Factors free essay sample

Disney established its core values from the beginning, and they are still lived today. Since Walt Disney’s departure in 1966, Disney has had several leaders, including the current CEO, Bob Iger, who have duplicated Walt’s style and have continued to make Disney the powerhouse entertainer it is today. There are four functions of management: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. These four functions are affected by several internal and external factors, including globalization, technology, innovation, diversity, and ethics. Disney became the success it is today by successfully applying the four management functions and understanding the impact the internal and external factors have on each of them. Internal factors are somewhat controllable, as they pertain to the strengths and weaknesses inside an organization. Disney emphasizes diversity and ethics above all, and has been able to get â€Å"buy in† from its employees. Disney has built a strong internal foundation with its committed employees and views on corporate responsibility, enabling to withstand the impacts of external factors. External factors, such as government, global, and economic aspects are not as controllable, and require careful planning to maneuver around. From the beginning, Walt shared his vision with his employees and set goals to give them a sense of involvement and belonging. Today, Bob Iger sets strategic goals while using a loose-reigns management style. â€Å"From his living room, he saw the world was changing. His two sons, four and eight, were turning off the TV and turning on the computer† (Steptoe,  2007, p. ). Technology was progressing rapidly, and he knew Disney must keep up the pace. Disney. com received a makeover and was unveiled in February 2007. It has become the one-stop shop for all things Disney â€Å"from chat rooms to interactive video games to videos of movies both vintage and new and do it yourself planning to Disney destinations† (Steptoe,  2007, p. 2). Iger also negotiated a deal with Apple and adopted an iTunes model for selling video. Through strategic planning, Disney has â€Å"perfected both the art and science of customer service and effective demand management† (Byrnes, 2011, p. 1). Disney has created an underground command central with state-of-the-art video cameras, computer programs, digital maps, and other tools that study how long people wait in line before they begin to feel frustrated. Through these studies, Disney has increased the number of attractions each visitor can ride. Disney is currently experimenting with smartphone apps that give directions to attractions and characters. Through careful research, software, and technology created specifically for Disney, the Disney Corporation has been able to plan for and perfect maximizing customer enjoyment today and plan for unknown factors that could occur in the future. By solidifying its foundation, Disney has been able to build a dynamic organization. Organizing, the second management function is â€Å"assembling and coordinating the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals† (Bateman amp; Snell, p. 5,  2011). Bob Iger’s management style has not only reinforced the core values already set in place at Disney, it has â€Å"removed the barriers to creativity† (The Economist Group, p. 1). Disney is now seen as the creative place to be, and is able to attract some of the best and brightest employees because of it. Because of this, Disney has perfected the art of media synergy, turning movies into live concert tours, stage musicals, shows on ice, bo oks, and video games. There is no material competition to Disney because of this. The price of entry into this entertainment market is high, and no corporation is big enough to pay it. The biggest external threat to Disney currently is the recession. While American parks are not too negatively affected in a downturn economy, its international parks struggle financially. Disney’s share price has fallen by 14% in the past year. Expanding its online business and earning more money through traditional media could offset these losses. It certainly is in a better place to bounce back from the current economic recession than most other big media firms. Because Disney has a decentralized approach to its organization, keeps its employees actively involved, and empowers its managers to show appreciation and recognition of others, Disney’s core is solid and its foundation is strong, and it should continue to reign as one of the most admired organizations in the world. For Disney’s management to produce a good end product and to maintain that product, they have to implement control. At this stage in the management process control is not necessarily micro-managing, though it is a form. Control is about guiding employees. The path of the organization, in this case Disney, has already been set. By keeping employees on that path, it exemplifies control. It is ironic that Disney maintains the â€Å"happiest place on earth† mentality, but it is one of the hardest places to maintain that control. A frustrated or objective customer can sometimes be hard to deal with, leading to an employee losing his/her control. As a manager, helping these employees by guiding them in the right direction, using techniques learned along the way can do the trick. Disney is practicing the KM (knowledge management) principle of rewarding employees who actually execute magic moments† (Cope, 2011, p. 15). A great example of this is Lorraine Santoli, who was given the ability to start with Disney as a marketing employee and within a year moved up to the ladder to a position in the publicity department. She was later promoted to head of publicity for Disneyland and then â€Å"head of Disney’s internal publicity machinery where she schooled employees of Disney’s 60 divisions in communication, motivation and industry-oriented education† (Fallon, 2008, p. 7). Disney has a vast understanding in the art of leading and motivating employees to reach and achieve goals. The company dedicated an area specifically to motivate their employees lead by Ms. Lorraine Santoli. A great management team will always continue to plan for solutions, even for unforeseen obstacles, and will continue to applaud employees for a job well done. The four main functions of management, when utilized correctly, can lead any business on the path to be as great as a powerhouse company like Disney. It is important to follow the four characteristics of business.