Walt Disney Company

Strategic Business Units and application in Disney Strategic Business Units are the divisions that an organization creates to deal with specific issues affecting it in the market (Koontz Weihrich, 2007). They are usually self-contained in that they operate independent of the other units in an organization.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Walt Disney Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The pooling of different sections of an organization allows SBUs to cut across diverse lines and geographical locations in order to serve specific market needs more efficiently (Koontz Weihrich, 2007). For the SBUs to achieve their intended goals, they need to account for corporate responsibilities and the needs of the organization. This way, it becomes easier to allocate finances and resources and hold each unit accountable for its deeds. The Walt Disney Company has four SBUs in its organizational structure (Banton, 200 8). The four strategic business units found in Walt Disney are Disney consumer products which develops and sells Disney branded products, studio entertainment (which comprise of theater and music divisions), park and resorts (responsible for the operation of the holiday resorts and theme parks), and media and broadcasting (which gathers the entities entailed in the promotion and advertising of the brands through the media) (Banton, 2008). Walt Disney uses SBUs to independently reach its different segments in the market. This is an indication of just how diversified the company is. This has ensured that the company reaches its different consumers in different geographical regions by pooling of resources from different units in a more efficient manner. As a result, Disney has managed to maintain its market share, consumers, competitive edge, and profits. Vision and mission statements A mission statement describes the fundamental purpose of the company. In this case, it tries to explai n why the company exists (Ledgerwood, 2006). On the other hand, a vision statement focuses on the future of the organization as it tries to answer what it would like to achieve. In general, the difference between a vision and mission statement is that whereas the latter places more emphasis on the present state of an organization, the former emphasizes on the future of the organization. Walt Disney Company operates using a mission statement without the inclusion of a vision statement across all its strategic business units. The reason why a company may choose to operate with a mission statement and not the vision statement is that a mission statement clarifies a company’s direction, purpose and values (Ledgerwood, 2006). For example, Disney’s mission statement contains all these aspects as its direction is to develop the most innovative and creative experiences based on profitable entertainment (Branton, 2008). Its values are upheld on its usage of brand portfolio in t he provision of its products and services. The direction of an organization defines its vision. Therefore, in one way or another, a mission statement contains a vision statement albeit indirectly.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another useful aspect for using a mission statement is that it finds application in the process of strategic planning as it defines the values and specifies products of a company, services, target consumers, profitability, growth plans, geographical allocations, and its philosophy (David, 2009). This can be used to focus on the present and the future. Therefore, a company can operate without the inclusion of a vision statement as a mission statement is more powerful and acts as a directive to the company. Copyright Infringement Some of Walt Disney’s strategic units have been involved in copyright infringement especially the media networks , broadcasting and consumer products units. For instance, the company has been in and out of lawsuits after some companies used the Disney consumer products or brands without consultation. According to Smoodin (1994), Disney is usually anxious and litigious when its copyrights are infringed. For instance, when Ontario town in Canada planned to celebrate by erecting a statute that resembled the Milne character, Walt Disney warned that its copyrights had been violated (Smoodin, 1994). A deal had to be struck to solve the issue. In another incident in Florida, the Disney characters were used without proper license, prompting Walt Disney to sue the company as they believed that Mickey Mouse was part of its copyrights and the use of stakeholders finances had to be accounted for. In 1989, Disney sued Motion pictures academy for using its characters in a production that was termed as awful (Smoodin, 1994). The motion picture academy had to apologize publicly to Walt Disney as this was a cl assic example of copyright infringement. The company also sued 500 vendors as defendants on the claim that they had sold fake movies. The reason behind these lawsuits it to protect Walt Disney’s intellectual properties from companies willing to use them maliciously or by taking advantage of its brand name. The use of copyrights gives a company a competitive edge as it reduces the number of players in the market. Furthermore, a company is also able to control its products. This reduces competition encouraging innovation and creativity in the production sector. The company has also been able to make profits by selling its copyrighted products. Selling or using of products and services that are not copyrighted implies that the owner of the intellectual property does not get proceeds from the sales made. In order to safeguard its key assets, Walt Disney has to cooperate with other players in the economy by ensuring that its products are copyrighted and the laws distributed to its collaborators. Walt Disney can also collaborate with other Hollywood companies to ensure that proper mechanisms are put into place to counter copyright infringements. Economic Downturn During the Great Depression it is claimed that individuals indulged in movies as a way of escaping from reality. The current economic downturn is affecting almost all strategic business units of Walt Disney. For example, before the 2008 market and financial crisis, the parks and the resorts were the largest contributor of the Disney’s growth.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Walt Disney Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the financial crisis has since reduced the disposable income of the consumers leading into inclination to the Disney theme park visitors (Branton, 2008). People can no longer afford the luxury of visiting the park as inflation has increased the cost of living and consumers have to live w ithin their budgets. Watching movies from networks and broadcasting channels owned by Disney has not been affected much as people continue to watch these movies. However, cinema halls have been adversely affected as the cost of living has doubled. For example, during the Great Depression the fuel price was not affected as is the case now. People are trying to minimize their electricity bills and the cost of fueling their cars to and fro the movie cinemas halls. This will adversely affect the studio entertainment as the cost of fuel has limited consumers’ disposable income. Therefore entertainment expenses have increased (Branton, 2008) forcing them to turn to low cost entertainment. However, watching movies does not require a great or real deep economic crisis to act as a motivator. Based on scientific studies, people always want to be entertained when they are in bad moods or situations (Pincus-Roth, 2009). People consume entertainment as part of their adaptive measures in m ood management. Therefore, the current global recession is not likely to reduce the number of movie goers. Disney will continue to have more movie consumers but not around the cinemas. Since the company has initiated entertainment through the internet and the iPhones, the entertainment strategic unit will not be affected much by the recession. Business strategic units are essential in operations of a company as they assist in developing a competitive edge within an organization. Walt Disney has been using SBUs to reach different segments of its target population (David, 2009). Intellectual property rights like copyrights reduce copyright infringements as they protect the owner from competitors and other users. It also gives a competitive edge to the company. Through regulations, issues associated with copyrights can be minimised. People like entertainment as a part of mood management. Therefore, the current recession is less likely to affect the entertainment sector of Disney Compan y. However, its cinemas and park themes and resorts will be adversely affected as the cost of living; fuel, unemployment, and inflation have risen affecting the disposable income of the people. Reference List Branton, M. (2008). Walt Disney Company-2007. 30-43. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall/PearsonAdvertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More David, F.R. (2009). BUS 490: Strategic management concepts and cases: 2009 custom edition (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall/Pearson Koontz, H., Weihrich, H. (2007).  Essentials of management: An international perspective. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. Ledgerwood, J. (2006).  Transforming microfinance institutions: Providing full financial services to the poor. Washington, DC: World Bank Pubns. Pincus-Roth, Z. (April 12, 2009). â€Å"Hollywood tries to come up with its best recession fare†. Los- Angeles Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-apr-12-ca-escape12-story.html Smoodin, E. L. (1994). Disney discourse: Producing the magic kingdom. Newyork, NY: Routledge publishers. This case study on Walt Disney Company was written and submitted by user Kabuki to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company was established in the year 1923 by two brothers: Roy Disney and Walt Disney. The company started from a very humble beginning as a cartoon studio, but later ventured deeply into the entertainment industry by introducing its own films such as the animated films.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Walt Disney Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Today this company has many affiliate companies and also sells consumer products such as clothes and electronics. Moreover, Walt Disney Company has improved its productivity because of good organizational culture that is practiced by employees and stakeholders of the organization. Disney encouraged people to participate in the civil war by producing pieces that expressed the theme of fighting during the First World War. Victory Through Air Power and Education for Death are among the films that were used to spread awareness during the civil war. However, Walt Disney died in 1966, and five years later his brother also passed on. Their death was a big blow to the company, but fortunately the people who were left in charge of the company had been trained by the two brothers, and thus they were able to follow their legacy (Neal, 2007). The success of Walt Disney Company is owed to its strong emphasis on values and work ethics. The company’s values include innovation, quality, community, storytelling, optimism, and decency. The values are part of Disney’s core mission of â€Å"providing quality entertainment for people around the world† (Disney, n.d, para. 2). The company has an established code of ethics that must be observed by all employees regardless of their location or duty. The company is committed to the wellness of its employees and this is done by availing a favorable working environment where there are adequate and efficient channels of communication between the employees and the administrat ors. In addition, Neal (2009) outlines that the company strives to produce goods and services of the best quality which is essential to meeting its customers’ needs. The items and services offered by Disney are regularly vetted to make sure they are safe. The success of quality is attributed to efficient communication between the customers and the company; customers provide feedback on Disney’s products to help the company in improving product quality. Cohesion is also encouraged at Walt Disney, which makes it possible for employees to team up in achieving organizational goals. The teams at Walt Disney are comprised of people from various backgrounds and it is this diversity that guarantees excellence due to the difference in skills and abilities.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Likewise, the company is recognized as an equal opportunity employer becau se it does not discriminate against race, gender or any other matter. Furthermore, if an employee has to be fired there are established procedures that are to be followed to retain the integrity of the company and the employee (Neal, 2007). Similarly, the company boasts of many achievements one of them being the setting up of Disney parks which are used as parents and children amusement parks. The company has won various trophies in the past such as the academy award, which was accorded to The Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs films. Moreover, the company has managed to buy most companies in the entertainment industry and some of them include Marvel Entertainment and ABC. In this light, Miner (2007) suggests that when the espoused values of an organization align with its enacted values, the company is able to increase its productivity. Disney’s achievements show that the company’s values are appreciated by its employees and the target market because it fulfils their expe ctations. Despite all these achievements Walt Disney has encountered a lot of resistance from people who argued that some of its films had sexually explicit content. The Catholic Church in the US has been discouraging its followers from purchasing products made by Walt Disney because of the company’s stand on homosexuality. Even though the two brothers are long dead, the company has continued to thrive day after day because of good organizational culture. References Disney. (n.d). The Walt Disney Company and Affiliated Companies – Culture. Retrieved from https://jobs.disneycareers.com/ Miner, J. (2007).Organizational Behavior: From Theory to Practice. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc. Neal, G. (2007).Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. New York: Random House.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Walt Disney Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This research paper on Walt Disney Company was written and submitted by user Braydon Wright to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.