Mostly the official Disney World in Orlando website was used to compile a description of the company and find more detailed information about it (“Walt Disney World”, n.d.). In particular, to describe the company, materials from the site were used that describe the options available to customers to spend their vacations. The section of the site describing vocation packages was a priority source of information, as the page provides data on all options, descriptions, and costs (“Make a dream come true, ” n. d.). The information received was structured to identify the most important aspects for further analysis.
STEPPED analysis and discussion allow defining social, tech, economic, political, environmental, and demographic aspects of the described company.
Social factors include cultural identity, values, and the lifestyle of the society within which the company operates. These include healthy lifestyle and nutritional trends, as well as the possibility of a variety of family vacations.
The technological aspects include the need for a developed infrastructure, as well as modern technological equipment of the company. In particular, in relation to the described company, such factors include the types of transport using which customers quickly get to the location and modern equipment for activities.
Economic factors are the most important and include various economic indicators. In particular, for the described company, aspects such as competition in the industry and the general state of the market are important.
Political factors include various laws and regulations that the government introduces. In relation to the described company, such legal aspects as the protection of intellectual property and stable political conditions in the market are relevant.
Environmental factors reflect how a company’s activities affect the environment. In relation to the described company, such factors as the use of renewable and sustainable energy, as well as the recycling and reuse of water and other resources, are relevant.
Demographic factors include more varied age of customers.
The company’s internal response to external factors ensures its stable position in the market.
Social factors influence company performance through customer and employee behavior. In this situation, the greatest influence is on the attitude of customers towards the services provided by the company. Disney World meets the demands of people for outdoor activities within an urban environment as well as a variety of family activities. The answer to this external aspect is presented in the form of creating active recreation programs for people of different ages.
Technological externalities require the company to use advanced technologies. In particular, augmented reality and the widespread use of mobile devices are key for this industry. The company is the largest entertainment provider in the world, so they can afford the advanced technology equipment.
The company operates within the U. S. market, which is currently experiencing increasing demand. The U. S. market is the company’s main source of revenue, and the industry is currently stable enough not to pose a threat. However, the growing Chinese entertainment market could pose an economic threat. The company’s internal response should be to provide new options for customers.
Political external factors do not have a critical impact on the company since the industry is quite stable in the legal field. However, companies should pay special attention to copyright laws to protect their services and materials.
The company’s response to environmental factors could be the development of autonomous power supply systems for parks and the development of a network of renewable energy resources.
In response to demographic aspects, the company focuses not only on children’s recreation but also on adult activities.
STEPPED
External Context
Internal Response
Social
Demand in an active vocation within the urban area
Introducing new options for family active vocation
Technology
Development of mobile technologies and augmented reality technologies
Introducing more activities involving mobile devices and relevant technologies
Economic
Political
Stable legal conditions of the market
More attention to copyright laws
Environmental
Global warming
Resources of renewable energy, autonomous energy supplies, recycling water
Several issues were problematic in Disney’s business ambitions of investing in mainland China. Most of them were imminent cultural differences depicted between organizational stakeholders. For instance, it was difficult for U.S. – based multinational corporations to establish successful entities in a country with conservative and traditional values such as China (Wei, 2018). In essence, it would be challenging to implement administrative policies with democratic virtues as the authorities perceived it as a foreign threat to national security. Investors considered Asian business destinations culturally diverse, requiring joint partnerships with locals when establishing profitable ventures (Zhao, Liu & Zhou, 2020). In Disney’s case study, the Chinese authorities assessed the cultural risk associated with Western investors’ cultural threat. It was feared, for example, that democratic administrative policies in multinational corporations would result in political instability against the central government (Chen, 2018). Most importantly, cultural intelligence integration in Chinese foreign direct investments was critical for Disney’s success in Asia.
Additionally, the language barrier illustrates a cultural challenge that limits investment opportunities for western companies in Asia. Many profit-making entities resolved to separate production activities from administrative roles and responsibilities by investing in the large human capital in the Chinese economy (Zhao et al., 2020). This approach was useful for reducing operational costs by optimizing voluminous production. Large sales imply profitability as the pricing of the commodities was standardized at an international level by the World Trade Organization (WTO) (Chen, 2018). The language barrier was a significant problem as company officials would not communicate instructions accurately to employees from local communities. Besides, implementing vital business practices successfully, such as marketing, would be difficult due to the language barrier. Consequently, Disney had to strategize a market entry plan which would involve local businesspersons (Wei, 2018). The approach would be useful in overcoming cultural challenges with local stakeholders, including employees and clients.
Step 2: Investigate the Problem
Besides the language barrier, Disney’s expansion to China was challenged by local communities’ conservative cultural values. For instance, employment practices were patriarchal as male applications were more considered for certain roles than their counterparts (Chen, 2018). As a result, the protection of democratic values such as gender equality was problematic for foreign direct investments (FDIs), including Disney. This challenge affected the effective administration of operational values that protect employees being supervised by local employees (Wei, 2018). Conflicts were imminent as employees would differ on social issues halting vital business operations. Investments in Hong Kong and Japan were indicative of market feasibility in Asian economies. However, these economies had liberal leadership frameworks that reduced inter-cultural conflicts, which would affect employment practices at Disney (Zhao et al., 2020). The language barrier contributed substantially to the inaccurate integration of democratic principles in a foreign venture.
Traditional and conservative values among local populations added to Disney’s expansion challenges in China. For instance, parents were skeptical of buying dolls with colors carrying cultural significance to some communities (Wei, 2018). This would affect Disney’s sales in China, requiring objective production reforms to comply with cultural values among local communities. It is important to note that exclusive stakeholder coherence is important for firms operating as FDIs in Asia (Zhao et al., 2020). This significance is attributed to accuracy, relevance, and consistency in executive decision-making between investors and senior management officials. Clients, for instance, required vital product features that are useful for making a purchase decision. However, due to cultural differences, products presented to the market by Disney faced resistance initially before administrative partnerships with local businesspersons were implemented (Chen, 2018). The multinational entertainment firm overcame social problems as reflected in the production attributes of commodities such as color, text, or raw materials.
Step 3. Brainstorm on Alternatives
Disney had several alternatives to resolving cultural barriers to business expansion in the Asian market. As noted before, the entertainment firm encountered language barriers from cultural differences (Zhao et al., 2020). Problems associated with language barriers impacted effective decision-making as communication would be easily distorted. Initially, the company responded by forming joint partnerships with local business professionals for local branches’ managerial duties. Walt Disney could also have considered social programs that enhance cultural intelligence (Chen, 2018). Most importantly, it was vital for American investors to understand the social setup of Asian markets as presented in Hong Kong and Japan. It was imminent that mainland China was more conservative than the previous investment destinations founded on communist leadership (Wei, 2018). Regulations from the authorities include regulation of trading and market practices to protect national security, ensure sustainable growth, and reduce poverty levels among citizens.
Social programs with an exclusive stakeholder integration would be a suitable alternative to overcoming cultural barriers by Disney. For instance, successful business operations are depicted by competent and profitable Supply Chain Management (SCM) processes (Chen, 2018). Consequently, it would have been strategic for the company to include its potential clients, employees, junior and senior officials, and executive directors. Enacting and implementing administrative policies would have overcome cultural barriers as stakeholders are comprehensively involved in the planning process (Wei, 2018). Most fundamentally, cultural intelligence among stakeholders would have been effective in avoiding inter-cultural conflicts among workers. It is common to find verbal religious arguments in a diverse workforce that influence opinions, commitment, and dedication to professional assignments (Zhao et al., 2020). The practices develop a negative organizational culture, which would affect Disney’s market performance in the Asian market.
Step 4: Implement the Best Solution
The best solution would include integrating joint partnerships with local business professionals for the effective implementation of progressive administrative policies. In most instances, business operations are determined by procedures that define the production, distribution, and delivery of products in the market (Zhao et al., 2020). Additionally, organizational policies also influence stakeholder relationships among employees, consumers, management officials, and foreign investors. Consequently, it would have been tactical for Disney to consider employing competent local professionals to oversee the firm’s business operations (Chen, 2018). The approach would have avoided significant challenges associated with the language barrier. Walt Disney would encounter minimal inter-employee conflicts arising from cultural differences. Most importantly, the multinational corporation would have capitalized on an Asian economy with a resourceful market (Wei, 2018). The large population in China presents investment opportunities for investors to capitalize on affordable labor and mass production of commodities.
Partnering with local professionals for running business operations of Disney would have enabled the firm to implement progressive administrative policies in a professional context. Through an accurate implementation of social, and administrative policies, the organization would have improved its management practices (Zhao et al., 2020). International companies have a moral obligation to enhance social values such as gender equality and avoiding social discrimination. Consequently, Disney’s objective investment plan when expanding to China should include managerial practices that uphold human values (Wei, 2018). It was fundamental for the company to maintain a positive global image to invest in other markets across Asia and South America. Consequently, local business officials’ inclusion in implementing organizational policies would have aided Disney to overcome cultural challenges experienced in China (Chen, 2018). Previous experiences in Hong Kong and Japan indicated communication challenges that required inclusive stakeholder integration for developing cultural intelligence among international firms.
Step 5: Review the Solution
Cultural intelligence would enable Disney to improve stakeholder cohesion and interaction for organizational benefits. International business coordination requires stakeholders to ensure communication synchronization for effective decision-making (Zhao et al., 2020). For instance, sales agents should communicate competitive products’ financial performance by assessing the number of sales made per month. The approach would enable executive officials to determine the best strategies for countering stiff competition through sufficient coordination and cooperation. Through timely and detailed sharing of information, multinational corporations make effective global decisions regarding investment opportunities (Chen, 2018). In this case, Disney should consider enhancing information awareness for developing cultural intelligence among vital stakeholders. It would be fundamental for the entertainment firm to ensure cultural sensitivity in management practices within mainland China (Wei, 2018). This would be critical for venturing into remote and culturally diverse economic markets within Asia.
Similarly, administrative policies in Disney which enhance cultural intelligence among stakeholders would reduce stakeholder conflicts. As noted before, mainland China is depicted as a traditional and conservative market whose values are socially restricted by the authorities. As a result, cultural conflicts among workers and management officials would affect the entertainment firm’s operational activities. In essence, liberal administrative policies would help Disney adopt progressive conflict resolution practices (Wei, 2018). For instance, reducing employee dismissal rates using independent disciplinary panels would effectively enhance organizational values within the firm. It would have been fundamental for Disney’s executive officials to integrate social policies that improve clients’ relationships with the firm (Chen, 2018). Mainland China has a resourceful human capital that can develop beneficial professional talents from a large labor market.
References
Chen, X. (2018). Representing cultures through language and image: A multimodal approach to translations of the Chinese classic Mulan. Perspectives, 26(2), 214-231. Web.
Wei, W. (2018). Understanding values of souvenir purchase in the contemporary Chinese culture: A case of Shanghai Disney. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 10, 36-48. Web.
Zhao, S., Liu, Y., & Zhou, L. (2020). How does a boundaryless mindset enhance expatriate job performance? The mediating role of proactive resource acquisition tactics and the moderating role of behavioural cultural intelligence. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(10), 1333-1357. Web.
The Walt Disney Company is one of the most successful entertainment organizations in the world. The most recognized company started with one man’s idea, now incorporates diverse industries ranging from children’s cartoons to Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe. Recently, on July 29, the Marvel Star Scarlet Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney Company. Her claim states that the company breached its contract by releasing the movie Black Widow, with Johansson playing the main character, on Disney’s streaming service while it was in theaters.
Scarlet Johansson’s claim states that her salary was based on box office performance; since Disney’s simultaneous release of the movie on the Disney Plus streaming service, her earnings for the film were significantly decreased. Presently, the lawsuit has been settled; however, the details of the deal were not disclosed. Both sides announced their delight in reaching a mutual agreement and continuing cooperation in future Marvel Cinematic Universe projects.
Marvel Cinematic Universe, owned by Disney, counts a large number of fans across the globe. Most of these fans sided with Johansson, viewing the lawsuit as an act against corporate hegemony (Ye, 2021). However, from the perspective of the media industry in the United States, streaming services are dominating the market due to the pandemic outbreak (Ye, 2021). Referring to that, the court is more likely to be unfavorable to the actress.
At the same time, following the filing of the lawsuit, Disney decided to respond with a questionable statement. The company referred to the case as sad and pitiful, calming that it ignores the horrific impact of the COVID-19. Johansson’s lawyers immediately rendered this statement as a direct attack on her character, wrongfully and shamelessly accusing her of insensitivity towards the global pandemic. As such, the negotiations did not have a good start.
Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement or BATNA is often used in negotiation tactics. Using BATNA provides negotiation power, an alternative in case of failing the negotiations, and helps determine a reservation point. Therefore, according to BATNA, Disney could initiate with paying the actress a sum of money to continue the cooperation with her as the actress for the Marvel character Black Widow, followed by a new strategy of calculating the box office. Another option is to cease the cooperation between the company and the actress, removing Johansson from Marvel or even Disney movies. Despite the fact that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Black Widow’s character is considered dead, such an alternative may affect Disney’s reputation and cause issues with Marvel movies nonetheless. Since the details of the end deal were not disclosed, the actions taken could only be theorized. The lawsuit was closed in Johansson’s favor; it may be considered that she used a sort of leverage.
As a result of Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney Company, the agreement between the parties was reached. Disney managed to promote Disney Plus and settle the disagreement with one of the lead actresses, continuing to work together. With the rapid development and popularization of streaming services, Disney should use Johansson’s lawsuit as a case study for future actions. Considering changes in contracts and revenue calculation methods for other actors working for Disney is vital to avoid future scandals. Additionally, statements issued by Disney should be thoroughly reviewed to avoid seeming provocative and overall insensitive.
Reference
Ye, X. (2021). The Case Analysis of Disney with Scarlett Johansson Litigation. BCP Business & Management, 16, 265-272.
Without any doubt, Disney should strive for growth and development. The company has vast potential and opportunities, and these aspects should be used and applied in a more favorable light. In this case, the enterprise should develop within the framework of improving digital content and increasing the capacity of parks (Horowitz). Indeed, COVID-19 has played a crucial role in the company’s parks in 2021. However, if one talks about current events and trends, the spread of the virus is gradually coming to naught, which means that parks will also be popular soon. Moreover, with the arrival of the pandemic, people began to watch movies and TV series online more often without leaving home. Thus, Disney does not need to apply extraordinary and drastic changes to the brand and products like Pixar. It is only necessary to focus particular attention on streaming services and the development of theme parks.
Disney Business
As a rule, Disney’s culture and policy are based on mass entertainment and recreation for children and the whole family. According to the official site, Disney entertains, inspires, and informs people around the globe (About the Walt Disney). It reflects the cultures of countries, innovative technologies, and creative aspects that make the company a leader in the entertainment segment on the world stage (About the Walt Disney). Thus, Disney is primarily a content business that creates exciting stories and memorable characters.
Strategic Perspective
The best strategy for Disney is the purposeful goals and objectives present in each division. Hence, all actions and decisions will be coordinated, effective, and prompt. Furthermore, managers should maintain a specific “golden mean” when communicating and interacting with employees, without limiting creative activity, but at the same time not allowing them to relax. Ideally, the activity results should also be sent to more senior personalities from Disney headquarters.
Works Cited
“About the Walt Disney Company.” Disney, Web.
Horowitz, Julia. “Disney needs a comeback year. Will it get it?.” CNN Sans, Web.
Walt Disney had his vision of the Disney company and ideal America, and not many symbols represent the American culture better than Disneyland. He and his successors used these ideas to construct Disneyland and the empire, where each product promotes the others. This unique strategy of advertisement is used by other companies as well, which follows the footsteps of Disney and add their own ways of promoting and managing entertaining products, with one example being Universal Studios. Universal Studios created a theme park that does not leverage Disney’s approach to the synergy of different products, where one element promotes the others but focused on showing the behind the scenes of movie production.
Disneyland Overview
Disney’s strategy for product development and promotion is based on synergy. Synergy is an output of several agents, which produce something greater than the sum of these agents. According to Anderson, Disney’s products were “a tangle of advertising and entertainment” (18). Each product Disney created promoted the entire company and everything Disney produced. In the 1950s, Disney’s management viewed television as an important element of this structure, which would allow them to draw more attention to the other products of this company (Anderson, 18). By using the success of their television show, Disney found investment and draw attention to its amusement park.
Disneyland in suburban California was constructed because of the popularity that Disney’s TV specials had. The company used the two episodes as leverage in their negotiations with TV networks (Anderson, 18). Their main condition for continuing to film and air this show was a $500 million investment in the construction of the new park. This example shows the loop that the company created between its products, with one supporting the construction and popularity of the other. However, apart from profits, Disney’s goal was to create an economic and cultural phenomenon, based on Walt Disney’s vision (Anderson, 19). Moreover, this phenomenon had to be beyond other communication means that existed before. But most importantly, Disneyland is both a representation of American values and a phenomenon that affected the state’s culture.
Moreover, Disney leveraged TV again during the construction process, since Disneyland aired the process of constructing the park. As Anderson puts it, this company was able to “unite the disparate realms of Disney empire” (20). Moreover, Disney’s films and Disneyland were ideal products for the post-WWII audience, young families with children, the number of which continuously increased. Hence, this theme park and Disney’s strategy fitted perfectly into the social and cultural landscape of the 1960s, and other film production companies followed Disney’s steps and created their own theme parks.
Universal World
An alternative to Disneyland was constructed by another media giant — Universal Pictures. In terms of synergy, Universal World also leverages the power of Universal Picture’s other products. This amusement park offers people who have seen the movies to spend time exploring locations built to resemble these films, for example, the jungles similar to those in “Jurassic World.” Here, the movie serves as a promotion for the park, while the park may encourage visitors who have never seen “Jurassic World” to see this movie. However, Universal has never used Disney’s strategy with its TV series to promote its theme park.
In “Dream Factory Tours: The Universal Pictures Movie Tour Attraction in the 1960s,” Blackwood explores the history of Universal Studios’ theme park’s success. Backwood traced the history of the entertainment park since 1963 when it was first opened (1). Notably, Universal Studios was created first as an attraction for movie fans who wanted to see the sites where films are made. Hence, they could ride across the places where Universal filmed its products, and the initial idea was to allow the fans of Universal’s films and TV series to tour the studio. Later on, Universal has changed its strategy and incorporated many elements that resemble Disneyland’s approach.
Universal Studios did not use its products to promote its theme park in the same way that Disney did. For example, Anderson argues that Disney filmed the “Disneyland” TV series to promote the park (21). This was an entertainment for young families with children, the core audience of ABC network that aired this TV series. Next, Universal chose to focus on specific movies that are familiar to the view instead of dividing the park into zones based on themes. Disney, however, chose to have four sections, including fantasy, adventures, science fiction, and westerns, both in its theme park and the TV series (Anderson, 21). Undoubtedly, Disney’s management used a unique approach and techniques to craft this empire, but Universal took advantage of many of these strategies as well.
Universal does not use its TV or film series as a way of promoting its theme park. Rather, the park is an extension of the cinematic experience. Unlike Disney, which used its TV series on the ABC network to show a new audience its old cartoons and films and promote Disneyland as a continuation of this experience, Universal does not have a tool that would allow the company to do the same. Here, no distinction between “entertainment and advertisement” was made by Disney (Anderson, 23). Disney produced a TV series, which used the company’s library of films as the basis, talked about the amusement park, shown behind the scenes of new releases while providing viewers with some useful general facts and the company’s history.
Universal Studios park does not work well in totality, the way that Disney’s products do. It appears that Universal’s theme park is a separate entity, which has a connection with the films that the studio provides but is developed as a separate business. The lack of this connection between the studio’s output, promotion, and theme park is the main difference between Universal and Disney. Disney, however, seamlessly integrated Disneyland into the rest of its films, TV series, and products, showing that all of these are the same experiences.
This studio used a different tool to attract visitors and create a distinct phenomenon — the interest of people in celebrities and movie production. According to Blackwood, in the 1950s, there were several popular places in California where visitors could experience the charm of Holywood, including “Beverly Hills region, the star walk along Hollywood Boulevard and hand-printed hall of fame at Grauman’s Chinese Theater” (2). The studio leverage the consumer’s desire to become a part of the cinematic process and created its first studio tours, where visitors could walk through the places where Universal’s movies were shot.
Universal used many ideas and approaches invented by Disney to set up its first theme park. Blackwood even compares Disneyland to Universal Studios by stating that the latter “was unique in its attempt to represent a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at filmmaking and television production” while the former was the first film-based theme park (4). Later, Universal borrowed many techniques used in Disneyland. However, this theme park still had its distinct feature — it was known for showing the mechanics of the movie business and the behind-the-scene process, while Disney’s focus was on creating a fairytale experience.
Disney created a new social and cultural trend, while Universal followed the change in consumer demand. In terms of the vision for this theme park, Blackwood argues that its creation was a response to the declining audience of the motion picture business, from 90 million viewers per week in the 1950s to only 60 million in the 1960s (1). Hence, the studios had to use innovation and creativity to attract viewers and ensure that they receive profits. For Disney, Disneyland appears to be a continuation of Walt Disney’s vision for the company, and this theme park integrated into the other products of the company.
The movie industry’s leaders wanted to create interactive and immersive experiences for the viewers (Blackwood, 4). Before creating Universal Studios theme park, the company was bought by MCA, and the new management took an approach that emphasized business over exploration of potential cultural phenomena. However, the creation of a theme park was not solely motivated by business objectives, since Universal held tours in its studios since its establishment in 1915 (Blackwood, 4). The visitors could see the stunts from the film performed in front of them and the production area. Therefore, with this theme park, the business objectives, cultural trends of the 1960s, and the distinct feature of Universal Studios were combined.
Influence on American Culture
Despite the variety of popular films it had, Universal affected the American culture to a lesser degree compared to Disney. The origins of this studio and the concept for the theme park were aimed at creating a “film city,” where visitors can experience the process of movie production first hand (Blackwood, 10). But this concept was later changed, partially due to Disneyland’s impact on the industry and due to the integration of audio into movies, which put restrictions on the ability to have visitors in the film production areas.
However, Universal historically has been more focused on the movie business and the mechanics of movie production. Disney’s main influence on the culture is the “total merchandising” strategy (Anderson, 31). Moreover, Disney created a blueprint for the other companies working in the media industry by showing how the products of the studio can complement one another. Blackwood (2017) argues that Universal Studios leveraged the rise of “film tourism” popularity rather than created a trend for such as cultural phenomenon. Hence, Universal affected the culture by showing the viewers how films are made and allowing them to visit cites that resemble the scenery of their films.
Conclusion
Overall, both Disney and Universal Studios created theme parks as a continuation of their vision for the companies, but the tools they used differed. Universal’s vision is more narrow, focusing on movies that have had great success and on showing the different sides of movie production. However, Disney created a cultural phenomenon that leaves space for new products that the company may release in the future. Universal used some of Disney’s techniques and added new ones but did not create a cultural phenomenon.
Blackwood, G. “Dream Factory Tours: The Universal Pictures Movie Tour Attraction in the 1960s.” Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, pp. 1–20, 2017.
The case of Disney workers replaced with imported workers from HCL and Cognizant presents an example of the global outsourcing trend, which spreads to different business areas such as production or human resources management. In this particular case, it is uncertain whether the opportunity to displace initial workers with foreign workers became a prominent factor in the decision to dismiss 250 employees. However, in any event, the case displays the imperfections in the existing process of H-1B visas approval.
The Imperfections in the Existing Process of H-1B Visas Approval
Firstly, the existing process of H-1B visas approval primarily centers on the protection of the interests of immigrant workers with little concern about non-immigrant workers. In particular, the protection of non-immigrant workers does not apply to high-paid employees with over a $60,000-year salary and certain skill and education levels. The policy presumably was meant to ensure natural changes in the labor market, where individual educated immigrants could freely apply for a high-paid jobs. However, in Disney’s case, the displacement of non-immigrant workers in the IT sector presents an example of systematic change where consulting companies such as HCL and Cognizant import workers for the company’s benefits. In other words, consulting companies benefit from both employers and workers, causing systematic changes in the labor market, which affect non-immigrant workers in the IT sector. Moreover, it can be that immigrant workers are intentionally employed in consulting companies to avoid causing adverse effects on similarly employed workers formally. Therefore, the changes in the existing H-1B visas processing and approval should limit the ratio of immigrant workers’ applications and prohibition of participation of third parties in the deal.
Considering the consequences of the case, President Trump, who campaigned against the H-1B program in the presidential race, signed an Executive Order directing the government to review the H-1B visa program policies. The Trump administration introduced visas limitations for H-1B workers recruited by third-party counseling agencies such as HCL and Cognizant. The limitation extended to the length of the H-1B visa duration; if previously the visa was active for a three-year period, the new policies limited the visa duration to a few months (Thibodeau). The change negatively influenced the activity of big companies, which primarily relied on immigrant labor. According to Thibodeau, the limitation significantly worsened the relationships between IT consulting firms and employers. Therefore, one could suggest that Disney’s decision to displace resident employees with immigrant workers did not have good results.
One of the main reasons big companies resorted to using an immigrant workforce for IT services was that their labor is more flexible. Immigrant workers have no family connections, and therefore they are easier to relocate every few months (Thibodeau). The unstable working conditions of immigrant workers caused by the Trump administration’s limitation raised immigrant workers’ application rates for Green Card visas. However, with increased wait periods for Green Cards, the immigrant employees from many companies had no chance but to return to India.
Conclusion
While President Trump’s administration’s executive order improved the situation with the dismissal of American workers in favor of the immigrant workforce, it did not entirely stop the process. The companies continue to use immigrant workers with H-1B for cheaper labor costs, and IT consulting companies continue to provide services for employers and immigrant talents. It is recommended that the future additional changes to the H-1B visa processing and approval rules will specify that immigrant workers should be paid fair wages and must be employed by a direct employer.
Work Cited
Thibodeau, Patrick. “Trump’s H-1B work visa actions disappoint ex-Disney workers.” Tech Target, 2020, Web.
Companies need to develop solid pricing models that are customer-friendly. Unpredictable costing may disgruntle or even make customers seek alternative service providers. Among others, businesses rely on competitors’ prices, demand, operating costs, and profitability to set or review prices. Walt Disney operates resorts, theme parks, and broadcast networks. Disney World (Florida) has adopted visitation time, peak, and differential pricing, which are reasonable but ignore the need to justify price hikes to customers, which can discourage the customers and put its existence at risk.
Issues with Disney’s Pricing
Disney World observes customers’ behavior to understand the demand for the product before setting prices. For example, the business observes the number of visitations to any one park before adjusting prices. Prices are increased for the most visited parks in the Orlando area resort. Customer behavior is widely used by businesses to price their products. Online businesses, for example, observe the number of visits a particular customer makes on a given product and adjust the price accordingly. The businesses understand that return visits for a given product indicate the consumer needs them. Normally, customers will observe price increase on return visits. In the case of Walt Disney, more visits to any of the parks in the Orlando area indicate customers are most likely satisfied with service quality. It is reasonable for the business to adjust prices upward during peak periods or for most visited sites to cater to increased operating costs. A business should cautiously take advantage of increased demand to maximize profits. However, it is difficult for Disney to determine the best pricing for the park without carrying out market research on the level of satisfaction derived from current pricing. The business should consider informed pricing pegged on customer feedback.
Pricing has additionally been based on the time one visits, with prices being higher on the most popular dates. For example, for the nine days around Christmas time, a one-day ticket to Magic Kingdom will cost $ 189, up from $159. Popular visitation dates indicate increased demand for the product, justifying the pricing. This is because operating costs will increase at peak periods. The customers must meet the operation costs for profitability. However, the company does not explain to its customers the increased prices, which can disgruntle them. Although it is not absolutely necessary, the business should explain price increases to customers so they may understand. Value for money may be a mere perception rather than real, and consumers are made to perceive it as such.
Disney employs value, perceived value, and differential pricing to set prices. One company spokesman said the company works on providing customers with the best and most memorable experiences, including the lowest-priced ticket going at $109. Incredible experiences can only be achieved through the provision n of quality services or products. Disney must therefore invest in service provision to give customers memorable experiences. At the same time, the business offers low-priced services for a section of consumers of a largely similar product. This way, the pricing model allows customers with lower incomes to enjoy the service, increasing total profits. Perceived value can be achieved through advertisements and promotions, justifying higher pricing of some of the services. Direct and indirect costs are incurred in advertisements and promotions.
It is observed that Disney increased prices for nearly all its products. The number of blackout days was also increased for certain visits while at the same time limiting the category of people who access such services. Although the company needs to remain profitable, the price increases must be controlled. The company can and should have adopted an imperfectly competitive pricing model where pricing is pegged on marginal costs so that they have room not to adjust prices whenever there are minor cost variations. Variable costs for service provision businesses can remain largely the same once they acquire capital. This means their prices can be stable for quite some time. Pricing should also consider those of competitors, so that it is neither exploitive nor undercharged.
The main objectives of pricing include the need for new businesses to survive, profit maximization, increasing market share, market skimming, and product quality leadership. Disney is an already established company that should focus mainly on product quality leadership, maximizing profit, and increasing market share. Its pricing should therefore reflect an established brand. Too low, too high, and unpredictable pricing can be detrimental to the company, reducing its chances of survival. In the recent pricing changes, the company failed to disclose the reasons for price changes but at the same time made record-high profits. This clearly indicates that the current pricing was not based on variable costs but on the need to increase profits.
Conclusion
Like any other entertainment business, Disney World operations in Florida are subject to government regulations and, therefore, unlikely to be exploitive to customers. Its new prices mainly relied on customer behavior, visitation time, product value, perceived value, and differential pricing to set prices. The new prices were adjusted upwards with the sole aim of increasing profits. All its service categories increased their pricing without explanations, creating a perception of unreasoned pricing. In the future, the business might have to consider explaining price adjustments to avoid customer dissatisfaction.
The chosen article covers the events in Disney Company related to the decision by Robert Iger to hand over his chief executive position to Bob Chapek at the beginning of 2020. Although Iger and Chapek are the main figures in this discussion, such names as Susan Arnold, Disney board chairwoman, and Joseph Yaffe, the company’s legal advisor, are also mentioned. Besides, the authors admit the roles of the ex- and current presidents of the United States, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Schwartzel et al. (2022) notice that, despite his intention to make managerial changes and power transitions, Iger has never actually left the company. The main idea is to explore the tensions between previous and current CEOs due to poorly recognized roles and responsibilities. On the one hand, there was an announcement from Iger to be replaced with Chapek on February 25, 2020. At the same time, the man did not stop his participation in the company’s decision-making and chose another executive position. On the other hand, the pandemic-related events provoked new concerns and requirements. Iger did not accept the changes offered by Chapek and used the support of his friends, making Chapek unable to escape his shadow (Schwartzel et al., 2022). Disney did not want to fire people, but COVID-19 required new staff cuts. Arnold first offered the job to Iger to manage human resources like Disney usually did. Still, the controversies about the distribution of power in the company continued to grow, and Arnold supported Chapek in the middle of 2022. Iger enhanced his legacy by comparing the laws signed by Trump (unplanned furloughs) and Biden (employee return). Thus, Chapek, as CEO, faced multiple challenges and low support, questioning the effectiveness of the organizational culture at Disney.
Connection to Course Material
The principles of management and organizational behavior have been thoroughly discussed during this course. It is not enough for a modern company to have a sufficient leader and a number of employees who are aware of their roles and responsibilities. There are many skills and knowledge to be implemented in every organizational step. The success of management depends on various factors, including communication, cooperation, mutual trust, and awareness of organizational goals and vision. People have to discuss each situation to ensure they solve problems and make decisions effectively. In Disney’s case, the lack of strategic planning and communication between Iger and Chapik is evident. Two CEOs are not able to understand and use the sources of power and influence properly. Iger relies on his experience and relationships with other employees to prove that Chapek is “killing the soul of the company” (as cited in Schwartzel et al., 2022, para. 20). Instead of being motivated to solve the pandemic-imposed problems, the leaders focus on their ambitions and the desire to gain recognition. No decision to identify a conflict has been made, but the approaches chosen by Chapek and Iger continue breaking the company apart. Some employees want to see if Chapek’s ideas could bring benefits, while Iger’s goal to correct the finances provokes additional discussions.
Conclusion
The article shows how the core principles of management, like mutual decision-making, strategic planning, and problem-solving, can be vaguely interrupted by one of the most powerful and globally recognizable organizations.
Disney Company is an American cosmopolitan mass media and entertainment firm based at the “Walt Disney Studios complex” in Burbank, California. It was founded by Walt Disney in the year 1923, together with his brother Roy. The business is most known for its products from its production studio and for its first-rate visitor services. Disney has been ranked as one of the best companies to work for due to its family-friendly image. Disney Company is committed to offering a safe and respectful working environment inclusive in all its locations around the globe. That is due to striving to uphold the highest standards of ethics, quality, and social responsibility which are the primary reason many employees choose the company. Disney is leading in employment practices as the company offers its employees a variety of benefits. Health insurance, retirement savings plans, paid time off, and opportunities for learning and advancement to enhance their careers are just a few of the perks available to employees.
Disney also commits to diversity and inclusion, and the company strives to create a workplace where all employees feel valued and respected. That has helped to attract and retain the best talents in the company. One of the company’s most notable practices is its commitment to equal-opportunity employment. Amongst the key ways that Disney has been able to provide consistency in high levels of guest service is through its use of exceptional employment practices. For example, Disney is very selective regarding hiring, as it only hires the best talents. After the hiring process, Disney employees undergo extensive training to prepare them for their roles. The training covers providing outstanding customer service and how the employees should execute their roles.
In addition to training, Disney empowers its employees to make decisions that will benefit guests. For example, employees are encouraged to go the extra mile to make guests happy, even if it means bending the rules a bit. Finally, Disney also recognizes and rewards employees who provide exceptional guest service. That motivates employees and encourages them to continue providing great services. It also attracts new employees looking for a company that values customer service. By hiring the best candidates, providing comprehensive training, empowering employees to make decisions, mentoring, and rewarding employees for outstanding guest service, Disney has created an environment in which guest service is always the top priority.
Disney has gained a competitive advantage over its competitors because of its focus on employee empowerment and engagement. By engaging and empowering employees, Disney has created a work environment where employees feel valued and appreciated. This has resulted in higher levels of employee satisfaction and loyalty, which has in turn led to higher levels of productivity and profitability. One of the things that can be learnt from Disney is the importance of always staying true to one’s brand. Disney is a company that has existed for nearly a century, and one of the reasons it has been able to remain relevant and successful for long is that it has always been able to stay true to its brand and values. No matter what new trends or technologies come along, Disney always stays true to its roots, which has kept the company relevant for a long time (Havard, 2020). Therefore, the Walt Disney Company has proven to be a leader in HR management over its century. The organization’s values focus on the business’s human element, whereby they treat employees as internal customers.
Reference
Havard, C. T. (2020). Disney vs. Comcast: Lessons learned from the corporate rivalry. Graziadio Business Review, 23(1), 1-20.
The Walt Disney Company is a leading international entertainment center and media enterprise having subsidiaries all over the world. The operation and management of enterprise experience are carried out by the organization’s division Disney Parks and Resorts that is responsible for entertaining people and guiding those into the world of media culture (The Walt Disney Company, n. d. a).
Due to the fact that employees play the leading role in creating a favorable environment in entertainment center, this target audience should be carefully considered by human resources managers to enhance employees’ level of engagement.
Organization’s Purposes, Mission, Values, and Culture
The company’s purpose consists in introducing the people dimension in business sphere to meet Disney’s values and culture. Specifically, the human resource management department focuses on reinforcing the responsibility and commitment to people through such services as learning and development, talent acquisition, communication techniques, and employee services (The Walt Disney Company, n. d. b).
Specific attention should be paid to increased leadership for handling selection and recruitment processes effectively and contributing to ongoing retention and development.
Problem Analysis
Problem Identification
Judging from the above-presented information the company places a specific emphasis on leadership and supervision strategies for directing and motivating employees’ work.
The employees, in their turn, can take advantage of availability of direct support and, because all their actions are carefully controlled, subordinates might lack independence in making decisions, which can become critical under certain situations. As a result, leaders and managers prevail over employees’ steps of coping with their responsibilities and obligations.
Though employees have right to share their preferences and goals with supervisors, they still lack skills for cooperating in teams for solving the problems independently.
Specifically, the system of communication between the supervisor and employees, as well as between employees and guests, is well settled and, therefore, vertical management deprives employees of possibility to make decisions without informing their managers. Lack of responsibilities imposed on cast members creates a number of problems in terms of effective team management and employee engagement.
Discrepancies between Theory and Practice within the Organization
Effective human resource management should embrace a combination of theoretical frameworks applied to practice. It should also be constructed with regard to services and opportunities the employees can get while accomplishing their duties (Johns & Saks, 2005).
Judging from the case under analysis, it should be stressed that there is a certain inconsistency between the introduced employee engagement strategies and the ones that are still left unnoticed.
In particular, managers successfully meet the requirements of perceived organization support and positive reinforcement approaches, but fail to introduce techniques connected to motivated teamwork, job enrichment, and establishment of self-management working team.
Recommendations
Providing Meaningful Feedback on Performance
Excess accent on effective leadership and supervisions provides no perspectives concerning the opportunity for employees to increase their performance. In this situation, meaningful feedback can help the employees quickly adapt to a specific behavior for achieving the established goals (Phillips and Gully, 2011, p. 395).
The introduction of the feedback system can help employees become more team-focused for achieving the goals in a more effective way. More importantly, such an approach will increase employees’ incentives and motivations. For instance, the organization should create objectives the accomplishment of which is possible only under team working conditions.
At this point, employees can be encouraged to introduce their creative ideas directed at the improvement of the entertainment atmosphere, but the creative projects should be carried out in teams.
Such a technique can introduce a challenge for employees at first stages; on the other hand, cast members will have to encounter such aspects as responsibilities distribution, decision-making, and problem-solving. In addition, feedback on performance can be presented in the form of rewards contributing to more effective adjustment to a new teamwork environment.
Establishing Positive Relations and Healthy Competition between Co-Workers
Leadership and supervision practices imply well-coordinated communication between managers and employees. However, a healthy environment will be established with the introduction of favorable relations among co-workers.
According to Dutton and Ragins (2007), “…positive connections contributed to the shared emotions component of sense of community, because it was in moments of connecting that temporary employees shared positive and negative emotions” (p. 257).
Indeed, active interaction and successful communication provide a favorable ground sharing and gaining wider experience in communicating and negotiating with guests and managements. What is more important is that the established solutions impel employees to discover the points of similarities.
Due to the fact that job is a potential source for self-expression, the establishment of a healthy competitive environment is also indispensible to meeting those goals (Dutton and Ragins, 2007).
In fact, the idea of competition consists in creating opportunities for all employees to win, instead of one individual dominating at the expense of another employee (Dutton and Ragins, 2007). The proposed approach can help the company understand whether the level of employee recognition is sufficient for increasing performance and motivation.
Coping with Emotional Displays in Various Countries
Greater group cohesiveness can be achieved through better recognition of cultural diversity within the organization. In this respect, company’s success largely depends on the techniques it will introduce for managing diverse emotional displays as presented in various cultures.
People coming from different countries also expect specific reactions to their emotions due to peculiar values, personal needs, and social factors of subordinates. Cultural display principles are conceived in childhood to help people cope with their emotions and adapt those to different facial expressions.
In order to react properly to these displays, employers should take into consideration psychological analysis of different cultures presented in the working environment (Phillips & Gully, 2011, p. 149).
Due to the fact that the Walt Disney Company is a multinational organization, it should count the phenomenon of cultural diversity and analyze a variety of psychological portraits. Better recognition of emotional displays will significantly foster employees’ organized work in team.
However, information about psychological techniques should also be proliferated among the employees through specific training courses. At this point, the educational program should be directed at enhancing employees’ understanding of other cultures through representation of different behavioral and psychological patterns.
Validation
Appreciation of Theories With Regard To Feedback on Performance
Slight shift from leadership management to self-management in teams will help employees enhance their awareness that their work is highly appreciated. Theoretically, performance feedback will be more effective if it is conveyed in a positive manner, provided immediately after performance observation, and is specific to the behavioral patterns that are being established for feedback.
While presenting performance appraisal, it is important to introduce both objective and subjective means for measuring employee productivity and success. In this particular case, providing feedback on collective performance is much more appropriate because it enhances collaboration among the co-workers and fosters the accomplishment of the established goals.
The necessity to introduce rewards is also justified by theory of self-managed work teams. Such a system provides several benefits. First, because reward presupposed reduced supervision, greater responsibilities and independence in decision-making will be imposed. Second, the introduction of self-management can teach employees to act independent and solve difficult problems.
Self-determination and introduction of effective decision-making can deprive managers of the necessity to constantly monitor the work of the staff. Finally, the given approach contributes greatly to increasing employees’ competence, which, in fact, can increase a competitive advantage in general.
The organization under analysis can further develop new concepts and strategies based on the newly developed patterns of appraisal.
Theories Contributing To Enhancing Positive Relations between Co-Workers to Increase Employee Engagement
While evaluating the effectiveness of the ideas of enhancing positive relations, it is purposeful to refer to the theory of group cohesiveness and operant learning supporting the necessity to introduce positive and negative reinforcement, as well as create a healthy competitive environment. To enlarge on this issue, competition and reward systems define the extent to which a working team is ready to face challenges.
It also outlines the major psychological and ethical problems existing among employees within the identified organization. The approach will especially effective for the managing international issues and conflicts because failure to cooperate in team can lead to dismissal. In this respect, the negative reinforcement should also take place to tackle the problem employee engagement.
Due to the fact that operant learning theory implies reinforcement of behavior through punishment and reward, employee engagement can be significantly increased through the introduction of interdependent relations between subordinates. The approach is also congruent with the company’s philosophy because it strives to meet employees’ interests and choices, but in a very narrow-focused way.
Consequently, the main task of the managers is to foster independent decision-making through reinforcement of group liabilities. In case one member of the group is not able to contribute to the welfare of the department, the rest of the group should be responsible for the failure.
Introducing Theoretical Frameworks for Managing Cultural Diversity
It should be recognized that the problem of cultural diversity has now acquired a growing popularity. The issue concerns both customer management and employee engagement because these two dimensions are united by the purpose of enhancing human element.
In this respect, the entertainment services provided by the Walt Disney Company will be significantly advanced with the introduction of techniques managing emotional displays. The practical approach can be effectively carried out by referring to the theories of observational learning and behavior modeling training. The former is concerned with process of imitating various behavioral modes.
The practice is aimed at examining others’ behavior, analyzing the consequences of experience, evaluating the outcomes of choosing a specific behavior and imitating the mode to introduce favorable consequences. The former focuses on the introduction of an educational program directed at describing a set of behaviors that should be consider and providing patterns demonstrating how to use those models effectively.
The training is also connected with the presentation of social reinforcement and feedback to the trainees, as well as with taking measures to ensure the behavioral transformation with regard to organizational goals. In whole, both theories should contribute to better understanding of emotional displays and creating a more favorable environment for employee engagement.
Reference List
Dutton, J. E., & Ragins, B. R. (2007). Exploring Positive Relationships at Work: Building a Theoretical and Research Foundation. NY: Routledge.
Johns, G., & Saks, A. M. (2005). Organizational Behavior: Understanding and Managing Life at Work. NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Phillips, J. and Gully, S. M. (2011). Organizational Behavior: Tools for Success. NY: Cengage Learning.
The Walt Disney Company. Business Standards and Ethics. Web.