Walt Disney Company Managers

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Table of Contents

Introduction
How the skills of a succesful manager have changed
Why it is critical for disney to be a learning organisation
Michael Eisners management skills and their relevance in todays environment
Reference List

Introduction

Walt Disney has transformed tremendously since its inception in 1923. It is recognized all over the world as one of the premier companies that specialized exclusively in recreation and entertainment. This corporation is viewed as an icon of creativity due to its successful forays in TV, radio, magazines, theme parks that continue to entertain funs from all over the world.

This company has certainly withstood the test of time. Through the years it has been changing managers and managerial styles therefore forms a good basis for evaluating different managerial styles. In order to understand this company and its management styles over the years, let us critically analyse three questions:

How have the skills for a successful manager at Disney changed over the decades?
Why is it critical for Disney to be a learning organisation?
What important management skills did Michael Eisner bring to Disney? Do you think his skills are still effective in today’s environment?

How the skills of a succesful manager have changed

Management is dynamic as the prevailing internal and external environments of a firm influence it. A management style that was applicable and effective twenty years ago cannot be as effective in the modern day. Managers have to change by adapting to the changing environments if they are to be successful. Successful corporations such as Disney land are proof that change is inevitable.

To understand the importance of change in management, we shall look at the evolution of Disney land’s management styles and skills since its inception in the 1923 up to the successful reign of Michael Eisner. Management skills may be classified broadly as: (Wheten, 1998)

Interpersonal
Conceptual
Diagnostic
Technical
Leadership

1923-1966 (Walt and Roy Disney)

As their surnames suggest, Walt and Roy Disney are the founding fathers of Disneyland. They led this corporation together from 1923 to 1966, when Walt passed away and Roy was left in charge. We can study the management skills they employed when they were at the helm. It is also possible to study how these skills have changed to date (Cole, 2003).

During this period, Roy handled money while Walt handled creativity. This brings about the technical skills of these two managers, as both were able to channel their strengths into a specialized field. This specialization was key to the growth of Disneyland. The success of Mickey Mouse can be attributed to Walt who introduced synchronized sound, a concept that had never been tested before. It is through his innovation and inventiveness that Disney took off to such a great start.

During their reign, all employees of Disney felt equally important. There were no titles or anything to show which manager was on top of the other in the corporate ladder. Cooperation and teamwork was only made possible through the great interpersonal skills of Walt (Goldrat, 2002).

1966 – 1984 (Roy Disney)

Walt passed on in the year 1966 and Roy was left in charge. The success of this corporation had so far been attributed to Walt’s creativity and innovation. After he passed, the corporation’s creative side was dealt a big blow. Managers lacked sufficient technical skills to come up with new productions, instead they tried too much too emulate Walt and this did not pay off.

His brother on the other hand continued to demonstrate great conceptual skills by overseeing the opening of Walt Disney land and the Tokyo Disney land. Conceptual skills are particularly necessary for senior most managers who largely have cater for the interests of the firm as a whole. With the opening of this two functions Roy turned Disney’s opportunities into a reality, this requires proper coordination and vision that are a prerequisite in conceptual skills (Grant, 2001).

1984 onwards

In 1984, Michael Eisner came into the helm at Disney, at a time when the corporation was suffering from all fronts. Not only were Disney’s finances in shambles, the corporation was lacking in creativity and innovation. Eisner brought many changes in Disney land through his superior management skills.

Through his interpersonal skills, he saw the need to involve employees more in the management process. Employees were trained and made fully aware of the corporate strategy. This greatly improved goal congruency by minimizing interdepartmental conflicts. In addition, synergy and cohesion in the corporation also improved tremendously.

He believed in upholding the Disney culture as an important way of generating employee loyalty and building good relations. Eisner not only focused on the work but mostly on the workers. Human resource was well managed during his tenor (Harmon, 1999).

Eisner came in at a time when the company was going through a slump and through his diagnostic skills he resurrected brought it back to the right track. He diagnosed the problems that were facing the firm and strategized on how to overcome them and steer Disney to greater heights (Wheten, 1998).

Why it is critical for disney to be a learning organisation

Since its creation, Disney has been operating in the entertainment industry. Its operations are centred on theme parks, cartoons, Films, radio and TV shows that are aired all over the world. For a corporation that ventures into so many fields in the entertainment industry and whose audience is scattered all over the world, so much is expected in terms of change and growth.

Eisner brought in a very important concept to Disney land, that of a learning organisation. A learning organisation is one that continuously transforms itself and its human resources to conform to emerging methods and techniques in the industry. This was very important for the survival and growth of Disney land due to the following major factors (Grant, 2001).

Competition

The entertainment industry is very lucrative and therefore attracts a lot of attention. Brand name is very important if a corporation is to succeed in this field. Competition is very stiff therefore; Disney had to keep up to date with the current trends. This can only be done if an organization has an open mind and is keen to learn new ideas and techniques.

Innovation and inventiveness

Lack of creativity and riding on the back of Walt Disney’s creative legacy almost brought Disney to its knees before Eisner came to the rescue. Learning is very important if a corporation is to develop new ideas and implement them. It is through training and introduction of new managers from paramount with fresh ideas that Disney was resurrected from its slump when Eisner too over.

Technological advancements

The entertainment industry largely depends on media. TV, radio, newspapers and magazines are some of the media that Disney employed. Technology affects the media so much, making it very dynamic. Disney had to be updated of any changes in the media e.g. Methods of prod casting since it directly affect their business.

International Audience

Disney is a well renowned corporation all over the world. Its productions are broad casted and loved in many different parts of the world. The corporation therefore has to be well aware of the socio – cultural environment of its foreign audience in order to be effective.

Embracing Change

Michael Eisner brought many changes to Disney land when he arrived. These changes were made possible since he was able to transform Disney into a learning organization. Change is very important for the survival and growth of a firm. During the post Walt era managers failed to embrace change, instead they held on to Walt’s Legacy and this caused Disney more harm than good.

Improving Quality of output

Using monthly operating reports and other cross-divisional initiatives, Eisner improved the quality of output in each unit of the firm. Quality improvement is very important for firms especially those in the entertainment industry. As Disney’s products are created mainly to entertain, maintaining high standards of quality is inevitable. Constant improvements in quality increase the effectiveness and efficiency of a firm.

Creating a corporate Image

It was important for Disney to embrace learning in order to build a reputable corporate image to both its workers and its audience. Eisner saw the need to develop and impose the Disney culture to its workers. This goes a long way towards generating employee loyalty and reducing the rate of labour turnover. Employees have to be educated on the corporation’s objectives if the goals of the firm are to be met.

Goal Congruency

For a large corporation such as Disney with many different units and departments within the firm, goal congruency is imperative if the company is to avoid interdepartmental conflicts and harmful competition. (Goldrat, 2002)

Michael Eisners management skills and their relevance in todays environment

The turnaround of Disney’s fortunes is largely attributed to Michael Eisner. Through his management skills he brought in many changes that steered Disney to the empire that it is today in the entertainment industry. In order to have a good understanding of the current environment, it is important to look at the contemporary theories of management.

Contemporary management theories

The present day management theories are an improvement of the classical theory championed by Henri Fayol and Max Weber among other management scholars. The most commonly used and well-developed theories are the contingency theory and the systems theory.

The contingency theory states that there is no standard approach towards management. Management should be influenced by the present situation and environment of a firm. What works for one corporation may not necessarily work for another, each has unique needs, which cannot be met using a standardized approach. The system theory advocates for a systematic approach towards management. The whole process of management should be broken down into different parts that are systematically executed.

Relationship between Eisner’s skills and today’s environment

The most prominent of Michael Eisner’s management skill that propelled Disney into success is his great Interpersonal skills. Eisner was able to get employees involved and feeling part of the company by fostering relationships. He initiated training programmes meant for bonding as well as education on the corporate strategy and culture.

He was able to create teamwork among the various units hence greatly improving goal congruency. Interpersonal skills are very important in today’s environment where the welfare of the employee is very critical. Today’s workers are more aware of the rights and obligations hence it is important to get them involved in the management process.

Michael Eisner also exhibited great diagnostic skills through the introduction of learning concept in Disney. Eisner saw the need to inculcate a culture of willingness to learn in the employees and this paid off in the end. This is in accordance to the contemporary contingency theory, which perpetuates flexibility in the management process. Eisner studied the situation and came up with solutions for the problems that Disney was facing.

He’s hands on style of management as opposed to the traditional leisure faire model where the manager was only concerned with top level management work can also be emulated in today’s corporations. The nature of business nowadays requires that the manager be involved in the day-to-day affairs of the firm. Like Eisner, managers should provide leadership instead of sitting back and pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

Through his leadership skills, Eisner was able to align all units of Disney towards a common objective therefore creating harmony and streamlining Disney operations. In today’s environment, managers must not only have conceptual, diagnostic, interpersonal and technical skills, but they must also be leaders. One can be a great manager but without the ability to influence others towards a common objective, then the management process will not be a success. (Cole, 2003)

Reference List

Cole, G. A. (2003). Management Theory and Practice. London,Oxford publishers Press.

Goldrat, E. M. (2002). The Goal: A process of ongoing improvement. Boston, Boston Library Publishers.

Grant, R. M. (2001). Corporate strategy analysis. Chicago, Chicago Publishers Press.

Harmon, P. (1999). Business process change. New York, MK/OMG press.

Wheten, D. A. (1998). Developing management skills. Michigan, Harper Colege.

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