According to Eliot, Disney also used the unions and the media to his advantage. Disney used the strikes as an excuse to lay off a large number of people, stating that the union's requirements for payment were out of his budget, to keep everyone working. Eliot also states that Disney used Donald Duck, who was created during this time, as an outlet for his frustrations with the government and the unions. Elliot views Disney’s politics at the time as a creative attempt to gain popularity and respect with the government. Then in 1997, Stephen Watts wrote the book The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life. His thesis was that during World War II, when Disney housed the US Army at his studios, he learned how to work the
Since the 1930’s, the Walt Disney Company is known for producing characters, images, as well as stories which have created happiness for audiences around the world. This corporation has grown from a small cartoon studio run by famous Walt and Roy Disney to a million dollar business. In Janet Wasko’s novel, “Understanding Disney”, Wasko explains Disney as corporation calling it “The Disney Empire”. Throughout her novel, Wasko argues that Disney is set up like a typical profit seeking corporation, as well as creates and manufactures fantasy, and lastly re-invents folk tales by “Americanising” them.
Succeeding In a Free Enterprise System The first thing an entrepreneur needs to do is think of an idea. They have to be on top of their game to be able to hold so many ideas in one sitting. After all the ideas are thought up and finished, it's time to act on them. Many entrepreneurs may use what they call, a free enterprise system to start or finish up their businesses.
The production Snow White alone produced “...over $8 million during its release -- about $130 million today.” (Source F). Without the talent and skills of his animators, Walt Disney would not have been able to gather this amount of proceeds. Disney could afford to treat his animators with greater respect as reflected in their paychecks. A captain of industry helps create jobs. As would follow with all of Disney’s financial success, did that make him a captain of industry? Disney may have opened a variety of job opportunities for the public, but it did not necessarily qualify him as a captain of industry. Just as a sweat factory employed its unhappy workers, many Disney employees felt similar oppression. This led to the rally call of a strike. The day of the strike, “…Walt Disney … found the entrance to his studio ringed with a mob of 300 picketers and reporters” (Source E). This rebellion, the Disney Strike of 1941, was considered the biggest in the history of the cartoon industry. It affected a guild of 800 members and lasted for over nine weeks (Source E). The efforts of the strike forced Disney to heed the demands of his disgruntled employees. Their strike was effective, and it gave workers the chance to be paid more, and to be treated
Disney spent around $2.5 million on support for Republicans and their campaign in 2012 because of the anti-Florida casino stance of Republican state legislators. Holding influence over potentially powerful legislators would decrease the chance of more casinos appearing in southern Florida, which would detriment Disney’s profit from Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida (Zara). Furthermore, Walt Disney, the founder of Disney, imposed his political beliefs by marketing films and rides that promoted the development and deployment of atomic bombs, a highly controversial issue during the 1960s. As Giroux writes in his book The Mouse that Roared, “Disney played a formidable role in convincing every school child that atomic energy was central not merely to winning the Cold War but also to prepare them…”
The free enterprise system is a part of our everyday lives. Without it we would not have different brands and/or companies. We would not be able to choose where to buy (consumer) and sell (producer) items. The free enterprise system is an economic system in which everyone is allow to participate in the activities of their choice. Walt Disney started out working for a company drawing cartoon duck, but things did not work out and he went onto bigger and better opportunities because of this "failure" with the company. The free enterprise system provided Walt Disney with the opportunities to develop his famous and successful brand.
Seventeen animation artists were ushered out of Disney Studios in Burbank, California on May 28th, 1941; they were then fired for being part of the Screen Cartoonist Guild.1 Once the news spread to the other eight hundred plus artists and four hundred plus Disney workers, many were outraged and further gathered together to make derisive posters and stir up compelling speeches to support of their fellow colleagues. On May 29th, 1941 three hundred employees went on strike.2 The few loyal to the Disney Corporation gathered with management in hopes to quickly put an end to the strike, however it was just the beginning. The Disney Studio Strike was acrimonious, lasting five weeks and ultimately shattering the benevolent image Disney Studios portrayed to the rest of the world.3 Many people associate the Disney Corporation with a lighthearted atmosphere and Walt Disney with the image of an artistic mastermind; so what happened to cause his workers to deceive him and go on strike?
Organized labor affects the lives of many citizens everyday, often in a roundabout way. Labor Unions affect many different people from blue-collar workers to white-collar workers, stay-at-home moms, students, and retirees. Fewer; however realize the legal role Labor Unions have played and continue to play in the financial system, political affairs, and society in general. In today's society, more of our skilled hourly and unskilled workers belong to some sort of Labor Union and that is a good sign that Unions will not face extinction. As long as there is a need for higher wages, there will be a need for Unions.
Walt Disney was not strictly in the market for selling ideas and products. A former employee of Disney’s once stated “Walt had the ability to inspire us by selling us on ourselves” (Pahl
And now, nearly four decades after his death, the maker of said creations, Walt Disney, is not nearly as recognized as he should be. Not only are his works and other projects intriguing, his morals and techniques personally behind them are as well. And yet they weren’t just his morals, they were shared by the country’s people who so desired an example of good principles. Perhaps the most significant scheme of all was his creation of his very own amusement park in 1955, Disneyland, located in Anaheim, California.
Before we can discuss how Walt Disneyworld became a household name, we need to understand how it was developed.
This biographical study attempts to demonstrate the ways in which Walt Disney’s leadership influenced his followers through his method of leadership and the extent to which his followers influenced his leadership style. This will be demonstrated with reference to relevant leadership theories, whereby section I shall relate the leadership style of Walt Disney with reference to ‘Transformational Leadership’, and more specifically: ‘Idealised Influence’, ‘Inspirational Motivation’, ‘Intellectual Stimulation’ and ‘Individualised Consideration’. Section II considers ‘Path-Goal Theory’ and section III ‘Contingency Theory’. Section IV deals with ‘Team Leadership’ with reference to
Walt Disney had a vision. It was a vision of a place where children and parents could have fun together. The more Walt dreamed of a "magical park," the more imaginative and elaborate it became. Finally in 1953, he had the Stanford Research Institute conduct a survey for a 100-acre site, outside of Los Angeles. He needed space to build rivers, waterfalls, and mountains; he would have flying elephants and giant teacups a fairy-tale castle, moon rockets, and a scenic railway; all inside a magic kingdom he called "Disneyland." After all the ups and downs to bring up this Walt Disney to be success and managed to get
He described a term that he referred to as “Disneyfication”, which he defined as “an idea of taking an environment and creating a fantasy world out of it by sanitizing it and making it devoid of any sort of impurity, Disney as a corporation tries to do that, and it affects children” (Stereotypes, 2013). While their parents are off running errands, or working their children rush home from school and turn on the T.V. to their favorite Disney channel movies, and get lost in the fantasy world of Walt Disney where all things can happen, characters are shown ideally and therefore unrealistically and there is always a happy ending.
Background: The history of Walt Disney, and the Disney Corporation, is one shrouded in admiration and accolades for the accomplishment of the American dream. Walt Disney himself is an icon for the American work ethic, i.e., hard work pays off. He is seen as a Horatio Alger, "rags to riches," success story. Beginning his work in animation in the 1920s, Walt Disney gained fame worldwide for his films and theme parks. But Walt Disney created more than films and theme parks. By infusing them with an ideological stance glorifying "the American way of life," his brand of democracy and conservatism, he created a cultural institution. The moralistic stance of his enterprise became common knowledge and it is said that his 1933 version of Three Little Pigs was the last of his cartoons in which the film’s moral messages were open to interpretation [3]
Walt Disney once said, “It’s not the magic that makes it work, it’s the work that makes the magic.” (Capodagli & Jackson, 2007). Walt Disney was truly a visionary and ethical leader that used his talents as a transformational leader and artist to dream up a world that has stood the test of time for nearly 90 years. In this paper I will explain why he was both a visionary and ethical leader. It will show that he used inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation to further his clear and easy to follow vision, inspire his personnel, and leverage their creativity. It will also show why I believe Walt Disney fit into the traits of an ethical leader by valuing his team members and creating an environment of mutual trust and respect. Then I will tell you how I have used the same transformational leadership behaviors to lead my people, have made sure not to fall into an ethical trap and take credit for the work others do. All leaders could learn something from Walt’s visionary leadership.