It is evident that Jeffery Katzenberg played a significant role in the Walt Disney Animation Studios during this time period. In his role as head of film, he expressed power in differing ways to accomplish different objectives. Throughout the documentary Katzenberg displays a transactional style of leadership. Leading from the top, early on, he attempted to cement his position of power highlighting his ability to deliver commands to the animators and control integral decisions (Bass, 1991). On his first project with the studio, The Black Cauldron, Katzenberg displays legitimate power when believes the film to be too violent and despite protests from the animators insists cuts and changes must be made to the film (Hahn, 2009). French and Raven (1959), define legitimate power as the right – due to status – to prescribe behaviour to others; in simpler terms, to tell someone what to do. The animators likened the actions of Katzenberg to “causing world war three” and thus a power struggle ensues. Robins and Judge (2008) theorise that situations in which there are low levels of trust and high levels of uncertainty within an organisation increase the likelihood of resistance from employees. This rang true in the Disney animation department as many of the animators showed resistance to Katzenberg’s leadership and authority refusing to make the changes he wanted (Hahn, 2009). In retaliation Katzenberg displays an instant of coercive power – defined by French and Raven (1959) as a
Imagine yourself as one person trying to totally reinvent the way that families are entertained. I will be talking to you about a farmer that became an animator. A farmer as a visionary leader, impressive. That is the story of Walt Disney. By all rights, Walt Disney was an excellent animator, but he had the self-awareness to know that he could not make his vision a reality on his own. I believe that Walt Disney is a visionary leader and I will show you how he used “Team Building”, “a group organized to work together”, (Thomas N. Barnes Center, 2012)(p.2) skills, “Diversity”, “a composite of individuals characteristics, experiences, and abilities”, (Thomas N. Barnes Center, 2012)(p.3) skills, and Full Range Leadership Development, “Contingent Reward”, “When the follower fulfills the leader’s expectation, a reward is provide to reinforce the demonstrated positive behavior.”,(Thomas N. Barnes Center, 2012),(p.14) skills to inspire people to buy into his vision and motivate others to help him accomplish his vision. I informed you earlier that I believe Walt Disney is a visionary leader, but that doesn’t make him an ethical leader. Through Walt Disney’s violation of “Honest”, “the bottom line is we don’t lie”, (United States Air Force Core Values, 1997), (p.1), “Openness”, “the free flow of
Animated films are one of the most entertaining forms of media out there. When it comes to animated films, two major film companies may come to mind: DreamWorks and Disney. For the past couple of years, people have been asking which company is better, and the answer is quite simply Disney. They have better stories, they maintain a certain theme, they are consistent, and extremely successful which is what makes them stand out from other studios and film companies. Of course, DreamWorks has some of these qualities as well, but they are far and few in between.
Disney’s long-run success is mainly due to creating value through diversification. Their corporate strategies (primarily under CEO Eisner) include three dimensions: horizontal and geographic expansion as well as vertical integration. Disney is a prime example of how to achieve long-run success through the choices of business, the choice of how many activities to undertake, the choice of how many businesses to be in, the choice of how to manage a portfolio of businesses and the choice of how to create synergies between those businesses (3, p.191-221). All these choices and decisions are
Mickey Mouse may be an iconic figure. However, history has shown that Walt Disney may have actually been a rat. Building his empire of “The Wonderful World of Disney” does not qualify him to be a captain of industry. By definition, a captain of industry is one with positive integrity. Whereas, a robber baron is motivated by greed. As Disney began his ascent, he was like the Pharaoh in his Prince of Egypt production. Believing the end justified the means, Disney plowed over employees, considering their livelihood as part of collateral damage. Disney was a robber baron with a pernicious temper, who harshly controlled employees, and ruled his cast members by intimidation.
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.
The Walt Disney Company has truly been “the entertainment king” in the 83 years since its founding. The success of Walt Disney Company is due to the struggle of two men. 1st man was the Walt Disney which gave the vision for this company and the 2nd person was Michael Eisner who used his strategic management skills for the success of this company and gave a innovative model due to which the company gain the many successes in the many years and still is a successful company in the word.
Walt Disney was a very influential man to the entertainment industry. He made animation a whole new type of entertainment. Although Walt went through many struggles and problems, he pushed on and eventually saw results for all his hard work. Many hardships got in Disney’s way such as unsupportive parents and even bankruptcy; Walt pushed on through, always creating, working hard, and persevering to accomplish his dream.
According to the leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Walt Disney Corporation historically stood for “basic American virtues and values” but now represents a “significant departure from Disney’s family-values image, and a gratuitous insult to Christians and others who have long supported Disney.” Their belief is that Disney entertainment products produced while Walt Disney was alive differ substantially from those produced in the post-Walt era. Through time, it is inevitable that particular things have changed since the production of Walt’s personal films from the 1920’s to the 1960’s (such as being aesthetically and cinematically advanced, in
Introduction: The Walt Disney Company is on the threshold of a new era. Michael Eisner has stepped down from his position as CEO and turned over the reigns to Robert Iger. A lot of turmoil has been brewing through the company over the last four years; many people are hoping that this change in leadership will put Disney back on the road to success. Issues began around mid-2002; when declining earnings, fleeing shareholders, and
According to Robert Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, Disney’s corporate strategy for diversification is a combination of three objectives that are to be achieved through the fundamental alignment of the Company’s core business units. The three objectives to be achieved by The Walt Disney Company are (1) creating high-quality family content, (2) exploiting technological innovations to make entertainment experiences more memorable, and (3) expanding internationally. The Walt Disney Company’s three objectives that make up the Company’s corporate strategy are to be achieved through each of the Company’s core business units that are split up in to five divisions (1) media networks, (2) parks and resorts, (3) studio entertainment, (4) consumer product, and (5) interactive media.
Disney has become a marketing goliath and the #1 entertainment company in the US. They have been able to develop a creativity-driven philosophy that over time was tempered by financial responsibility and that benefitted from powerful synergies between its divisions. From the very beginning, Disney has been synonymous with innovation within the children’s entertainment industry, from their introduction of animations with synchronized audio, full-length animated feature films and then later into theme parks and on-ice and Broadway shows. One important element of Disney’s success was the extent to which they integrated and expanded into different
In the last decades, the number of major corporations that manage to control media has decreased significantly, resulting in a high concentration of ownership. In 2011, only six media companies were responsible for 90% of the things we saw and heard on a daily basis compared to fifty companies in 1983 (Lutz, 2012). The Walt Disney Company is one of them. In this report, we will take a look at how the Company has succeeded in growing into the media corporation it is today.
“The purpose of the company "Walt Disney" is to be one of the world 's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information using its portfolio of brands to differentiate its content, services and consumer goods. The primary financial objectives of the company are to maximize profits and cash flow, and allocate capital to initiatives the development of long-term shareholder value.”
Walter Elias Disney (1901-1966) was the man who brought entertainment for the entire family into the homes of the people across the globe. He was both an entertainer and an entrepreneur, ensuring the long term success of his business and his entertainment efforts. Through today, Walt Disney remains a symbol of film making, creation and entertainment innovation.
Known to be one of the largest producers of multi-media content, Walt Disney and Pixar greatly impacted the entertainment industry with the use of three-dimensional generated content. It quickly gained popularity with the release of its animated movies and especially got the attention of children from their sequels. With the growing popularity, the competition in the media industry began to increase. Disney was then faced with a difficult decision regarding its relationship with Pixar on whether they should acquire or not acquire the company.