Premium Essay

Walt Disney Case Analysis

In:

Submitted By rsox0310
Words 1120
Pages 5
DISNEY CASE
PREPARED BY
RYAN MENZIES
September 29, 2013
FOR
OL 421 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND POLICY

INTRODUCTION:

The Walt Disney Corporation was founded on October 16, 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney. They were primarily an animation studio before expanding their operations to include other ventures. The company became publicly traded on May 6, 1991 on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company has come under some criticism for its productions, which are mainly targeted towards children, for having overt sexual references hidden among them. Other accusations made toward the company include human rights violations for its various employees that manufacture millions of the products the company sells in its stores and theme parks. Despite some of these negative occurrences, the company brought in over $42 billion in revenue in 2012 and also employs almost 200,000 people.

CURRENT MISSION, GOALS, AND STRATEGY:

Walt Disney Corporation has one of the most diverse venture portfolio of any company today. They own production studios, theme parks, television networks, radio stations, retail establishments and other things in all corners of the globe. The company maintains what can be considered as “modest” goals for themselves, which is to continue the Disney brand around the world, with a strong emphasis on the Asian market, which is not as strong as the company would like.

EXTERNAL ANALYSIS: See attached EFEM

Disney is a moderate company externally with an EFEM score of 2.92

FINANCE: Disney is in a very strong financial position. With revenue totaling over $42 billion dollars and total assets over $75 billion, the Disney Corporation has a plethora of leverage to work with should it ever find itself with the need to.

MANAGEMENT: The number of employees taken care of by the Disney Corporation numbers close to 200,000, which can be

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Walt Disney Case Analysis

...Walt Disney Case Analysis Corporate Strategy The Disney brand is extremely well known, but most may not realize how diversified the company actually is. The company is made up of media networks, theme parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products, and interactive media. Walt Disney Company’s corporate strategy involves three aspects; creating high-quality family content, exploiting technological innovations to make entertainment experiences more memorable, and internal expansion. Disney wants the whole family to be involved. Much of their success is due to targeting not just children, but the entire family. The movies and shows they release are done with family in mind. Theme parks and resorts, Disney Cruises, live performances and interactive media are all aimed at creating high quality family content. Disney acquired Pixar, Marvel, and Playdom in order to satisfy their second corporate strategy. The acquisition of Marvel and Pixar was intended to enhance Disney’s animation abilities to make experiences more memorable. Playdom gave the company new online gaming capacities that Disney hoped would help to improve its struggling interactive media division. UTV was acquired to facilitate its international expansion efforts. Disney’s international expansion strategy mainly focused on opportunities in emerging overseas markets. As of 2012 The Disney Channel was available in more than 100 countries and reached 75 percent of viewers in China and Russia. This was...

Words: 1872 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Walt Disney Harvard Case Analysis

...Case Summary The Walt Disney Company had successfully grown internationally by diversifying its entertainment empire. From its humble beginnings as a cartoon business starring one character, its business expanded to feature films – animated and live-action, film distribution, network and cable television, theme parks, retail stores, merchandising, publishing, and Broadway. After years of growth however, the company recently experienced sub-par performance and slower growth. Strategic Issue This deterioration in performance was preceded by Disney’s ambitious acquisition of CapCities/ABC, which made Disney the largest entertainment company in the U.S. Given its size and recent financial downturn, what opportunities exist for the company to achieve CEO Michael Eisner’s goal of 20% annual growth? Factors Contributing to Problem - With the purchase of ABC, Disney vertically integrated into a mature and highly competitive television industry. The merger also posed synergy challenges due to the immense size of both organizations and the difficulty in eliminating overlap across businesses and processes. - The ABC merger also presented culture clashes between the two organizations. In an attempt to achieve synergies across the company, Disney’s corporate culture became increasingly competitive and cost-driven, leading to an exodus of many high-level executives. - Rising costs in television programming, especially sports, hurting profitability. ESPN, for example, paid...

Words: 509 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Swot Analysis of Walt Disney

...An  Analysis  of  The  Walt  Disney  Company    1   An Analysis of The Walt Disney Company Kendall Forward TELE 3310 October 29, 2013 An  Analysis  of  The  Walt  Disney  Company   Overview & History  2   The Walt Disney Company is a leading American diversified multinational entertainment and mass media conglomerate, headquartered in Burbank California. Founded on October 16, 1923 by Walt Disney and his brother Roy as a small cartoon animation studio, the company struggled through years of unsuccessful creations but turned around after the debut of Mickey Mouse, the official mascot of the company. Now headed by CEO Robert Iger, Disney is one of the largest entertainment corporations in the world with approximately 166,000 employees and annual revenues approaching the $45 billion mark (Walt Disney). For eight decades, Walt Disney has entertained people around the world with its theme parks, resorts, cruises, movies, TV shows, radio programming, and memorabilia. Before diversifying into live-action film production, television and travel, the company established itself as a leader in the American animation industry. The company went public in 1940 and was reincorporated under its current name in 1986 and expanded operations and also started divisions focused on theatre, radio, music, publishing and online media (Cohesion Case). Mission Statement The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world's...

Words: 3954 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Swot of Walt Disney Company

...An#Analysis#of#The#Walt#Disney#Company# !1! An Analysis of The Walt Disney Company Kendall Forward TELE 3310 October 29, 2013 An#Analysis#of#The#Walt#Disney#Company# Overview & History !2! The Walt Disney Company is a leading American diversified multinational entertainment and mass media conglomerate, headquartered in Burbank California. Founded on October 16, 1923 by Walt Disney and his brother Roy as a small cartoon animation studio, the company struggled through years of unsuccessful creations but turned around after the debut of Mickey Mouse, the official mascot of the company. Now headed by CEO Robert Iger, Disney is one of the largest entertainment corporations in the world with approximately 166,000 employees and annual revenues approaching the $45 billion mark (Walt Disney). For eight decades, Walt Disney has entertained people around the world with its theme parks, resorts, cruises, movies, TV shows, radio programming, and memorabilia. Before diversifying into live-action film production, television and travel, the company established itself as a leader in the American animation industry. The company went public in 1940 and was reincorporated under its current name in 1986 and expanded operations and also started divisions focused on theatre, radio, music, publishing and online media (Cohesion Case). Mission Statement The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using...

Words: 3954 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Economics

...A Case Study on 02/11/08 02/11/08 Agenda ► About Disney ► Divisions of Disney ► A bit of History ► About the CASE ► SWOT Analysis ► Its Current Executive Management ► Recommended Organizational structures  Model 1  Model 2  Model 3 02/11/08 About Disney ► ► ► ► The Walt Disney Company (most commonly known as Disney) (NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. Founded on October 16, 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney as a small animation studio Today it is one of the largest Hollywood studios and also owns eleven theme parks, two water parks and several television networks, including the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Disney's corporate headquarters and primary production facilities are located at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, USA. The company is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It had revenues of $31.9 billion in 2005 02/11/08 Continued….. ► On June 12, 2006 Disney Mobile phone service is launched ► On January 23, Disney announces a deal to purchase Pixar Animation Studios in an all-stock transaction worth $7.4bn ► In July 2006, the Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean 2 is the highest grossing movie in opening weekend history at $135,000,000 USD ► Employees: 133,000 (2006) 02/11/08 Divisions of Disney 02/11/08 Divisions of Disney Media and Entertainment       American Broadcasting Company Buena Vista Distribution Buena Vista...

Words: 1003 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Annotated Bibilography

...Case study Topic: Disney’s FROZEN as a global pop culture phenomenon FROZEN has been a global sensation with great reception by audiences around the world with its original song “Let It Go”. Let It Go was translated into many languages which captivated people around the globe of all ages . This move by Disney can be seen as a form of “media globalization” via the means of YouTube and theatrical releases on Television in different countries with different cultures and languages. The reception of the film can be seen as a “cultural process” or Cultural globalization which is the intensification and expansion of cultural flows across the globe . Academic Sources 1) Mollet, T. 2013. “With a smile and a song …”: Walt Disney and the birth of the American fairy tale.” Marvels & Tales 27 (1): 109-24. In this journal article, Mollet reviews on how Walt Disney’s production is now being seen as crucial to the construction of the modern American society through his contribution to the formation of a new United States nationalism . The author approaches the topic using cultural studies and textual analysis ofn Disney fairy tales to exemplify how they reflect the dominant (?) culture of America. Her research focuses on analysing Disney films such as “Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs”, “Three Little Pigs”, “Wizard of Oz” and how these films and their characters portray the unstable society and culture of America during the great depression and other different time periodslines. The...

Words: 3008 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Business Analysis - Walt Disney Company

...Business Analysis of Walt Disney Company MGT/521 April 30, 2012 Business Analysis of Walt Disney Company In the era of the 21st century, when globalization has expanded drastically and rooted its success across the globe, the task of the managers in the company is getting challenging and competitive day by day. Firms have grown rapidly and the job of the fund manager has also increased to take advantageous decisions for their corporations. As a mutual fund manager, this paper will discuss the SWOT analysis of Walt Disney Company. SWOT analysis is a key component of a business analysis. It identifies a company’s internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats in order to obtain knowledge about the organization and whether or not the company is a worthy investment. “By conducting a SWOT analysis, an organization may improve its effectiveness through strengthening its current status, grabbing opportunities, and reducing weaknesses, and protecting business from threats” (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2009, p. vii). The Walt Disney Company is an American multinational diversified mass media company headquartered in Walt Disney Studios, Burbank, California, United States. It is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action...

Words: 1769 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Walt Disney Case Study

...The Walt Disney Company Danjel Lessard & Lauren Northcutt Business 308: Principles of Marketing Professor Simpson The Walt Disney Company Description What started out to be nothing more than a dream of Walter Elias Disney, with the release of Alice in Wonderland, a series of short film comedies, the beginning of a world renowned global corporation Walt Disney had evolved. Walter and his brother Roy were equal partners in what was originally the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in 1923 and with the suggestion of Roy, it soon was renamed The Walt Disney Studio. After four years of success and profit, Walter and Roy experienced a business set back when they found their film distributor M.J. Winkler had stolen their cartoon characters and animators in attempt to undercut them. With the help from their chief and loyal animator, Ub Iwerks, Walt created Mortimer Mouse, which was renamed Mickey Mouse by his wife. The first cartoon with synchronized sound was released at the Colony Theater in New York, November 18, 1928. Walt Disney won its first Academy Award for Best Cartoon in 1932 and continued to be honored with an Oscar every year for a decade. Walt Disney consumer products started when Walt and Roy accepted $300.00 from a man that insisted Mickey should be applied to paper towels for school children. The company became public in 1940 and followed with the release of five successful feature films, including Snow White, Fantasia, Pinocchio, Bambi and Dumbo. In turn...

Words: 5465 - Pages: 22

Premium Essay

Accounting

...Running Head: Financial Analysis Financial Analysis of Walt Disney Company Brittany ACC205 Professor 17 June 2013 Throughout this paper you as my reader are going to learn about my company, what they are all about including any type of competition they may be facing. You are also going to view the financial analysis of Walt Disney Co. which will include a horizontal analysis from three consecutive years, along with a ratio analysis which will be going over the current ratio, quick ratio and the cash to current liabilities ratio from a two year-period. First off let’s discuss what a horizontal analysis is before examining the analysis of Walt Disney Co. According to our text, “a horizontal analysis can be used to compare data from within two or more periods, side by side. In other words, it is intended to show the change in certain accounts from two separate accounting periods”(Walther, 2012). A horizontal analysis is good for investors, so they can look at the companies financial standing and see how they are doing when it comes to their income, and whether or not they are worth investing into as a company. This sort of analysis is very vital when it comes to investors, it should not be the answer to their decision on whether or not they should invest in a company, but it should give them some insight as to who well a company is doing financially. When it comes to Walt Disney Co, we are going to get some background information...

Words: 3796 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Business Analysis

...Introduction SWOT analysis as a part of business analysis plays significant role to get knowledge about a particular organization. By conducting SWOT analysis, an organization may improve its effectiveness through strengthening its current status, grabbing opportunities and reducing weaknesses and protecting business from threats (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2008). In addition to this, SWOT analysis is quite appropriate to make decision to invest in a particular company by an investor. Being a mutual fund manager, this paper will discuss about SWOT analysis of Walt Disney for getting clarity about investmentdecision. In context of SWOT analysis, key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Walt Disney would be presented to get clarity about the company's current position. It would be quite effective to mutual fund manager to make investment decision for Walt Disney. SWOT Analysis Walt Disney is one of the diversified well-knownbrands of Entertainment Company. Itdeals in different segments of entertainment industry in terms ofanimated films, theme parks, resorts and studios etc. (The Walt Disney Company, 2012).In context of Walt- Disney, several strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are associated with the company that are presented as below: Strengths: Walt Disney is a well-known brand of entertainment industry that has unique positioning around the world. It is the key strength of the company as global customers know the company for innovation and...

Words: 2186 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Internationalization of Operation by Walt Disney Company

...studies of cultural differences, dimensions and attitudes have began to take place and different scientists and observers started coming out with their own set of discoveries and observations (McGregor, 2004). The main reason behind cultural difference and dimensions started when workers of different countries started working together on unified projects and conflicts started arising between the people of different races and culture (Kotler, 2008). Keeping in view of such situations, Dutch Sociologist Gerard Hofstede came up with a study named as Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions in which he laid stress upon five aspects naming Power Distance Index, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty avoidance index and Long term Orientation. The case study in this paper focuses more towards the cultural difference between employees of Disneyland that are located in different countries. Using Hofstede’s 4 culture dimension, highlighting main cultural differences between United States and France: Disneyland is an American Idea of a theme park which serves as a recreational place for children and families. This theme park originally started from Anaheim, California (United States) and later on after receiving massive response from visitors all around the globe, the directors of the company started off with opening similar type of theme parks with the same name of Disneyland in Orlando (US), Tokyo (Japan) and at Marne-la-Vallee (France). Although Disneyland did not find much difficulties...

Words: 7140 - Pages: 29

Premium Essay

Disney

...Disney Financial Statement ACC/300 March 16, 2015 Prof Brandy Havens Disney Financial Statement Debt and Investments The Walt Disney Company reported debt in a number of ways on their financial statements. The first place debt securities are shown is under Current Liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The Current Portion of Borrowings, at $2,342 billion, lists that portion of debt that is due to be paid within the next year. The second place that debt appears on the Consolidated Balance Sheet is under Borrowings. Disney shows over $12.676 billion in long-term debt. Therefore, Disney’s total borrowings are approximately $14.8 billion. Upon further analysis, nearly 92% of Disney’s debt includes the issuance of U.S. medium-term notes with a weighted-average coupon rate of 2.73% and maturities that occur from 2015 through 2023. Additionally, Disney indicates another $5.9 billion in other long-term liabilities. According to Disney’s 10k filing, “Other long-term borrowing instruments are omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(4)(iii) of Regulation S-K. The Company undertakes to furnish copies of such instruments to the Commission upon request” (The Walt Disney Company. 2014). The balance sheet also shows Investments as part of the reporting of Assets. For the fiscal year ended 2014, Disney reported $2.696 billion in investments. Nearly 92% of the investments are shown as “Equity Basis” investments. More specifically, Disney reports that the equity investments...

Words: 1117 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Sugar

...nkdsmnmcnzxknlkfhAEHFhjofahehsjkfmnmfbnabjb cts * 9. About the CASE The Walt Disney Company Is heralded as the world’s largest entertainment company Earned the reputation by tight control Although control pervades the company, it is not too strong a grip * 10. Strict control but independent Employees are aware of their prime objectives Have freedom to think beyond limit and come up with new innovative ideas Company have adopted the phrase “Dream as a team” The concept of independency tempered the control over each department Managers here do the great job of encouraging the 8. A bit of History For more than eight decades, the name Walt Disney has been preeminent in the field of family entertainment. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to today's global corporation, The Walt Disney Company continues to proudly provide quality entertainment for every member of the family, across America and around the world Disney Legends The Disney Legends program was established in 1987 to acknowledge and honor the many individuals whose imagination, talents, and dreams have created the Disney magic. Since its inception, the program has honored many gifted animators, Imagineers, song writers, actors and business leaders as having made a significant impact on the Disney legacy The Walt Disney Family Museum The Disney Family Museum Web site is produced and maintained by the Walt Disney Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization. Founded in 1995, the Foundation...

Words: 387 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Disney Theme Park to India

...Disney Theme Park to India Abstract: This report is aim to analyze profitable adventure of The Walt Disney Company to set up Disneyland theme park in India. As one of main emerging markets in Asia, India might be the next destination for The Walt Disney Company to target on. Therefore, this report uses a series of marketing tools to demonstrate the macro-environment and micro-environment in India, such as PESTEL, SWOT, Porter’s Five Forces Model and Self Referencing Criteria. Based on this analysis, the current situation of India shows an attractive prospect to Disney in terms of economic and technological development, the diversification of culture, and the acceptance of Disney products and services. Introduction: India with its rich and various cultural heritages is now on one of the top industrialized nations in the world. India being the seventh largest country in the world with the coverage area of 32,87,263 sq.km (Indian government, 2010 a). India is divided into 27 states and 7 union territories (Indian government, 2010 b). According to WHO (2011), the total population of India was 1,151,751,000 approximately. The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923 by Walt Disney and the first Disney theme park was opened in California in the year 1955, ever since Disney theme park has expanded to encompass Disney Cruise Line, eight Disney Vacation Club reports, Adventures by Disney, and four more resort locations. This report will analyze the profitable venture of The Walt...

Words: 3972 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Financial Analysis

...Annual Report Analysis | The Walt Disney Company (DIS) | | Introduction In order to make the right investment decision, one must analyze the company of their interests. It is not wise to invest money on a company that is not doing well within their industry. On the other hand, if companies want your investments they must provide accurate, substantial evidence to show that you will make the right investment if you invest in them. Therefore, publicly traded companies publish their financial statements in their annual reports which investors can analyze use to make an investment decision. The Walt Disney Company is an entertainment company that is well known worldwide. The company was founded in Burbank, California in 1923 and became a public traded company in the 1950’s. The Walt Disney Company reports earnings on a quarterly and annual basis with their fiscal year ending on the first business day in the month of October of ever year. The company recently released their “Fiscal Year 2011 Annual Financial Report and Shareholder Letter,” which provides the company’s financial statement. With the annual report provided by the company and the analysis techniques learned from this course and other supporting evidence to analyze the financial position of The Walt Disney Company and determine if in fact the company would be a good investment option. Auditors’ Opinion The Walt Disney Co. auditors are PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting...

Words: 3028 - Pages: 13