Walt Disney Company
Uploaded by tmjsnbrd95 on Oct 27, 2011
This essay examines several aspects of the Walt Disney Company.
Disney The Mouse that Roared
I Introduction
The Walt Disney Company is one of the most famous corporations in the world, thanks to an improbable little rodent with big ears, and an amazing ability to market dreams.
This paper analyzes the company with regard to its corporate culture, resources, finances, research and development, and information systems.
II Corporate Culture
The Walt Disney Company is now a global entertainment empire, employing over 114,000 people in its four “core” business segments: Parks and Resorts; Consumer Products; Media Networks; and Studio Entertainment. It has a two-fold aim: to build the “largest entertainment base” in the world, and to provide the greatest entertainment product in the world. (“The Walt Disney Company,” PG). In terms of revenue, the four in order are Media Networks; Parks and Resorts; Studio Entertainment and Consumer Products. “In 2001, Disney recorded over $25 billion in sales, had a gross profit margin of 18.1%, and has a diluted Earnings Per Share … of 0.72.” (“The Walt Disney Company,” PG). Despite rumors of shake-ups in top management, and the widely held belief that CEO Michael Eisner is no longer effective, the company remains tremendously profitable, showing a profit even in the middle of a long-lasting recession.
At the corporate level, Disney’s officers are as follows: Michael Eisner, Chairman and CEO; Robert Iger; President, COO, Director; Roy Disney, Vice Chairman; Thomas Staggs, CFO, Senior Executive VP; Alan Braverman, Executive VP and General Counsel; and Peter Murphy, CSO and Senior Executive VP. (These names are current as of February 14, 2003). (“The Walt Disney Company (NYSE) - Officers and Directors: Individuals,” PG).
There is also a 13 member Board of Directors; Eisner, Iger and Roy Disney also have seats on that board. Four of the board members have been appointed since 2000. (“The Walt Disney Company (NYSE),” PG).
Michael Eisner is the undoubted power broker at Disney. He meets with the heads of all the divisions regularly, but he is in charge, and his need to retain control appears to be hampering the company somewhat. Most sources paint Eisner as an obsessive: “Eisner meets that criterion: he is driven, obsessive and a micro-managing control freak. Even Rupert Murdoch, something of a serial meddler himself, told the Financial Times last week that Eisner ‘cannot help but...