When most people think of Walt Disney, they think of a certain funny little mouse and all

his friends are perhaps the first things to come to mind. It may also be that some reflect on a trip
to one of Disney’s magical theme parks or resorts. Walt Disney is world renown for many things,
but within the business community Walt Disney is celebrated for the company’s culture as well
as its leadership and management techniques. The management and leadership teams at Walt
Disney are committed to the service and to the company’s values and beliefs. Preserving
Disney’s culture and ideologies are one of management’s many focuses, with the leadership
focus on motivating cast members to work toward the company’s goals to be the world's leading
entertainment provider, and to remain creative and innovative inspiring the imagination of
people all over the world.

An organization’s management and leaders have many important responsibilities and

roles to play in an effort to maintain a healthy organizational culture. Walt Disney’s dedication to
service excellence is the virtual heartbeat of Disney’s culture. Disney’s management and
leadership teams concentrate their efforts on developing and maintaining an organizational
structure that is focused on the company’s culture and ideologies. Although for most
organizations there are differences in management and leadership’s roles, responsibilities, and
even in methodologies, at Walt Disney World management and leadership are combined into
one cohesive unit. Management typically serves more planning, organizing, and controlling
functionalities that are engineered to accomplish the overall organizational goals. The
leadership role is usually more focused on the goals of smaller units, motivating and directing
individuals to achieve those goals.
According to Bateman & Snell’s Management: Leading and Collaborating in a
Competitive World, a good leader possesses a set of five key behaviors. These behaviors combine what
organizations need with what people want. These behaviors include modeling the way through their own
behavior and actions, encouraging the hearts of those they are leading, inspiring the shared vision of the
organization, challenging existing processes to be innovative and creative, and enabling others to act by
giving them the tools that are required. These qualities and behaviors are a part of Disney’s overall
management style, thus combining management and leadership into one tremendously successful unit.
Walt Disney’s management and leadership team is steadfast in their commitments to leadership excellence
through the use of Disney’s leadership philosophies, effective human resource management, the ever present
commitment to quality service, loyalty and relationship principles that bond the organization to both guests
and cast members, and of course organizational creativity.

Walt Disney recognizes the value of its most important asset—its team. Disney’s management and leadership team
has cultivated an organizational culture that promotes a feeling of ownership and pride within employees. Delivering
superior service is a standard that is ingrained in employees, or “cast” as Disney refers to employees. "You can
dream, create, and build the most wonderful place on earth, but it takes people to make that dream a
reality” ("Working their Magic: Disney culture molds happy employees." Employee Benefit News (2003):
ITEM03245001. General OneFile. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.

Cast members are encouraged to be passionate, creative and to take ownership of their role. The input and ideas of
each and every cast member is also encouraged. Employees are seen as more than just subordinates who are there to
follow orders and complete selected duties, they are believed to be integral parts of the organization. Cast member
selection, training, communication efforts from the Disney management and leadership teams fosters an
environment that enables employees to deliver the outstanding service that is a part of the Disney commitment while
also ensuring a healthy organizational culture.
 Disney’s management and leadership team “models the way” for cast members with demonstrations of
customer service excellence and by rolling up their sleeves to work alongside their teams and this encouraged of
others in various departments as well. “So it wouldn't be unusual for someone who works in accounting to
be seen busing tables in the Magic Kingdom…In addition to seeing the issues hourly cast members face
first-hand, "it's a great way to hear guest comments and improve morale among the cast" "Working
their Magic: Disney culture molds happy employees." Employee Benefit News (2003): ITEM03245001.
General OneFile. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.

The Walt Disney organization is said to “cultivate” leaders in general staff and management
alike. Disney looks to the commitment and enthusiastic participation of its leaders to create a successful
and healthy environment for all and is referred to as “inclusive leadership”. Disney believes that
leadership behaviors are linked to successful guest experiences, successful guest experiences, and
overall organizational success as well. “Leaders motivate people, develop their talents, and provide
proper resources and rewards to them to succeed. Most importantly, leaders view all levels of
employees as capable of taking a leadership role in coming up with and implementing creative ideas and
solutions. Such inclusive leadership generates a vital, creative culture” Taylor, Craig R., and Cindy
Wheatley-Lovoy. "Leadership: lessons from the Magic Kingdom." Training & Development 52.7 (1998):
22+. Academic OneFile. Web. 3 Oct. 2010.

Part of Walt Disney’s vision is to be a global entertainment force. Globalization management

strategy is essential to allow for Disney’s continued global success and plans for expansion. Walt Disney
president Robert Iger says identifying “local tastes and market trends” are essential for global market
expansion. This has become a part of management’s focus. "Disney President and CEO Robert A. Iger
Says Brand Depth, Not Breadth, is Key to Effective Globalization." US Newswire 11 Sept. 2007. Academic
OneFile. Web. 10 Oct. 2010. This includes studying the cultures of various countries to make
determinations about what entertainment vehicles would be most consistent with that culture’s ideals,
needs, and desires--as well was what is appropriate within those cultures. “ Strong pressures for local
responsiveness emerge when consumer tastes and preferences differ significantly among countries. In such cases, products and/or
marketing messages have to be customized….Pressures for local responsiveness also emerge when
there are differences in traditional practices among countries” pg 224. Advertising needs may differ depending on the target
company and of course media and movie productions may be edited and even produced in a variety of languages.

Walt Disney is a multinational corporation and therefore the multinational model is used as its organizational model
and is also used to determine global strategy. A multinational model is “ An organizational model that consists of the subsidiaries in each
country in which a company does business, with ultimate control exercised by the parent company” pg 226. Because Walt Disney is a
multinational corporation management must also consider the prevailing governments of the various countries its business units
inhabit. Disney has been successful at acquiring financial assistance from foreign governments for projects to create resorts. This
is derivative of agreements with these governments, such as France, that would create jobs within those countries as well as
attract tourism. France offered Disney a discounted price on land for Disney’s Disneyland Paris project, as well as lowered tax
rates as interest rates on loans. Wasko, Janet. "The Magical-Market World of Disney." Monthly Review Apr.
2001: 56. Academic OneFile. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.” In addition to this, Disney’s management strategy for
globalization has created the means to produce and license products in foreign markets, saving the
company a great deal of money in the process. Good relationships with foreign countries and
management’s efforts to maintain the same principles of the Disney culture and ideals in foreign
counterparts have been instrumental in Disney’s global success story. Disney has been able to integrate
its respected organizational culture into its business units over and across the seas.
Walt Disney’s management and leadership strategies for maintaining a healthy and strong
organizational culture are quite often beyond reproach and have even been used as a model for other
companies. As a matter of fact, the Disney Institute offers a widely-successful professional development
program that has become one the most celebrated programs in the world. Disney’s management and
leadership team visits with attendees and students to share the “tail behind the magic” and give insight
into the standards and principles that has made the Disney organization so successful. It would be
difficult to criticize an organization with such a strong culture as Walt Disney and one would be hard
pressed to find ways to improve upon what could easily be construed as near perfection. But just as
Disney promotes creativity and innovation from cast members, an analysis of management and
leaderships efforts should include the viewpoint of a fresh pair of creative and innovative eyes.
Researching more about the organizational culture of Walt Disney will uncover a culture that
fosters leadership and learning opportunities for cast members. But research also uncovers that fact
that although the organizational culture is still very strong, the growth of the company has at times in
history overshadowed the “family” feeling that was once a much stronger force within the culture. The
culture began to become less focused on the happiness of cast members. Although this has been
changing and improving with the departure of former Disney president and CEO Michael Eisner, there
are still considerable efforts being made by existing management and leadership to further improve in
this area. From personal experience, rapid growth can take an organization’s focus away from certain
ideals and create more of a focus on the financial aspect of growth. This makes sense when taken at face
value, but the fact remains that without the people who need to be on the front lines in an organization,
this success cannot occur and will eventually cease. It is important for an organization—regardless of its
size—to remain committed and dedicated to the human resources that make these successes possible.
In the case of a company such as Walt Disney that are such large and global forces this can be especially
challenging. However, the Disney way requires that a certain amount of attention be paid to its cast
members and the ideals of the company are based on family that includes not only Disney’s guests, but
cast members as well. Therefore, this has been easily rectified and addressed by Disney’s management
and today the organizational culture is as strong as it ever was.
An organization cannot hope to experience and achieve a certain level of success without paying
special attention to creating a sturdy organizational culture. An organization like Walt Disney that has
goal and roots founded based on its culture must always work to ensure management and leadership
are maintaining and sustaining organizational cultural health. This requires commitment and application
that Walt Disney’s management and leadership team has clearly mastered both on a domestic and
foreign platform. Walt Disney has been an engaging force for people all over the world and this could
not occur without Disney’s having first engaged its people. For people are the best tools an organization
has to build success, and it takes the best efforts of management and leadership to inspire, instigate and
create the best organizational culture in which people can thrive.