Paper Example on Walt Disney: From Small Animation Studio to Global Media Giant

Introduction

Walt Disney is an entertainment and media corporation and comes as the second largest in the world after Time Warner and was established in 1923 by Roy and Walt Disney brothers. The organization began as an animation studio that was small in size but not it has developed to be among the largest Hollywood studios and owning various television networks, among them being American Broadcasting Company. The company is mainly based on the rich ideal and legacy involving contents that are quality creative and involves exceptional storytelling that is greatly spearheaded by the company's top leadership. Additionally, the organization has a total of four business segments which include, media networks, resorts and parks, consumer products, and studio and entertainment. Disney has greatly transformed the entertainment industry by being more optimistic due to the unique ability it has for seeing an entire picture. The company over the year has kept updated on the technological changes in order to make life more enjoyable and fun. The broader and long-term goal of the company is to be the leading provider of entertainment to the world as many people sought for entertainment. Besides the long-term plan, the company aims at maximizing its returns and record higher revenue with a growth yearly (Worldwide, 2016).

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Market Analysis

SWOT Analysis

Strengths:

Highly reliable: A strong tie exists between Disney and its suppliers who provide raw materials that are of high quality required for the production line of the company. This makes it easy to supply customers always.

Strong cash flow position: Having a strong cash flow position enables Disney to have adequate resources at hand, which plays a crucial role when it comes to expansion and venturing into new projects.

The proficient team of staff: Walt Disney has invested enormous resources when it comes to the development and training of its staff, resulting in a team that is more motivated and skilled to achieve more.

High brand value & portfolio: The brand name and logo of Disney Walt are highly recognizable, and this is crucial when the company intends to expand into new markets and product categories.

High customer satisfaction: The dedicated department for customer relationship has played a big role in ensuring their customers walk away and also ensure the brand equity among the potential customers is good.

Weaknesses:

Investment in R & D is below the fastest growing players within the Industry: Despite Disney's expenditure in the research and development, which is above the standard industry level, the company has not managed to compete against the leading competitors within the industry when it comes to innovation.

A high rate of attrition in the workforce: The company spends enormous resources when it comes to grooming and training its employees, and this is higher compared to the competitor's attrition rate.

Insufficient scaling of product demand: The designers of Disney products have insufficient judgment when it comes to the next big idea, leading to the organization losing to its competitors.

Opportunities:

Core Competency: The set of skills of Disney is essential in technological innovations given their expertise within the media industry.

Online streaming services: The development of the "direct to consumer service" has opened a new channel for Disney's sales, leading to an increased customer base.

Government green drive: This opens up various opportunities for the government to procure Disney's products

The big-name is worth it: The company is number one among adults and children who grew up at the time Disney was the only dominant force.

Threat:

High expense toll: Large amount is spent on workforce training and employee development. The salaries and wages of Disney are continually increasing.

Intense competition: The number of participants in the industry has increased, given the stable income associated with the industry, consequently exerting pressure on the overall sales and profitability.

Irregular supply of innovative products: The company tends to respond to the actions of other players in the market over the years, making the sales numbers to swing up and down.

Competitor Analysis

Disney's media networks tend to compete with other cable networks, television stations that are independent and not independent, and other media when it comes to getting more viewers. Performing competitive analysis for the company tends to be challenging given the different lines the company has, and this so due to the various competitors in the industry who are competing directly with the various segments the company has. For instance, overall competition when it comes to movie and studio entertainment is different when compared to the competition level when it comes to the theme park business. It is, therefore, essential to understanding the critical element to consider when performing competitive analysis involving Disney, and this entails taking the company as a brand and not analyzing the firms' competition based on the various segments. The critical competitor is Time Warner Inc, which is considered as one of the giants in the industry.

The evaluation of external factors shows that Disney operates in a complex environment, but at the same time, it experiences numerous opportunities. The opportunities entail either vertical expansion into the new market towards the new segments in the market or horizontally int the new market. The key threat faced by the company involves the protection of intellectual property and mainly in the studio entertainment segment. Additionally, the economic downturn impacts the performance of the company, and since most of its products are premium-priced, there is a risk when it comes to the recessionary period (Francoeur, 2004).

PESTEL Analysis

Political and Legal Factors: The political climate tends to influence entertainment access and merchandise trade. Also, the policies related to intellectual property has an impact on global business. Policies that enhance intellectual property protection creates opportunities for expansion. Laws protecting the environment and intellectual property are key for the company's growth.

Economic Factors: The rapid development of the economy creates an opportunity for the organization to thrive. In addition, an increase in disposable income also indicates an opportunity for the company, while slow growth regarding the Chinese economy is a threat.

Social-Cultural Factors: The attitude of the society towards leisure activities is crucial as it influences their behavior, and this also comes handy with the increase in the consumers' online activities, and these massive express opportunity for Disney to grow. Cultural diversity brings disintegration hence hindering the expansionary strategies that the organization might be having.

Technological Factors: Increase in the usage of mobile devices and the rise of the augmented reality of the company indicates a massive opportunity for the company to increase the performance level. Increased expenditure in the research and development activities as both opportunity and threat since this makes the competition tougher.

Environmental Factors: The worsening and changing of cyclical weather threaten Disney's theme park together with resort operations, while the increasing usage of renewable energy is an opportunity for development.

In conclusion, the internal and external environment surrounding Walt Disney play pivotal roles in influencing its operations. These factors dictate the competitive advantage of the organization hence the need to keenly monitor them. Through monitoring the competitors' activities, the organization is in a prime position to innovate better ways of staying ahead.

References

Francoeur, B. (2004). Brand image and Walt Disney: a qualitative analysis of magical gathering. Journal of Undergraduate Research, 4(1), 1-8. Retrieved from https://www.uwlax.edu/globalassets/offices-services/urc/jur-online/pdf/2004/francoeur.pdf

Worldwide, P. (2016). Company Overview. Retrieved from http://corporate.disney.in/sites/default/files/disney-company-overview-feb-2016.pdf

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