California State University Walt Disney Company Case Study Paper Please read the article that I post, and write a case study report. There are a few questions you need to answer in the pdf document, and the requirements are in the word doc as well. For the exclusive use of S. Xu, 2019.
UV6787
Rev. Mar. 31, 2014
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF HUMAN RESOURCES AT DISNEY
You can design and create and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it
takes people to make the dream a reality.
—Walt Disney1
Five-year-old Oliver wanted to see the animals during his overnight stay at Disney’s
Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was early evening, too late to get in the park, so his grandmother
took him to a scenic overlook at the back of the lobby. As Oliver walked around, there were no
animals to be seen, only clusters of trees, some grasses, and dirt trails below the overlook.
Oliver’s grandmother could sense his disappointment. This was Oliver’s first visit to a place that
was supposed to enchant children, so parents or grandparents would bring them back.
Expectations were sky-high.
Once Upon a Time: Disney’s Heritage and Traditions
I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing: that it was all started by a mouse.
—Walt Disney2
The mouse that started it all was a character idea born out of desperation. Walt’s original
character, Oswald the Rabbit, for which he had just signed a contract for an animated series, was
1
“Walt Disney Quotes,” JustDisney.com, http://www.justdisney.com/walt_disney/quotes/ (accessed May 28,
2013).
2
“Top 10 Walt Disney Quotes,” MoveMeQuotes.com, http://www.movemequotes.com/top-10-walt-disneyquotes/ (accessed May 28, 2013).
This case was prepared by Gerry Yemen, Senior Researcher, and Lynn A. Isabella, Associate Professor of Business
Administration. Data were gathered from public sources and, unless cited, were based on one of the author’s notes
and experiences as a training participant at the Disney Institute in February 2012, and as a family visitor to a resort.
The case was written as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an
administrative situation. Copyright © 2013 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, Charlottesville,
VA. All rights reserved. To order copies, send an e-mail to sales@dardenbusinesspublishing.com. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by
any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the Darden
School Foundation.
This document is authorized for use only by SongXin Xu in HRT 6500 taught by Linchi Kwok, California State Polytechnic University – Pomona from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of S. Xu, 2019.
-2-
UV6787
stolen by the New York distributor, who then hired all of Walt’s animators. On the train ride
back home, Walt got the idea for a mouse. “A mouse had always appealed to me,” he said.
“While working in Kansas City, I caught several in wastebaskets around the studio. I kept them
in a cage on my desk and enjoyed watching their antics.”3 The original name was to be Mortimer
Mouse, but Walt’s wife, Lilly, convinced him that the name Mortimer seemed too formal.
Mickey Mouse, the character that people loved and the icon of an empire-to-be, was born.
The animated film company that Walt founded in 1923 with his brother Roy (who put up
most of the money) got busy. Walt introduced the use of sound, then in its motion-picture
infancy, in the first talking animated film, Steamboat Willie. The film debuted in New York City
in 1928, and was a hit. Disney Brothers Studios was launched; a year later it was renamed “Walt
Disney Productions.”
To go along with the red-shorted, yellow-shoed mouse, Walt dreamed up some friends:
Pluto in 1930, Goofy in 1932, and Donald Duck in 1934. The brothers licensed these Disney
characters and began selling merchandise such as shirts, watches, and writing tablets with their
images. By 1937, Mickey’s image, on one distributed product or another, had found its way to 38
countries; to handle the volume, distribution offices for merchandise and films opened in Paris
and London. Mickey Mouse clubs started cropping up worldwide. Disney products had a global
appeal and reach.
Walt Disney Productions struggled financially for a while, but with the help of Bank of
America and some of their own money, the Disney brothers created a film in color called Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs. Premiering in 1937 and opening nationwide in 1938, it was a
financial and artistic success, making millions of dollars. After that, Walt’s imagination and
Roy’s business acumen were an unstoppable combination, and by 1940, the firm had issued its
first stock. In 1954, they used another medium to share Walt’s imagination with the world: the
brothers created a television show called Disneyland (later called The Wonderful World of
Disney). Now Disney movie fans turned on their television sets each Sunday evening and
watched a variety of Disney characters and stories.
From Film to Theme Park
As it turned out, filmmaking and television shows were not the only projects on the
drawing board. The idea of expanding into theme parks came from the same guy who drew the
famous mouse—Walt. Although Roy was against the concept at first, creating a theme park fit
well with both Walt’s urge to escape the real world and dream and his goal to create happiness
for those who visited.
3
James R. Stewart, Disney War (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005), 23.
This document is authorized for use only by SongXin Xu in HRT 6500 taught by Linchi Kwok, California State Polytechnic University – Pomona from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of S. Xu, 2019.
-3-
UV6787
To create his ideal world outside the film channel, Walt gathered a select group of
animators, artists, directors, set designers, and writers from Walt Disney Productions—whom he
called “Imagineers”—and told them about his park idea.4 As with the sound stage of a film,
setting was important. With the Disneyland TV show as both inspiration and source of funding,
the Imagineers were asked to create a family-style amusement park in secret. Owned by
Disneyland Inc., the park would be spotless and meticulously groomed (bushes cut into the shape
of Disney characters, for example). “When I started on Disneyland,” Walt said, “My wife used to
say, ‘but why do you want to build an amusement park? They’re so dirty.’ I told her that was just
the point—mine wouldn’t be.”5 In fact, imagineers studied human behavior to discover the
distance an average person would walk holding an item before throwing it away (every 17 feet).
Disneyland Park was built on an 85-acre parcel of land in Anaheim, California and had
attractions modeled after images from popular Disney films. The park, raised above ground like
a stage, was to be “picture-perfect” in Walt’s words.6 Everything in the park was a prop that
would allow a make-believe show to run flawlessly from opening to closing. Park visitors were
guests and, during an average visit, would likely have as many as 60 encounters with employees,
called cast members. The experience was to be magical, offering visitors the “happiest place on
Earth,” and appeal to young and old. After all, the Disney brothers were in show business, and
Disneyland was a live show, every day, all day long. In 1955, one year after the debut of the
Disneyland television show, Disneyland Park opened at a cost of $17 million.
When open, the park filled with pleasant, wholesome, costume-clad cast members who
were onstage in the public areas of the park and eager to play a part in the live show while being
helpful and friendly. Indeed, no matter what job a cast member was hired to perform, the
standard was always “to exceed guests’ expectations.”7 That point was so important to Walt that
he would dress so no one could recognize him, tour the park, and go on attractions. One time he
took the Jungle Boat ride and was unhappy that, instead of lasting seven minutes, it only lasted
four. “How would you like to go to a movie and have the theater remove a reel in the middle of
the picture,” he asked the ride supervisor. “Do you realize how much those hippos cost? I want
people to see them, not be rushed through a ride by some guy who’s bored with his work.”8
Under the park, at ground level, was an area called offstage, where cast members changed
into character, took breaks, and prepared for their parts. Connected through a maze of hallways
or tunnels were well-appointed break areas, vending machines, hair designers, a notary, driver’slicense renewal services, check cashing services, postage stamp machines, and, as cast members
4
All designers, engineers, architects, and technicians that created and worked on park resorts were imagineers
(imagination and engineer).
5
Richard Hoffer, “Disneyland Turns 50,” Via, July/August 2005, http://www.viamagazine.com
/attractions/disneyland-turns-50 (accessed August 21, 2012).
6
Tom Peters as quoted in In Search of Excellence, Enterprise Media video, 1982.
7
Disney Institute and Theodore Kinni, Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service (New York:
Disney Editions, 2011), 14.
8
Disney Institute and Theodore Kinni, 130.
This document is authorized for use only by SongXin Xu in HRT 6500 taught by Linchi Kwok, California State Polytechnic University – Pomona from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of S. Xu, 2019.
-4-
UV6787
were provided fresh costumes daily, one of the largest wardrobe departments in the world.9 An
underground tram would transport cast members back and forth to quiet corners of the park
where they would appear onstage discreetly through unmarked doors.
To Walt, every detail mattered. This was perhaps an extension of the painstaking nature
of drawing animation, eventually referred to by animators as bumping the lamp.10 Fostering a
sense of pride was at the forefront of Walt’s work and, he hoped, the work of every single person
working for the company. To ensure that happened, Walt designed an elaborate employee hiring
and training process that supported his management philosophy and, above all, allowed for a
workplace where creativity could thrive (see Exhibit 1 for the Disney creativity model).
All hiring took place at the Walt Disney World Casting Center. Each cast member was
trained to perform for the roles they would be playing while onstage. The only downtime
allowed was when cast members were offstage, at which point they were allowed to be
themselves. If by chance, a noncast member was in the offstage area, cast members were
required to stay in character and were not allowed to speak or show the person underneath the
costume.
Eager to open more, Walt secretly bought several acres of land on the opposite coast, just
outside of Orlando, Florida. But before his plans to open another theme park could come to
fruition, he died.
The years between 1939 and 1966, the year of Walt’s passing, were considered the firm’s
golden years. Five years after his death, a second theme park, Walt Disney World Resort (Disney
World) opened in Orlando, home to the Magic Kingdom and two hotels.
Inside the Magic Kingdoms
Disney World and Disneyland were both built and run on what had widely become
known as “Disney magic.” Disney values and beliefs, which for the most part were deliberately
designed by Walt and Roy Disney, made up its corporate culture and became apparent with
every visit to a park. The Disney brothers’ strategy was to exceed customer expectations through
strict attention to detail and policies and procedures designed to deliver quality. To do that, they
believed that cast members must be enamored with being part of Disney and embrace the firm’s
purpose to bring entertainment to young and old—to make people happy. If that transpired, Walt
believed a collaborative culture would emerge. And when that happened, he expected financial
results would follow.
9
Peters.
The animators for Who Framed Roger Rabbit ended up adding more time and money to the film because
when Roger Rabbit bumped into a swinging lamp they didn’t see a shadow on the rabbit’s face. They redid the
animation to make sure it appeared despite the likelihood that most viewers never would have noticed.
10
This document is authorized for use only by SongXin Xu in HRT 6500 taught by Linchi Kwok, California State Polytechnic University – Pomona from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of S. Xu, 2019.
-5-
UV6787
The goal was to captivate guests with everything Disney; the first step toward that goal
was to treat potential employees well. Walt and Roy thought that if the company treated cast
members as guests, they would treat guests and each other the same way. Whether one was a
guest or a cast member, creating a supportive environment was all part of management’s
commitment to keeping the magic going.
Becoming Part of the Walt Disney Company (WDC)11
As with most organizations, the first step to becoming a cast member at WDC was filling
out an application onsite or remotely through a job line.12 If there was interest in the applicant, he
or she would be invited to audition for a role, which included going through an interview process
at the casting center. Opened in 1989, the center provided job seekers the first hint that Disney
was about magic and make-believe. Like everything else Disney, Walt’s presence could be felt
throughout: diamond shapes in colors on the front of the casting building corresponded with a
photo inside of him wearing his famed argyle socks with matching diamond shapes and colors.
Awnings covering the entrance to the casting center building had a castle-like look, and once
inside, the doorknobs were identical to the talking ones in Disney’s famous film—Alice in
Wonderland. The building’s hallway walls, ceilings, and floors featured Disney characters and
film scenes. “Let them wander,” Robert A. M. Stern, the architect, once said. “Let them get a
taste for Disney before they get here.”13 Once applicants reached the second-floor recruitment
office, they would apply for roles and watch a film about Disney’s heritage, regulations, and
terms of employment. At that point, if still interested, applicants would be sent to an appropriate
place to be interviewed for their chosen role.
The interviews were structured and purposeful. If an interviewee was auditioning for a
position to accompany a character, they might be asked: “What would you do if you were paired
with Donald Duck and someone kicked him?” If the interviewee laughed or suggested they
would “kick that person back,” then being a character partner was not a good fit. If instead they
said, “Tell the kicker it was time for Donald Duck’s lunch, so we must get moving,” then being a
character partner made sense. The idea was that roles should play to cast members’ strengths and
that there was a place for every kind.
In addition to the interview questions, each person auditioning was once more informed
of employment conditions. Perhaps the most talked-about condition was appearance—hair
length, amount of facial hair, and quantity of jewelry. Following a successful audition, each new
cast member, regardless of position in the firm, would be sent to Disney University.
11
In 1985, Walt Disney Productions became the Walt Disney Company.
With time, Disney used other channels for parts of its casting process such as job fairs, recruiting programs,
and the Internet.
13
Disney Institute and Theodore Kinni, 63.
12
This document is authorized for use only by SongXin Xu in HRT 6500 taught by Linchi Kwok, California State Polytechnic University – Pomona from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of S. Xu, 2019.
-6-
UV6787
Traditions I class
Walt established Disney University as a place for new cast members to rehearse for
performances and practice all things Disney. Being selected to teach there was considered an
honor, so each year hundreds of cast members applied to leave their roles and become Traditions
assistants. Their job was to pass on Walt’s legacy and help new cast members learn about Disney
characters and films. Attendees engaged in Trivial Pursuit-like games by answering such
questions as “what were the names of the Seven Dwarfs? what was Donald Duck’s middle
name?” meant to bolster their knowledge about the company’s heritage, traditions, language,
symbols, and shared values. The program was designed to instill a sense of excitement about
working at Disney.
First-name-only tags were worn on the left side, as all new cast members discovered who
Disney was as a firm (its vision), what Disney did (its mission), and for whom (guests).
Throughout these lessons, cast members learned to act and speak courteously (welcome and
thank every guest), became familiar with the Disney language (see Table 1 for examples),
practiced using an appropriate tone of voice, learned to focus on the positive and use humor
instead of rules and regulations, and rehearsed appropriate body language.14 At the same time,
they were introduced to issues of safety (what to do in an event of an accident) and how to
answer the numerous questions cast members were routinely asked. It turned out that the most
frequently asked question at Disney theme parks was the location of the bathroom. (There were
phones to a central answer service hidden in shrubbery around the parks.)15 All cast members
were trained to react and offer help if they saw a guest in need.
Table 1. Disney speak.
Corporate World Disney
Customers/clients Guests
Employees Cast members
Out front Onstage
Behind the scene Offstage
Front-line employee Host/hostess
Job interview Audition
Human resources Casting
Data source: Disney Institute and Theodore Kinni.
Corporate World
Job
On the job
Working
Negative customer experience
Positive customer experience
Courtesy
Rides
Disney
Role
Performance
Show
Bad show
Good show
Performance tips
Attractions
No cast member was allowed to complain about problems around guests; it was a cast
member’s job to ensure that all guests had a magical experience—regardless of how she or he
was feeling. On the other hand, Disney recognized that working with the public was often
difficult and that from time to time, despite the best planning, things would go wrong. How
many times could a cast member answer the same questions, such as “What time does the 3:00
14
Disney Institute and Theodore Kinni, 71–72.
Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr., In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run
Companies (New York: Harper & Row, 1982), 168.
15
This document is authorized for use only by SongXin Xu in HRT 6500 taught by Linchi Kwok, California State Polytechnic University – Pomona from Aug 2019 to Feb 2020.
For the exclusive use of S. Xu, 2019.
-7-
UV6787
p.m. parade start?” For those moments, cast members were taught to find your applause. That
meant discovering what their value to the organization was, something they did as a cast member
that was meaningful to them, and focusing on it when they felt down or tired.
By the end of a day spent in the Traditions course, all new cast members would
understand that at Disney all employees, no matter their job, were important to the company (see
Exhibit 2 for values statement). To express this, cast members were asked to picture a bolt of
polka dot fabric with each Disney cast member represented by one dot on yards and yards of
material. If that was a cast member’s position in the organization, what would happen to the
fabric if a single dot was missing? At Disney, every dot counted.
Local traditions
After learning about the overall Disney culture on the first day, cast members were sent
to the park, where training at the local level was conducted in several steps according to job
category. If, for example, a cast member was going to join the show as an operator of the Jungle
Boat attraction, he or she would start with a safety course alo…
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
