The Walt Disney Company has a highly centralized organizational structure. The company is controlled by a small group of executive officers who make all the major decisions. Below them are the heads of the various divisions, who report directly to the top executives. This structure ensures that all decisions are made quickly and efficiently, with little room for error.
However, this type of organizational structure can also lead to problems. For example, if the top executives make a bad decision, it can have disastrous consequences for the company as a whole. Additionally, this type of structure can stifle creativity and innovation, since employees are not encouraged to think outside the box.
The organization of The Walt Disney Company appears to be a horizontal structure. Departmentalization or subdividing the organization into subunits is the basis for horizontal structure (Bateman & Snell, 2011). The Disney Company has five business segments: interactive media, studio entertainment, consumer products, parks and resorts, and media networks.
According to The Walt Disney Company’s 2016 Annual Report, the company has 164,000 employees (The Walt Disney Company, 2016).
While the company does have a CEO and other high-level executives, each business segment operates relatively independently. For example, studio entertainment produces movies and television shows while consumer products licenses Disney’s intellectual property for use on merchandise. The parks and resorts segment includes theme parks, cruise ships, and vacation clubs. Media networks operate cable television channels such as ESPN and ABC.
The Walt Disney Company’s organizational structure offers many advantages. One advantage is that it allows each business segment to focus on its own area of expertise. Another advantage is that it provides flexibility so the company can respond quickly to changes in the marketplace.
The Walt Disney Company’s organizational structure also has some disadvantages. One disadvantage is that it can lead to duplication of effort and resources. For example, both the parks and resorts segment and the studio entertainment segment might produce movies based on Disney characters. Another disadvantage is that decision-making can be slow because each business segment has a certain amount of autonomy.
The Walt Disney Company’s organizational structure is effective overall because it allows the company to focus on its core competencies while still being responsive to changes in the marketplace.
This is another great example of the divisional approach, with departments classified by product. The organization is divided into separate departments based on the item being marketed. They all deal with entertainment in one form or another, but they have distinct names nonetheless.
For example, the Parks and Resorts group includes all of the company’s vacation destinations, while the Consumer Products group is responsible for licensing Disney intellectual property to third-party manufacturers.
The Walt Disney Company has a very interesting organizational structure – one that is unique in many ways. The company is divided into several different product groups, each of which is responsible for a different area of the business. This includes things like theme parks, movies, TV shows, and consumer products.
One of the things that makes this structure so interesting is that each product group is its own mini-company. This means that each group has its own President, who reports directly to Bob Iger (the CEO of The Walt Disney Company). This setup allows each group to have a lot of autonomy and be nimble in the way it operates.
Another interesting thing about The Walt Disney Company’s organizational structure is that it is very centralized. This means that all decisions are made by Bob Iger and his team of Executives. This can be both good and bad – on the one hand, it allows for quick decision making; on the other hand, it can lead to tunnel vision and a lack of creativity.
Overall, The Walt Disney Company’s organizational structure is very unique – something that you don’t see too often in large corporations. It will be interesting to see how this structure evolves over time as the company continues to grow.
The interactive entertainment sector, which was founded in 2008, uses digital media to generate high-quality interactive entertainment. The company was established in this area. Through this section, stage plays, music, and movies are brought to people all over the world. This part represents a business that creates engaging and inventive product encounters ranging from apparel to toys to fine art and books for the general public.
The company’s parks and resorts segment includes experiences created by Walt Disney Imagineering and operations of the 11 theme parks, four vacation clubs, 63 resort properties, and a cruise line. The direct-to-consumer and international segment offers streaming services, cable television networks, and broadcast television networks.
The segments are supported by the following business units: Parks & Resorts, Consumer Products & Interactive Media, Media Networks, and Studio Entertainment.
Parks & Resorts consists of theme parks, experiences and consumer products, vacation club properties, and world-class cruise line operation located in North America, Europe Asia, and Oceania.
Each year, millions of people go on vacation and create memories at one of the world’s leading providers of leisure and family travel experiences, a Walt Disney park or resort. The media networks segment is divided into two divisions: cable, broadcast, publishing, and radio businesses.
The consumer products and interactive media segment includes merchandise, licensing, publishing, and digital media businesses. The studio entertainment segment comprises production, distribution, and live theatre operations. In order to keep track of all these businesses and manage them properly, The Walt Disney Company has a very specific organizational structure in place.
The Walt Disney Company is managed by a Board of Directors made up of 14 people. The current Chairman and CEO is Robert A. Iger. He presides over the entire company, with each business segment having its own president who reports to him. Each business segment is then further divided into various divisions and teams.
For example, the Media Networks segment is made up of the ABC Television Group, ESPN Inc., The Walt Disney Studios, and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Each of these divisions has its own president, who reports to the Chairman and CEO.
A company could use a practical approach and categorize their departments or positions by the abilities required to complete them. For example, a marketing department that would handle marketing for the whole organization. Each commercial function would have its own marketing division under the divisional method.
The next step down would be to have product managers that report to the vice president of marketing who oversees all product managers. The final level in this structure would be the account executives who report directly to the product managers.
The Walt Disney Company could also use a divisional approach and group their departments or jobs by geographical locations. An example would be if they had a United States division which would include all businesses and job functions in the United States. Another division could be for Europe which would include all businesses and job functions in Europe. The final level in this structure would be country managers who report directly to the divisional vice presidents.
The last option for The Walt Disney Company is to use a matrix approach and group their departments or jobs by both geographical locations and business functions. An example of this would be if they had a marketing division in the United States and a marketing division in Europe. The final level in this structure would be country managers who report directly to both the divisional vice president of marketing and the regional vice president.
No matter which approach The Walt Disney Company decides to use for their organizational structure, they need to make sure that all levels of management are able to communicate with each other effectively. Communication is key in any organization, but it is especially important in a large company like The Walt Disney Company. With so many moving parts, it is essential that everyone is on the same page in order to avoid any confusion or miscommunication.
