DisneyLand-+Content+&+Information

// "From the beginning, starting with Walt Disney, we have had five things that make me proud to be part of this Company: high-quality products, optimism for the future, great storytelling, an emphasis on family entertainment and great talent, passion and dedication from our Cast Members." //
 * __ The Disney Culture __**

- Marty Sklar Vice Chairman and Principal Creative Executive Walt Disney Imagineering

__Disney Values__

We follow a strong tradition of innovation. We strive to follow a high standard of excellence. We maintain high-quality standards across all product categories. We create positive and inclusive ideas about families. We provide entertainment experiences for all generations to share. Every product tells a story. Timeless and engaging stories delight and inspire. At The Walt Disney Company, entertainment is about hope, aspiration and positive resolutions. We honor and respect the trust people place in us. Our fun is about laughing at our experiences and ourselves.
 * ** Innovation **
 * ** Quality **
 * ** Community **
 * ** Storytelling **
 * ** Optimism **
 * ** Decency **


 * __ I. Subculture & Counter Culture __**


 * Subculture**- are groups with unique patterns of values and philosophies that are consistent with dominant culture of the larger organization or social system.

The Walt Disney company has a wide array of products and service: Walt Disney Studios, Parks/ Resorts, Consumer Goods, and Media groups. Each one of these products and services include their own segments. Every level of segmentation has its own distinct subcultures.

Since the Disney Company is so large we will focus in on the subcultures found within the Walt Disney Studios branch.

Walt Disney Studios Branch includes several segments:


 * 1) Walt Disney Pictures- Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios and DisneyToon Studios - [|Touchstone Pictures] and Hollywood Picture.
 * 2) Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment- distributes Disney and other film titles to the rental and sell-through home entertainment markets worldwide.
 * 3) Disney Theatrical Production- producers of Broadway musicals, Disney Live Family Entertainment.
 * 4) Disney Music Group- original music and motion picture soundtracks.

Each one of these segments provide different services and accomplish different tasks, but all still follow the key values of Disney: Innovation, Quality, Community, Storytelling, Optimism, and Decency.


 * Counter culture**- are groups where the patterns of values and philosophies outwardly reject those of the lager organization or social system.

Counter cultures are almost nonexistent in the Disney brand. They try to convert every subculture it obtains. Extremely strict and strongly enforce company values. Once again, the Disney brand is so large, but this strong opposition to counterculture can clearly be seen in the Disney Theme Park employees.


 * 1) Customer Service- “ Employees are ‘cast members.’ Customers are ‘guests.’ A crowd is an ‘audience.’ A work shift is a ‘performance.’ A job description is a ‘script.’ A uniform is a ‘costume.’ Being on duty is ‘onstage.’"
 * 2) Strict Employee Code of Conduct
 * 3) Effective Employee Communications- Constantly forcing employees to stay up to date with Disney information


 * __ National __****__ Culture __**

National Culture often highlights both corporate and national cultural differences. Management needs to take into account cultural differences so their actions do not violate common assumptions in the underlying national culture.

Parks/Resorts are perfect example of National Culture. Analyzing the different theme parks around the world display how Disney adapts to cultural differences

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=45971
 * 1) Disneyland (1955)- original
 * 2) Tokyo Disneyland (1983) Changes- http://www.notquitenigella.com/2008/07/10/tokyo-disneyland/
 * 3) Disneyland Paris (1992) Changes- http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_n42_v25/ai_11426102/
 * 4) Honk Kong Disneyland (2005): Changes- http://www.disneylandreport.com/disneysecrets/hong_kong_disneyland_secrets/hong_kong_disneyland_feng_shui_secrets_facts.html

All of these parks are very similar, but all have distinct changes from one another to help ensure the highest likelihood of acceptance among different cultures.

__ Sources __ : http://soonlim.com/corporate-culture-of-walt-disney-company-2 http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/overview.html

__** Cultural Analysis **__

There are three levels of analysis in studying organizational culture.
 * The first level concerns observable culture, "the way we do things around here."
 * The Disney magic begins with the vast amount of training each employee receivesto make every visitors experience a memorable one
 * Walt Disney wanted his employees to be customer-responsive and this is why he implemented training for everyone in the company, which developed into the Disney Institute in 1986.
 * The second layer recognizes that shared values can play a critical role in linking people together and can provide a powerful motivational mechanism for members of the culture.
 * You cannot have happy guests if you do not have happy employees
 * The deepest layer of cultural analysis are common cultural assumptions, the taken-for-granted truths that collections of corporate members share as a result of their joint experience.
 * Disney's goal is to treat every employee in the same manner as their guests and if they operate with this type of beliefs they can ensure everyone gets a dose of the Disney magic.

__** Stories, Rites, Rituals, and Symbols **__

Stories concerning the founding of an organization. Rites: standardized and recurring activities that are used at special times to influence the behaviors and understanding of organizational members. Rituals: systems of rites. Cultural symbol: any object, act, or event that serves to transmit cultural meaning
 * Sagas: embellished heroic accounts of the story of the founding of an organization
 * Disney's orientation process, called Traditions, held on all employees first day with Disney
 * Traditions is used to submerge the employees into the dream, mission, and service ideology of Disney and how Walt Disney wanted his company to operate