Mobilize Human Resources and Organization in Disney - Case Study Example

 Mobilize Human Resources and Organization in Disney "You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality." Walt Disney Any organization consists of people and depends on its human resources. In the conditions of the ever changing global market economy it is vital for a business to be able to quickly adapt to the unstable external conditions. Customer focus is another demand of the modern “experience economy”, when it is not enough to rely only on high quality goods and services, but necessary “to stage a rich, compelling experience” (Pine and Gilmore 1999, p.3). This fact was realized by Walt Disney Company long ago. They also understood that it is necessary not only to satisfy the customers’ expectations but also to exceed them. Highly trained and motivated personnel became the major weapon of the business in achieving the sustainable competitive advantage. However, people are not ready to change easily. In order to mobilize human resources an organization needs a systematic approach, based on strategy and structure. People differ in their motives and values. So a company needs such a framework for human mobilization that provides opportunities for all the individual variations. The experience has shown that a successful mobilization should be based on the seven infrastructures, including: goal setting, origination setting, training, promotion, incentives and rewards, as well as diagnosis and monitoring and diffusion of success stories (Kelner 2000, p. 26). One should add proper conflict management to the list. These infrastructures demonstrate that a successful business relies on communication of its mission to all its employees, on almost ‘infecting’ people with the same ideas and visions, which is achieved through proper training and promotion, incentives and rewards, monitoring and management. It is the only possible way to build a strong corporate culture. The Walt Disney Company’s management seems to know some magic recipe of bringing up the best personnel, loyal to the organization and able to provide the customer service of the highest quality. The Walt Disney Company is a real leader in the field of human resources management. A. Disney’s Motivational Principles Human motives and values are the major buttons to be pushed in order to mobilize the best potential of the employees. People’s values change during the life; motives, as a rule, remain unchanged. Motivational theorists found out that 80% of people’s daily mental activity relates to one of three motives, today called “the three social motives”, these being achievement, affiliation and power (Kelner 2000, p. 29). People are driven by these motives and the task of a manager is to create appropriate situation, the conditions in which people could actively realize their intentions and desires. The Walt Disney is the company that manages to make use of all the three major motives, setting “noble goals” which are appealing to everyone in the organization. Speaking of Disneyland in 1953, Walt Disney explained the mission of the company as following: “The idea of Disneyland is a simple one. It will be a place to find happiness and knowledge. Disneyland will be based on and dedicated to the ideas, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America” (In Kelner 2000, p. 35). Stating such a mission Disney appealed to the three social motives: affiliation (enhance happiness), achievement (offer knowledge), power (create America) (Kelner 2000, p.35). This mission is only a part of the company’s success. It was Walt Disney who realized the importance of the work force for the company. When the first Disneyland opened in 1955, Walt saw that the new employees ‘didn’t understand their jobs in the sense of the history and reasons for creating Disneyland. He felt it was important for everyone to understand “why” things were done, more than “what to do”’ (Hamilton 2006). The secret of the company is simple: they hire right people (whose motives coincide with the requirements) for the particular job roles, and provide these new employees with training, equal responsibilities and opportunities for growth and promotion. The major philosophy of the human resource management is overall customer focus through leadership. Careers with the company start at the Casting office, where “cast members” are “auditioned”. The employees of the Walt Disney Co. are called “cast members”, while their job is to perform “on stage”. Even Disney’s casting building in Florida serves the purpose of ‘introducing the prospective cast members to the Disney’s family’, its whimsical argyle-patterned design revealing the balance between the company’s focus on entertainment and its culture of respect to the individual (Paton 1997). While waiting for their initial interviews the candidates are shown a short video describing the interview process and outlining the company’s expectations of its cast members (Paton 1997). This way Disney gets only the people, whose motives really correspond to the organization’s goals. All the new cast members must go through the same one-and-one-half day training program known as Traditions, where they get acquainted with the company’s history, traditions, ideas and rules. Here, among others, they learn that visitors are Disney’s “quests”, who must be treated in a corresponding way. The new cast members are empowered “to create magic moments”. “This dedication to service is an integral part of the Disney culture and it is instilled in each new cast member during the orientation program that everyone must complete--from corporate executives to parking lot attendants”, said Terry Brinkoetter, the senior marketing representative of the company in Orlando (Hartnett 1993). Further, cast members go for a 10-12-day training at the Disney University, established by Walt Disney and remaining the largest corporate training facility in the world. Here they are provided with various skills necessary for work, with quality and service being the integral part of all the training programs. The business depends on the repeated visitors, so all the cast members know that Disney defines quality as “attention to details and exceeding quest expectations” (Hartnett 1993). “It's every cast member's responsibility to keep the parks clean, friendly and fun,” explains Jim Cunningham, program manager at the Disney Institute. No matter what position you hold in the company’s hierarchy your initial task is to satisfy the customer, so that a manager of the highest rank has no right to pass by a piece of paper lying on the ground or a customer in need (Paton 1997). As we can see, initial training and the working conditions cast equal opportunities and responsibilities on all the employees of the company. Yet, it is leadership that keeps people motivated. The company has “great leaders who create an environment where people want to do their best”, “an environment where cast members can have their opinions heard, can feel like they are contributing and can be motivated each day to come in and give us great quality” only “because they feel like they are adding value and contributing”, explained Jayne Parker, the director of the Disney University (Paton 1997). B. Disney’s Ethics Program Disney’s Codes of Ethics and Conduct for the Employees and Manufacturers: Realizing the social and business responsibilities of the corporation, the Walt Disney Company follows several documents that register the rights and responsibilities of all the employees. The Standards of the Business Conduct includes two vast sections concerning ethical and legal standards of the company and serving as the basic guidance for all the employees. The ethical and legal standards of the Company help both to motivate and mobilize people, as well as protect the Company’s interests. The major ethical principles are that all Cast Members and employees must “be courteous, be knowledgeable about our products and services, and help our guests and customers enjoy the highest quality experience we can provide” and “strive to do the best they can to create things to be proud to identify with the Company”. The guest safety is “of paramount importance” and all the employees “share the responsibility for making guests feel safe and secure”. The Cast members and employees are called the “cornerstone of the Company’s magic”, and are promised to be treated “with fairness, dignity and respect” and provided “with a challenging, exciting and fulfilling,” and safe working environment, as well as with the opportunities for professional development and advancement “in a manner consistent with their abilities”. It is underlined that the company seeks “to be multicultural, tapping the unique talents and potential of every member”, to provide open opportunities and free and effective channels of communication, fostering teamwork and facilitating a healthy working environment, promoting synergy and enabling the Company as a whole to realize greater potential than the sum of its individual businesses”. Respect for the individuals and anti-discriminative attitude are announced among the prerogatives (The Walt Disney Company, The Standards of the Business Conduct). The Walt Disney Company is also “committed to the promotion and maintenance of responsible international labor practices in its licensing and direct sourcing operations throughout the world”. The International Labor Standards (ILS) program is centered on the Company's Code of Conduct for Manufacturers. “The practices outlined in the Code are reinforced through the Company’s monitoring activities, as well as key programs designed to provide and support education and cooperation, and an increasing emphasis on collaborative efforts” (The Walt Disney Company, ILS 2007). Training and Education: All the Cast Members and employees, those of the Company’s licensees and vendors, as well as the operators of factories engaged in the production of Disney merchandise receive ongoing education and training, improving their professional abilities and providing them with better opportunities. Whereas the Company gives “high priority to communication and cooperation in order to promote understanding of and compliance with their requirements”, meetings and training sessions have become an essential part of their ILS effort. Thousands of training sessions have been hosted “around the world with licensees, vendors, factories and business units, in large groups and small, and on a one-to-one basis” (The Walt Disney Company, ILS 2007). Monitoring: On the one hand the monitoring over the service quality is realized by all the members of the Disney. So Jayne Parker explains that local issues are dealt with by a group of cast members, who talk about what are important things for them to measure about quality or service, setting benchmarks for those measures, constantly measuring them, making their own charts and graphs, and setting their own goals around them. The Company has no position of a director or a vice president of quality, while quality service is the responsibility of every cast member (Paton 1997). On the other hand, the Company realizes that “simply promulgating a statement of principles is not enough and that a code must be rigorously enforced.” Since 1997, the Company commence regular direct factory monitoring activities, using both professional independent auditors and internal monitors. This combination of the external and internal monitoring has proved to “most effectively enforce the provisions of the Code and promote compliance with its terms”. Monitoring takes place in more than 50 countries at all the factories belonging to the Company. “Each audit involves not only a close inspection of a factory to examine working conditions, but also a review of compensation and benefit records and private interviews with factory workers”. Monitoring enables the company “to recognize emerging issues and problems in particular regions and to focus the priorities on areas of highest risk” (The Walt Disney Company, ILS 2007). Enforcement: The Company prefers the term “remediation”. The personnel violating the Standards of Conduct can be persecuted according to criminal or civil federal laws. Administrative measures can be taken either, in cases of heavy violations of the Company’s ethical and legal standards. When audits or any information from the third parties reveal the incompliance with the Company’s Code, the management looks for the solution together with the facility, trying “to remedy the situation”. As a rule, the facility is encouraged to design a remediation plan bringing its operations in compliance with the code. Disney does not stop the cooperation immediately, preferring to continue its merchandising. The Company’s authorization of use of the factory is terminated in case the operators of the facility are not able to develop such a plan or fail to implement it. The termination takes place only in cases of “egregious violations”, however, the Company prefers ‘to try to bring a facility into compliance, rather than terminate it’. Cooperation and Communication are the approaches the Company keeps to. The management realizes that “the economic, social and political factors that can contribute to adverse working conditions in factories around the world are obviously too broad and powerful for any one company to overcome”. The ILS program is believed to be ‘a sound approach to the promotion of responsible working conditions’, with cooperation and communication offering ‘the best long-term prospects for successful implementation of positive labor conditions’. The Company encourages ‘broad-based efforts to develop further ways to strengthen global labor standards’ (The Walt Disney Company, ILS 2007). C. Disney’s Conflict Management Approaches Indirect: As a rule the Company strives to avoid any conflicts between/with its employees. The environment and working conditions created by the leaders are the most favorable for the successful cooperation of people. The Ethical and Legal Standards of Conduct fix all the possible violations that may take place frequently and as well as name the measures of punishment for them. This provides an easy way out of most conflict situations. The Company is protected from violations of its interests, but at the same time it is not interested in losing trained personnel. Besides, all the Cast Members and employees have the right to express their opinions on the situation. They are also responsible for the overall control over the company’s activity, so all the violations can be reported timely. In case employees have any questions they can turn to the Guidance or Corporate Legal Department (The Walt Disney Company, Standards of Conduct, 2007). Direct: Among direct approaches to the conflict management, cooperation and communication become those ones that help the leaders to decide on the disputable situations. The human resources management must be engaged into dealing with people, negotiating and interpersonal activities. Conflict is viewed not only as negative and destructing, yet, being an inevitable part of the work, it is perceived as critical to the organizational health. As Roy J. Lewicki (1999) puts it: “Conflict encourages debate and discussion of new ideas; it is a medium for airing problems and creating new energy; and is often at the root of change; it often encourages creative thinking as a way to resolve the conflict” (p. 1). Avoiding conflicts an organization only encourages destructive processes. The managers at the Walt Disney Company realize that it is more preferable to make the employees express their different views and attitudes, thus encouraging the teamwork, which provides fresh solutions and business ideas. Disney’s employees can not only speak, but, which is more essential, be heard. The opportunity to express one’s feelings and thoughts makes the employees feel appreciated, acknowledged and involved. Instead of acting as a third party and arbiters in conflicts, the Disney’s leaders become mediators, facilitators bringing the parties together, giving them an opportunity to tell their story and then negotiating an acceptable solutions (Lewicki 1999). D. Conclusions: Now as we have described Disney’s motivational principles, ethics program and conflict management, it seems clear enough why the company is ranked the first among top employers. It is distinguished for its “strong on-campus recruiting, solid benefits, and collaborative culture” (The Walt Disney Company, News Release, 2006). The Company brings up its personnel providing people with open opportunities for development and growth. Everybody, interested in working here, is able to find his suitable job role and realize his intentions and abilities, having no fears of his future, satisfying his values. The Company’s customer-focus-through-leadership philosophy, equal responsibilities and rights, communicative conflict management approach attract people with any kind of motives and guarantee the employees’ loyalty and readiness to creative cooperation and teamwork. All these elements of the human resource management made the Walt Disney Company the major leader not only in the area of entertainment but customer oriented business as a whole. References: Hamilton, Rich (2006). The Remarkable Walt Disney, and the Challenge for Those Who Followed. MagicStrategy.com. Retrieved October 11, 2007 from magicstrategy.com/articles/remarkable-walt-disney/ - 35k - Hartnett, Michael (1993). Disney 'cast members' put 'guests' in the spotlight - Walt Disney Co. Walt Disney Attractions' employee training. Discount Store News, May 3. Retrieved October 11, 2007 from findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n9_v32/ai_13837907 - 28k Kelner, Stephen (2000). Human Motivation and Organizational Mobilization. The Center for Quality of Management, Inc. Vol. 9, No. 1 (Summer), pp. 25- 42. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from cqmextra.cqm.org/cqmjournal.nsf/reprints/rp11300 - 72k Lewicki, Roy J. (1999). What Leaders Need to Know About Conflict Management: a Visit to Disney. Ohio State University Extension Leadership Center. Retrieved October 11, 2007 from http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu/Publications/L_Link/LL_1999/win_99.pdf Paton, Scott Madison (1997). Disney Institute: Service Quality, Disney Style. Quality Digest. Com. (January) Retrieved October 11, 2007 from www.qualitydigest.com/jan97/disney.html - 22k Pine, J and Gilmore, J. (1999). The Experience Economy, Harvard Business School Press, Boston. The Walt Disney Company (2007). International Labor Standards. Retrieved October 11, 2007 from http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/intl_labor_standards.html The Walt Disney Company (2007). Standards of Business Conduct. Retrieved October 11, 2007 form http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/conduct_standards.html The Walt Disney Company (2006). Walt Disney Tops List of Business Week's Inaugural 'Best Places To Launch A Career' . News Release. 09/07/2006. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from corporate.disney.go.com/careers/pdfs/disney_businessweek.pdf Read More