How does Disney get he or she to purchase these items? By focusing on customers needs. The first step in developing an effective e-commerce site is by listening to the customer, which for Disney has never been a problem since they have always been devoted to making people happy. Questions like, how can Disney save the customer time and money? What are the customer’s biggest frustrations with e-commerce sites? These, along with many others, are questions, which need answers before building an e-commerce site.
Disney’s e-commerce developer’s also needed to do lots of research on how e-commerce sites function. Things like shopping carts, shipping, payment options, security, search engines, and managing the content. Knowing how these things function and ways to improve upon them will reduce later frustrations. Disney must also stay update on the latest technology, and what their competitors are offering. E-commerce and the Internet have changed the way people do business, and with Disney’s careful planning they have evolved successfully with this change.
Technology is also a factor in how successful a company will be, and Disney must sure to stay up-to-date with technological advances.
“The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world.”()
The Walt Disney Company is an Internet pioneer. The planning stage that Disney uses is very well organized in a way that allowed them to launch two of the world's first major, branded consumer Web sites, ESPN.com and Disney.com, in 1995.
Some of the many technology "firsts" Walt Disney Incorporated Group (WDIG) has achieved include:
- First Web property to serve over one million pages in its first year (1995)
- First Internet publishing system (1995)
- First Internet authentication/registration system (1996)
- First dynamic content architecture system (1996)
- First Internet infrastructure management systems (1997)
- First massively multiplayer online game for kids and families (2002)
- First cached video delivery system (2003)
Each year Disney continues to lead the industry in technology by acquiring companies and being creative with their ideas for the future. Disney’s Internet technology places importance on there continuing ability to grow and improve their technology leadership position. The most popular Web properties experience very high volumes of traffic and the technology infrastructure. Disney is the owner and operator of one of the world's largest Internet infrastructures, with data centers in Seattle and Orlando:
- More than 2,000 servers handling nearly three billion page views per month
- Available peak bandwidth of more than eight gigabits per second and well over three gigabits per second sustained
Disney Connection is a rich collection of Disney broadband entertainment for families. It includes a regularly updated slate of games, activities and videos, as well as selects access to premium offerings such as , an ad-free online entertainment service for kids, and . In addition, the new Digital Showcase provides videos from Disney each week, including cartoon shorts, music videos and movie trailers. ()
Disney is focused on its technological objectives of operating better, faster and more efficiently. Disney also provides centralized strategic leadership and operational management and a world-class technology platform for all of The Walt Disney Companies Internet properties. Disney also directly operates Disney.com worldwide, FamilyFun.com, Movies.com, Disney Auctions and the wireless businesses for all.
“Cultural diversity is becoming the norm in many workplaces, with one out of every four Americans now identifying themselves as a minority, according to the 2000 census—up from one in five in 1990. This shifting cultural landscape requires both managers and their employees to rethink how they work with others.” (Drumrie, 2005). “Founded in 1923 as a cartoon studio, The Walt Disney Company has grown to become a diversified, international family entertainment and media company.”().
A culturally diverse staff is something that the Disney Corporation takes seriously. Starting at the top of the company with the board of directors and the management team, the company has incorporated men, women, and a diverse group of other talented individuals. The company believes in order to foster a culture of creativity; a diverse and innovative team must be in place in every area. “Tina Kashlak is the Senior Diversity Representative in Orlando, Florida. She is responsible to provide support in the strategic planning of the professional recruitment team and to help increase the diversity candidate pool.”().
The Disney Corporation created a Disney Institute to teach and inspire other business. This is based on their great management style and success. The four functions of management in a diverse group foster a team environment. Instead of the top executives coming up with the planning, Disney uses its young imaginations. For example: “Disney uses its Imagineering department to host an imaginations competition to promote diversity for university students to create, design and develop Disney products and earn scholarship money. Students are encouraged to show their creativity by using their technical, artistic, or writing skills to design a ride, attraction, hotel or land within an existing Disney theme park or resort. Or create an entirely new experience; a theme park, resort, themed restaurant, or something completely brand new.” (). The students do the planning for project and then move into how they will organize the project or ideas. “The finalists in both the individual and team categories are brought to the Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California, where they formally present their idea to a panel of Walt Disney Imagineering judges.”
(). The third part of the management process, which is leading is what the actual management team of the Disney Corporation achieves by empowering their employees. Disney accomplishes this by job rotation every three months, cross utilization during peak seasons where salaried and office personnel from behind the scenes work shifts in areas with increased attendance, and lastly through task forces. This is where teams responsible for implementing a project or idea, such as a new attraction may spend up to 100% of their time. Lastly, the controlling stage is where Disney monitors its progress thru increased sales and makes adjustments to products etc. as necessary.
In conclusion there are many internal and external factors that contribute to an organizations success. To assure the success he or she must know how the four functions of management affect these factors. The Walt Disney Corporation has obviously used these functions of management to become one of the most successful corporations today and is used a model for other organizations.
References
Krumrie, Matt. 2005. Manage a Culturally Diverse Staff. Retrieved from the
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