Walt Disney applies a diversified strategy that involves the acquisition of related and unrelated business aimed at increasing sales revenues. Walt Disney uses differentiation generic strategy to develop products and services that are difficult to imitate (assignment 1). The company focuses on consumer goods, Theme Parks and Resorts, Media Networks and Studio Entertainment. Walt Disney has succeeded in diversifying its products and services that have enabled the company to grow significantly within the last five years. In assignment 2, Walt Disney theme parks and resorts employ a defensive strategy such as aggressive competition to increase market share and sales revenue.
To implement these policies, the company needs to match market characteristic with its competitive advantage to identify market segments that give the desired sales volumes and profits. Effective implementation of these strategies requires resources to be interwoven together to give the desired outcome. These resources include accounting, finance, MIS and research and development costs.
Accounting and finances have a direct impact on both diversified and focus strategy since they determine the ability of a firm to expand its operations through the acquisition of either related or unrelated businesses. Both approaches require investment in research and development to create a unique product that will gain competitive advantage. According to David (2015) management information system also plays a critical role when implementing diversified strategy by providing the decision makers with accurate information. Moreover, MIS offers diverse alternatives that help managers to determine whether an acquisition of a related or unrelated company will lead to synergy.
Accounting and finance play a critical role in strategy implementation. They have a direct control on resources required to develop and implement strategic decisions. During strategy implementation, funds are needed to support growth, develop and maintain expense budget for daily activities. Accounting and finance are the core pillars of strategy implementation since they provide the organization with funds needed to implement growth to gain competitive advantage (Phillips & Gully, 2014, p. 53).
Research and development, on the other hand, ensure development of new products that are difficult to imitate thus creating competitive advantage. Management information system helps in management control, strategy implementation and operation planning by providing appropriate information during decision making. Further, it enhances the creation of innovative ways of solving challenges during strategy implementation. Research and development play a crucial role during strategy implementation by identifying organizational gap where these strategies should focus most. It enables the organization to focus most of its resources on areas that need improvement.
To effectively implement these strategies; Disney’s organizational structure must be changed. Walt Disney must change its organizational structure to support innovation and creativity. Employees with excellent ideas should be rewarded as a way of encouraging them to develop more innovative ideas. Moreover, the organization should promote a culture of continuous learning to harness employee cooperation during strategy implementation.
Walt Disney’s HR departments would be required to introduce employee benefits plans that help workers to support strategy implementation. Typically, depending on the degree of impact a strategy has on employee behavior, some workers are likely to lack the motivation required to support strategy execution. Managers must, therefore, target workers who are directly involved in strategy implementation to expedite strategy execution.
It is recommended that Walt Disney should consider changing its culture to reinforce strict adherence to service delivery and operation efficiency in the theme parks to achieve low-cost goals. According to Shankar and Carpenter (2012) Disney’s structure should be changed to tap resources within its reach by focusing on collaborative and problem-solving capability to achieve operational efficiency (p. 54). Managers should encourage innovation and creativity by setting time for brainstorming. For instance, management should introduce regular group workshop that encourage employees to explore, test and discuss new ideas. Disney’s management information system must be aligned with organizational goals to create a link between strategic objectives and values of the firm. The organizational changes should be reflected in the policies that support financial responsibility, risk management and benefits realization.
References
David, F.R. (2015). Strategic management concepts (15th Ed.). Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Web.
Phillips, J., & Gully, S. (2014). Human resource management. Mason, Ohio: South- Western Centage Learning. Web.
Shankar, V., & Carpenter, G. (2012). Handbook of Marketing Strategy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub. Web.